How to Write a Cento

The Patchwork Poem

Oct 28, 2006 Elizabeth Yetter

Learn how to write a cento.

Cento comes from the Latin word meaning “patchwork.” The cento is literally a patchwork poem that is made using lines from the works of other poets.

The rules for writing a cento are simple. You can write a cento as long or as short as you like. It may or may not rhyme. You may only borrow one line from a poem, but you can repeat that same line throughout your cento. The subject choice is yours to make, be it serious or comedic.

For example:

High on the hill-top, (William Allingham, The Fairies)

Above the twilight sea, (Queenie Scott-Hopper, Very Nearly)

You may see the baby goblins (Monica Shannon, How To Tell Goblins From Elves)

Beneath a hawthorn tree. (Margaret Ritter, Faith, I Wish I Were A Leprechaun)

Centos are a great way to encourage older children to read poetry. As an assignment, students may be told to write a cento from the poems of a specific poet or a cento with a specific theme.

The copyright of the article How to Write a Cento in Children’s Books is owned by Elizabeth Yetter. Permission to republish How to Write a Cento in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Pencil