When is it erotic?

[sweetjain]

I wonder if anyone has a good guide for what is considered erotic or non-erotic on this site? I think romantic poetry is erotic. But how about breakup poetry? Or love poetry that isn't really sexy? Where do you draw the line?

 

[GuiltyPleasure]

That which deals with sexuality in a sensual way. Not porno-graphic.

It's funny - I was thinking of posting the same question.

 

[Tzara]

I voted for "sensual", but I was tempted to say "any or all of the above". "Erotic" is defined as

Main Entry: erot·ic
Pronunciation: i-'rä-tik
Variant(s): also erot·i·cal /-ti-k&l/
Function: adjective
Etymology: Greek erOtikos, from erOt-, erOs
1 : of, devoted to, or tending to arouse sexual love or desire <erotic art>
2 : strongly marked or affected by sexual desire​

so erotic implies sex or desire, but that can be presented in a whole range of ways—explicitly, implicitly, peripherally (as in a poem about love or romantic feelings), metaphorically, and so on.

As whether breakup poems or "unsexy" love poems are erotic, that depends on how the poem is written. For example, I find this poem by Yeats intensely erotic:

He Reproves the Curlew

O, curlew, cry no more in the air,
Or only to the waters in the West;
Because your crying brings to my mind
Passion-dimmed eyes and long heavy hair
That was shaken out over my breast:
There is enough evil in the crying of wind.​

even though there is no sexual reference or image (well, "passion-dimmed eyes" maybe). And while not a "breakup poem", it is certainly one about sexual/romantic longing. The poem works because the image presented in lines four and five precisely evokes for me the feeling of sexual longing. It probably helps that I first read this in college at a time when I was intimately and unhappily acquainted with what sexual longing feels like.

So the best answer might be that it is erotic when you respond to it that way. Not everyone will respond the same.

And I agree with Tess and probably most of the people here that the typical overly explicit cum/cunt/cock "poems" that get posted here are about as erotic as a shot of Novocaine.

 

[bogusbrig]

I think erotic poetry definitely deals with the carnal lovel. I disagree with Tzara that it is sensual, many types of poetry can be sensual but I agree with his implication that erotic poetry is not pornographic.

e.e. cummings (1894-1962)

i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite new a thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows. i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss, i like kissing this and that of you,
i like, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh. . . . And eyes big love-crumbs,

 

[Never]

I think writers like to argue semantic because they have so much of themselves invested in words.

For Literotica, it's rather clear that the demarcation between non-erotic and erotic is the carnal nature of the poem. As this is a porn site, the reader is within their rights to expect something labeled an erotic poem not to be about a couple snuggling together in log cabin in the middle of February, watching the snow fall outside, sipping hot coco, and falling asleep by the fireplace.

 

[cherries_on_snow]

While Never may have a point that people will expect one thing in a particular context, it doesn't mean that one can't resist expectations, particularly when done for a purpose. One example: In the interracial section of the short stories I have posted a tender erotic piece about a black man who has taken the virginity of a white tourist and is saving his money to go to her. It's a love story as much as a sex story and doesn't unfold in the typical timeline that the stories in that section do. Now, because I am bucking expectations in that genre (some expectations that I find offensive because of the racism implied there) I also expected that the story wouldn't be well-received by all. It wasn't. The only comment I have is positive, but the score is a bit lower than my usual score, even on work that is written much more poorly.

My point is that I think erotic poetry is poetry about erotic love and can (as Tzara eloquently proves) occupy space on a wide terrain, there. But, Never has a point about people's expectations. If the poem isn't carnal, you may well suffer some score hits, so if that kind of thing is important to you, you may want to submit it as non-erotic.

Welcome to Lit. C.o.S.

 

[bogusbrig]

Your lips mouth your words
And all I hear is silence
As I watch your lips mouth your words
Formed on your tongue
In bubbles of saliva
Ballooned and then pressed
Between your lisp

Perfect pouting
Is the mechanics of your orifice
Conversation has its point
If only to say what is necessary
And practice your vocabulary
Preferably in a language full of "Rs"
When your mouth tremors
Before the task

Excuse me if I stare
But I would dare and confess
If daring was admired
The reason for my trance
This thought or is it a vision?
Of your mouth moulded
Into the form of a perfect "O"
Pornography if it is worthy art.
Is this!

 

[Guest]

The very nature of erotic poetry is to arouse sexual feelings or having to do with sexual love so I believe erotic poetry is poetry with explicit or implicit sex. Just as there are different degrees of desire there are different moods for erotic poetry. I like to read sensually suggestive poetry, but then again sometimes I want harder erotic imagery, which isn't necessarily to say a poet has to be vulgar to express that tone of poetry.

 

[annaswirls]

The very nature of erotic poetry is to arouse sexual feelings or having to do with sexual love so I believe erotic poetry is poetry with explicit or implicit sex. Just as there are different degrees of desire there are different moods for erotic poetry. I like to read sensually suggestive poetry, but then again sometimes I want harder erotic imagery, which isn't necessarily to say a poet has to be vulgar to express that tone of poetry.

take off your pants

 

[annaswirls]

I voted for sensual because it was the only one in italics and I Thought that might be one of those clues in multiple choice tests, did I get it right? do I get a cookie?

 

[normal jean]

I think writers like to argue semantic because they have so much of themselves invested in words.

that is a wonderful, logical observation, and it just makes so much SENSE!!

woulda took me like, 25 paragraphs to say that, and still wouldnt get it right, lol

 

[normal jean]

I voted for sensual because it was the only one in italics and I Thought that might be one of those clues in multiple choice tests, did I get it right? do I get a cookie?

ANNA, you ARE a cookie! a pecan sandy, deliciously salty with that sensual subtle sweetness with a sprinkling of nuttiness




yummy!!

 

[normal jean]

oh, I voted for "other" just because erotic can mean so many things to so many people, and so many things to a single person,...oh, I dont mean single like in not married, I mean like single, as in one person, I wish I were singular, in almost every friggin' way

 

[Tzara]

I voted for sensual because it was the only one in italics and I Thought that might be one of those clues in multiple choice tests, did I get it right? do I get a cookie?

Cheater.

And Literotica always gives you a cookie. Check your cache.

 

[Guest]

Make me

take off your pants

Another 13 syllables and you'll have a dirty senryu.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Ah, here's the ultimate answer, which was passed on to me by someone - could have been JUDO or KM or Laurel, I don't recall exactly.

Erotic Poetry includes everything of a sexual or romantic nature - from that graphically described gang-bang weekend vacation to the longing for that first kiss that never comes.

Non-Erotic Poetry includes everything else - poetry without a sexual or romantic focus.

Of course that you're free to cross borders and post them wherever you please and think will be better received by readers.

I voted on all choices.

 

[ishtat]

"Now increase pressure as suggested.Then take a firm grip with your left hand, rest your right anywhere on her upper body and move your left hand upwards, slowly at first and then more quickly in a clockwise direction. Within seconds she should respond and will ignite readily. You can now relax as she rapidly attains full operating temperature .You will notice her rapid rise in temperature, indeed within a few minutes she will be almost to hot to touch"

Extract from the manual of starting instructions for a Lister CS(cold start) diesel engine. My idea of erotic definition anyway.

 

[darkecstacy]

triggers

The very nature of erotic poetry is to arouse sexual feelings or having to do with sexual love so I believe erotic poetry is poetry with explicit or implicit sex. Just as there are different degrees of desire there are different moods for erotic poetry. I like to read sensually suggestive poetry, but then again sometimes I want harder erotic imagery, which isn't necessarily to say a poet has to be vulgar to express that tone of poetry.

Im with you here. The interesting thing is that arousal and sexual feelings have such a plethora of triggers. So in the end it becomes impossible to nail this completely. Sometimes intimation is the key, at other times you want the thrust of those short vowels to pin you to the wall. Remec wrote a poem about a guy in the shower washing off the vampire dust - VERY sexy. All the power of that poem was in the intimation and the way it fired the imagination. Then again the one about the couple on the shore by Seduceros 2 is much more direct and equally provocative.

 

[champagne1982]

Because I chose "Other"

Erotic poetry needs to involve the poet's emotions and some hint of their arousal. Desire. So, if the poet isn't sharing a sense of personal involvement with their audience, I don't believe that the poem would ever turn into anything remotely erotic.

Pretty words merely paint a picture, it is the poet that will breathe life into them and cause the words to show us how they live. Erotic poetry better have them loving or fucking or both. (Both is best)

 

[sweetjain]

I'm chuffed so many people responded. Great food for thought.