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Question: What do you think constitutes good poetry!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!?
By that I mean, what elements must be included, and why do you say what you do!? Should good poetry have figurative language!? In what ways, if any, is a poem enhanced by meter!? How do YOU form an aesthetic judgment about poetry, or prose for that matter!? Pray tell, I know you have an opinion!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Good poetry for me is something that grabs me!. Moves me!. That delights me by using words, phrases, sentences in unique ways!. I have read and listened to (and used) the English language for about 60 years! So now I seek poetry which has something new to say, and a unique way to say it!.
I love a set metre in a poem, too and rhyme!.!.!.!.sometimes it need only be a hint, a suggestion of both of these to satisfy me!. My first poetry book as a child was by Robert Louis Stevenson (A Child's Garden of Verse I think it was called), and my mother used to love quoting Kipling et al who used strict metre and rhyme (so there is no hope for me)!.
I have learned to love free verse - but, it must have something interesting to say, and use words which excite me!.
I also delight in seeing a craftsman at work - some-one whose store of words is infinite, whose knowledge of the art of poesy puts me to shame, and who whilst obeying the most archaic poetry rules still manages to say something meaningful (yourself)Www@QuestionHome@Com

If you are of a mind to write poetry then I believe that you must be try and create a picture so that the reader will also see the same picture!. The reader should be included in what the poet is attempting to portray!.
It does not matter one iota what style the poet uses so long as it makes sense to the reader!. They must be able to say "I can relate to that" or "I know just how they feel" or thoughts to that effect!.
The work must be of a type where the reader (most anyway) does not have to get out dictionaries and spend far to much time in finding out the meaning of far to many rarely used words!.(Though some readers relish such works)!. I think it could be referred to as stimulation!.

A poet friend of mine Oliver Thomas, once entitled a book of his poems "If it rhymes-it's poetry"!. I would say that if it is understood by the reader, even if some effort is called for then it is poetry, no matter its style!. What you are aiming for is the effect your words have on the reader!.

Some do like a challenge as does the poet when writing their work!. But for the most, even for readers who enjoy the chase so to speak must be able to catch their prey!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

My idea of Poetry of any form,
is the impact of words!.
Those that bring out emotion be it sad or happy!.
Feeling like that,which is being said,being able to imagine the place the scenery the warmth and being moved to the degree of those words however humbled
that they stay with you!. Always!.
That is my idea of Good, Poetry!. Www@QuestionHome@Com

Well, it's all been said above!. However, a good poem to me is something that tells a story or makes us think about a question in a stimulating way!. It should be clear whilst leaving us just enough room to interpret it in a personal way!. (I don't mean attach any meaning we like to it, but to see what the writer is saying from our own perspective!. That's why it's important for the writer to have something worth saying to begin with!.)

Off the top of my head, THE RAVEN by Poe is a goodie!. And if you've ever heard Basil Rathbone's performance of it you'd be blown away!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

An element of common truth I can identify with!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I just look for a poem that makes me see something differently or think about our world in a new way!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Very good “question” !. !. !.
I believe poetry is meant to be said and heard aloud, making sound and tone the most important element!. Therefore, word choice, syntax, line structure, and PUNCTUATION are the most essential techniques (and that doesn’t mean you can throw commas around wherever you please!. Improper comma use is improper comma use no matter where it’s used, and a fragment sentence is always a fragment sentence)!. As I was saying, those techniques create the rhythm and sound that should compliment the mood of the poem!. Just like music, each phoneme is a musical note set in a pattern!. Next would be content—what the poem says, and how it says it!. This is where figurative language needs to be applied to enhance or intensify the meaning, separating it from prose (not to say prose can’t be poetic)!. also, just like in prose, there needs to be clear imagery that stimulates, if not all, then at least several of, the senses, and; that can only be done through the use of concrete language!. All too often people get confused about what is abstract and what is concrete—as she entered the room / I smelled her perfume—are abstract images!. They don’t make me see any particular room, or smell any particular perfume!. My grandmother’s perfume smells like mothballs—a good poet wouldn’t let me smell those unless they intended me to!.

So as long as a poem sounds good and is clear in meaning (which can only be done by utilizing said techniques) the subject matter can be whatever the poet chooses, in whatever form, be it free verse or formal!.


Edit: Why is The Raven probably one of the most famous poems!? Because it has a killer soundtrack!.Www@QuestionHome@Com