Saturday, February 21, 2009

What is poetry?

Without going to Wikipedia, dictionary.com, or any other website, tell me what poetry is to you? Do you like writing poetry? Why or why not? What kinds of poetry have you written before? What kinds of poetry do you NOT want to write?

53 comments:

robertc2012 said...

I already looked at online definitions last night (oops), but to me poetry is writing that rhymes in some way, shape, or form. I love writing poetry that rhymes because I personally think that that's what makes a poem a poem (see my earlier post on the class blog). I don't enjoy writing free verse much because it just isn't exciting to me. As a class I don't think we should all have an assigned subject or form since everybody has their own preferences. I personally prefer poems that have short lines and rhyme every other line in stanzas of four lines each.

This wonderful poetry unit
Will entertain all of us here;
I just cannot wait to begin it
For wonderful poems we will hear!

AustinW2012 said...

Poetry to me is a release. It's an expression of emotions in any form you choose. You can write anything you want with no wrong answers. I used to like writing poetry because I was really good at it but when it becomes required for school it takes the fun out of it and it makes me feel more restricted and less able to write what I want or what I feel. I have written many types of poetry in the past and I prefer things that give very loose restrictions so you can make almost anything you want with a little guidance. I'm looking forward to this unit and I'm hoping I won't be afraid to write what I feel.

Maxe2012 said...

Poetry is someone expressing their feelings in their writing in an organized manner. They are letting the world know what they are thinking through their writing. I do not like writing poetry because I have a hard time expressing my feelings in writing. I usually write little rhyming poems that are meaningless. I do not want to write free form poetry it is not as fun as the rhyming kind and it doesn't sound as good.

ashleys2012 said...

Poetry, in my opinion, is when one expresses thoughts or emotions in a systematic way. I have never written any formal form of poetry before. I look forward to learning the forms of all types of poems. What I want to get out of this unit is a better understanding of the content in poetry. At times, I find it difficult to decode what the poem is saying. My goal for this unit is to better be able to write and understand all forms of poetry. I am not familiar with all the forms of poetry, so I am open to learning and writing all forms.

john c said...

Poetry is anything that conveys meaning in some way that's different from just stating your oppinion, or makes your ideas more interesting. I really don't have an oppinion on writing poetry. I think it can be fun but I don't think it always works out that way. I'm with robert. I don't want to work on free verse. I don't understand the point and most of the time when I read it I wind up confused and bored. Other than that, I'll try anything

Carolyn F. said...

Poetry to me is putting your feelings or observations into words, and expressing something. Poetry is something and it rhymes (to me at least). I like to write poetry because I like to say what I feel or observe by putting it into words. It expresses who I am and what I feel. In the past I have written many kinds of poetry. Although I do not remember the names I know that there was a wide variety and sometimes it did not always rhyme. Poetry that I do NOT like to write one bit is poetry that doesn't rhyme. I feel as though it is not a poem if it does not rhyme.

ericak2012 said...

Poetry is like artwork with words, it expresses what a person is thinking or feeling and it incorporates different elements to create a picture in your mind.

ConnorM said...

I think poetry is a way of communicating feeling and emotions in a socially accepted way. In a way it could be like dancing or painting except using words. It also has the feel of connecting people.

alexandriab2012 said...

Poetry is a way to purge the emotions, if a person is having a bad day or is very sad they can write down their feelings. Poetry can be for happy, sad or angry emotions (the list goes on and on). Poetry is a way to relax and think about the things that truly matter in life.
I want to be able to write pieces of poetry that I will be proud of when I'm in my 30's. I want to get better at rhyming in poetry instead of just writing in free verse. I want to be able to write about truly important subjects not just the silly things that happen in daily life. I want the world to see what we think of everything that is happening around us so, then the world can see our opinion of it.

bayleyk2012 said...

To me poetry is a way to express yourself. You are set within the bounds of a poem so the things that your write are very carefully chosen. I do really like to write poetry. I like to express myself through my writing so it fits my personality. I also like it because there are rules that you have to follow. I like the process of finding the perfect word. I like to write Haiku's and free verses along with ryhming poems. I don't like them to be short even though Haiku's are. I think that Haiku's have beutiful rhythem to them.

PeterH2012 said...

Poetry to me, is a way of expressing emotions in a way simple words cannot describe. I personally have not written a lot of poetry, but am very interested in starting. I did a poetry unit in my middle school, but it was only about a week long, and my teacher didn't really teach us how to write it. I feel like i would like to write poetry, as I enjoy music, and songs really are poems. Simple similes and metaphors are the only kind of poetry i have written, and I would prefer not to write Allusions or Alliterations.

Anonymous said...

Poetry is writing how I feel in rhythm, trying to display my feelings and get the reader to feel empathetic for me. I personally love to write poetry, because it touches upon my creative flow that I just have not really been able to show in essays, at least in the past. Poetry allows me to say how I am feeling, or how anyone else is feeling, so I like it that way. I love to write sonnets and couplets; they are my favorites. I like to rhyme in my poems because I do like organization, and rhyming is a way to be creative and organized. There isn't any poetry that I don't like, and I'm always willing to learn new kinds!

I liked Robert's idea of writing a small poem at the end, so here's a quick sonnet!

I fell asleep in class,
because I found it boring.
My dreams erupted very fast,
my body it was soaring.
The feeling of this dream
didn't quite make any sense,
but it really did seem
like a certain future tense.
Flying cars flew with me
on my journey over the world.
Along, away over the glittering sea
and then the dream just whirled.
My teacher was stamping at my desk
while my head had been laid down to rest.

loganc2012 said...

To me poetry is a form of writing with very few contrictions. Poetry, to me, is a way for an individual to express themselves through verse. I enjoy writing poetry, in fact it is the only form of writing where constraints do not bother me. I have written all kinds of poetry before, too many to list, my favorite being haikus, free verse or song because they present the greatest challenge. There is no form of poetry that I do not want to write.

mariep2012 said...

I think that poetry is a way of expressing an opinion or an idea in an artistic way. Some people can write books, some people can draw pictures. Others can journal, give speechs, and so forth. Poetry is just another way to illustrate an opinion in a form that causes people to listen because of the rhythm and emotion it strikes. Actually, I have loved writing poetry since I was young, but I regret to say that I have not done it in a while. I have just written little childhood poems about things that remain a mystery like space, the ocean, and other whimsical poems without much aristic meaning. I am happy to write any kind of poetry because I want to learn and understand all the different forms and ways of showing it, causing something bigger to surface.

stellab2012 said...

Poetry is the expression of one's self - feelings, thoughts, ideas, etc. - in different forms of writing. Poetry can be good, bad, sad, happy, whatever the poet wants it to be because a poem is a reflection of the writer - who he or she is. Poetry frees the mind.
I've done a lot of formatting poetry such as the poems done in picture form. I don't ever want to do that again. I like free-verse poetry without any given topic. I love writing poetry. I do it all the time, but I can only enjoy it when I can write what I'm feeling, what I want to write, not what others are telling me to write.

katieh2012 said...

Poetry to me is the combination of words and ideas in a way that is visually and mentally appealing. It can be used to take one idea or thought and disguise it in the form of other things. It doesn't necessarily have to have rhyme or pattern, those things just make it more understandable and appealing.

Poetry is difficult to wirte sometimes, but amost anything can count as poetry. Because there is not just one definition or type of poetry, the possibilites are endless. I think that this makes it almost more difficult to write because there are so many options. I think that inspiration makes poetry easier to write, and the type of inspiration can change the type of poetry.

I'm not really a fan of poetry personally, because I choose to express myself and my feelings in other mediums.

jays2012 said...

To me poetry is a story that you tell through more of a designed way than a normal story. I personally like poetry because it is a more fun way to write and i feel i can express thoughts through it. I haven't really tried out a bunch of poetry but i would be willing to do most kinds. Some of them with the lines having to have the right amount of synonyms is annoying.

chelseac2012 said...

Poetry has different meaning to different people. Some it may be showing how they feel while others it may not have as much meaning at all. To me, I don't write poetry but I enjoy hearing it. I don't like writing it because I am not very good and I don't have a passion for writing poetry. I have written free verse poems and ones that rhyme but I can't think of specifics.
I think this unit will be fun, in hearing poetry from other students - ones that are more passionate about it than me.

AllisonM2012 said...

Poetry is a way to express yourself but with much more freedom. Even though many types of poems have a specific structure, it is through this structure that the freedom of ideas can flow. Some types of structure are freedom without and some do have a specific format.
Also, poetry is not supposed to just tell the facts and explain them but allow the reader to emphasize. The author though needs to use a certain design that pertains to their poem to give the reader the full effect. Symphony is also key because the reader needs to get the “big idea” of the poem in order to fully understand what the author is trying to say. Finally, story is also key for the reason that it will capture the readers senses and intrigue them.
Poetry is also more than just words. Its purpose is to jump the page and seem larger than life. Many poems have altered minds of many because of the thorough connection created. It is an ideal form of voice and author can almost literally pour their heart out onto the page.

BernardoT2012 said...

Poetry to me is a way of thinking. It is a different way of seeing life and its aspects and of explaining them.

I enjoy writing poetry just because of the rythm it gives to my thoughts. I've only written basic poems and Ballads (very bad but ballads nevertheless). I would rather not write free verse or quadruplets because free verse has little rythm and quadruplets are too short for my tastes.

alisonr2012 said...

Poetry is an expression of emotions. It can also just be the way someone sees something. I don't enjoy writing poetry because it is hard for me to express my emotions. I don't want to write free verse. Free verse is harder to write.

sammiet2012 said...

Poetry to me is a way to get emotional in a short period of time. It is a way to relese your feelings into a peice of writing without taking to much time away from the rest of life. I personally don't like writing poety, I think it is beautiful, but the fact most poetry has an excessive amount of figuitive language and/or rhyming really gets on my nerves. Last year I did a poetry unit and we tryed all sorts of poetry that I can't remember what type. I really am just kind of inoyed with poetry in general so I would have to say that my goal for this unit is to do my best not to get annoyed.

Brianc2012 said...

I belive that poetry is the writing with visual images and objects. It is writing with rythm and rhymes to create a beautiful piece of writing. Poerty can be anything you want it to be and there is no limit. I like writing in free verse because there aren't many limits.

kaleidoscope_eyes said...

Poetry is an open ended form of art. It is often idealistic, and it appeals to the senses. It can be completely random and free, or it can comply to the strictest of formats. But within the guidelines, the author is free to say whatever he wants. Poetry uses unconventional tools to evoke emotion. Above all, poetry is art.

stephaniel2012 said...

Poetry to me is pointless. I don't like poety. I don't think it's a type of literature. I think on the whole, most petitions that are written make no sense, and when I try to write it my paragraphs break in awkward spots, making it seem even more entirely pointless than I already thought that it was. I've had it nailed into my brain year after year after year after year, and have never once had the slightest inclination to ever write anything more than I was required. I don't write poetry because I'm not good at it. I love word choice, rambling pointless defintions and humor. I have never had fun writing poetry. EVER.

kaelib2012 said...

To me, poetry is expressing yourself in words that you often dont use in a sentence together, often in rhyme, and beautiful. In my life, I really havent enjoyed writing poetry too much, its not awful, but its definitely not my favorite way to express myself in words. I like writing haikus and the ones where you write a word and write a sentence after each letter, I dont remember what those are called though. Im pretty open to writing most kinds of poetry, I dont really know what kinds are out there, and there arent really any kinds tat im opposed to writing, it all doesnt really matter to me.

katiez2012 said...

Poetry is telling a story, or situation, or describing something in a different and creative way. I do not like writing poetry, there are too many rules for me and I have trouble thinking of things to say that fit the requirements of the type of poem. I have written alot of poetry before but I forget all the different kinds. I'm open to try all of the different kinds again and see what is fun for me.

bridgetL said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Zivenc2012 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bens2012 said...

To me poetry is a form of writing that helps express your feelings, usually through ryhme or some kind of writing. Poetry is easy to tell a story with and it can be done by anyone. Poetry means that you can express your feelings without following a prompt or thinking of something to write about.

I think poetry is alright, considering it's not a 6 page essay like the WRP, and it's fun to think of ryhmes or catchy sangs. I'm not a big fan of free verse because its not exciting and barely has any flow but in the past I've liked writing poems tat rhyme and help you get your feelings across in a short and consice manner.

carolineb2012 said...

Poetry, technically is a group of words that have rhythm to them, some poetry has structure, and there are all different kinds, but poetry to me is expression through words. It can reveal thought process. I love writing poetry because it comes more naturally to me than writing essays. I done all kinds before, free verse, haiku, limerick, all rhyming structures, cinquain, even sonnets. Any kind sounds good to me. Yay poetry.

Megg2012 said...

I think that poetry is a form of art. Just like art is expressing oneself through drawings,dance is expressing oneself through movement, poetry is expressing oneself through words. There are so many varieties of poetry that the poet can decide which type to use based on emotion and feeling. I think that I enjoy poetry if it is open-ended. If a teacher tells me that I have to write a sonnet by tommarrow, I would not enjoy that, but just if a "poem" of my choice was due tommarrow, I think that would be fun. It is not my passion, but it can be entertaining. I have written all kinds of poetry before. We have had multiple poetry unit's since fifth grade. I don't like writing ballads or sonnets. I like haiku's, and free verse including onomatopoeia's and imagery.

justinp2012 said...

