Does your poetry rhyme? Should all poetry have to rhyme?
By chubit
@chubit (122)
January 1, 2010 8:23pm CST
What makes a poem for you?
Is it the strict structure, an almost sonnet like frame?
Is the rhyming couplets, or the a-b c-d inset?
Or should poetry be more free?
Almost prose like, rhyme snuck in only when it 'works'
and never 'privileging' words just because they rhyme with the line before?
Whats it all about for you?
3 people like this
7 responses
@ratyz5 (7808)
• Philippines
2 Jan 10
When I was still in high school, all the poems that I wrote had rhymes in them. Even tried structured ones with each line having the same count of syllables. Then, I eventually found more kinds of poems as I got into University. Not only can poems have no rhymes, structure doesn't always have to be followed. That was during the old days when people were developing things.
Anyway, as much as we shouldn't generalize poems, like all forms of art, it can be subjective, as in interpretation and recognition depends on those who view it. One might not appreciate something while others would be fully interested with the same thing.
What I have noticed with poems, be it structured or free verse, they would often leave an impression to the readers. And it would have different impressions and every reader or perhaps a different impression when it gets read again after a long time.
@ratyz5 (7808)
• Philippines
3 Jan 10
Well, we either subject ourselves to the poem that we get to read or we don't. Sometimes, even without knowing anything about the person who made the poem, we get to be categorized. Can we appreciate or not appreciate a poem, be it on its structure, implications, meaing or to our subjectivities on impressions.
Then again, interpretation isn't always the same. (-_-")
@chubit (122)
•
3 Jan 10
I had a similar journey with poetry,
at first dabbled in prose before deciding that I'd have to rhyme and have a meticulous structure to really create 'A Poem'.
It was only later that I allowed myself to have the meaning overcome the rhythm.
I'd never thought about categorizing something as 'poetry' because of its effect on people, perhaps that is a defined way to separate it from prose.
-but then again, I have been incredibly effected by prose pieces in my life, so really I' back at square 1!
1 person likes this
@anyabee (363)
• Philippines
2 Jan 10
no. not all poems need to have structure and rhyme. i would like to share a quote a friend, who studied creative writing, once shared with me, "a novelist is a failed short story writer, a short story writer is a failed poet". basically, poems should be able to convey what you want conveyed in words much less than what a short story needs. but, i'm not saying that short stories are not ok coz i am a short story writer. just that poets need lesser words to express things and poems don't have to have structure and rhyme all the time.
@anyabee (363)
• Philippines
3 Jan 10
yes, i know. that quote is a bit discriminating for novelists and short story writers but, you're right, it is very true. and, no matter what they say, i envy you. i have always dreamed of being able to write a novel but i think i don't have the patience and attention to do it.
that was a really nice poem.
@chubit (122)
•
2 Jan 10
Although the novelist in me hates to admit it,
i think what you (or your friend) said is very true.
Poems are about crafting something to perfection, where short stories are like taking a brisk walk through an art museum (and novels are like dawdling behind the group, taking notes photos and etchings of every item you see!)
My favourite poem is incredably short and doesn't rhyme:
In that book which is
My memory
On the first page
Which is the chapter when
I first met you
Appears the words,
here begins a new life.
By Dante.
I find it almost unforgettable and have carried it with me in my head for many years.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
27 Feb 10
I have written different kinds of poetry. In some of my poems I use rhymes, and in some of them I write without rhymes, but I tend to use rhymes most of the time. My poems don't have a strict structure, I use short lines, long lines etc and I mix them the way that I want to. In the past I sometimes tried to write poems with a strict structure, but I prefer a free structure.
@jambi462 (4576)
• United States
2 Jan 10
I think that some of the most powerful lines from songs don't usually rhyme but rhyming can be a great way to help the song flow together nicely.
I think of poetry as painting a picture with words which is pretty easy if you have an okay vocabulary and you think often.
@chubit (122)
•
2 Jan 10
I often dislike the way rhyme distorts poetry,
sometimes I'll come up with two line and for the life of me cannot rhyme them with anything even slightly sensible.
But then again, some of my favourite poems are rhyming,
and when they are compiled correctly the effect is beautiful.
@lifeafterdeath09 (2043)
• United States
31 Mar 10
not all poetry has to rhyme. but sometimes it sounds better when words rhyme together. all poetry comes from the heart. 
@UpsideDownPineapple (643)
• United States
23 Jan 10
I personally like my poetry, the stuff I write and most of what I read, to rhyme. I have read poetry that didn't rhyme and I enjoyed it but usually that isn't the case. The rhyming thing just helps me to get into it more. It doesn't feel as poem-y without rhymes for me.
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
16 Jan 10
Unless you are writing to a strict form of poetry, such as a sonnet, which must have a fixed structure to be a sonnet, it doesn't have to rhyme. However, poetry should have a certain rhythm to it that normal prose doesn't have. On the other hand, if it's too rhythmic, it can be more like a chant than a poem. Personally, I like my own poetry to have a loose rhyme scheme, but Wordsworth's 'The Prelude' - which some say is the greatest poem ever written - is blank verse, with the occasional rhyme.
When it comes to poetry, you can exercise artistic licence to the full. And some people would say that poetry has more imagery than prose, although again, that varies.
