What Is A Poem?
I could write a novel explaining what a poem is to me. The possibilites are vast. The poet gives the poem life in the way the words sustain it with a beat and pace all its own, unequalled in prose. A poem is. [PROSE]
===================
Poetry
I could write a novel
explaining what a poem is
to me.
The possibilites are vast.
The poet gives the poem life
in the way the words sustain it
with a beat and pace all its own,
unequalled in prose.
A poem is.
[POETRY]===================
Not a single word is different between the prose and poetry shown above. What then makes the second item a poem?
Technically, when I departed from the required rules and structure of prose, I MADE my words into a poem. I used language in a way that was not prose to make my poem come into existence.
Is it a good poem? NO! It is, indeed, a lousy poem. Its only claim to being poetry is that I used line breaks to emphasize word groupings.
You have to admit, however, that it reads differently than the prose even though the words are exactly the same. This is because the line breaks gave the words and phrases different emphasis.So, the absolute most basic definition of poetry can be: when words are used and structured in a manner apart from the requirements of prose.
Now, with a basic application of some poetic technique, let's transform this into a better poem.
A Poem Is
So vast in its potentialities,
I might write a novel
of its unimaginable intricacies,
of its departure from
prosaic rank and file,
word-art charged and transformed
with its own life-energy
given the right to dance
with its own beat, at its own pace,
in its own way
greeting many minds
living in hearts and souls.
Look at the difference a little poetic technique makes. I took the last sentence of the prose and made it the title and it flowed beautifully into the first line of the poem so that it is almost a pretext to it, which is one of the types of titles often used in poetry.
I took the concepts explained in the prose and spent some time mentally exploring them and thinking them through. Why could I write a novel about a poem? Because the possibilities are vast and extensive, the potentiality of a poem is incredible, almost unimaginable. A well crafted poem can be so intricate that multiple readings will not reveal all the goodies.
Prose is like a well arranged army in formation, marching to the cadence of the rules of prose, while poetry frees itself of this formation and dances (much more freedom) with its own beat and at its own pace in its own way and manner, uniquely structured or in free form, to capture a greater beauty than mere prose.
It's like the poet takes that rank and file prose army, separates it out, chooses particular members, and arranges groupings in the way he or she sees fit. The poet then choreographs its steps and paces, and sends it off to dance on its own, giving it its own rights and authorities and its own life.
I boiled down the thoughts and concepts of the prosaic logic and then put them together in a structure that developed itself out of the content and my heart's desire.
It is important to recognize that poetry uses poetic technique but the flow and compilation of it is from the heart. The poet must write from the heart.
As I formed the poem, I added some assonance with the short "i" sounds in line 3 (might write is actually an internal rhyme) and added the end rhyme of line 1 and 3 (potentialities / intricacies).
I added the long "a" sounds of line 4 (prosaic rank). Also, prosaic rank and file becomes an allusion of sorts to the rigors and conformed discipline of a marching army, though the word army is never used, so the metaphor (comparison) itself is implied.
Two lines later I capitalized on the army metaphor. Since rank and file implies conformity, I came out and overtly stated an opposite to conformity, that a poem is transformed.
Then lines 10, 11, and 12 are formed as a repetitive trio, giving them a unique rhythmic flow that stands out from the rest of the poem. Being short phrases ending in commas, they hold the poem back slightly in anticipation of the final lines: greeting many minds / living in hearts and souls.
As people read the poem it "greets" their mind. But as they think on it and read it again and again, it sinks deeper. Where a poem "lives" is in the hearts and souls of those who appreciate it, learn from it, grow by it, are empowered by it, entertained by it, enriched by it, or otherwise impacted.
By applying poetic technique and adorning the poem with some simple sound patterns, I transformed this poem from the conforming standards of simple prose to the wild liberty of poetic expression.
Now remember, these poetic techniques were not applied in some stuffy, calculating, methodical way. As the poet, I interacted with my material and began to form the poem by letting the words, thoughts, and ideas flow out of my heart. I then monopolized on the natural patterns present.
I have practiced these techniques often and they are a part of the repertoire of my heart, so as I interacted with my poem I naturally saw ways of tweaking certain words and phrases to add sound techniques, ways to use different words for better imagery, or ways to add new concepts that develop metaphors or add allusions, or ways to change the pace, beat, or flow.
As poets, all this comes out of our hearts. See why it is important for us to practice our craft? We read, observe, experience, and write, and write, and write. As we practice and discover techniques, they become part of our available arsenal of poetic tools, and they find their way into our poetry more and more as a natural flow out of our hearts.
As we begin to grow in certain techniques, they will often come out contrived, some of our rhymes will be forced, our metric beats will have stutters, our metaphors may seem hokey, or our allusions come off ostentatiously, or any other of a number of "amateurish" indicators.
So what? That is how we grow. I have scrapped so much of my early work in poetry, it would make most cringe. I have literally thrown away hundreds of poems. The few that survived out of my early years I have tweaked to remove the amateurish elements. The rest have survived as bits and pieces in new, better poetry.
We are poets, artists, we grow and get better at our craft with practice. Practice is born out of effort applied through time. That means, writing, writing, and more writing.
Okay, off the soap box and back to poetry, what it is. Considering our basic definition and adding the idea that poetry uses charged language that is given additional power by use of poetic technique and sound, here is what I believe to be a wonderfully open-ended, all-encompassing, basic definition of poetry:
poetry - words used and structured in a manner apart from the requirements of prose and charged with additional power by way of poetic technique and/or pleasing sound patterns
I wrote the above poem as an exercise just to illustrate the making of poetry and to explore a possible and plausible definition of it.
The poem may not be a great poem, and may never find itself into my portfolio, but it was good for illustrative and teaching purposes here today.
I hope you enjoyed it.
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