Dialogue in Poetry

Dialogue in poetry is condensed conversation. It reveals character, conflict, relationship with minimal words. When two people speak, tension emerges. Readers judge both speakers. Dialogue is show, don't tell, at its finest.

Poetic dialogue doesn't need quotation marks or speech tags. It can be fragmented, overlapping, interrupted. What characters don't say is often more important than what they do. A poem where two people argue without stating what they're arguing about is more powerful than one where conflict is explained.

Make readers piece it together from dialogue alone.