A lot of new writers will overuse cliches. That doesn't make them bad writers. It does mean, however, that they're really using someone else's words and taking a shortcut by giving the reader the already familiar, rather than creating a fresh and interesting image that is unique to that poem. A cliche can fit any poem. As Todd said, they're often vague and don't really add anything.
It's been said (so many times that it's a massive cliche!) that there are no new things to write about. Everyone's felt pain, heartache, loss, love, happiness, etc. So what's left to the poet is to write about these old things in new ways. If you use cliches, people are going to read your poem once and then forget it because it gave them nothing new, nothing to make them think. Sure, people know what you're talking about -- but they know because they could easily have said it themselves. It's like the difference between a colour-by-numbers picture and an original painting.
Fresh phrases have power. The challenge rests in coming up with something that still holds meaning, is not deliberately obscure or too great a stretch for the reader and brings a new angle to the subject.
At the end of the day, we're not delivering a lecture or talking to our friends in the playground at lunch -- we're writing poetry that hopefully people will want to read more than once.
PS We're not just stuck on hating cliches -- we also hate forced rhyme, bad meter, overuse of alliteration and all sorts of other things
It's been said (so many times that it's a massive cliche!) that there are no new things to write about. Everyone's felt pain, heartache, loss, love, happiness, etc. So what's left to the poet is to write about these old things in new ways. If you use cliches, people are going to read your poem once and then forget it because it gave them nothing new, nothing to make them think. Sure, people know what you're talking about -- but they know because they could easily have said it themselves. It's like the difference between a colour-by-numbers picture and an original painting.
Fresh phrases have power. The challenge rests in coming up with something that still holds meaning, is not deliberately obscure or too great a stretch for the reader and brings a new angle to the subject.
At the end of the day, we're not delivering a lecture or talking to our friends in the playground at lunch -- we're writing poetry that hopefully people will want to read more than once.
PS We're not just stuck on hating cliches -- we also hate forced rhyme, bad meter, overuse of alliteration and all sorts of other things
It could be worse