Good
Poetry and Bad
Just
as we evaluate quality in a car, a work of art, or
a piece of clothing, we also can evaluate quality
in poetry. Some poems are great. They
last through generations, through centuries and
speak to the heart of readers. What makes a
poem good? What makes a poem bad? Invariably students who place strict quality
criteria on just about everything else in their
lives will balk at placing quality criteria on
poems. Students want to think that a poem is
good just because it is a poem. Not
true. Look at the questions below. A
writer does not just write a poem for money or
even for fame. A poem is an expression of
deepest emotion from the heart and from the
soul. The writer write his/her
poem for a reason and whatever reason the
poet has, it matters more to him/her
than anything else in the world at that
point. So that brings us to the following
questions when we evaluate a poem.
What
is the purpose of the poem?
Does the author achieve his/her purpose? Usually the more important the
purpose is, the better the poem is.
A
good poem has:
No
excess words
No
words that do not contribute to the total
meaning.
No
inexact words.
The
word order is best for expressing the author's
total meaning.
The
diction, images, and figures of speech are
fresh, not trite.
No
clashes between the sound of the poem and its
sense or its form and content.
Sound
and pattern are used to support the poet's
meaning.
Organization
is the best possible; images and ideas are
effectively arranged.
The
poem must be in some way a "new"
poem; it must exact a fresh response.
The
poem must not be overly sentimental, indulging
in emotion for its own sake or
"tear-jerking."
It
must not deal too much in generalities.
It
must not teach its lesson at the expense of
the poem itself.
It
must not sacrifice meaning for rhythm or
rhyme.
--Perrine's
Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense (1992)
As
an English teacher I probably should not phrase
anything the way that I am about to phrase the
next statement, but a good poem passes the
"cheese factor." A good poem
doesn't sound cheesy. It never is so
saccharine sweet that the reader feels the need
for a shot of insulin to bring himself back to
metabolic balance.
How
should you read poetry?
1.
Read the poem more than once. In fact read it seven to ten times.
2.
Keep a dictionary by you and then use it.
3.
Read it so as to hear the sounds of the
words in your mind.
4.
Read the poem slowly.
5.
Read the poem aloud.
6.
Pay careful attention to what the poem is
saying. Think about when the poem
was written. Who wrote the poem? When
did the poet live? What was going on in the
world when the writer wrote the poem?
7.
Read a poem affectionately but not
affected. Read it with
expression. Keep in mind the writer's tone.
8.
Read the poem as it is punctuated. Do not read it line-by-line.
Poetry
is:
-
A
universal language
-
A
form of literature that gives enjoyment
-
Difficult
to define
-
A
language of experience
-
Literature
that steps up the intensity of our
experience
-
Literature
that synthesizes experience
-
The
most condensed and concentrated form of
literature
-
Literature
that requires skill on the part of the
reader to enjoy and experience
-
Incandescent,
giving off both light and heat
-
Multidimensional--dealing
with intelligence, senses, emotions, and
imagination
-
Literature
that draws on more resources such as
allusion,
metaphor, imagery, rhythm, etc.
-
Meant
to arouse, shock make one feel more alive
Poetry
is not: