A Diamante is a seven-lined contrast poem set up in a diamond shape. The first line begins with a noun/subject, and second line contains two adjectives that describe the beginning noun. The third line contains three words ending in -ing relating to the noun/subject. The forth line contains two words that describe the noun/subject and two that describe the closing synonym/antonym. If using an antonym for the ending, this is where the shift should occur. In the fifth line are three more -ing words describing the ending antonym/synonym, and the sixth are two more adjectives describing the ending antonym/synonym. The last line ends with the first noun's antonym or synonym.

To make it a bit simpler, here is a diagram.

Line 1: Noun or subject
Line 2: Two Adjectives describing the first noun/subject
Line 3: Three -ing words describing the first noun/subject
Line 4: Four words: two about the first noun/subject, two about the antonym/synonym
Line 5: Three -ing words about the antonym/synonym
Line 6: Two adjectives describing the antonym/synonym
Line 7: Antonym/synonym for the subject

Example #1:

                   Rain
              humid, damp
refreshing, dripping, splattering
    wet, slippery, cold, slushy 
     sliding, melting, freezing
                frigid, icy
                   Snow


Copyright © 2000 Marie Summers

Example #2:

             
                   Kitten
               cute, soft
  purring, clawing, pouncing
      playful, fur, fun, feline
      pawing, licking, loving
       bright-eyed, beautiful
                     Cat

Copyright © 2000 Marie Summers