11-22-2012, 04:27 AM
Dana Gioia wrote an excellent "essay" on the subject called Thirteen Ways of Thinking About the Poetic Line if you're interested in reading it.
Basically, I consider the difference between free verse and prose is that distillation process that cidermaid mentions. If it's obviously just a bunch of broken-up sentences that are explaining something without the added depth of poetic techniques, especially figurative language such as metaphor, then it's prose. Generally, that sort of thing is amateurish, written by people who don't know the genuinely complex skill involved in putting together a piece of free verse poetry -- they're the people who just go "free verse is easy because it has no rules", and then make an utter hash of it. On the contrary, well written free verse uses a selection of poetic techniques and sonic devices -- and it must use them well, because there is no ready-made skeleton of form to hang it on. Without some structure developed by the poet, it just ends up a lump of occasionally-twitching flesh.
Of course, there is such a thing as poetic prose -- however, this is rarely trying to be anything other than prose. It uses poetic devices to enhance its aesthetic appeal, but is still structured in a more or less familiar prose-ish way.
But the debate will rage on, no doubt, as people have been trying to define poetry for at least 3000 years and as far as I'm concerned, nobody's come up with a satisfactory answer yet.
Basically, I consider the difference between free verse and prose is that distillation process that cidermaid mentions. If it's obviously just a bunch of broken-up sentences that are explaining something without the added depth of poetic techniques, especially figurative language such as metaphor, then it's prose. Generally, that sort of thing is amateurish, written by people who don't know the genuinely complex skill involved in putting together a piece of free verse poetry -- they're the people who just go "free verse is easy because it has no rules", and then make an utter hash of it. On the contrary, well written free verse uses a selection of poetic techniques and sonic devices -- and it must use them well, because there is no ready-made skeleton of form to hang it on. Without some structure developed by the poet, it just ends up a lump of occasionally-twitching flesh.
Of course, there is such a thing as poetic prose -- however, this is rarely trying to be anything other than prose. It uses poetic devices to enhance its aesthetic appeal, but is still structured in a more or less familiar prose-ish way.
But the debate will rage on, no doubt, as people have been trying to define poetry for at least 3000 years and as far as I'm concerned, nobody's come up with a satisfactory answer yet.
It could be worse