What Is Poetry?

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   DevilPoetposted 16 years ago

   Are you all ready to discuss poetry here on this page? What is this could you explain or express?

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      guidebabaposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Poetry is Feelings in written (OR Oral).
      
      

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         mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

         Yes poetry is feelings.It is compressed, the highest form of philosophy.What a poet takes two lines to express a writer takes pages.My Motto is
         "The mystics,sages define poem or song as praise to the lord,
         When I write I hope I give justice accord."
         
         Otherwise it is noise;)

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   mohitmisraposted 16 years ago

   Poetry is divinity.The enlightened one gives himself up to the cosmos and allows the cosmos to work or write through him.It is s considered a mental exercise of the highest order possible and carried out only by the greatest of sages,the rest are writing out of ego.It is a mediuim used to spread God knowledge.

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      Luggyposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      I love this quote, and I couldn't agree more. There is something so spiritually enlightening about poetry. It sets the spirit free. I love the fact that there is a platform for anyone to express themselves in this manner. It is timeless, and real, both modern and old. Power to the poets of this world. Luggy

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   Earl S. Wynnposted 16 years ago

   For me, Poetry is raw expression. I write poetry when I cannot put my words into prose. It is the point where the language of our rational mind is subdued and wholly changed by the flowing, artistic nature of our creative mind. It is the mishmash between verse and reporting, where sensations and the feelings of the human experience are put in the truest forms we can put on paper. As the previous poster said, it is divinity in writing, so it's only fitting that the best prose is poetry, at least, in a sense. Think about it.

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      mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Perfect.

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   ProCWposted 16 years ago

   Poetry is: words flowing on the artist's medium with dynamic rhythm.
   Poetry is: an emotional roller coaster on which the rider has a blast!
   Poetry is: an artist's free expression of his or her creative genius.
   Poetry is: fantastic!
   
   ProCW

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      mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Poetry is: an artist's free expression of his or her creative genius.
      Correct what is called poetic freedom.The poet is not bound by anything including the limitations of the language.Poetry is an expression of the beyond.

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   Paragliderposted 16 years ago

   Poetry is the best possible use of language and its affective power. Poetry does not have to be about an elevated subject. Great poetry has been written about very mundane matters. Great poetry has been written by Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Agnostics and Atheists. Not every 'poem' contains poetry. Many (most?) poems are failed attempts.
   
   Interestingly, the Oxford Book of English Verse, one of the most aclaimed anthologies in the language, merely presents 'verse' through the ages and leaves it to individual readers to find the poetry within.
   
   It's fashionable nowadays to say that all poetry is good provided it is sincere. But that is to confuse poetry with catharsis. Sincerity is all very well, but if you are going to go public with your writing, it's well worth learning the basics, as a courtesy to the reader.

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   denisewrtr37posted 16 years ago

   Poetry packs an emotional wallop.  It's strong and effective whether it's written or delivered orally.  It's also a tough form of art to create.  I agree with what someone else posted.  It's at its best when you open up and let spirit flow through you to create powerful poetry that moves and deepen the life of its reader.

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      Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you. It is tough to create. Letting the spirit flow through you is a good starting point, but the result still needs a lot of hard work refining and polishing before you really have something worth calling a poem.

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      mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      Poetry is written by the enlightened ones to share their knowledge of the spirit and help uplift humanity.My philosophy is knowledge leads to understanding which leads to peace and then love which is the basic fabric of this universe.It is meant to give courage to others to walk the spiritual path and attain enlightenment.It is a torture to create ,is very ardous and takes long period of time, a book takes takes years of full time work.
      I write in the classical poetry style of Dohas or couplets ,the style of the sages and mystics.
      .A metrical lenght is given so it can be used as song ,rhyme is given as this becomes easy for the human t assimilate and memorize.

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         mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

         Poetry is medicine for the soul.A poets job is to try and tickle and insitigate other souls into action through his words.Good poetry will shift your vibration towards God.

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            mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

            Though not spiritual Benjamin Zephania the British poet is good as he covers issues pertaining to our life.His poems have meaning or a message which is the most important thing.

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               Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

               Benjamin Zephania has shown a lot of staying power and dedication. When he came on the scene at first he was mostly for shock-value, but he's developed way beyond that.

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                  mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                  Went to a reading of his  in Pune, he has a nice message in his poems.Gave him a copy of my book,he wrote back later and told me thank you very much and he loves the book,he read it twice, paragilder do you think  he is also silly?

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                     Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                     BZ is certainly not silly. He has a nice sense of humour, but he's more than just a performance poet. I've been to too many open mic sessions, London Poetry Society and elsewhere, where all too many of the performers seem never to have learned the difference between performance poetry and stand up comedy. As a result, they're often bad at both!

