Showing or Telling?

[vampiredust]

Is it better to show rather than tell in poetry? Are there times when its better to tell rather than show?

am a little confused by this. What do you guys think?

 

[WickedEve]

show

Would you rather me say that a woman is upset, or describe a scene that leads you toward a conclusion that she must be upset? I think you'll remember the scene but soon forget me saying "She was upset."

 

[Guest]

Imo

Show, mostly although I think there is a place for narrative poetry too but both must avoid the cliche.

 

[flyguy69]

Show, mostly although I think there is a place for narrative poetry too but both must avoid the cliche.

Would you rather have Eve tell you about her breasts, or show them to you?

I'm a big fan of "show don't tell"

 

[bogusbrig]

Such questions always appear simple to answer but you plum for one and someone will post a poem to prove you are talking bunkum but on the whole I feel imagery is stronger unless you have a really interesting and creative narrative.

 

[Tathagata]

both have their place depending on your poem

 

[Guest]

Would you rather have Eve tell you about her breasts, or show them to you?

I'm a big fan of "show don't tell"

Eve's breasts are so cliche!

*looks over shouder nervously*

 

[WickedEve]

Eve's breasts are so cliche!

*looks over shouder nervously*

Oh, I know.
Hey, have you had your rabies shot? I mean really... what's up with those teeth?

 

[flyguy69]

Such questions always appear simple to answer but you plum for one and someone will post a poem to prove you are talking bunkum but on the whole I feel imagery is stronger unless you have a really interesting and creative narrative.

Too often "telling" claims emotion that the poem hasn't earned. Since poetry tries to put the reader into the shoes of the writer, it functions best when the reader is allowed to interpret the experience in the same manner the writer did-- by observing the world and concluding feelings. Very seldom do the people around us "tell" us how they are feeling: they "show" us by their actions. Readers, therefore, need to be allowed to see (read) those actions and decide for themselves what emotions are being presented.

 

[bogusbrig]

Too often "telling" claims emotion that the poem hasn't earned. Since poetry tries to put the reader into the shoes of the writer, it functions best when the reader is allowed to interpret the experience in the same manner the writer did-- by observing the world and concluding feelings. Very seldom do the people around us "tell" us how they are feeling: they "show" us by their actions. Readers, therefore, need to be allowed to see (read) those actions and decide for themselves what emotions are being presented.

On the whole I agree with you, there is nothing worse than someone telling you how they feel in a poem, mostly it's plain boring. However, I do think there is a place for narrative but it has to be damn good to beat imagery.

 

[Guest]

Oh, I know.
Hey, have you had your rabies shot? I mean really... what's up with those teeth?

Hey hunny - it's you that needs the rabies shot! I've got the teeth.

( You know I love your tits, don't you? )

 

[WickedEve]

Hey hunny - it's you that needs the rabies shot! I've got the teeth.

( You know I love your tits, don't you? )

No. I didn't know that. Is this a lesbian thing? A bi thing? You want me, don't you? I hate to crush you. I really do. Here I am being cruel again. sigh... You can't have me, Tristesse. No, don't cry. Please stop. Okay, you can have me. Gently, though. Prune those teeth back!

 

[flyguy69]

No. I didn't know that. Is this a lesbian thing? A bi thing? You want me, don't you? I hate to crush you. I really do. Here I am being cruel again. sigh... You can't have me, Tristesse. No, don't cry. Please stop. Okay, you can have me. Gently, though. Prune those teeth back!

Don't tell us, show us!

 

[Guest]

Shall we, Evie? In verse form?

 

[WickedEve]

Shall we, Evie? In verse form?

We're going to do it poetry style tonight? lol
Darn, I can't. I have, um, writer's cramp.

 

[Guest]

We're going to do it poetry style tonight? lol
Darn, I can't. I have, um, writer's cramp.

Damn! The old "Writer's Cramp" excuse again.

 

[Senna Jawa]

Is it better to show rather than tell in poetry? Are there times when its better to tell rather than show?

am a little confused by this. What do you guys think?

There are those two folks (far apart--they don't know each other, they don't know that the other even exists). They feel down, so, of course, they write a poem. They feel unique, they feel that their feelings are special. So they both write, independently:

I feel down
because I am unique
and my feelings are special
​

And they are not unique anymore, they are generic.

 

[anniebug's man]

There are those two folks (far apart--they don't know each other, they don't know that the other even exists). They feel down, so, of course, they write a poem. They feel unique, they feel that their feelings are special. So they both write, independently:

I feel down
because I am unique
and my feelings are special
​

And they are not unique anymore, they are generic.

and? *waving my right hand in a circle because me thinks he ran out of gas*

 

[Guest]

and? *waving my right hand in a circle because me thinks he ran out of gas*

It's called a pregnant pause.

 

[anniebug's man]

It's called a pregnant pause.

what do you think, 2nd trimester?

 

[Guest]

what do you think, 2nd trimester?

Full term! A baby blog was born! Praise be!

 

[anniebug's man]

Full term! A baby blog was born! Praise be!

He even called "little log"

 

[Senna Jawa]

what do you think, 2nd trimester?

It was "show, don't tell" in action. You see, one of the guys lived in the mountains, his girlfriend or her boyfriend just split, there was a strong wind, s/he saw the trees falling. So s/he felt not only down but also poetic. The other one lived at the sea, was in the process of divorce, s/he was badmouthed to her/his friends and family, and s/he saw the waves depositing stinky, rotten sea-weeds on the beach. So s/he felt not only down but also poetic. But the readers didn't get the falling trees nor the stinky sea-weeds but only more or less the same generic text void of anything that a reader could care about, void of anything interesting:

I feel down
because I am unique
and my feelings are special

​

And they were not unique anymore, they were generic.

Senna Jawa

PS. Do you ever run out of gas? Naeh, I don't believe it, you have it inside you and you let it out around you in abundance.

 

[Guest]

It was "show, don't tell" in action. You see, one of the guys lived in the mountains, his girlfriend or her boyfriend just split, there was a strong wind, s/he saw the trees falling. So s/he felt not only down but also poetic. The other one lived at the sea, was in the process of divorce, s/he was badmouthed to her/his friends and family, and s/he saw the waves depositing stinky, rotten sea-weeds on the beach. So s/he felt not only down but also poetic. But the readers didn't get the falling trees nor the stinky sea-weeds but only more or less the same generic text void of anything that a reader could care about, void of anything interesting:

I feel down
because I am unique
and my feelings are special

​

And they were not unique anymore, they were generic.

Senna Jawa

PS. Do you ever run out of gas? Naeh, I don't believe it, you have it inside you and you let it out around you in abundance.

Poor ABM, I think that barb was meant for me.

*holds nose*

 

[anniebug's man]

It was "show, don't tell" in action. You see, one of the guys lived in the mountains, his girlfriend or her boyfriend just split, there was a strong wind, s/he saw the trees falling. So s/he felt not only down but also poetic. The other one lived at the sea, was in the process of divorce, s/he was badmouthed to her/his friends and family, and s/he saw the waves depositing stinky, rotten sea-weeds on the beach. So s/he felt not only down but also poetic. But the readers didn't get the falling trees nor the stinky sea-weeds but only more or less the same generic text void of anything that a reader could care about, void of anything interesting:

I feel down
because I am unique
and my feelings are special

​

And they were not unique anymore, they were generic.

Senna Jawa

PS. Do you ever run out of gas? Naeh, I don't believe it, you have it inside you and you let it out around you in abundance.

Isn't it amazing what a little waving of the hand can do. As a friend of mine would say: it's magik!

As to the postscript, what can I say, it's the cabbage.