• With that we venture onto one of the last elements we will discuss:  sound.   I cannot stress how important sound is to the poet.  Your book talks about it, but let's experience it.  Go to

    http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/poetry/antholog/aaindx.htm

    and choose two poems.  Read the poems before listening to them.  Then listen as the poet reads. Repeat this as many times as you would like.   Does the poem's meaning change?  Does the sound echo the sense of the poem?  If it does, the poem has a better chance of withstanding the winds of time.  The reason poetry from the past stays with us is because of the craft, not the sentiment.

     

    Timeless vs Melodramatic Language

    Okay, I admit it I am prone to the melodramatic.  Here are a couple of my famous lines:

    "The sea was seized with sadness"

    or

    "How well I know this body,
    each raw curve, each withered line
    this mouth which has known a thousand kisses
    these arms with their withered scars."

    Would you say just a bit overdone? I hope so because they really do show what melodramatic verse is.  That's not to say there isn't a vitality here or a play of language; however, these lines try too hard.  Writing like this pushes people away, as it attempts to force itself on readers, and when it does so, it is almost comedic, which of course is not its intent. 

    Facing up to your own predilections early on will help on your journey. Of course that doesn't mean you will stop it, only that you are aware of it.  I know I'm prone to overstating, being overly dramatic, so after I finish writing a poem.   I check myself. Usually I catch those places, though not always.

    		Other predilections writers should avoid;
    		being cute,
    sounding as if you are working for Hallmark,
    forced rhyme,
    cliches' -- if it's been said before, forget it
    mixed metaphors
    overwriting
    misspelling
    easy endings
    weird line breaks
    CAPITILIZING various words for no reason,
    not capitalizing any word,
    weird punctuation
    no punctuation
    peppering the poem with abstractions
    archaic language...thee and thou
    using expository language, i.e., there are three types of...
    sloppy word usage
    using words that don't echo the sense of the poem
    and finally, not understanding how sound and meaning work.
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    Last revised: November 19, 2009 by Jan Strever -- jstrever@scc.spokane.edu
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