How to review poetry!

Poems are different from stories in that they contain lots of unusual images and metaphors, however only to the untrained eye do poems appear to be "always good". This is a guide to those who wish to improve their ability at reviewing poems. This is my personal guide, that being said some people may disagree with some things written here, but I tried to write it so that everyone would be able to improve the quality of their reviews. Please check it out.

Here are the aspects of poems that I look at, in no particular order:

1. Images used.
Are the images fitting to the topic being discussed? For example, and this is an extreme example, vomit is not a fitting image in a poem about flowers. Look for any images that seem out of place, outlandish, etc. Then decide whether they add or detract from the work, and give your honest opinion.

2. Use of repetition.
First of all, determine if there is ANY repetition, then decide whether it works well, is not used enough, or is used too much. Give your honest opinion to the writer.

3. Structure
How is the poem formed? Is there a verse structure or are the lines all globbed together? By separating poetry into verses (strict poetry) or paragraphs (prose poetry), you make it easier to read and navigate. If you find the way the poem is structured bothersome to you, point it out and suggest they break it up a little. At times people will create poetry where different "voices" speak from the left side of the page, or the right side of the page. This means some of their lines will be on different sides of the screen. Be careful not to criticize them, as that is a style of poetry in itself. However, give your honest opinion of how it worked.

4. Line Length
This is a simple one: Sometimes people have what should be two lines in poetry ONE line, and sometimes they have what should be one line two, three, or four lines. Be sure to suggest a change if you feel the poem would flow better by merging or splitting lines.

5. Pausing
I always look for how pauses work. A pause can be implemented by line break, comma, semicolon, dash, etc. Look for these, and determine if they broke up the flow of the poem OR if they added to the poem by creating a dramatic effect. Also, look for anywhere where in the poem where two thoughts seemed to run together, and suggest a pause in these places. The writer will find this extremely helpful.

6. Rhyme
Determine whether the author uses rhymes or not. If they DO use rhymes, try to find the pattern they are using and point out anywhere where the words they use DO NOT rhyme. Also, look for places where they obviously changed the line around in order to rhyme a certain word, and tell them if the rest of the line suffered because of this. If they DON'T use rhymes, it's probably deliberate, and mentioning their abscence may irritate the writer.

7. Rhythm
As you read the poem, look for places where the flow of the poem changes, getting faster or slower. Try to determine whether the poem would be more enjoyable to you if there were more pauses (slower rhythm), or less pauses (faster rhythm) and WHERE in particular you feel they should do this. The author will appreciate your input.

8. Grammar/Sentence Structure
There is a common misconception that poetry is exempt from grammatical rules. This is NOT true. Poetry should still make sense grammatically, if it doesn't the reader will have to interrupt his reading to figure out how the line would read if it were proper English. While changing the grammatical structure may allow the author to rhyme certain words, or shorten/lengthen a line, it makes the reading suffer because the reader has to decipher it. Please point these lines that use "improper English grammar", and suggest how they can write the same line using "proper English grammar", thereby allowing the reader to immediately understand the line.

Author's Note

It's been a while since I made this, but it still has many good points. I'll revise it eventually.

Reviews

[Gary H]

Some great points here and thanks for writing this. I've been spending a great deal of time reading work recently and am obviously very aware of what you are saying. I would love constructive critisism on my work especially if it enables me to write better things. Personally I think if you are going to go to a writers site there should be some kind of accurate review format. As there isn't I sadly go along with the flow unless I know the person well enough to suggest things to them. Maybe that it the ideal, sending a message to the person first then depending on the response making an appropriate comment. Yours is not the only comment I have read on this subject tonight. Thanks.

[Alex]

great, now we have a 17 year old's guide to reading

I'm starting to think this site is the anti-art

[ZeeArsonist]

Amen! Not only did I find this personally helpful, but it gives me hope that this community will continue to grow strong. I dont believe that i'm above or below anyone else in terms of writing, but i have read and seen a lot of poetry that is getting worthless, unsupported praise. Thanks for giving us a guideline to think about before we submit feedback.

[I.R.]

Yes!! Thanks for posting this up.

[Mystery Inside]

This is great. I was really at a loss as how to review poetry. This piece gives me a great guideline to go by and will be very beneficial.

[Atlanta Carter]

I agree with most of this. As many have pointed out, your Rhythm comments really concern pacing. I do, however, feel pacing is just a relevant as rhythm and meter. Your comments on rhyme also neglect the possibility of finding an incidental rhyme in free verse or prose poetry. They can be just as jarring as a missing rhyme in a rhyming poem.My personal bugbear is the grammar issue. I agree that grammatical conventions should be followed up to a point. Proper grammar keeps ones meanings clear, but sometimes there are reasons for breaking the rules, such as dialect. There are also times where particular devices can intentionally obscure or enhance meaning. I often use elision, which overlaps sentences, giving one mean if you read one way, and another if you read the other way - both of which are intended.Another thing that I often comment on is punctuation. (I know there are many who will disagree with me here.) Some poets just automatically drop all capitalization and end of line punctuation. I think that this should only be done for particular purposes - elision, enjambment, etc., or to obscure meaning. In other words, it should only be done intentionally and in a premeditated way. Why automatically drop something that can be so useful in the clarification of meaning? Of course, there are exceptions to all the rules in certain types of poetry, especially when the visual aspect is important, or when there are certain puzzles, like superimposed lines, palindromes, etc. It's usually obvious when the rules are intended to be broken, and we should always keep that in mind.Thanks for all your work in preparing this guide.

[Gandré]

Thank you very much
You spent lots fo time with it.
thhis definitiv a useful ltext.
Thank you for sharing with me.
great work �Benjamin!

[Georgina Banfield]

Thanks for this, it's very useful. It is often the case where poems are read and comments given that express enjoyment or understanding because the poet has captured something that is experienced by the reader. However, I would like to know that I can give adequate reviews as well as be able to know what form my poem take as a concious effort. Please post more helpful topics about writing and reviewing poetry.

[Amy Widmer]

Shelly would be very proud! Love this essay and I completely agree!

[Blueyedreamer]

hey ben thank you for sending this, it has been really helpfull to me
and i am sure many others as well

i think it has helped me already in reviewing lately
sincerely yours from the clouds

[Eagle Cruagh]

A lot of poetry is art . I like to think of poetry as being
much the same as a painting. Many people loathe a Picasso
and others think his work is the greatest. It is in the eye of
the beholder and if the artist makes a mistake, that is his art, it
identifies him/her whereas if there are no mistakes it must be the
work of the editor, because we all make mistakes. Then again, your
errors tell me who you are, they are a part of your work.
Your article was well thought out, but very subjective, your rules apply
almost entirely to you and you`re work.
Thanks for a tremendous effort. You have made a valiant attempt to explain
the indefinable.