Honestly, though there is not a literary device that cannot be done poorly, and I'll take a good rhyming poem over shit prose masquerading as free verse any day
You've hit the nail on the head! As I mentioned in my reply to Carole above, my piece was written tongue-in-cheek - a satirical take on *bad* rhyming techniques, not rhyming poetry as a form.
You're absolutely right that any literary device can be done poorly, and I completely agree that a skillful rhyming poem beats lazy free verse every day of the week. The worst rhyming poetry and the worst free verse are both pretty painful, but at least bad rhyming poetry usually took some effort!
My satirical rant was really about those cringe-worthy technical mistakes that make rhyming poetry feel amateurish - not about the legitimate craft of formal verse. Thanks for getting the spirit of what I was after!
Well, I guess you are a genius and I’m a complete failure. I like rhyming and I often think in rhymes. I also think in tunes. I guess that is just stupid, and I should give up. Thanks for your advice. I think writing free verse can be wonderful, and sometimes I write that way, but I perceive a lot of free verse as lazy, self-absorbed, cryptic and boring, more like a diary or random observations about really mundane stuff. Even critically acclaimed poets write crap! So before you go criticizing rhymes, let’s see you write a good one. It’s actually more difficult, I believe. I will continue to write rhymes if I feel like it, and fortunately I am not entering any contests in the near future (although the couple of contests I did enter, I got prizes for rhymes and not prose). All poetry is good, but it’s a matter of personal preference. Take it from a dunce!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond to my piece! I really appreciate your engagement and your thoughtful comments about rhyming poetry.
I think there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding about the tone of my article - it was written entirely tongue-in-cheek as a humorous critique of *bad* rhyming techniques, not rhyming poetry itself. I'm actually a professional poet who writes and earns my living from poetry, including quite a bit of formal rhyming work like sonnets and villanelles. I have tremendous respect for skillful rhyme and the craft it requires.
You're absolutely right that good rhyming is more difficult than it appears - it requires real technical skill to make rhymes feel natural and inevitable rather than forced. The fact that you've won prizes for your rhyming work speaks to your ability in this area, and I'd never suggest that anyone who enjoys writing in rhyme should give it up.
My piece was really aimed at some of the common pitfalls that can make rhyming poetry feel clunky or amateurish (like the forced inversions or overused rhyme pairs I mentioned), not at rhyming as a legitimate poetic form. Some of the greatest poetry in English has been rhymed, and I completely agree with you that it's often more challenging than free verse.
I also appreciate your point about free verse sometimes being "lazy, self-absorbed, cryptic and boring" - there's certainly plenty of mediocre poetry in every form, rhymed and unrhymed alike.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, and please don't let my satirical tone discourage you from continuing to write in the forms that speak to you. The poetry world needs more skilled practitioners of formal verse!
And oh, Poetry Genius alludes to the genius of poetry itself, rather than the author.
Thank you, Tom, for your thoughtful and kind response. I think I was just in a mood 🤨. Unlike you, I am not a professional poet, and I have a day job in medicine where I generate boring prose in factual reports all day. Poetry is relatively new to me, but I’ve consumed a lot of it lately and I have found that I really like to dabble in it, although I don’t know the exact reason. I have a music background and formerly a church background, so I feel most comfortable with structure and the poetry of hymns and other sacred music, which do contain rhyme a great deal of the time, so maybe that has influenced me. I just think in rhymes, although not always. I recognize the sing-song, sentimental mushy poetry of Hallmark cards and a lot of popular songs, and I try not to do that much. I also don’t try to be confusing, cryptic or snobbish with obscure references or use vocabulary words not found in normal speech. I know I like words, and although I don’t always know how to use them to best advantage, I keep trying. So, forgive me for sounding crabby!
I do think that poetry should not be a chore to read, and I believe there would be more people out there reading it if it were more approachable and not so esoteric. Everyone has their own style, and many styles, just like any art, can be appealing. Some, of course, are not.
I tend to be over-serious (and there will be a poem about that one of these days), so I don’t always get satire, although I like it very much. I will take your other advice seriously, though. Thanks for responding and not just blocking me!
Thanks Carole. Amongst other outlets, I ghost-write poetry teaching courses for schools and colleges, and always stress that there are no "experts" in the decision of what's good poetry. If a person reads and likes a poem, then that poem is good regardless of what anyone else thinks.
Honestly, though there is not a literary device that cannot be done poorly, and I'll take a good rhyming poem over shit prose masquerading as free verse any day
Hi David
Many thanks for taking the time to comment.
