Posted by KID A on April 12, 2004, at 19:38:11
In reply to Re: *** Poetic Criticism *** » KID A, posted by B2chica on April 7, 2004, at 12:14:04
> i don't mind criticism, as long as it's constructive.
crit is most always constructive, but sometimes it can be painful... it's only when people blatantly ignore it and then ask for more crit that critics get cranky... with that here are some simple rules culled from another online writer I know:
. Abstractness of thought or language. Words like "mankind," "eternity,"
"infinity," "heart," "the universe," "tears," "pain," "mind," "forever," and son are are abstractions of the sort that lead away from immediate experience and into philosophical and moral generalizations.2. Cliches, or triteness of thought or language.
3.Contrived obfuscatory mechanations or jejune ingenuity.
4.Wordiness.
5.Prosiness.
6. Imitative echoes of other poems or songs.
7.Awkwardness, especially as a result of the inversion of normal syntax.
8. Inconsistency in levels of diction (diction is word choice).
9. Weak metaphor (comparison) - either unoriginal or confused or incredible or risible.
10. Forced rhyme.
11.Inappropriate rhythm - either monotonous or inconsistent with the subject matter or tone of the poem.
12. Sentimentality or simple-mindedness.
13. Unconscious double meanings (sometimes, sexual puns).
14. Obvious poetic devices - poeticisms or archaisms ("o'er," "ne'er," etc.); dribbling lines across the page; avoiding all use of punctuation and capitalization; using blatant rhyme or alliteration.
15. Lack of unity. Every work of art, and every poem, is unified somehow - by having one basic thought, or by a consistent pattern of metaphor, or by a mood, or atmosphere, or by some unifying device or method or manner.
16. Lack of significance - the poem seems too pointless, or too ordinary, or too obvious.
~~~~confessional poetry has the trappings of a lot of this, unless you are quite good like Plath, Snodgrass, or Lowell, or simply quite mad, like Sexton.
good luck.
poster:KID A
thread:326170
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/write/20040320/msgs/335699.html