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Now, before everyone gets all heated, let me explain.

I have never understood the draw to poetry. I labored through school and college whenever poetry became part of the curriculum. My personal opinion is that poetry is cumbersome, to the point that even song lyrics (especially rhyming lyrics) become annoying to me.

That said, I find myself in a special sort of dilemma as two of my family members are poets and songwriters and often they ask me for my opinion on their most recent works. I feel awful knowing they want me to give them some sort of constructive feedback- good, bad, or ugly, but I honestly cannot make heads or tails of a poem and whether or not it is "good" or not.

Please tell me I am not the only one who struggles with finding value in poetry.

I have a hard time with poetry - aside from any personal issues or biases (my fear that my black haired relatives are going to end up being the black horse in The Godfather, causes me to think away from horses, including Robert Frost's poem "The Draft Horse" but the fear can be overridden by something more terrifying or interesting, like a film called Insidious which happens to be a word in the poem "The Draft Horse") - poetry seems to be about a short period of time whereas prose generally is not. Poetry also strikes me as being about, philosophically speaking, essences and psychologically speaking a catharsis. Almost as if people are lost and so they write things down to organize their thoughts. Not all poetry is like this. Some poems, like a haiku or a sonnet require, I think, a rearrangement of words to fit the form. To think that someone's emotions just come out in haiku form and that a language is designed to fit emotions into haiku form is kind of terrifying. I consider poems with form to be a bit more artistic and less a catharsis. Some poems seem to have more of a purpose - Blake's poem about chimney sweeps in England can be taken in different ways (I think that one was Blake's), as well as his "Tyger, Tyger". Frost's poems also seem to have more of a purpose, but the purpose, I think is hard to find.

I completely understand your dislike to poetry. School completely ruins the beauty of a poem or song because, in my opinion, they read too much into them. They focus on the structure and reason behind it. When that is all you do, yes I agree, it can be boring and cumbersome. To me, the essence and beauty of poems and songs is not in the structure and knowing why the poet wrote it. The beauty and wonder of a song or poem lies in how it makes the reader or listener feel. What emotional connection do you make when you hear it? What about the poem/song makes you feel that way? After all, is that not why they write? To connect with their audience? When they ask you for your opinion again, ask them what emotion they are trying to convey. Then give them a response based on that. Whether it gives the intended feeling, what about it does/doesn't convey that feeling for you. Anything with structure will be apparent when you listen to it. Hope this helps hon!

cbwritingsolutions19 wrote: ↑18 May 2019, 16:12 Now, before everyone gets all heated, let me explain.

I have never understood the draw to poetry. I labored through school and college whenever poetry became part of the curriculum. My personal opinion is that poetry is cumbersome, to the point that even song lyrics (especially rhyming lyrics) become annoying to me.

That said, I find myself in a special sort of dilemma as two of my family members are poets and songwriters and often they ask me for my opinion on their most recent works. I feel awful knowing they want me to give them some sort of constructive feedback- good, bad, or ugly, but I honestly cannot make heads or tails of a poem and whether or not it is "good" or not.

Please tell me I am not the only one who struggles with finding value in poetry.

One think I can say everyone I've got dislikes and likes maybe poetry isn't just your thing. I've got weird dislikes on music that's contrast to what people say it is!

Poetry is not something I find interest in. In a childish way I suppose , I only enjoy it if it rhythms or has a sense of rhythm while reading it. A great deal of it just does not make sense to me. I would rather sit down and read a good book or listen to music. I feel like poetry is a mix of both of those things.

It is understandable if you don't.

John Owen wrote: ↑21 Mar 2021, 04:19 It is understandable if you don't.

If you love music you should also love poetry.

John Owen wrote: ↑21 Mar 2021, 04:19 It is understandable if you don't.

Maybe because some poems have deeper meaning that require deep interpretation.

I love poetry but there are times that I find it challenging when a poem is too ambiguous.

Maybe poetry just isn't your thing. Everyone can't possibly like poetry. Either that, or you simply haven't yet happened along a poem that moves you in a profound way.

Poetry is essentially one form of writing to express what cannot be expressed in words. But I find poetry is more expressive when put to music, hence a song. Not to get too much into religion, but I believe this is why most sacred practices had hymns, and why hymns are still universal to all world religions. To be honest, I am no poet, but I do enjoy telling stories, which is another way to bend words to express what cannot be expressed with words.

One thing that roaming in my mind that the relation between the Poet and Poetry like a lover. The poet who wrote over the paper that his own feeling and expression and aome how whenever someone read the poetry they feel the poetry is relating to his past, present or his ongoing life. Actually matter is that each and every person daily routine and some of feeling and expression is crossing everybody daily life. Ao they love the poetry.

Its not about understanding every word of the poetry but to feel what the poet wants to deliver or just feel something. Reading poetry was and will never be about deciphering the meaning , its about how much you enjoy reading it, its more about the connection you feel with the other world, its about reaching in a different time zone to a different place. I write poems and i love writing it and expressing my thoughts and to feel more alive. And i believe that there is poetry in everyone just the matter of time to notice its presence. And I would recommend a movie named "dead poets society" to start with a new journey of loving poetry.
We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

I don't think many people at all like it, and most prefer prose. I believe the reason why we have so many declensions and word endings in language is to avoid having the same rhyming sound at the end of every word, which makes listening to such become monotonous in short time.

It's a form of expression that is true to some people and a mystery to others. You don't have to love it. You have other ways of expressing yourself that might be boring and an enigma to others. You either love it or you don't, but maybe you should understand the history of poetry to understand its value in communication and arts. For your family members asking for advice, be honest with them. You're wasting your time and theirs if you are not committed to their arts.