Home

Writings

Bibliography

Appearances

Favorite Links

When we think of the Elizabethans, we think of men like Raleigh or Drake, stalking the deck of a ship with sword in hand. But men of stature in Elizabeth's day were expected to have accomplishments other than swordsmanship, such as dancing and singing. Among these expected accomplishments was the ability to write poetry. Even Raleigh occasionally put down his sword to write, and several of his poems still crop up in anthologies today.

"Great. But that was four-hundred years ago," you say. "Why should I bother to write poetry today?"

For the same reason the Elizabethans did it--for the benefits it brings to both our own writing and to ourselves. Good poetry isn't easy to write, especially the kinds of poetry that use rhyme and meter. While I have nothing against free and blank verse, having to work within the constraints of rhyme and meter is much harder, and makes success that much sweeter. Some argue that the two are straightjackets that constrain poetic creativity; I'd argue that they give you a framework, a skeleton on which to hang your words. I'd also argue that unlike free verse, where you're struck only by the force of each line as you read it, rhymed poetry sets up a state where your mind's eye sees and begins to form the next line before you get to it. This expectation, this anticipation, creates a second, higher level of enjoyment of the poem when your own "suggested next line" is confirmed or when you're surprised to discover that the poet is more clever than you imagined.

Writing poetry strengthens language ability in several important ways. At a very basic level, poetry strengthens both your vocabulary and your grammar. Poetry appeals more to the emotions and senses than to reason, and as each line forms, you have to decide which words to use and in what order to put them to create the most powerful effect. Because their aims are different, the grammar and word choices of poetry are often very different from other forms of literature. And with poetry, you can only learn what works and what doesn't through practice.

Writing poetry also strengthens your ability to think in metaphors and images. These two strike the senses strongly, and to be able to use them--both in verse and prose--is a skill not to be underestimated, and which flows over into your other writing.

Furthermore, metered and rhymed poetry teaches you both discipline and to be creative. Writing poetry isn't easy, and like any learned skill, takes time. Once you start a poem, you should keep at it until it's finished. (How do you know when it's finished? When it says everything you want it to say--but not a single word more.) And as an exercise in creativity, trying to fit an idea or image into two lines of iambic pentameter can stretch the mind to its limit (and sometimes to the point of tearing your hair out). Or you may discover that one line flows and the other just won't gel, and you have to find an alternate way to say what you intended to say.

And finally, writing poetry changes you, teaches you to see the world with a different eye. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch wrote a short essay titled "The Art of Poetry." In it, he wrote that he felt poets look at the world, abstract the universal themes from a particular scene or event, reclothe the universal in images of their own creation, which they then present back to us. Write poetry, and ever after, a rainy day or a cat by the fire or a smiling baby will hold for you meanings above the mundane. To be a poet is to be a changed man.

And that, if for no other reason, is why we should write it.