by Rosemary Redfern

Created on: June 04, 2009   Last Updated: June 06, 2009

Poetry is a sadly misunderstood art. Like all good writing it needs to engage the emotions and resonate with the reader. It needs imagination and considerable thought to express the feelings of the heart. Even when the reader has not shared the experience described, the understanding should be there and it is this communication which is relevant.

The mind / brain part becomes important in the way the emotions and feelings are expressed. A string of words, broken into lines randomly, is not poetry but merely a strangely presented form of prose. At the same time prose can be poetic.

Poetry has structure, shape and form. It follows rules. It requires thought and organization. When this is done skillfully the mechanics are not visible and can deceive the uninitiated into believing that it is a simple and fortunate juxtaposition of words. When it is done badly it jars. In Shakespeare's poetry the listener is not aware of the carefully structured foundation to his work. Stephen Fry in his 'The Ode less Travelled' offers ideas on how the systems work. Playing with the rhythms of words, to create a pleasing pattern which expresses what is felt, is engaging and both frustrating and satisfying. It requires an ear to hear the music of the words. Like music is does not have to be melodic but can be discordant to make the point. The need to keep to the style chosen can also raise some unexpected successes as the thoughts struggle to maintain the pattern and find the exact word. Like all things done well it looks easy.

The discipline of poetry like Haiku, can say briefly and with impact what would take pages of prose to describe. Often it describes the essence of something and like those pictures where the drawing is not complete but the brain fills in the gaps, so poetry leaves the listener or reader to complete the picture from their own experience. Poetry often contains those grains of truth, which like in personal experience, are sometimes hard to pin down and express. There is a a feeling of 'of course'. This only comes with the brain fully engaged.

Sometimes the poetic demand creates a mixing of words to make a sonorous effect which completes the feeling of the words. 'Alfred, Lord Tennyson in The Princess, Come Down O Maid, has two lines, 'The murmuring of innumerable bees' and 'The Moan of doves in immemorial elms'. This is not an accidental assembly of words but a carefully constructed organization.

Writing good poetry is a skillful and thought provoking exercise.

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