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Poetry, Verse, and Prose
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From: Richard Gappa <gappa.rich>
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2003 20:15:46 -0500
Hello all,
Ginny recently asked "What do some of the teachers and librarians among us say when someone asks just exactly what causes a certain narrative to be poetry? Why is it poetry? Short lines? A subtitle announcing that this is really poetry, and not a wonderfully expressed prose narrative? "
This strikes at the heart of this month's discussion. A great deal of confusion and disagreement exists , I feel, because of the traditional assumption that views poetry as being that which is not written in prose. Poetry should not be confused with formality. Verse is always dependent on form; poetry on qualitative language. The poets who have been admired through the ages have always described poetry (not defined it-which is to
"fence in") in subjective terms;when they write about poetry they don't mention form, but rather seem to focus on the personal and qualitative side of language. Verse forms, in contrast to poetry, are always objective and universal. I can teach anyone to write the various forms of the sonnet. I cannot, however, teach anyone to write poetry. Poetry is personal and subjective. What is poetry for one person may not be poetry for another.Wordsworth described it as"the spontaneous overflowing of powerful emotions recollected in tranquility." Pretty subjective. Hopkins called it
'language charged with meaning that will lash out and shock one'. Pope-"what 'oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed." Etc., etc. Both verse and prose are forms of writing that are objective and teachable. We would be better served in the schools to use the word "poetry" sparingly. I suspect too often teachers and publishers equate verse and poetry. Therein lies the problem. This is not to say that poetry cannot exist in verse forms. Of course it can, and often does; but it can, and often does, exist in prose as well. If we would think about (and teach) the dichotomy of verse and prose rather than poetry and prose there would be considerably less confusion about the subject.
Peace,
Richard Gappa gappa.rich. at uwlax.edu
Received on Mon 07 Apr 2003 08:15:46 PM CDT
Date: Mon, 07 Apr 2003 20:15:46 -0500
Hello all,
Ginny recently asked "What do some of the teachers and librarians among us say when someone asks just exactly what causes a certain narrative to be poetry? Why is it poetry? Short lines? A subtitle announcing that this is really poetry, and not a wonderfully expressed prose narrative? "
This strikes at the heart of this month's discussion. A great deal of confusion and disagreement exists , I feel, because of the traditional assumption that views poetry as being that which is not written in prose. Poetry should not be confused with formality. Verse is always dependent on form; poetry on qualitative language. The poets who have been admired through the ages have always described poetry (not defined it-which is to
"fence in") in subjective terms;when they write about poetry they don't mention form, but rather seem to focus on the personal and qualitative side of language. Verse forms, in contrast to poetry, are always objective and universal. I can teach anyone to write the various forms of the sonnet. I cannot, however, teach anyone to write poetry. Poetry is personal and subjective. What is poetry for one person may not be poetry for another.Wordsworth described it as"the spontaneous overflowing of powerful emotions recollected in tranquility." Pretty subjective. Hopkins called it
'language charged with meaning that will lash out and shock one'. Pope-"what 'oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed." Etc., etc. Both verse and prose are forms of writing that are objective and teachable. We would be better served in the schools to use the word "poetry" sparingly. I suspect too often teachers and publishers equate verse and poetry. Therein lies the problem. This is not to say that poetry cannot exist in verse forms. Of course it can, and often does; but it can, and often does, exist in prose as well. If we would think about (and teach) the dichotomy of verse and prose rather than poetry and prose there would be considerably less confusion about the subject.
Peace,
Richard Gappa gappa.rich. at uwlax.edu
Received on Mon 07 Apr 2003 08:15:46 PM CDT
