Unusually for this poet, “The Writer” is written in free verse without any rigid poetic structure or meter. However, the poem is divided into consistent tercets, or three-line stanzas—11 in total, making 33 lines. There is no formal rhyme scheme, although the poem utilizes rhythmic verse that keeps each line flowing into the next in place of the poet’s usual end rhymes.

Each stanza opens with a short line, follows with a longer line, and closes with another short line. The lines range from approximately eight syllables to 14 syllables. This pattern of short-long-short gives the poem a visual appearance of waves on the sea, supporting the extended metaphor of the house as a ship. It also mirrors the natural ebb and flow of creative inspiration and the writer’s life, one of the central themes of the poem.

“The Writer” uses extended metaphors throughout the poem, beginning with the very first line: “In her room at the prow of the house” (Line 1). Here, the speaker compares his house to a ship. Specifically, the girl’s room is at the “prow” (Line 1), or the very forwardmost tip that cuts through the water and leads the rest of the boat forward.