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                        mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                        I have rarely heard a good poet in India in English,I liked him.They are many actors potraying a poet with voice mudulation.

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   Paragliderposted 16 years ago

   It's worth mentioning that no-one can be prescriptive about poetry. Poetry can be about anything at all and can be written by people of all or no religious persuasion. What matters is that the writer learns the craft, works hard in applying it, and has a well developed sense of the affective power of language.

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      Shadesbreathposted 16 years agoin reply to this

      What he said. 
      
      I think the word "poetry" has a dialect form that pertains to venting or channeling emotions, and a perhaps more accurate meaning which, as Para has pointed out a few times, involves craft.  The real poet peels away the melodrama... the province of Hallmark and Harlequin... and crafts invocative images with precise diction, meter and sense of space upon the page.

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   knolyourselfposted 16 years ago

   Poetry is Moetry.

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   ProCWposted 16 years ago

   Melodrama is good when the poetry is written for the stage...
   
   ProCW

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    SirDentposted 16 years ago

    Poetry flows smooth
    On wings of rhythm,
    Encouraging the reader
    To finish each line,
    Reading every word carefully,
    Yearning for more.

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       mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       NiceI:)

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    healwell51posted 16 years ago

    The poetry is an expression of the inner things, which has grasped by the poet during different experiences' flow at a time with a sense of synchronization to explore the essence of grasped things in language, which could be translate all such with a meaningful touch to its readers!
    
    Some time there is a need to prepare to get the meaning of some kind of poetry for the reader/s!

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    firetownposted 16 years ago

    Poetry is connecting the heart and the mind. Or trying to, or something like that.

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    topstuffposted 16 years ago

    Perhaps all poets know what it is.

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       Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       Or, to quote Louis Armstrong (talking about jazz, not poetry) - if you have to say what is it, you ain't never going to know!
       I don't think poetry can really be defined. It can only be recognised. Verse form can be defined. E.g. you can write the 'rules' for constructing a sonnet, sestina, villanelle, rondel, etc. But following the rules to the letter only guarantees the form of a poem. It does not of itself produce poetry within the form. That last 'ingredient X' cannot be taught. Some can, some can't. Nobody succeeds all the time. The best of poets are the ones who succeed most often.

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          topstuffposted 16 years agoin reply to this

          There is no teacher who can claim i made that person a poet.

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             Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

             Exactly.

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             mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

             Superbly said,  poets have been messengers -Prophets and their is a message in their poetry.

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                Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                I think we are all in agreement that no-one can teach another to write poetry. You can teach verse, which is technical. and you can also raise awareness of things that spoil poetry (e.g. cliche, dead rhymes, etc) but there is no formula for success that can be taught.
                
                Where I think Mohit and I do not agree is the idea that poetry has to be about, or inspired by, the cosmos. I've seen too much great secular poetry to want to restrict poetry in that way (or any way). Good discussion, thanks.

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                   mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                   I would put the other categories as lyrics more than poetry.

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                      Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                      But you must admit that many others would not do so?
                      
                      DevilPoet - Are you sure you are reading the responses? Mohit is trying to define poetry to be the sort of stuff he writes. Everything else, he says, is 'lyrics'. Faber and Oxford are far less conservative, far less interested in definition.

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                         mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                         .

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    michaelallenposted 16 years ago

    Poetry for me is a series of instances of pure thought that only last no more than a second, must be recorded.  Moments of clarity.  Moments of reaching some higher mind that would literally tap my energies if I were to think on that level all the time.
    
    Staying in tune with these thoughts, they eventually come together for myself and others to enjoy.  Poetry can be forced.  Poetry can be extended from one of those moments and made into something it was never intended to be.  But, being patient is the key.  And discovery is always worth waiting to see.
    
    Poetry does not have to have rhythm.  Poetry does not have to have rhyme.  I liked the term when someone said that poetry has a dynamic rhythm because that would lend itself to a form of rhythm that only it knows, meaning the poem itself.  The poem has its own rhythm that doesn't fit with structures of iamic pentameter or any other popular from of rhythmic beat.
    
    And maybe it has a dynamic rhyme as well.  A rhyme that only it understands, not found in a roses-are-red-violets-are-blue confinement.  In other words, poetry can not be imprisoned.  Poetry can not be restricted in any way.  Only poetry understands its own limitations.
    
    That was a little longer than a second...

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       Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       But this would seem to rule out Paradise Lost, The Ancient Mariner, The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Tam o' Shanter, etc
       
       
       
       Yes. Vers libre, which you are describing, is quite an effective vehicle in the right hands. But it is also self-limiting, by discarding much of the armoury of the accomplished poet.
       
