What Makes A Good Poem?

All writing is about “words” but poetry uses concise words in a concise order. One word in a  poem can make a drastic difference in how the poem is perceived. Sometimes changing one word can make or break a poem.

Look at the following example from THE EAGLE by Alfred Lord Tennyson

He  clasps the crag with taloned hands (my version) or–

He clasps the crag with crooked hands (the way Tennyson wrote it)

Do you see how much smoother Tennyson’s version reads?

Which of the following two poems by an anonymous writer do you think is better?

A
The spoken or written word
Should be as clean as a bone,
As clear as is the light,
As firm as is a stone.
Two words will never serve
As well as one alone.

B
The written word
Should be clean as bone,
Clear as light,
Firm as stone.
Two words are not
As good as one.^[1]

A Good Poem:

1. comes from the poet’s heart.
2. touches your heart.
3. makes you want to read it again…and again.
4. like the Bible, each time you read it you see/learn something different.
5. creates a new image by juxtaposing different things together.
6. uses clear, memorable, concrete images
7. tells a story.
8. creates a world inside the poem

The next time you write a poem, think about how the words fit together. Try replacing a word of phrase with a different one to see which one is better.

^[1] Perrine, Laurence, LITERATURE Structure, Sound, and Sense, Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., New York, 1970. p.565.

Darlo Gemeinhardt writes middle grade novels. She believes that there is a story in every dog. In her spare time she takes care of 1 husband (of 40 years), 29 dogs and trains with TALLAO, K-9 SEARCH AND RESCUE. Visit her at From the dog pen.com