Okay, so lately I have desired and have begun writing as much Poetry as possible. I have driven away, so to say from narrative a little bit and have gotten my hand deeply stuck into writing Poetry. Now, often when I write it, I write rhymes and don't even bother with Free Verse. But often, I have found my point to be better explained and bring more meaning while in Free Verse. So, I'm here to hear your opinions. As the title says, it's pretty simple: Free Verse or Rhymes?
It's not necessarily the rhyme I go for. Words can fit together without necessarily rhyming. But I do aim for a rhythm. To me, (and it's only opinion, not rule) poems should read like a song. There should be a flow to them, even without the rhyme. Obviously, everyone has their own thoughts as to how poetry sounds best. This is merely my preference, and what I strive for when writing it.
I think I understand what you're saying. I haven't written a free verse in quite some time, but IMO one of the deepest, most emotional poems I wrote was free verse. Personally, I like the rhythm created by a good rhyming poem, but removing the constraint of always having to rhyme can allow you to say exactly what you want and create a very powerful image. Obviously, you can do the same thing with a rhyming poem, but there are more constraints that come with rhyming that make it more difficult. I guess I'm in between. I say just write whatever your mood strikes you to write. It's going to be more fun for you if you mix it up from time to time.
What I wanted to say is that when writing in Rhyme, there is a pattern which gives a certain musical sound and you concentrate more on that sound than the words. Whereas in Free Verse, you read and hear the power of the words, not the musical component. For an example, I've read many Poems which rhymed and I was just touched by the musical sound. But, reading some of the most important books in Poetry, Dante's Divine Comedy, I felt the power of the Lines and the importance of the words, not the musical component. Any other thoughts?
As I mentioned in another thread, rhyming has gone out of fashion and is now mostly used for comedic purposes, though a few poets still tend to use internal rhyming. I don't write much poetry, but I find blank verse to be the easiest form of poetry to write.
The thing is I want to write and publish Free Verse Poetry/Want to write it for a special purpose and I need people to like it. Of course I know not everyone will like it but I want to know if I'll be able to grab someone's attention with Free Verse or does it have to rhyme for this purpose?
if it's good enough, it won't matter if it rhymes or not... i write to 'enlighten' not to entertain and i use both rhymed and unrhymed formats... both seem to work well enough... you can judge for yourself by browsing the 'philosetry' section of my website [linked below in my sig info]... love and hugs, maia
Well if you guys say that both work then thank you from the deepest reaches of my heart, now I know that I can write Free Verse without fear of it being good or not.
i hope you'll still work at making it be 'good' since anything one writes deserves to be the best the writer can manage, right? ;-)
With free verse, if you wish it to be considered as poetry instead of just random words and phrases thrown at a blank piece of paper, you should be prepared to answer, "What makes this poetry?" Poetry differs from prose in that the words are structured in some manner, and that part of the message is carried in the structure. This is true even in free verse. Even if you don't use rhyme. even if you don't follow a meter, there is some structure applied to the sequence of words. There is a plan. If anything, your task with free verse is harder, not easier, that with more obvious poetic forms, because you must define the structure that holds it together, instead of selecting one from well-understood structuring methods. Where you break lines, where you separate verses, these are tools you can use in free verse. Internal rhyme was previously mentioned, and it can place an emphasis on particular words and phrases. Alliteration and consonance are also word tools that can form relationships among the words. The use of imagery, particularly a set of metaphors with a common theme can add structure, So can well-chosen repetition, of individual rords or of word groupings. Free form poetry is not words without structure. It is words with a structure that the reader may need to look more closely to reveal it. Understanding that helps differentiate between hidden beauty and plain old crap.
But wait I thought the very definition of Free Verse is Poetry that is unrestricted by anything such as rhyme or following a meter? I mean of course some Literary Elements such as Alliteration, consonance and such can be used but in the very core of it Free Verse is supposed to be...well...free to say it simply.
Free verse is also used to justify calling crap poetry. Poetry does not mean any writing not formed into sentences and paragraphs. Some writing is neither prose nor poetry. A brain dump of random phrases and emotions is not, contrary to an all too common mind set, poetry. Such noise is often called free verse in an attempt to justify it as poetry. You don't need to look very far toi find examples of what I am referring to. And the authors of said verbal sludge will indignantly plant their feet and staunchly defend the artistic purity of their crap craft.
Wait so now I'm a bit confused what is your definition of Free Verse? I actually really want to hear this since it will help me in what I want to write right now so truly I need to hear your opinion.
