Just as visual poetry utilizes the page as an extension of poetic themes, hypertext poems use interactive digital interfaces to make readers active participants in exploring and constructing poetry. Like synthetic poetry, hypertext poetry focuses on fresh, innovative content that is free of the constraints of traditional forms. The form lets writers construct lines of poetry into branching structures, with the first line forming the trunk and subsequent lines dispersing like branches and twigs.
Readers journey along each branch, creating comparisons and cross-connections for themselves. Whereas traditional, static poems allow movement down a page full of lines and stanzas, hypertext poems ask readers to take control over how poems develop and flow. While all poetry allows readers to analyze and probe intellectually stimulating language, hypertext poetry gives readers the opportunity to play with the building blocks of poetry, the language itself.
This form emerged in the 1980s with tools like Storyspace, and flourished in the 2000s with platforms like SpicyNodes (2007-2018). Today, poets use tools like Twine to create branching, interactive verse.
| Rhyme: | Varied, according to the poem |
| Structure: | Branching, non-linear; shorter lines work best for visual clarity |
| Measure/Beat: | Varied |
| Common Themes: | Universal |
| Other Notes: |
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