The acrostic is a form in which names or words are spelled out through the first letter of each line. The intent of the acrostic, a form derived from the abecedarian, is to reveal while attempting to conceal within the poem.
Examples of the Acrostic Form
William Blake addresses the despairs of the plague in the poem “London,” telling the reader how he listens to everyone’s pain while wandering along the Thames River. Blake uses an acrostic in the third stanza to emphasize the horrifying sounds:
How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every blackning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.
A recent example is Anna Rabinowitz’s Darkling. This book-length acrostic sequence investigates her family’s Holocaust experiences and uses “The Darkling Thrush” by Thomas Hardy for its structure.