Definition of Poetry

Articles

Definition of Poetry

By Katherine Steckmann
June 3, 2004

Knowing that I enjoy writing, in all forms and styles, one of my best friends once asked me what the definition of poetry is. Naturally, for my math-major friend, I first turned to the dictionary…one definition is: an arrangement of words, sometimes rhymed, in a style more imaginative than ordinary speech. Then, (for he’s also quite the philosopher) I included a quote from Meliere, “All that is not prose is verse; and all that is not verse is prose.” Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

“Yes,” replies my friend, “but what is the difference?” So I throw another quote at him, “Prose = words in their best order;-- poetry = the best words in the best order.” Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

“So, what is poetry, according to you, I mean.” That, ladies and gentlemen, is not a question which can be answered in one sentence, nor, even I think in one sitting. I pride myself on being able to explain things so that others may comprehend the idea. Yet, with this question I found myself strangely without words. Poets have been quoted for years about what poetry is or isn’t; debates about poetry have raged for years, if it has no structure, is it poetry? If it doesn’t rhyme, is it poetry? If it’s in free form, or freestyle, is that a poem? Lately, debates rage about lyrics, are song lyrics poetry? Is rap poetry? With these questions is where I began my explanations.

To all of these questions, I would say yes. As a poet myself, I respect the classics, the sonnets, the metered and rhyming poetry. One of my favorite poets, Robert Frost, once said, “I’d soon as write free verse as play tennis with the net down.” Obviously his style of writing is quite measured and metered with rhymes, as seen in an excerpt from his ever popular The Road Not Taken:

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I doubt that any English speaker would fail identify that stanza, even standing alone, as poetry. Yet, it doesn’t have to rhyme to be poetry as TS Elliot expresses from “The Hollow Men”:

Between the idea
and the reality
Between the motion
and the act
Falls the Shadow.

Poetry is using words to frame an emotion, an expression, a place, a time, an act…words beyond the obvious, and beyond the evident structure. Which is also why I think lyrics can also be poetry, not that all poetry can be put to music, and not that all lyrics are poetry, but it’s possible. So what’s the difference? You tell me, is this poetry?

“Would you dance if I asked you to dance?
Or would you run and never look back?
Would you cry if you saw me crying?
And would you save my soul tonite?”

Those are lyrics are sung by Enrique, in his song Hero. For someone being technical, all of those questions are complete sentences, and they don’t have any rhyming pattern. Yet the questions go beyond the obvious, go into the soul, to me, standing alone, maybe it’s not a poem, but it is poetic.

On the other hand, what the band Linkin Park does, in my opinion, is put together poetry, or a poem, with a blend of music. Even standing alone, these lyrics to the song “Numb” are poetry.

“i’m tired of being who you want me to be
feeling so faithless
lost under the surface
i don’t know what you’re expecting of me
put under the pressure
of walking in your shoes”

Moving on, is rap poetry? Again my answer would be, some of it, but not all of it. As I stated previously, just because it rhymes, doesn’t make it poetry, and just because it doesn’t, doesn’t make it not poetry. It’s easy to hold up a classic poem (such as an poem by Edgar Allen Poe) against a typical, or even second rate rap (such as a Snoop Dawg rap), and say that the rap isn’t poetry. To actually participate in this debate, research and appreciate of both the classis and the rap must be held.

Funny side note, my father is the person who introduced me to rap. Not all rap, not the likes of Snoop Dawg or the 504 Boyz. But Dad, he made me listen to how intricately rappers such as Eminem weaved words, and created irony and emotions from a simple rhyme. Take “Lose Yourself” by Eminem:

“You better lose yourself in the music, the moment. You own it, you better never let it go. You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow. This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo.

The soul’s escaping, through this hole that it’s gaping. This world is mine for the taking. Make me king, as we move toward a new world order. A normal life is borin, but superstardom’s close to postmortem; it only grows harder, only grows hotter.”

And he’s not the only lyrically talented, poetically minded rapper, take also Many Men from 50Cent:

“Many men, wish death upon me
Blood in my eye dawg and I can't see
I'm trying to be what I'm destined to be
And niggas trying to take my life away
I put a hole in a nigga for messin’ with me
My back on the wall, now you gon' see
Better watch how you talk, when you talk about me
'Cause I'll come and take your life away

Many men, many, many, many, many men
Wish death upon me
Lord I don't cry no more
Don't look to the sky no more
Have mercy on me”

Eventually, in order to answer my friend’s question, I simply had to give him plenty of examples of non-typical poetry, so that he might recognize it when he sees it out of a textbook and out of form. Perhaps someday I will have a profound statement to be copied in a book, for now, I had to admit, not defeat, yet not a succinct answer either.

What is poetry? I can give you a guide, but you’ll have to find out for yourself.

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About the author Katherine Steckmann: Born in 1980 in Salem, OR, I haved lived in 13 different cities, five states and two countries. Growing up I was very active, yet I was also (and still am) an avid reader, and I've been writing for years.

In 1995 my family moved to the Czech Republic, Europe. During the years I spent on the continent we traveled many places. I also I studied the Czech langauge, and can speak it well. The years in Europe passed swiftly; in 1999 I came back to the States to attend college. After several moves, last year I landed back in Portland, Oregon to be with my family as my father was dying. This past year has merely been an existance to me, but currently I am again in the process of planning for the future.

My life has been filled with great experiences and material to use for writing. It is my plan to graduate with a BS in Communications, with a concentration in Public Relations. It is also my intention to continue writing, until I can write no more. Email: silverblue017@excite.com

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