       An interesting fact - people who study prosody - metrics, form, euphonics, rhyme, etc - usually also write some of their poems in free verse, when they feel it the most appropriate style. But people who don't study prosody are often dismissive of it, but not from a position of strength. There is no such thing as a "roses-are-red-violets-are-blue confinement", unless possibly among Hallmark wannabees.

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    DevilPoetposted 16 years ago

    I am happy to see comments on `What is poetry'. Specially I draw attention of my friend Misra.I agree with his views on poetry.Never define poetry.Poetry is just like our God. It has no form image or colour. Compose the way you like. Say the way you feel it. Tell your feelings to your readers. Do not feel shy. Never fear your readers or your society.Do not ask for appreciation during your lifetime.If you care for appreciation or praise you will fear people. You will be begger of praise. damn readers.

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    linderposted 16 years ago

    hello this is linder
    i will like you to be my friend

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    Paragliderposted 16 years ago

    Hi Mohit - Your last response didn't handle the quote box properly. I think that your insistence that poetry has to be your particular preferred type of 'spiritual' poetry is doing a huge disservice to the huge body of work that doesn't come into this category. Please remember that there are different traditions in poetry. Indian 'enlightenment' poetry is only one among many. You can't simply dismiss all the rest as 'lyrics'.

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       mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

       I do agree with what you have to say in one way, but being enlightened I am on a different trip than you. On best book buys in poetry there are 58, 823 there "Ponder Awhile" is ranked at 11 and in poetry there is Inspirational and Religious poetry -3648 books only out of around 59,000  - there "Ponder Awhile" is ranked at 5. That means only .06 percent falls into enlightened or mystical or spiritual or religious poetry.So what you are saying is also correct, I am talking from a different viewpoint.My  view that writing on mundane topics is very easy compared to writing on God.It just doesnt fall in the same bracket.For me like I say poets are the saints and sages like Kabir, Tukaram, The Sikh Prophets etc.For me writing is very serious work,its the very reason I am here on this planet right now. Also an unenlightened human will not be able to write a poetry book on God as it will be beyond his ability:D

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          Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

          Mohit - it's different from, not different than. Poets are expected to know these things. We're not going to achieve anything by talking about rankings, because you have chosen to enter a world of self published e-books, where the 'rankings' don't mean a lot, because no-one buys Shakespeare, Milton, Byron, Wordsworth et al in e-books. You are a great fan of poets who did not write in English. That's fine, but the traditions are different. I'm willing to accept that you can possibly write great poetry in Hindi (correct me if I'm wrong because I couldn't judge it anyway). But if you are going to write in English, you can't impose your own standards on the English poetry tradition. And you certainly can't judge Shakespeare and Milton on e-book rankings, can you?

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             mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

             How many times do I repeat Best Book Buys is soft copy rankings and not ebooks, why dont you have a look first then write,you are boring me .We're not going to achieve anything by talking about rankings.Like I said before first write a decent poetry book then you will understand the meaning of rankings of your book.I think in English and not Hindi, have studied in Cathedral and John Connon a hundred year old British school considered the best in India.The amount of books I have read few will read in their lifetimes.
             Do you think Benjamin Zephania reads Hindi poetry? Because you did not understand doesnt mean no one else does especially huge libraries,poets,writers and Professors.I have been ranked over all the poets you mentioned simply because I am better than them,something I hope you are able to understand with time.This is what Benjamin Zephania wrote.
             
             I found that this book did make me stop and ponder a
             while. It is like the calm in the eye of the storm. I
             found reading it a kind of literary meditation. It is
             thoughtful, intelligent, and uplifting, not only do I
             recommend it, I prescribe it. Trust me, I'm a doctor.
             
             Benjamin Zephaniah

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             mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

             But if you are going to write in English, you can't impose your own standards on the English poetry tradition.
             I am imposing the standards .
             Now my book "Ponder Awhile" is ranked 1 in Poetry Inspirational and Religious books from 3,749 books and overall at 3 in Poetry English and all languages from 63,702 books:)
             You do not understand the meaning of enlightened.:

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                Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                Mohit - "impose" whatever standards you wish. We'll continue to ignore you. It's no problem.

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                   mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                   Remove the we and speak for yourself.

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                   mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                   Remove the we and speak for yourself.

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                   mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                   Remove the we and speak for yourself.

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                   mohitmisraposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                   Remove the we ,speak for yourself i am getting along with many others.

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                      Paragliderposted 16 years agoin reply to this

                      Jolly good

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    Paragliderposted 16 years ago

    OK Mohit, have it your own way. You are a better poet than Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth and Byron, because you say so and you are enlightened. Perhaps some day others will say so too. Time will tell.

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