i'm very new to writing poetry and have heard that's it isn't in vogue to rhyme your poetry, since i love the lyrical sound of well rhymed poetry i was wondering why that was.

I think that's a misapprehension, truthfully. There's a lot of rhyming poetry - just not in certain circles. There are places where rhyming poetry and formal poetry is accepted and exalted. Hip-hop and rap poetry often turns on the clever use of rhyme, and even the most 'modern' of poets often turn their hand to a sonnet or lyric form.

In general, though, I think that those who look down on rhyme do so because it is so difficult to do it well. Pronounced end-rhymes are where most people begin writing poetry consciously. Children make up poems that mimic the nursery rhymes that they know. Teens and adults often try to mimic some of the classic writers of past centuries. In both cases, the rhymes are often (understandably) amateurish. And it's much easier to recognize poor poetry when it's "supposed" to follow a formal rhyme scheme.

I personally LOVE rhymed poetry when it's done well - and that includes cowboy poetry, Hallmark card poetry, song lyrics and other "looked-down-upon" poetry.

Thank you so much for respnding!!!
i'm sorry if something similar reposts, but when i came back online i didn't see my post...
i'm having a problem getting responses to my poetry...i thought it was because i chose to rhyme...but i have a series of 2 poems that mean a lot to me...one is called "Near Death" and the other is "Deep Down Inside" these are actual memories to me...written in a rhyming poetry form...would you mind critiquing these for me? Thank you,
Sandra

Sweetness wrote:

i'm very new to writing poetry and have heard that's it isn't in vogue to rhyme your poetry, since i love the lyrical sound of well rhymed poetry i was wondering why that was.

check some of garyb04901's work out sweetness- I have found it more amusing each time I read it- great rhyming skill (I wasn't really a fan before of poems that rhyme either)

cool
good luck to you-

Sweetness: I say follow your heart! I don't write much rhymed poetry these days, but once in a while words that rhyme jump into my head. I agree with Deb, it's not easy to do well. Here's a link to a poem I put up in the workshop this morning. It uses rhyme, and was written in 1971 when I thought I wanted to write song lyrics. Crazy me.

Sweetness: I am also a big fan of rhymed poems. However, contemporary poets choose not to thyme their poems because (they say) following a certain rhyme scheme and meter hinders the true message the author is trying to render in the poem. Those who love rhymed poetry argue that poems started out as accompanyment with music and that the oldest forms of poetry followed a certain rhyme scheme. Robert Burns, for instance, patterned most of his poetry after some old scottish folk songs. However, modern poets argue that poetry and music has already parted ways and that rhymes today are just used in light and novelty verses... However, don't get me wrong, there are lots of dull poems in freeverse as well as there are many lousy sonnets.

But what the heck... i love poetry and I write in whatever forms the inspiration would allow (freeverse or rhymed). I think that you should not think about wether you are writing in rhymes or not... just think that the only thing that matters is that you are writing good poetry.

I agree with chameleon on this one. Poetry with great rhymes are difficult to write. Almost a craft within the craft. I find it interesting that a lot of more modern poets, hip hop, spoken word, performance poems do actually have rhyme schemes. But one's that use very different rhythms and beats. Sometimes called internal rhyming, though I get the feel like its almost the back beat in a musical piece....If that makes any sense.
The use of rhyme is out there, just not necessarily in a tradtional way.
But I think if you want that feel and flow, keep working on it. It's definitely an art!!

I think the reason rhymed poetry has fallen into disfavor in some circles is because people misunderstand the amount of work it takes to write good unrhymed poetry that still handles sound and meter well. So they opt for the easy way out, writing bad unrhymed work and thinking, "hey, this is easy!" Hence, the glut of same.

In my opinion, it's far harder to write a good unrhymed poem than a rhymed one.

Tony wrote:

I think the reason rhymed poetry has fallen into disfavor in some circles is because people misunderstand the amount of work it takes to write good <i>unrhymed</i> poetry that still handles sound and meter well. So they opt for the easy way out, writing bad unrhymed work and thinking, "hey, this is easy!" Hence, the glut of same. In my opinion, it's far harder to write a good unrhymed poem than a rhymed one.

It's far harder to write any good poetry than most people think. Rhymed poetry - especially formal rhymed poetry with a set meter and scheme - gives you a framework on which to build and forces you to pay attention to the words that you use, and that's true whether you're writing doggerel or deathless sonnets. When you write free verse - because I want to exclude blank verse from the equation - you have to create your own structure and be aware of the sound and meter without having a framework. It's the difference between building a house from a bought blueprint and planning the structure from the ground up.

chameleon wrote:

Tony wrote: I think the reason rhymed poetry has fallen into disfavor in some circles is because people misunderstand the amount of work it takes to write good <i>unrhymed</i> poetry that still handles sound and meter well. So they opt for the easy way out, writing bad unrhymed work and thinking, "hey, this is easy!" Hence, the glut of same. In my opinion, it's far harder to write a good unrhymed poem than a rhymed one. It's far harder to write any good poetry than most people think. Rhymed poetry - especially formal rhymed poetry with a set meter and scheme - gives you a framework on which to build and forces you to pay attention to the words that you use, and that's true whether you're writing doggerel or deathless sonnets. When you write free verse - because I want to exclude blank verse from the equation - you have to create your own structure and be aware of the sound and meter without having a framework. It's the difference between building a house from a bought blueprint and planning the structure from the ground up.

Bingo.

And for those of you looking for the difference between blank verse and free verse...

www.gotpoetry.com/Ency...d=322.html

i agree with all good poetry being hard to write... formal or free verse wise. all these rules and knowing when and when not to use them. the act of deciding which word goes where, what image to use. and thats just the first draft. the editing well... thats a whole other long journey.

I guess, the bottom line is that, we must learn to appreciate good poetry... be it formal or freeverse, I believe every poet deserves a complement/praise everytime he comes out with a good piece...

... And we must understand a poet whenever he goes out with a lousy poem.. because good poetry is hard to write.

Personally, I think everyone who wants to be a "poet" should be familiar with traditional and rhymed verse. One should understand the framework before one can deviate from it successfully, IMHO.

"One should understand the framework before one can deviate from it successfully, IMHO."

Who says free verse isn't the framework and formal poetry is the deviation? Looking at the contemporary American trends among young writers, that seems to hold true.

Hello sweetness
is rhyming a weakness?

like waterered down ink
faint on the page

is it lacking the strength
of the free verse rage?

I don't think so.