What do you think makes a poem good?

Question

The majority of posts in the poetry section seem to be requests for opinions on poems. I am curious to know what you think makes a poem good. Do you look for particular themes, vivid imagery, depth of intellectual exploration, adherence to form, cleverness, grammatical correctness, and/or something else? (If you want to go so far as to say what makes a poem great, that could be fun too.)

I am not looking for a particular "right" answer here. Just tell me what you think, and why.

Answer 1

Mostly, good poets let us look at old things in new ways, encourage us, or inspire us.
Good poetry uses good imagery, diction, a good flow of words, and unusual phrasing. No cliches, unless ironically.
When we read a very fine poet, we should be feeling a tingle all over.
Of course it should be enjoyable to read, and not so abstruse that no one can understand it but not so simple that the mind isn't challenged.

Answer 2

The most important thing to me is that there was a reason to write the poem in the first place, some universal truth, a unique perspective, or even a good joke. Something about the poem should surprise the reader. So many poems read as though the poet decided to write a poem and just put it together line by line, feeling the way in the dark.

I also look for the impact of the last line, a twist or a surprise that makes me sit up and take notice. I look at the structure, too, and how the mood and direction of the poem is enhanced by the sound of it. You haven't really read a poem until you have read it out loud, in my opinion.

I like to encourage poets to keep writing, so I focus more on what works than what doesn't in this forum, while still urging them to critique and revise their poems several times over rather than just coming to the end and calling it good. Revise, revise, revise. There is no written art form that requires more work per word than poetry.

I would love to see more humor in the work posted here. We see dark works along with the flowery and syrupy, but some seem to think that poetry is about love and pain. It can be, but the whole range of human feelings and thoughts are fodder for verse. One of the cleverest works I have critiqued here was a joke told mostly with numbers. Delightful surprise! Of course, since I am only an occasional visitor here, there is probably some wonderful doggerel that I've missed entirely.

So keep posting everyone, and please don't be upset if I skip yours over. Love to all.

Answer 3

A truly worthwhile poem combines two major elements: passion and originality.
To the first, a poem without a heart and a soul is hardly worth writing or reading. The reader should be longing for more by the time the poem is finished, rellishing the indepth experience that they have just indulged in. Have a great topic and a lot of feelings about it so that you are actually composing poetry and not just forming a husk.
To the second, a poem should be original both in its material and its style. The experimentalists are the true artists; those who are willing to stretch the "rules" and boundaries of poetry are those who find most success.

Answer 4

First, poems with errors (spelling, grammar, punctuation) aren't even worth evaluating. Why should I read something once that the author didn't even bother to read twice?

Then, there are the more subjective qualities (form, meter, rhyme, metaphor, conciseness ...). Now, everyone isn't going to agree on how these elements should be used, but at the very least, I should be able to tell that the author put some thought into them.

The most important element of a poem (to me) is voice. If I can't hear you reading your poem to me in a way that's natural and elegant, you haven't succeeded in making me feel what you want me to feel. The sound of the words should do as much for me as the meaning of the words. If it's a casual sentiment, use a casual voice. If you're nervous, sound nervous. Be natural.

Answer 5

Personally I like shorter poems. I like it when it is broken down into short lines instead of running paragraphs. It also helps if I can understand it! I've read old poems that use Old English and I hate them because I have to dissect them in order to know what they are talking about and it's frustrating. I think that is also helps if the reader is interested in the subject or can relate to what the poem is about.

Answer 6

i like short poems where every word choice counts. i like it when there's something barely veiled that you have to uncover, but when you find it, you can connect to it. maybe a particular feeling, or a memory that you can relate to. i also love imagery and metaphors, i think they really make a good poem different from the others.

and thankyou for a different type of question. i was getting tired of just editing people's poems.

Answer 7

What makes a poem good to me is
"Feeling' in the verses.
I wrote some poetry after my husband died, it was
from my heart. Most people that read them cried.
That's what I like, poems with real feeling.

Answer 8

I look for:

Precise word choices

Interesting Observations and Evocative Images

Nice flow when reading out loud

If it rhymes (I don't want to notice it).

I want the poem to end strongly.

I want to be emotionally moved or intellectually engaged.

That's mostly what I think makes a poem good.

Answer 9

More and more I've come to like poems for the way they play with sound and language more than the ideas or anything like that. I think we've lost the sense of what made poems likable in the first place - their playful aspect.

Answer 10

i think to make a poem good it has to have a poet that has a lot of passion. a poem without a good poet who does not care about the poem is not a good poem it is just a poem that no one will ever care about.