Hello all! As you guys may know I've been posting some of my poems on the workshop over the past couple of weeks, and it was brought to my attention that the most recent poem I put up there was metrically imperfect. My question is this: does a poem always have to use meter? @OJB pointed out that a poem that uses end rhyme (such as the one I posted on the workshop) has to have meter, but what about one that doesn't use end rhyme? As you can probably see I'm quite inexperienced at poetry, but I'm working on getting better, so any input is welcome!
No. Free Verse means a poem 'Free' of End Rhyme and Meter. This part gets a lot of people. Blank Verse (Iambic Pentameter) has a TON of leeway. Let me give you an example. From Jay Macpherson's 'The Third Eye' Fading /so fast! Ah love, /its light /is done. (Trochee/Iamb/Iamb/Iamb/Iamb). This is 100% correct despite the Trochee opening as a Trochee opening is a Characteristic of Blank Verse. Blank verse doesn't mean every foot in the whole poem has to be an Iamb, it means that the majority of the feet (at least 60% of the feet) has to be Iambic. Yes because of two important reasons. 1. The definition of a rhyme, in English, is two STRESSED-similar sounding syllables. This is why you can't Rhyme the word 'Sing' with a word that has a -ing ending (example: Standing.) When poets do this it is called a broken Rhyme and is often used for Rhetorical effects (like a piece of Rhyming dialogue where the character is lying.) 2. One of the facets that give end-Rhyme its power is syllable spacing. French and Italian are very Rhyme friendly and a lot of their formal poetry is syllabic (meaning they focus purely on the syllable count, not the Syllabic-stress count like English) In fact, I believe it was the Italians that first created the concept of end Rhyme; however, Italian is not a stressed-based language like English, so they have their own rules. A lot Americans think of Dr. Suess when it comes to Rhyme, but all of his works are written in Meter (Anapest I believe was his favorite form of meter.) - Bob, I suggest Imagery as a starting point for new poets as they are easy to do. Concrete nouns + active Verbs. A very basic one: The dog barked. A more complex one: Each strike cracked bones and blistered its skin purple. - Now when you write a poem using images, I suggest you make sure all the images have a connecting theme. Like most of my poems/writing uses different insects and light sources as the imagery basis.
Yes, this does seem to be the easiest way to begin writing poetry. I personally enjoy poems that are very descriptive and story driven, but I also like poems that are symbolic and have hidden/double meanings. Maybe I could write a poem that uses imagery, but also has a more meaningful message beneath the surface?
This is called Subtext and is not an easy thing to teach. Charles Baxter has an essay called 'Subtext' on the subject. While aimed at prose, he does have one chapter that discusses a poem.
A poem certainly doesn't have to stick to a rigid framework. That said poetry generally sets a tone and mood by the sibilance of words used, they way the words link, and contrast of consonants, etc.,. It is very much worth your while perfecting how to adhere to a set meter because you'll learn subtle things about the way words play out. My own understanding of all the terminology is limited. Just play around! I used to write pages and pages of "poetic" stuff when I was teen. It certainly helped me grasp the general rhythm of writing.
