So what's the big deal about poetry? anyone can throw a bunch of words together & call it poetry!!!?

Question

Just how is poetry judged? I entered a poetry contest with something I just put down at random & they accepted it!! now come on, folks....you poetry people, how is poetry judged? I know there are different types, etc...but it seems to be so much junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 1

It was simply accepted...
or you won the contest?
To be honest I would probably have to read your poem to see the possibilities of why it was chosen to win ..(if that is the case).
but what I can tell you, is that poetry is subjective and relative...
as is art....
it is a personal opinion which judges
Besides structure, there is no way to measure it's quality...
only one's eye does that and and each one of us has eyes
Perhaps to you,
it was just accidental words,
but to someone else,
those words perhaps, conjured an image which provoked emotion and stimulated thought.....

Answer 2

Poetry is judged by your peers and those who strive to be normal in a world that makes no connection to the different levels of man kind and the poet see things that many others could not even begin to see nor understand. Ti's true that many except that which is made but can not be bought and in the end are you more famous then when you first began or do you feel you gave to the world that which no other could of nor would have given freely without justification except to say I was here but now I'm gone I left this message to carry on. Poetry is judged according to the people who either read it or write it or simply enjoy it in all it's different forms. Just because you wrote a bunch of words and felt you didn't deserve the recognition doesn't mean your words were worthless. You may be a poet and just don't know it.Just because the package is small and ugly doesn't make it less valuable in the end. Basicly it all boils down to differnt folks judge poetry differently. There are no rules and there are no lines it all depends upon your mind or the line. I met a poet who writes only one liners and he is famous accross this land he wrote"I had a bag of apples and I gave them all away!" You need to get out more and seek the poets coffee houses and hang outs There you will find knowledge and true understanding of this wonderful craft.Just so you know at one time the world use to lock Poet's up because they once thought they were all crazy and today we call them drug addicts and alcohols or basicly trash but it doesn't make them any more or any less who and what they are. They are simply different and live by their own rules.

Answer 3

I'm not much into poetry, but I think it's an outlet of expression for people. And expression is art. That's why it's a big deal. Some of the words to your favorite songs most likely weren't a bunch of words people threw together. It's a craft that takes time, emotion, structure and development.

Now if your careless poetry was accepted into a contest, you either A) have a knack with words, or B) the judges are pretentious morons.

Answer 4

I suggest you research things like poetic form and poetic meter. These are things which make a poem a poem and not just a bunch of random words. And no, not anyone can do it. The fact that there's a lot of hideous, self-indulgent garbage out there that people call poetry makes my Romantics-specialist hackles rise.

ETA, after looking at the other answers: Poetry is much much more than a form of self-expression. There's a wonderful article on that very issue here, which calls out the garbage poetry and gives examples of what the good stuff is: http://englishhistory.net/byron/marilee.html

Answer 5

I don't know much about poetry and even less about how professionals judge it but I judge it by how or even if it makes me "feel". To me poetry is all about emotion. Logic has no place in it. People can analyze a poem to find out it's meaning but when they do that they lose what poetry is all about. Everyone is going to have their own ideas about the meaning of a poem. Don't think about it, just feel it.

Answer 6

You have some good answers already, so I'm not going to try to compete with them. What you entered sounds like some sort of scam.

I recently compiled and edited a poetry book and there were over a thousand entries. My co-editor and I only chose 60. The book is called "Eyes Of The Poet: Love and Passion in Lasting Splendor." I only mention this because not everything involving poetry is a scam.

Answer 7

If the poetry contest you entered is poetry.com, they accepted you because they accept basically everyone. It's so you buy their book. It doesn't mean they liked your poetry; they probably didn't even read it.

People can just throw a bunch of words together, but its definitely not poetry unless you believe in what you're writing... And even then, most of it isn't poetry. You need to have soul, and intellect, and a vision. You can tell when I persons soul is't in their writing.

Answer 8

Were you accepted at poetry.com or one of its clones? I don't mean to insult you but any reputable poetry publisher wouldn't accept "something you just put down at random"/ I'm willing to bet that the contest that accepted your poem is listed at the website "Predators and Editors". Vanity publishers such as poetry.com and similar publishers accept over 95% of submissions wheras those listed in Poet's Market accept 5 to 10 %. Your attitude irritates me as does some of the drivel that is posted here and called poetry. Writing poetry is hard work and requires commitment-it isn't something you just write down without thought and try to pass off as a poem.

Answer 9

The meaning behind it is all that matters. Poetry is written to express yourself in writing most importantly. Use of techniques or poetic styles really depends on the writer coz ultimately good poets write for themselves, and out of the love of poetry, not for an audience like Hollywood movies. And trust me poetry lovers will know if they see a good one.

Maybe for u, it all depends on the expectations and standards of the contest. For your case something tells me its not a professional contest. More like school or college level. Or maybe you do write well. You can show it to us!

Answer 10

anyone will say your poetry is good when you are paying to enter a contest, geez can you say sucker?
and no not everyone can throw words on a paper and call it poetry it takes some talent