Posted by john on July 05, 2002 at 11:47:04:
In Reply to: free verse, structured poems..... posted by giveawayboy on July 05, 2002 at 09:13:23:
: The thing I dislike about free verse is mainly that there is no rhythm, and secondly that it tends to be like Punk music. It is so easy to get the structure right (because there is none) that many people think they can do it well, when the truth is very few people know the rules well enough to break them and make it work.
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: Free verse does not equal talent. But sometimes neither does rhyme and meter. You can write bad poems in either form.
You got that right. But again in my opinion it is just a sound thing. English is a very tonal language with intricate intonations and rhythms built in. Free verse ignores this. I like to hear these rhythms. I love to get lost in the long lilt of epic metered poetry. It has a trancing effect that can stir you in itself. Give me Coleridge, Poe, & Pushkin. The rhythm of the language coveys the scene like no mere word can. (Pushkin didn't even write in English, but I've found many similarities bewteen Russian and American literature. It's such a beautiful culture that we are cut off from.)