Free verse is poetry not structured to a fixed metric pattern. Poetry is writing structured to a pattern other than to sentences and paragraphs. Why don't I mention rhyme in that definition? Because rhyming, as it is usually applied, is tied to placement of the rhyming words in a fixed position (usually at the ends of lines) relative to the metric structure. Also, free verse is not prevented from using rhyming as part of the structure. What is more important is what defines poetry. Poetry is not defined as all writing that isn't in the form of sentences anmd paragraphs. It is writing which has some structure other than sentences and paragraphs, and that the structure contributes to the meaning. Poetry is NOT just writing that isn't what is ordinarily called prose (which is also a word often misused, but that is off the topic.) In other words, it isn't the default for all writing which isn't "prose." A metric structure is a repeating pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in phrases (lines), where that pattern has a repetition rule between phrases. that pattern can be perturbed for effect, essentially like a skip step in a march. Alternating lines might switch between two metric patterns, and may be further embellished with rhyming patterns or word repetition schemes, etc. Free verse disposes with metric structure, but not with all structure. Some manner of structure is used to give the poem cohesion, but that structure is shaped by the poet instead of using a standard form. Words with no structure at all are not poetry. The challenge of free verse is to provide a structure that augments the meaning without falling back on a fixed metric pattern. In dance terms, it's all the difference between breaking and just thrashing about. Capisce?
Well I think I do but I have always thought of Free Verse to be a perfect way of expressing feelings/events without being restrained by the rhyming patterns or metric steps. That has always been Free Verse for me, and not once have I found a single Free Verse to be of babbling and furthermore idiotic sentences. But I am not saying it isn't present in the world and it is perhaps because I raised my hopes of Free Verse too high, starting with the most renowned Free Verse Poems History, namely Dante's Divine Comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost.
No offense, but you and every angsty lovesick or identity-challenged teen who has ever decided to bleed through a pen. Free verse is not dumping a bunch of emotions as random phrases to the page. Poetry is always work. Poetry is a distillation of thoughts to their essence, presented in a form that best illuminates that essence. The form IS an integral part of the message, the part that changes mere whine to fine wine. Poetry is perhaps the hardest form of writing to do well, and free verse is probably the hardest form of poetry to be worthy of the name. You want easy, write greeting cards.
I never said I wanted the easy way out. I do not care if I am like every teen, if I face the same feelings, but I enjoy reading, analyzing and writing Poetry. No matter how imperfect my first Poetry writing is, I know I will eventually learn the craft, be it a thousand writings later. So, trust me every criticism or critique means too much to me even, if nothing else I would like to experiment with Free Verse, see where it leads me and if nothing else perfect it with years. Once again thank you for the helpful critique and your opinion, I respect that much more than pointless words of how pretty something is
as a fairly full time poet who writes free verse, in addition to more structured poetic forms, i have to agree with cogito in toto... why don't you post an example of your work, yp, so we can see what you're referring to?
It's worth looking at other forms and trying to write them, because rhyming every other line is very hackneyed, and although it can still work it's more likely to come across as doggerel. Try writing Petrarchian sonnets (abba abba cde cde rhyming scheme in iambic pentameters); try writing sapphics (non-rhymed, strict syllable count and stress placing) and so on. Look at (and try writing) sprung rhythm. Try rhymed forms using half-rhyme instead. Try just reading the rhymed words in your rhymed poems -- those words are heavily foregrounded, so do they emphasise the meaning of your poem, subvert it, or are they irrelevant to it (in the latter case you are almost certainly writing doggerel). Look at how poets you like use assonance, look at whether the sound of the words is associated with the meaning of the words, try writing blank verse in different meters, all before trying free verse. It's not that those things are better than free verse, it's just that those are the sort of exercises you'll have to do to get good enough at the craft to write decent poetry whatever form you end up using.
You are not restrained by fixed rhyming patterns or metric "steps", but you are restrained by the universal rule of creative writing that it has to be good. What makes free verse "good" is subtle and difficult to achieve -- it's probably the hardest poetry form to succeed at, although it's probably the most frequently attempted because people think "no rules" makes it easy. No: "no rules" means you are really on your own trying to find a way to make it work, and that means that it's only for those who are really good at inventing their own forms and structures.
Well can you guys at least give me advise on the excerpt I posted, it's not the whole thing but I would like to know what other people think.
I think it has to be posted in the review topics for that, and has to comply with the submission rules for those topics.
