So I was looking around and saw some...?

Question

People saying that some good(ish) poems weren't poems at all. I'm not going to name names, but if anybody could define poems that would be great.

Thanks.

My poem is the
"Your Opinion" question.
Check it out and tell me what you think.
And if it's an actual poem or not.

Answer 1

Poetry is condensed thought. It doesn't have to rhyme, and it doesn't have to follow the traditional forms, but it should not be prose either. Too many people just write down a bunch of stuff off the top of their heads, and rather than edit it, or give it some kind of structure, they just label it "Poetry!"

Poetry should invoke some kind of feeling that translates from the creator to the reader. The reader will almost always get a different meaning than the creator was thinking of when writing the poem. When thought is condensed, what you get out of it depends on what you reconstitute it with. We add our own life experiences, conceits, and predispositions to a poem when we read it, but something of the essence remains and stays with us.

I had a little fun looking this up on the net after I answered this. These are some of the more interesting results I came up with. You can do the same by putting the words "What is Poetry" into a good search engine, like - - - yahoo!

You can also ask
What is Free Verse Poetry?
What is Haiku?
What is classic Poetry?
What is Bad Poetry?
What are Poetic Forms?

There are so many questions, excellent topic, thanks for bringing it up.

Answer 2

Others have already given you some good information, so I will not try to improve upon that.

Besides, I am not really a poet so all I could do is quote from the poetry book we used in my college English class. It is "Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry" by Laurence Perrine. If you should happen to read it, you would find not only some excellent definitions but also a lot of terrific poetry (and examples of some not so great). I have quoted various portions of it in my replies to others.

Thanks for sharing your question with us! Others, too, may benefit from the responses you get.
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Answer 3

A poem is anything, people can't judge other people on that. It's what you feel and what you think. I write poems about how I feel or how I've felt, just to get the message across that nobodies life is perfect.

You can't define a poem at all, so don't listen to those idiots who think you can, you can't. Just listen to your soul and heart and your poem will be heard is what I say...WHAT?! I'm only 11!

Answer 4

I see/hear poetry in all types of written or spoken words, including lyrics to songs. Do not let others get you down if they give ignorant opinions, but treasure those - no matter how critical - from others who sincerely take the time to give you their thoughts.

Answer 5

here is how wikipedia defines it
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poem