Poetry is a representation of your thoughts, experiences, and emotions by using words, sentences, and sometimes rhyme. It can take the form of many varieties, and every persons style is different. It really depends on the person, for example, it could be a really long, story-like poem, like the Rime of the Ancient Mariner. It is an artistic way of communication.

brookem said...

to me, poetry is a way to let out your feelings in a way that other people would be able to read and understand. It also is something that can mean several different things to several different people because they would interpret it their own way and take their own meanings out of it. I don't really like writing poetry because I never really know what to write about and I just think that it's hard to think of what to say and how to say it. Before, I have written many different types of poetry because almost every year in school so far my English class has had some kind of poetry slam where we would have to write a different type of poem everyday. I can't remember all of the different types, but I'd recognize them if I had to write them. I don't think that there is a type of poetry that I would not like to write, I'll pretty much write anything. I don't have a favorite or least favorite type.

kailynw2012 said...

Poetry, to me is an art, and a way to express thoughts, feelings, and dreams. For me, poetry isn't sentences. I enjoy writing poetry, when it is not forced upon me; I see poetry as a journey, a journey that I have to go on, on my own time. Although I have written Haiku's and limericks and end rhyme poems in school before, but on my own time I like to write end rhyme and free verse. I would prefer not writing too structured poetry, because to me that is not what poetry is about - so maybe less of the haiku's and limericks

TaylorG2012 said...

Poetry to me, is a simple, informal way to express emotion and feeling and thoughts through writing. Because of this I don't think that poetry can be defined really and it all depends on the one who's writing it's perception of poetry. Also, poetry helps for someone to interpret their own thoughts and mind, and display how they view themselves. Although we go through school and almost every year have a "poetry unit", I don't think that poetry can really be taught. I think that someone can be pushed to reach down deep to find their inner soul and pull that out and describe it in phrases and words, but it really is mostly a personal learning thing. Most oftenly poetry can be filled with rhyme and rhythym to make the phrases flow nicely together and vividly describe the point the writer is trying to get across, but it doesn't have to.

kelseyc2012 said...

I believe that peotry is the use of literature in an invintive ans expressive way in order to convey certain feelings to the reader. However, unlike most forms of writing it is left for interpertation. That is one of the things I love about peotry. I can read a peom and it can express something different to me than the person who reads it before or after me. Each person takes away what they needed from that poem even if what they recieved from the authors writing is not what was intended. Poetry heals in that way. I someone has a broken heart then thhey may contour the lines of a poem to fit their needs and fill their longing. That is why I love poetry.

SydneyR2012 said...

Poetry to me is the flowing of words together to portray emotion about a certain subject. I don’t really write poetry a lot, but I love listening to it (music is poetry). I find that a lot of times poetry in music makes me feel better when it doesn’t seem like anyone else understands (a bit cheesy I know) but still true. I have written haikus, free form (the kind that don’t rhyme) and just regular rhyming poetry. I really don’t want to write those poems that have to have a certain number of words in each line, as well as a certain amount of lines. That jumbles my brain and frustrates me.

NickM2012 said...

To me poetry is the verbal expression of ideas or emotions. Most of the time, peoms have to come from the heart to truly mean something. The expessing of thoughts is what poetry is all about. I ususally do not enjoy writing poetry because previous teachers have given a prompt on what to write about, but freedom of topic makes them more fun to write. I have written many types of poems, haiku, free verse, and simple rhyming poems. I don't want to write complex poems like Shakespearean style with limits on stresses and syllabols.

samis2012 said...

To me, poetry is a way to express yourself through language. It is a way to release emotions. I like writing free verse poems because there are no limitations or requirements for what kind of words you can use or how it has to sound. I do not like writing haikus because I do not have the patience to find words with the right number of syllables.

bradyp2012 said...

Poetry to me is a short story with a lot of big word choice with rhymes, metaphors, similes, symbols, and a certain meter to write to. Poetry is also the writing of feelings and deep thought from the author. The poetry is supposed to really connect with the reader. I personally do not like to write poetry. I think poetry is very boring and following all of the different structures and rules for writing it is annoying. I have written many poems for school work. I have written odes, rhyming poems, and free form poems.I do not want to write really long poems. I prefer to write very short rhyming poems.

bridgetL said...

To me, poetry is any form of writing that paints a picture. It can rhyme or not. I do not like writing poetry. Probably largely because I am not very creative, but I also like to tell a story, but without verses or rhyme or anything. I have written haikus, free verse, rhyming poems, etc. I like writing poetry with simple easy rules like a haiku, but I do not like free verse poems because I feel like they do not flow and are not very poetic. I also am not a fan of writing serious poems about things like nature. To be honest, I don't enjoy over-emphasizing something like that. I would rather write a fun, light hearted poem about something everyday and normal or random.

