How do I get space before title?

Question

I attempt to get larger space between the poem number and the title of the poem, but do not succeed. What should I do?

\documentclass[12pt]{book}
\usepackage{verse}
\PassOptionsToPackage{bookmarks, colorlinks=false, hidelinks}{hyperref}
\usepackage[numberpoems, clearpageafterpoem, useincipits]{poetrytex}
\usepackage[a4paper]{geometry}

\setlength{\beforepoemtitleskip}{3.0in}

\begin{document}

\begin{poem}{Break, break, break}{Tennyson}

\begin{altverse}
% Incipits are used in the ToP if no title is given.
\incipit{Break, break, break},\\*
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!\\*
And I would that my tongue could utter\\*
The thoughts that arise in me.
\end{altverse}

\begin{altverse}
O, well for the fisherman's boy,\\*
That he shouts with his sister at play!\\*
O, well for the sailor lad,\\*
That he sings in his boat on the bay!
\end{altverse}

\begin{altverse}
And the stately ships go on\\*
To their haven under the hill;\\*
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,\\*
And the sound of a voice that is still!
\end{altverse}

\begin{altverse}
Break, break, break\\*
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!\\*
But the tender grace of a day that is dead\\*
Will never come back to me.
\end{altverse}

\end{poem}

\end{document}

Interestingly, I can't find the definition of poem in either book or verse, only in memoir. — John Kormylo, Jan 05 '20 at 18:20
It is defined in poetrytex, and has nothing to do with verse, so \beforepoemtitleskip has no effect. — John Kormylo, Jan 05 '20 at 18:38
Read the poetrytex manual. There are several \vspace lengths defined, but I don't know what any of them do. Or use \poemtitle from the verse package. — John Kormylo, Jan 05 '20 at 18:53
@JohnKormylo OK I hope someone can present an answer which works. — Frode Alfson Bjørdal, Jan 05 '20 at 19:20

Bernard · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-05T22:58:13.697

A solution patching the \titlepoemnum command with the etoolbox package:

\documentclass[12pt]{book}
\usepackage[a4paper]{geometry}
\usepackage{ebgaramond}
\usepackage{verse}
\PassOptionsToPackage{bookmarks, colorlinks=false, hidelinks}{hyperref}
\usepackage[numberpoems, clearpageafterpoem, useincipits]{poetrytex}
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\apptocmd{\titlepoemnum}{\vskip 4ex}{}{}

\begin{document}

\begin{poem}{Break, break, break}{\rule{0pt}{4ex}\itshape Alfred, Lord Tennyson}

\setlength{\leftskip}{8pc}
\begin{altverse}
% Incipits are used in the ToP if no title is given.
\incipit{Break, break, break},\\*
On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!\\*
And I would that my tongue could utter\\*
The thoughts that arise in me.
\end{altverse}

\begin{altverse}
O, well for the fisherman's boy,\\*
That he shouts with his sister at play!\\*
O, well for the sailor lad,\\*
That he sings in his boat on the bay!
\end{altverse}

\begin{altverse}
And the stately ships go on\\*
To their haven under the hill;\\*
But O for the touch of a vanish'd hand,\\*
And the sound of a voice that is still!
\end{altverse}

\begin{altverse}
Break, break, break\\*
At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!\\*
But the tender grace of a day that is dead\\*
Will never come back to me.
\end{altverse}

\end{poem}

\end{document}

That shifts she whole poem down. I want the extra space to be between I and the first occurrence of Break, break, break. — Frode Alfson Bjørdal, Jan 05 '20 at 20:35
Sorry, that was not clear to me. I'll see if I can adjust my answer. — Bernard, Jan 05 '20 at 20:47
I have posted another solution which hopefully does what you want. — Bernard, Jan 05 '20 at 22:59
Many thanks, and also for the \setlength{\leftskip}{8pc}! :) — Frode Alfson Bjørdal, Jan 06 '20 at 01:19

How do I get space before title?

1 Answers1