What makes a good/bad poem?

Question

could you explain the terms used in your answer, someone told me I used too many abstract nouns once and I had no idea what they were. (damn wannabe). Also any recommendations on poetry magz, in the uk, which accept first time (wannabe) poets would be nice.

Answer 1

If all the world's a stage, go on about the stage, not the world.

Answer 2

good poem (to me):
difficult without being garble
meaningful - addresses one's soul issues
a considered impersonality
rigorously intuitive - so very different it should be.

bad poem (to me):
love poems aren't for me,
nor angsty poems,
nor the straightforward,
though all efforts are sacred.

Answer 3

Abstract words are words that aren't sensory (can't experience them with your five senses).

Words like pain, love, hate, guilt. These are all concepts that we understand, but without concrete imagery they will mean something different to every person. Pain could be a toothache, a burn from a curling iron, a gunshot wound. All of those examples are concrete and direct the reader. If someone said a poem was too abstract they were saying there was nothing for them to latch onto. A few abstract words can be fine too many make the poem vague.

Bob is angry is not very compelling.

Bob punches a hole in the wall until his knuckles bleed is more concrete.

I don't know if that helps any...I hope it does.

Answer 4

a good poem tells you something you didn't already know. sometimes it may point out a fact that you had not previously noticed. when tennyson mentioned black ash-buds in 'the gardener's daughter' many mid-victorians (one of the first generations to grow up predominantly in cities) were amazed that a bud could be black. lucretius by contrast actually introduces new and exciting ideas in his poem (though he uses a lot of vivid imagery too).

a really good poem tells you something you didn't already know, and might never have found out without the poem's showing you. (try reading ezra pound's 'liu ch'e').

the best sort of poem tells you something you didn't already know, and probably don't want to know - but that you in some way need to know.

geoffrey hill's 'september song' is such a poem.

....

the best way to get your work published is to find out any local writers' groups where you are, and join one. writers who have already established at least a local reputation for themselves will know which are the important regional literary magazines in your area, and will also be able to help you tailor your own writing to the local expectations. a writers group may also be able to clue you in on local poetry readings (performing at a poetry reading is the best way to establish a reputation, and one of the best ways to improve your poetry).

once you have a usable local reputation you should find out about the national poetry society, and perhaps begin to submit your work to national magazines (you will find out which magazines suit your style by lurking around the nps website).

Answer 5

To me a good poem, is a small glimpse into another way of thinking. If the reader is able to feel the words, and relate to the overall meaning, than the poem becomes something worthwhile. Poetry is meant to inspire, and awaken unexplored feelings, that is why its so incredible.

Answer 6

The only important thing to making a good poem is "emotion."

You have to induce it in the reader. If they are moved by your lines, they take the poem as their own. They memorize it and share it with their friends.

If it induces no emoition they read it and tell you, "yea, I liked it" and move along.

You can listen to all sorts of experts and they will tell you rhyme/don't rhyme, structure/free flow.... Write the way you feel but try to read it out loud and see if you can make sense of it. It should flow when you are reading it out loud. If it's jerky and hard to speak, then it won't read well either.


Follow your heart.



g-day!

Answer 7

I always think of poetry as painting with words.
I know people like their poems to rhyme but many many popular poems which people think rhyme don't in fact.
Too much paint can ruin a painting too many words can sometimes ruin a promising poem.
But to be honest its all about opinion and taste.

Answer 8

fiddy would say use expletives lol

id say dont be too obvious, use good imagery, and go easy on the forced end rhyme

oh, and try to have a theme linking it all together - use short lines for emphasis, etc

"charge of the light brigade" is a great example of how the line breaks and poem structure mirror the feeling of the events described in the poem

Answer 9

All you need to write a good poem is harmony in your chosen words. No one can say for sure if the poem is good or not but the poet who wrote it.

Answer 10

Some poems may seem confusing and yet are actually profound in their meaning. Those are the good ones. Simple ones are nice, too.

But some poems don't make any sense at all.

Answer 11

for me a good poem encompasses some semblance of creativity and originality and expresses a sincere and passionate emotion or moment in ones life!!a bad poem is perhaps much of the poetry put on this site!monosyllabic,teen angst,rat,cat bat type of thing!!