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.

[Maria Retz]

Thank you Benjamin.

This will help me both when reviewing poems and when writing poems...

Then I can go through the poems I write and give an honest review for myself :-D

It is good rules.

I mostly look at the flow of the poem and at the rhymes. Also the lenght of the lines.

But it is not always I remember to go through my own poems in that way... Sometimes I think I should use a little more time on doing this.

[Erik Bergstrom]

A good 'basic' guide for reviewing poetry. I'll admit I'm hopeless when reviewing poetry, but it seems that is all that is sent my way for reviewing. I like to write stories, and poetry (while some elements remain the same) strays away from the things that I know. This helps me to offer more advice other than "great job!", even if it isn't the all-purpose guide to reviewing poetry. It at least gets me on the right track, anyway. Thanks, been looking for something like this. Maybe I'll come back and review some of your stuff soon...

[Knij Nagili]

thanks for the suggestions...I think I'll try a couple of them....

[{Angel Redd}[Formerly A..]

Thanks. this helps a lot.

[Courtney, {qué S..]

This is definitely helpful for anyone trying to improve the quality of their reviews, including me. I wish others would review my poems like this. It would make it easier to improve my poetry and would definitely give more weight to any positive reviews. Nice write. I'll definitely consult it whenever I want to write an outstanding review for a poem, which I usually do only when I think the poem has great potential or has touched me and I think is great as is. Thanks for posting this.

[David P. Eckert]

I think I agree with most of your points, Ben. The rhyming is an interesting one. Depending on the style and how conventional the structure is and the writing style is, there may be variations. In many spoken word poems, the rhyming moves around, sometimes within a line and sometimes at the end. Also, it's not always necessary to have an exact rhyme to get the effect of a rhyme, as long as the vowel sound and the meter are the same. For example rasp, crash, grasped, none of which are perfect rhymes, but keep the pace the same as if it were rhyme. If the poet is seeking to do something that is completely classical, then perhaps what I am saying does not work. The grammar is also one I mostly agree with. I tend to use commas to separate thoughts the way I would in a sentence, not relying on the end of a line. And I use periods the same way - at the end of sentences.

One other thought is that not all poems are posted for the sake of art. Some are posted for the sake of expression, regardless of whether they are art. With those I personally don't choose to review them so much for their technical merit as for the meaning or emotion that is being conveyed.

David

[Dream Poet]

This is almost the way I want my poetry to be reviewed! All except the grammer part which I agree with F.G Franklin. Poetry is an art form and it would be like telling someone that they need to use a certain type of brush stroke on a canvas when doing an oil painting. Other than that I find this very useful and since I'm new here I will be reviewing some things soon and will bookmark this for future reference. I don't agree with Gary H. however in that he just goes with the flow unless he knows the person well. I myself give my honest opinion always. That is the greatest part of this whole thing. Some will like. Some will hate. Some will don't give a darn at all. I rather enjoy when people tell me exactly how they feel about my poetry. I have made adjustments to some while others I leave alone cause this is how I want it to appear. Thanks for this article!

[Crap!]

I liked this piece though I beg to differ in opinion with most of what it contained.Proper grammer isnt constantly necessary in poetry ex: " I aint no white mans boy, I was my momma's pride and joy" Poetry at its best is a spur to the human soul and psyche, an art form of grand boundaries. As such, it must be left up to the " gentle reader" as Stephen King calls his audience, to determime what poetry is in their own ear, in their own mind, in their own heart.
People that do not like simplicity in form will not like folk art. Poetry is both an art and a craft.The point is to convey emotion and if I, as a reader, disagree vehemently, then at least you have evoked a response.