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Poetry 101 Lecture

Today we shall discuss why poems have a poor repute
(Though if one dislikes poetry, apology is moot).
Let’s take four types of poems with their strong points and their faults:

Well-crafted love poems are a jewel; but most of them, near schmaltz.
Eschew the superficiality of poets callow,
Your readership wants thoughts profound, not angsty-torn and shallow.
Endeavor fresh perspectives or enlightenment to hone,
Nobody wants to know your pain or heartache—they’ve their own.

Likewise, descriptive verse engenders rolling-eyes and frown:
I see the tree. What’s it to me if you tell me it’s brown?
Put energy into your words! Rain rattles, sprinkles, brawls;
It washes, rinses, feeds, or flogs, but do not say it falls.
Punch up the picture in the mind, compare to what’s akin,
Describe events in present tense, impel the reader in.

Haiku appears straightforward form but it is hard and trying,
Its syllables and twist of thought the simple words belying.
A complicated five-then-seven-five-again creation
Combined with subject (Nature) and a turn of observation.

It’s rare to find a limerick that isn’t humorous
They’re easy, and like the haiku, their brevity’s a plus.
Pretend-sophisticates on limericks look down their nose;
It’s much the same they look on puns when they are reading prose.
But real sophisticates allow amusement to show through
They recognize its firm and rightful place as poetry true.

So, Students, please don’t scrap with those who dislike poetry.
Create some good ones of your own; perhaps eventually
They’ll recognize its value. If they don’t, then don’t persist.
Ah, there’s the bell. See you tomorrow. Thank you. Class dismissed.

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Mary Gardner is a poet living in Florida.

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The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary.


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14 Responses

  1. Paul Freeman

    ‘The green-leaved trees had dark brown bark
    on trunks and boughs and twigs;
    the rain fell on their canopies
    that looked like verdant wigs.’

    I’ve scored a D-, methinks.

    Thanks for the fun read, Mary, which I couldn’t help reading in a school-ma’am-ish accent.

    Reply
  2. Mary Gardner

    Quick, someone help the schoolteacher to her fainting-couch!
    But you get an A from me, Paul, for meter, rhyme, and vividness of description. You have impelled this reader in. Thank you.

    Reply
  3. Norma Pain

    I really enjoyed your poem Mary. Some very useful tips in there. Thank you.

    Reply
  4. Joseph S. Salemi

    A delightful poem. The heptameter beat is nice, though in places it has a kind of Ogden-Nash feel which adds to the humor.

    Reply
  6. Geoffrey S.

    Cute and clever. This couplet is good advice for prose writers as well:

    Put energy into your words! Rain rattles, sprinkles, brawls;
    It washes, rinses, feeds, or flogs, but do not say it falls.

    Reply
    • Mary Gardner

      Thank you, Geoffrey. Descriptive writing, like good art, provides freshness to ordinary scenes.

      Reply
  7. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Mary, I love this… a packed lesson in how to write poetry in a poem that romps along with poetic aplomb! What more could a budding poet ask for. Thank you very much indeed!

    Reply
  9. Margaret Coats

    Mary, my 40-week course “The Joy of English Poetry” takes your approach of discussing different kinds of poems. I then supply samples of the kinds and have students grade them. Glad to see we both do our best to make the opening lecture joyful!

    Reply
    • Mary Gardner

      Margaret, it’s sad that meter, rhyme, and alliteration have been out of fashion for a century. Thank you for keeping the art alive.

      Reply

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