One of poetry’s greatest features is the ability for an author to record emotional conflict and its subsequent resolution, then transfer those experiences to the reader. Through the poet’s hand, readers gain introspection into their own lives in very short and concise passages that are packed with the marvels of feeling expressed through the wonders of language.

A poetic novel provides the same opportunity as a traditional poem to expose and examine the depths of emotion, but the art form requires a prolonged approach. The sheer length of a novel pulls the writing away from the compact conflict/resolution model represented in a three-line Haiku or even a forty-line poem. In a 100,000-word novel, the reader is more interested in a story line that is presented through chapters rather than the exquisiteness of verse written across three or four lines. This is not to say there can’t be compact conflict/resolution set as islands within the overall work, but readers are liable to miss a clever thirty-word combination in their quest to discover the end of the story. Therefore, in a poetic novel, conflict must be built over several pages. The story can still be turned in one line and the conflict resolved in the next, but the turmoil must be built over time to capture the reader. Indeed, the more prolonged the conflict, the greater the emotional relief at resolution.

For example, in Chapter One of The Roses of Haye, the reader is introduced to Gaye, a young woman who works at a bakery. Throughout the first twenty-four pages of the poem, the reader gradually learns that she is a wandering soul who has low self-esteem because of her past. As a young man courts her, conflict builds in Gaye’s heart due to her lack of self-worth. Her fears gradually subside due to her boyfriend’s apparent occupation as a meek shepherd, but when Gaye discovers that he is really the kingdom’s prince, her inner turmoil erupts. Only upon reaching the end of the chapter is it time to resolve the conflict for the reader. However, the reader is in for another surprise as the internal conflict felt by Gaye is now transferred to her boyfriend. The novel format allows the reader to anguish for a couple of more hours (in reading time) with the boyfriend’s struggles.

Another more complex example is found in Chapter Five of The Roses of Haye. In addition to the conflict experienced by the characters, there is emotional conflict felt by the reader that has been built across the first four chapters. In Chapter One, Anne has tried to win the affections of an eligible bachelor but has failed. The reader empathizes with her and hopes for a "happily-ever-after" ending for her. Finally, in Chapter Five, it appears as if things are going to turn out right. However, her new boyfriend, Ray, is shipwrecked on a tropical island with no money and falls under the care of a beautiful widow. The reader feels Ray’s conflict over staying faithful to Anne or succumbing to his circumstances and pursuing the widow. However, the real turmoil occurs as the reader sees beyond Ray and is concerned about Anne. It’s an emotionally grueling chapter that has been built from the very first pages of the novel.

So, where a haiku is like a piece of tart candy, a poetic novel is like a seven-course meal. Each course is designed to stimulate the palate and build an expectation of what’s coming next. While there are moments of savoring the morsel that is being tasted, the poetic novel’s intent is to pull the reader to the next line and then the next in search of the story’s culmination while building the anticipation for conflict resolution. In the poetic novel’s art form, it’s the long-term struggle over many pages that makes the resolution sweet and satisfying.

Andrew Verrett is the author of The Roses of Haye.