Free verse is a style of poetry in which rules of meter and rhyme are not enforced. Their forms are open, and can even have much metric variation within a single poem.
I think the more appropriate comparison to be made is, what makes these poems more poetic than normal narratives that can be written by anyone? As posted on the discussion board, although these contemporary poems are "plainspoken," the poets for this week use techniques like metric variation, different perspectives of the same character, descriptive images, ambiguous language, and possible metaphors to transform their mere facts into poems with deep meaning. Like their predecessors, these poems attempt to generate meaningful phrases that are not directly stated, but merely offer images of relevance. Sometimes the poems do incorporate some sort of rhyme [but not rhyme scheme] and assonance. Also, their use of line breaks and stanza separation create a nice illusion of a poem's form. Language plays a part in adding to each poem's "poetic-ness" as well.
One of my favorite examples of "mere-fact" poems from this week comes from Randall Jarrell's "Next Day." He uses a rhyme scheme in his otherwise free-verse poem.
"I am afraid, this morning, of my face.
It looks at me
From the rear-view mirror, with the eyes I hate,
The smile I hate. Its plain, lined look
Of gray discovery
Repeats to me: "You're old." That's all, I'm old." (42-48)
He explores one woman's feelings of her quickly fading looks. But he doesn't use normal, spoken language. The artistic ways he portrays these ideas sounds pleasant and catchy, and the rhyme does help his purpose.
Status: Graded on December 3, 2007 11:32 PM (Attempt #1)
Grade: 10 out of 10
Most Recent Comment:
"I think the more appropriate comparison to be made is, what makes these poems more poetic than normal narratives that can be written by anyone"
--quite true. i know that you are at times hesitant in your interpretations, but let me tell you that you are nearly always spot on with soimething insightful to say. I find myself looking forward to your essays. thanks.
