You can show your poem to your mom, your spouse, your co-workers, or your friends, but you might not get the responses that you can suck up into your little writing fingers to use in an effort to refine your craft. What does it really mean when someone who cares about you, but not for poetry says, "Wow, this is great. I really like it?"
So perhaps you've realized this conundrum and you've decided to put your poem, ripe and juicy, in the feeding bin of a cyber critique forum. Watch out. If the only feedback you've ever gotten on your diligently crafted efforts has been the sweet nothings from those around you, you might be shocked, upset, or saddened at the responses that the critics pile onto your poem. You might get, "This line is clich?;" "The rhyme is a bit forced here;" "The wording in this stanza is awkward;" or the ever dreaded, "What are you trying to say?"
A normal response to a critique with one, some, or all of the above comments can have a newly critiqued poet either running for the cyber exit, or poising himself in the ready for a fist through his monitor. Don't fret. As I said, these are common first responses; furthermore, even the most experienced poet has his share of poems infected by the harsh words of a critic.
So how does one handle a critique? Well, first, one must understand that a critique isn't a critique on the poet. Being a great poet doesn't make one immune to negative critique. The poet must ingest every word a critic throws his way. There is finesse to using critique. A poet doesn't have to blindly accept a critique, but he should consider just why it is the critic offered the suggestion, and then try to delineate how the critique relates to the aim of the poem.
Say, for example, you wrote a poem with short choppy lines. Your intention was to convey an abrupt sound that resembled the theme of your poem. Say a critic told you, "Your lines are much too short and choppy." Okay, now you don't have to go off and explain to the critic that you did it on purpose and that he is obviously ignorant. You might want to give your piece a second look-over, wait for some more responses, and chew on all of that for a while. So, given the critique of "too short and choppy," you might not want to totally change your piece in an effort to satisfy a critic who didn't understand what it was you were trying to do, but you could search for a way to keep your style while hinting at your purpose.
Always consider your intentions as compared to the way someone reads your poem. If you are finding that people don't understand your intentions, you need to re-work your piece within your own design.
The very first honest critique is always the most difficult one to swallow. After that, the critiques don't go away, they just become welcomed tools for the aspiring as well as established poet.
Devrie Paradowski is a freelance writer and poet. Her poetry has been published by several literary journals and she has written dozens of articles for various publications including "Poetry Renewal Magazine," and "Poetryscams.com." She is the author of the chapbook, "Something In the Dirt," which can be found at http://www.lulu.com/content/108560 . In 2001, Devrie founded a popular online literary community ( http://www.lulu.com/content/108560 ) that has become highly respected for some of the most honest and in-depth poetic critique on the Internet. In keeping with her commitment to inspire amateur writers to hone their skills, she also founded a local writer's group called, "The Fire and Ice Writer's Group."
eco-friendly cleaning service Buffalo Grove ..It's dark, it's cold, its' just six thirty,thoughts of sleep... Read More
Kafka lands resurrected in Crewe deposited by a silvery alien... Read More
As I picked up some of the polished gemstones in... Read More
My life has changedin so so many waysIt seems to... Read More
Amy King's first full-length collection, Antidotes for an Alibi, insists... Read More
Shakespeare's sonnets require time and effort to appreciate. Understanding the... Read More
Lima, City with the Stretched out WingsIt's an ink-black... Read More
Footprints to Mantaro Valley (English version)In what retreat art hid?-Where... Read More
Footprints to Mantaro Valley (Peru; in English and Spanish)In what... Read More
Writing poetry is an art, a way of expression, finding... Read More
Blind DesignsBorn today, gone tomorrow Like a butterfly with no... Read More
You are to me my lifeline my security. That scares... Read More
The Exit Poems [And Socrates]Iron and FireIron can be... Read More
Rhymes of an Ordnance Man [Vietnam War: 1971]An eleven part... Read More
JOINEDHeart beat of man pounding - yet unheard joined... Read More
I WANTED TO SAY IT WITH A BUNCH OF FLOWERS... Read More
Stone Beds [Pompeii's surge]Advance: after the great eruption of Pompeii's... Read More
Five Poems from Home1) Remembering: Dorothy Parker [Dedicated to the... Read More
1.Evil's CreationThou knowith evil clings To tender peace-; Nor does... Read More
1) End PoemWherever you are today- Is where you were... Read More
Learn about love by reading poetry by a long dead... Read More
English VersionThe Merchant of Copan [480 AD]Advance: The ballgame at... Read More
1) Do?a Leonor's Revenge [1627 AD]Rafael Ortiz's fate Was... Read More
Grandpa's House [The ole Real House]The house needed painting Sun-blistered... Read More
I Shall Wait..On all the new mornings, and every singking... Read More
express cleaning service Arlington Heights ..[Episode Five]Arizona Blue-GunfighterThe Wolves Nest-in the North[Episode Five]Northern Minnesota Area?Winter... Read More
During interviews and general conversations with the public,one of the... Read More
To many people contemporary poetry is a turn-off. The reason... Read More
You can do and you can be whatever you want.... Read More
In the Mountains of Haiti(In the City)-July is a hot... Read More
Fair Andes! Thy arms reach highOf iron-woven solid stone Thu... Read More
Since Mohamed Ali?then Cassius Clay?announced that he had written "The... Read More
What can I do to keep this world in its... Read More
The light of all eternity shines with me now /... Read More
In Poetry: Meaning of WordsWhen I write poetry, I check... Read More
Emlyn Williams Theatre, Mold, North Wales: 20th February 2003Clwyd Theatr... Read More
I will never think twice nor will I roll the... Read More
Bells for Belphegor!...Where immortal veils never meet Belphegor, Arch devil... Read More
In this modern age of technology, busy lifestyles, and obsession... Read More
The Incubus' Flash-lightHe looked inside my head And found a... Read More
Cesar Vallejo: Black RosesBow down your head ol' poet- To... Read More
Sometimes we feel hard-pressed, Our backs against the wall;... Read More
FIND the MAGICFind the Magic As you release old bondage... Read More
Lima, City with the Stretched out WingsIt's an ink-black... Read More
Says Mr. Dennis Siluk, when asked to review his poetry... Read More
Time goes by to quickly to hold your feelings inside... Read More
AFRICA (to africans in diaspora)africa here i come, africa africa... Read More
She raised me like I was her own daughter from... Read More
The Torrents of HellHell's furnace- Likened to a chimney Vomits... Read More
I am not the one I was before yesterday.I cannot... Read More
Poetry |