The fourth programme in Ian McMillan’s Writing Lab will be devoted to exploring how to make use of basic structural devices offered by poetic form such as rhythm and rhyme.

Ian and his guide, poet and critic Mark Ford, discuss how to master these infinitely variable tools so that they develop and become part of your poetic voice.

With the help of three very different leading British poets – Tom Paulin, Wendy Cope and Michael Rosen, the programme will offer advice on:

• the importance of immersing yourself in the poetic tradition right up to today
• why studying metrics is vital – and not an academic side-issue
• how to make use of traditional forms without sounding stilted and stuffy
• how not to do free verse badly

You can find out more about villanelles (and, indeed, trochees and epizeuxis) at Bob's Byway's glossary of poetic terms.

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