Jonathan P said...

Poetry to me is a piece of writing that expresses a feeling with or without rhyming. I prefer the type of poetry that is free verse rather than the type that rhymes because it is hard for me to express my feelings while rhyming. If we ever are assigned to create a poem in class, I would prefer if it could be about anything and has no limits or boundaries.

annas2012 said...

Poetry is a form of artistic/ creative writing that allows the writer to express themselves. Some poets choose to write entertaining poems, others like to wrote about something they have seen/ and has inspired them, and others like to write with strong emotion. Poetry for me can be really fun to write and other times really unappealing. I guess it would be safe to say that I like writing poetry, but I do not love it. I have written many different kinds of poetry, in eighth grade we had to pick six different ways to write a poem, and compile them into a short book. The book consisted of haiku, sonnet, limerick, free verse, iambic pentameter, and our class had to attempt to a ballad- which was extremely hard. I like all kinds of poetry, I only do not want to write poems with a lot of restrictions because that can kill creativity which makes a poem very painful to write.

kinzerinz said...

To me, poetry is anything that evokes a certain feeling or emotion. Poetry is any form of release, to me. I know that it really helped me release a lot of my built up emotions after my parents got divorced and after the surgery on my leg in 6th grade. I like writing poetry only if it comes naturally. Assigned poetry is excruciating. I hate trying to force creativity. I only like poetry that rhymes. To me, free verse is difficult to write and i hate reading it if it doesn't rhyme. Rhyme makes it interesting. I definitely don't want to do anything that doesn't rhyme or anything that has an assigned topic.

Laurao said...

Poetry to me is an expression of a person. It is an individual’s way of looking at something, or sharing their beliefs and feelings. I do like writing poetry, because it is something that truly comes from me, and no one else can have the same kind of poem. It is an expression of myself and how I feel about certain aspects of life. I have written poetry before and I really enjoyed writing all kinds of poetry, I don’t think that there is a kind of poetry that I don’t want to try and I am excited to learn about new kinds of poetry.

Anonymous said...

Poetry is a musical and abstract way to portray emotions, an outlook on life, objects, or a situation. I only like writing poetry when I feel inspired and it can flow freely and naturally out of me. I have written haiku, rhyming poems, poems that spell out a word vertically, long poems that don’t rhyme, and Dr. Suese like poems. The only kind of poetry I have so far disliked writing is the kind that is insincere and forced.

Zivenc2012 said...

Poetry is using words for artistic expression. I am not an artist and therefore I do not enjoy writing poetry. Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I wrote around five poems last year and I, unfortunately cannot quite recall what types of poems I wrote. As I have not experienced many forms of poetry I have not developed a taste or distaste regarding poems.

PaulAB2012 said...

Poetry is a type of creative and artistic expression that has a rhythm and flow. Generally poetry uses "beautiful language" in order to convey thoughts, ideas and expressions. It is a very personal type of writing that allows it's creator to have a deep connection to it. I kind of go back and forth on rather I like poetry. It sort of depends on how I am experiencing and being exposed to it and what I learn about it... Throughout school and my personal life I have done many different types of poetry. Last year I made a poetry portfolio with many different types of poems. Alas, I can’t remember what kind of poems I wrote... In this unit, I think it would be best if we were exposed to many different types of poems and than allowed to write our own poems in the form we like best... This way we would be exposed to new things but would still get to do what we like best... I am looking forward to this unit and hope to find it enjoyable and interesting….

Austin Davis said...

Poetry to me is ones ability to express free spirit, it is one's personality revealed through writing. My favorite type of poetry is free verse because it allows one to express creativity. I dont like being bottled up with poetry such as a sonnet, because it doesnt allow for true self expression, but a forced peace of writing that to me doesn't truly allow for one to be themself.

lsadler2012 said...

Poetry to me is about creating something bigger than just the letters and words they are made up of. My family is big on poetry. My dad, brother and sister are both amazing writers and poets, so I grew up with my family sharing their poems around the dinner table. I think its not something that should be over thought, but its truly at its best when you scribble something down that is honest and real.

jordang2012 said...

Basically a way of putting words together in a way that rhymes. I don't really care that much or poetry, because it is really abstract, and I like straight forward and clear details. I really don't like it all that much because of that, and I have a very extensive history off poetry in the Middle school.

KyleL2012 said...

Poetry to me is practically an art of putting words to describe anything. Kind of like Language Arts. Rhyming is a technique used in most poems, but it is not necessary to have it included. the choice, formation, and flow of words is all up to the author, but it is all still poetry. The only restriction is that it can't really be in paragraph form (for example this is not a poem)