How do you evaluate poetry?

[Anais Nîn]

Hello,

I've decided to come this place to express myself with my poetry and other writings but as I read some of these threads I have come to ask myself just how is poetry evaluated.

I've always thought of poems as something that were just experienced. Or perhaps not. But now I pause to think about how and why.

I've never done more critical thinking about poetry other than the compulsory in school and so I'd like to ask others how they approach a poem critically as well as for the experience of it.

Thanks.

 

[Dirt Man]

Found this poem on AOL for the Columbia disaster. It's written on a gif with the shuttle on it. Not bad for a poem that rhyms too.

As Always
I Am the
Dirt Man

 

[OT]

Hello,

I've decided to come this place to express myself with my poetry and other writings but as I read some of these threads I have come to ask myself just how is poetry evaluated.

I've always thought of poems as something that were just experienced. Or perhaps not. But now I pause to think about how and why.

I've never done more critical thinking about poetry other than the compulsory in school and so I'd like to ask others how they approach a poem critically as well as for the experience of it.

Thanks.

In the spirit of making order from chaos, putting poems and prose and drivel in their proper buckets can be a useful exercise, but you have to ask yourself why you are "evaluating" a poem?

I decide if I like a poem the same way that I decide if I like a particular wine or the beer that's on sale. I forget about all the reasons I am "Supposed to" like/dislike, and simply taste. (sometimes life is good, and I actually *like* the cheapest beer)

Poetry is just words. They are interesting or not. Evaluation only kicks in when I wonder why I like one piece better than another, or when I am looking for a rule/guideline/techniques to apply to my own writing.

As most toddlers can attest , to truly appreciate the difference between square and round, you have to spend some quality time jamming irregular shapes into regular holes.

One technique of "evaluating" is a similar process. Put poems side by side and decide how they differ. What qualities make one more likable than the other? There is terminology for many of the characteristics (meter, rhythm, rhyme, etc), but the terminology should only be used to give name to what you like or dislike.

You can love a wine because it is very sweet, I can dislike it for the very same reason.

 

[Rybka]

Very Well Said, O.T.

Anais Nîn

About your own efforts:
Something I recommend with a newly written poem is to put it aside for awhile, until the driving emotion of creation has passed. Then go read it objectively as if it were not your own work. If you still like it and do not wish to change anything, then you are ready for others to read it.

The above is just my own thought and is offered in the spirit of constructive critique and comment. Please keep writing, and also read the comments of posting poets relating to other poems. That is the way to learn and improve your own skills, both in reading and in composition. - And always remember, that what you like is what is important! (De gustibus non desputandum.)


Regards,                       Rybka

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Seconding that thumb's-up from Rybka. Exactly my thoughts about the matter.

Welcome to Poetry Board, Anais.

All I can recommend is to read all you can find. Poetry, prose, whatever. Try to understand why one piece appeals more than the next. Read reviews to other people's work and don't be afraid to submit your own work to scrutiny. Learn from both with detachment. Make up your own mind. Pretty soon you'll be the one making critiques and those will probably help YOU more than the author whose work your analyzing.

Oh, and have fun.

 

[KillerMuffin]

I don't have much of an instinctive head for poetry, everything I do is very analytical. When I look at poetry I look at three things, the technical aspects I'm aware of, what I liked, what I didn't like.

After that I look at theme, word choice, meter, rhyme, form, imagery, speaker, flow, and diction.