A short time ago, someone made the suggestion that this forum could best be utilized in discussing what constitutes a Poem, what the elements are that make one up, and the tools that have been and can be used in creating one.
Here is an old essay of mine that hopefully can be used in starting off that process, and I fully realize that many may disagree with what I have to say here and/or with the conclusions that I have reached. and I welcome any comments in reply. I firmly believe that sharing our insights is the best thing we can do, because it is in knowing and understanding what we do that we can improve.
*****
Most who attempt to write it think that if they express a thought or experience or emotion in rhythmic lines, (with or without rhyme), or as broken up prose, and call it a poem, then it is a poem. It MAY BE, but the probability is that without certain other elements pertaining to CRAFTSMANSHIP, it is LIKELY that such will be nothing more than VERSE.
According to Webster, Verse is metrical writing distinguished from Poetry by its lower level of intensity and Poetry is metrical writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
You will note the complexity of the definition of Poetry compared to that for Verse. That reflects the fact that the label of Verse can be applied to any metrical writing while the label of Poetry is RESERVED for that which allows us to imaginatively take part in experience rather than merely telling us about it, (which is another way of saying that Poetry must strive for the Universal as opposed to the "strictly" personal), and which condenses and concentrates its meaning by saying the most possible in the fewest number of words.
I do want to make it clear, however, that there is nothing WRONG with writing “Verse” if that is what you are comfortable with. I simply believe that those who write should fully understand the distinctions between Poetry and Verse and be able to recognize where their efforts fall so that they can have realistic expectations as to what can be done with it,
Poetry is not merely an expression. It is a CRAFT. Saying that implies that it takes thought and careful planning to CONTROL it's final form, and that further implies that there are principles of CRAFTSMANSHIP that define how a Poem takes shape.
To begin with, A Poem must be written with a PURPOSE, whether is merely to describe something or analyze it or to express an emotional or intellectual response to experience.
It must be FOCUSED on a single subject and be bounded by UNITIES of Expression, Thought, and Image and must have a DENOUEMENT or OUTCOME that UNITES the whole. In the words of Robert Frost, it must "begin in delight and end in wisdom", and this is true whether the poem is of a "Romantic"/"Traditional: or "Metaphysical/Intellectual" nature.
Throughout history, Poetry has cycled every 100 to 150 years between that which is "Romantic"/"Traditional" and that which is "Metaphysical " or "Intellectual" and the current cycle in which we find ourselves is a "Metaphysical" one and has been in place since the passing of Frost, Eliot, and Yeats, who combined the two elements in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. (a feat which is unique in the annals of English Language Poetry).
All three of those Poets were essentially "Romantic" in their approach but each, in his own way, blended that "Romanticism" with "Intellectual" elements. Yeats did it through Symbology. Eliot did it through the use of Allusion, and Frost did it through metaphor which expanded personal experience into the realm of the UNIVERSAL. Regrettably, those who followed them ignored or misinterpreted the lessons they taught and the examples they set.
Romantic/Traditional Poetry is characterized by focusing on UNIVERSAL questions relating to Philosophy, History, Religion, Personal Interaction and all elements of Man's relationship to his world and to his understanding of "self". It uses PERSONAL EXPERIENCE simply as a takeoff point for relating to those Universal values and questions. It is generally characterized, (or has been), by regular meter and rhyme, often in strictly preset forms. (and it is that aspect more than any other that the Moderns have rebelled against and attempted to change in order to assert their own individuality).
Metaphysical/Intellectual Poetry, on the other hand, traditionally tried to focus on intellectual thought and draw it's images from The Sciences., (as seen in the Poetry of Donne, Marvell and others). In it's current manifestation, it has focused on creating a semblance of universality by using glorified images of the MUNDANE as they relate to direct PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, rather than searching for the universal in that experience, as the "Romantics" would do, (and in doing so they have rejected most classic forms and regular rhythms and have turned to free verse to separate themselves from the "Romantics"
More importantly, today’s poetry has generally tried to use a “slice of life” technique to substitute for the classical unities in defining a poem. This essentially amounts to taking a “snapshot” of action, emotion or thought at a point in time, and excluding all before or after, and depending on the imagery to bring a universal element to the overall meaning. If it’s used in conjunction with the unities, it can be reasonably effective. If it is not, it’s effectiveness as a unifying factor can be limited to those unities that it does embrace, and runs the risk of degenerating into “simple” verse.
In my opinion, the vast majority of “Poetry” that been has written and published in the last 75 years is, because of its lack of emphasis on meaning, likely to be looked upon as being “Verse” by future generations when the cycle turns again. Nonetheless, this has been the dominant form of “Poetry” in the Colleges and Publications during that period of time and that has meant that writers of “Romantic” Poetry have had and will have a difficult time finding publication in any journal or magazine that has the circulation and prestige to further one’s career until the situation changes.
******
I realize that there are a lot of elements covered here, (and a lot more, such as Figures of Speech, the differences between "Syllabic" and "Accentual Verse", the differences between "Free Verse", "Blank Verse" and "Formal" and "Traditional" Poetry, and the nature and function of Criticism, just for starters), but hopefully, this can serve as a starting point for further discussion on ALL those things.
