What Is Poetry?
The poet Marianne Moore defines poetry as “imaginary gardens with real toads in them.” This definition may seem a strange way to explain something, but that’s why it suits poetry so well. Other writing may be serious and factual, but good poetry is always creative and, at times, a bit playful. An effective poem takes us away to an “imaginary garden,” yet it often springs from a real experience—one of the many “toads” hopping in and out of our daily lives.
What makes poetry different from prose (the regular writing you do)? Here are some of the differences that make poetry so special.
Poetry speaks to the senses.
Poets create word pictures that build an image in your mind. Notice how the following example appeals to your sense of sight:
Example:
As night falls we head for bed,
Great-Grandma in her velvet, royal blue nightgown,
Her silver hair like a moon in a night sky,
Her curlers, when the light hits them just right,
Sparkling like stars.
-Carrie Materi
Here are lines from poems that appeal to other senses:
Noisy
filled with laughter
shrieking
and quiet
that is what cabin
8 sounds like.
- Jacklyn Wohl
A cup of hot chocolate,
Steaming,
Its warm breath kissing my face.
-Jennifer Karakkal
Poetry speaks to the heart.
Poetry asks you to feel something (that’s the heart part), not just think about it. You can tell how the poet feels about being alone in the following example:
Silence is
A friend in times of sorrow
When all the amiable chatter in the world
Brings no relief
-Jennifer Krakkal
Poetry looks different from prose.
Chugging slowly to the top
Waiting for that long, long drop
My stomach turns into a knot.
I focus on the parking lot,
-Molly Jones
Poetry sounds different.
Poets pay special attention to sound in their work. Here are some of the techniques that make poems pleasing to the ear.
Repeat words: I see water, I see sky, and I see sun.
Rhyme words: Ever go away?. . . Happy every day.
Repeat vowel sounds: Lonely old bones.
Repeat consonant sounds: Sparkling silver stars.
Use words that sound like what they mean: Eggs crack. Splat!