You've hit the nail on the head! As I mentioned in my reply to Carole above, my piece was written tongue-in-cheek - a satirical take on *bad* rhyming techniques, not rhyming poetry as a form.
You're absolutely right that any literary device can be done poorly, and I completely agree that a skillful rhyming poem beats lazy free verse every day of the week. The worst rhyming poetry and the worst free verse are both pretty painful, but at least bad rhyming poetry usually took some effort!
My satirical rant was really about those cringe-worthy technical mistakes that make rhyming poetry feel amateurish - not about the legitimate craft of formal verse. Thanks for getting the spirit of what I was after!
Let me be of assistance with your sad rhyming affliction
The rain in Spain falls mainly on the prairie
Hope that helps you dearie
Amazing David, I'll note that for my next lesson.
Well, I guess you are a genius and I’m a complete failure. I like rhyming and I often think in rhymes. I also think in tunes. I guess that is just stupid, and I should give up. Thanks for your advice. I think writing free verse can be wonderful, and sometimes I write that way, but I perceive a lot of free verse as lazy, self-absorbed, cryptic and boring, more like a diary or random observations about really mundane stuff. Even critically acclaimed poets write crap! So before you go criticizing rhymes, let’s see you write a good one. It’s actually more difficult, I believe. I will continue to write rhymes if I feel like it, and fortunately I am not entering any contests in the near future (although the couple of contests I did enter, I got prizes for rhymes and not prose). All poetry is good, but it’s a matter of personal preference. Take it from a dunce!
Dear Carole,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond to my piece! I really appreciate your engagement and your thoughtful comments about rhyming poetry.
I think there might have been a bit of a misunderstanding about the tone of my article - it was written entirely tongue-in-cheek as a humorous critique of *bad* rhyming techniques, not rhyming poetry itself. I'm actually a professional poet who writes and earns my living from poetry, including quite a bit of formal rhyming work like sonnets and villanelles. I have tremendous respect for skillful rhyme and the craft it requires.
You're absolutely right that good rhyming is more difficult than it appears - it requires real technical skill to make rhymes feel natural and inevitable rather than forced. The fact that you've won prizes for your rhyming work speaks to your ability in this area, and I'd never suggest that anyone who enjoys writing in rhyme should give it up.
My piece was really aimed at some of the common pitfalls that can make rhyming poetry feel clunky or amateurish (like the forced inversions or overused rhyme pairs I mentioned), not at rhyming as a legitimate poetic form. Some of the greatest poetry in English has been rhymed, and I completely agree with you that it's often more challenging than free verse.
I also appreciate your point about free verse sometimes being "lazy, self-absorbed, cryptic and boring" - there's certainly plenty of mediocre poetry in every form, rhymed and unrhymed alike.
Thank you for sharing your perspective, and please don't let my satirical tone discourage you from continuing to write in the forms that speak to you. The poetry world needs more skilled practitioners of formal verse!
And oh, Poetry Genius alludes to the genius of poetry itself, rather than the author.
Best regards,
Tom
Thank you, Tom, for your thoughtful and kind response. I think I was just in a mood 🤨. Unlike you, I am not a professional poet, and I have a day job in medicine where I generate boring prose in factual reports all day. Poetry is relatively new to me, but I’ve consumed a lot of it lately and I have found that I really like to dabble in it, although I don’t know the exact reason. I have a music background and formerly a church background, so I feel most comfortable with structure and the poetry of hymns and other sacred music, which do contain rhyme a great deal of the time, so maybe that has influenced me. I just think in rhymes, although not always. I recognize the sing-song, sentimental mushy poetry of Hallmark cards and a lot of popular songs, and I try not to do that much. I also don’t try to be confusing, cryptic or snobbish with obscure references or use vocabulary words not found in normal speech. I know I like words, and although I don’t always know how to use them to best advantage, I keep trying. So, forgive me for sounding crabby!
I do think that poetry should not be a chore to read, and I believe there would be more people out there reading it if it were more approachable and not so esoteric. Everyone has their own style, and many styles, just like any art, can be appealing. Some, of course, are not.
I tend to be over-serious (and there will be a poem about that one of these days), so I don’t always get satire, although I like it very much. I will take your other advice seriously, though. Thanks for responding and not just blocking me!
Carole
Thanks Carole. Amongst other outlets, I ghost-write poetry teaching courses for schools and colleges, and always stress that there are no "experts" in the decision of what's good poetry. If a person reads and likes a poem, then that poem is good regardless of what anyone else thinks.
Go well.