Write On,
Jim Hoye, (JRH)
Here is an old essay of mine that hopefully can be used in starting off that process, and I fully realize that many may disagree with what I have to say here and/or with the conclusions that I have reached. and I welcome any comments in reply. I firmly believe that sharing our insights is the best thing we can do, because it is in knowing and understanding what we do that we can improve.
*****
Most who attempt to write it think that if they express a thought or experience or emotion in rhythmic lines, (with or without rhyme), or as broken up prose, and call it a poem, then it is a poem. It MAY BE, but the probability is that without certain other elements pertaining to CRAFTSMANSHIP, it is LIKELY that such will be nothing more than VERSE.
According to Webster, Verse is metrical writing distinguished from Poetry by its lower level of intensity and Poetry is metrical writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm.
You will note the complexity of the definition of Poetry compared to that for Verse. That reflects the fact that the label of Verse can be applied to any metrical writing while the label of Poetry is RESERVED for that which allows us to imaginatively take part in experience rather than merely telling us about it, (which is another way of saying that Poetry must strive for the Universal as opposed to the "strictly" personal), and which condenses and concentrates its meaning by saying the most possible in the fewest number of words.
I do want to make it clear, however, that there is nothing WRONG with writing “Verse” if that is what you are comfortable with. I simply believe that those who write should fully understand the distinctions between Poetry and Verse and be able to recognize where their efforts fall so that they can have realistic expectations as to what can be done with it,
Poetry is not merely an expression. It is a CRAFT. Saying that implies that it takes thought and careful planning to CONTROL it's final form, and that further implies that there are principles of CRAFTSMANSHIP that define how a Poem takes shape.
To begin with, A Poem must be written with a PURPOSE, whether is merely to describe something or analyze it or to express an emotional or intellectual response to experience.
It must be FOCUSED on a single subject and be bounded by UNITIES of Expression, Thought, and Image and must have a DENOUEMENT or OUTCOME that UNITES the whole. In the words of Robert Frost, it must "begin in delight and end in wisdom", and this is true whether the poem is of a "Romantic"/"Traditional: or "Metaphysical/Intellectual" nature.
Throughout history, Poetry has cycled every 100 to 150 years between that which is "Romantic"/"Traditional" and that which is "Metaphysical " or "Intellectual" and the current cycle in which we find ourselves is a "Metaphysical" one and has been in place since the passing of Frost, Eliot, and Yeats, who combined the two elements in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. (a feat which is unique in the annals of English Language Poetry).
All three of those Poets were essentially "Romantic" in their approach but each, in his own way, blended that "Romanticism" with "Intellectual" elements. Yeats did it through Symbology. Eliot did it through the use of Allusion, and Frost did it through metaphor which expanded personal experience into the realm of the UNIVERSAL. Regrettably, those who followed them ignored or misinterpreted the lessons they taught and the examples they set.
Romantic/Traditional Poetry is characterized by focusing on UNIVERSAL questions relating to Philosophy, History, Religion, Personal Interaction and all elements of Man's relationship to his world and to his understanding of "self". It uses PERSONAL EXPERIENCE simply as a takeoff point for relating to those Universal values and questions. It is generally characterized, (or has been), by regular meter and rhyme, often in strictly preset forms. (and it is that aspect more than any other that the Moderns have rebelled against and attempted to change in order to assert their own individuality).
Metaphysical/Intellectual Poetry, on the other hand, traditionally tried to focus on intellectual thought and draw it's images from The Sciences., (as seen in the Poetry of Donne, Marvell and others). In it's current manifestation, it has focused on creating a semblance of universality by using glorified images of the MUNDANE as they relate to direct PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, rather than searching for the universal in that experience, as the "Romantics" would do, (and in doing so they have rejected most classic forms and regular rhythms and have turned to free verse to separate themselves from the "Romantics"
More importantly, today’s poetry has generally tried to use a “slice of life” technique to substitute for the classical unities in defining a poem. This essentially amounts to taking a “snapshot” of action, emotion or thought at a point in time, and excluding all before or after, and depending on the imagery to bring a universal element to the overall meaning. If it’s used in conjunction with the unities, it can be reasonably effective. If it is not, it’s effectiveness as a unifying factor can be limited to those unities that it does embrace, and runs the risk of degenerating into “simple” verse.
In my opinion, the vast majority of “Poetry” that been has written and published in the last 75 years is, because of its lack of emphasis on meaning, likely to be looked upon as being “Verse” by future generations when the cycle turns again. Nonetheless, this has been the dominant form of “Poetry” in the Colleges and Publications during that period of time and that has meant that writers of “Romantic” Poetry have had and will have a difficult time finding publication in any journal or magazine that has the circulation and prestige to further one’s career until the situation changes.
******
I realize that there are a lot of elements covered here, (and a lot more, such as Figures of Speech, the differences between "Syllabic" and "Accentual Verse", the differences between "Free Verse", "Blank Verse" and "Formal" and "Traditional" Poetry, and the nature and function of Criticism, just for starters), but hopefully, this can serve as a starting point for further discussion on ALL those things.
Write On,
Jim Hoye, (JRH)
Last edited:
