WHY IS FREE FORM PREVALENT TODAY?

By scribbler, 7 March, 2011

Forums

Fee form

is prevelant because poets wish to be paid for what they write, and...
oh, sorry, you meant FREE FORM, my bad!

heehee

It's an interesting question. It is harder to express oneself in rhyme. At least, it is for me.
But I think writing freeform poetry that flows and has a natural cadence is just as hard, and I think that freeform poetry allows for a more varied and subtle emotional content.
Then again, the rhyming poetry I love isn't at all deficient in subtlety or depth of content!

This is a layman's opinion. I have no formal education in poetry beyond that of secondary school, and even less in terms of the history of poetry.
I do not believe that freeform poetry developed to make writing poetry easier, or easier to read. I think that in some part, freeform poetry, a fairly recent form of the art, has developed because the reasons that poetry developed in the first place have become obsolete, or increasingly questioned.
Poetry originally developed in order to transmit information, in a time when the only way to do this was by word-of-mouth. Poetry is older than written language, and imo older than songwriting. It is far easier to memorize long tales, myths, doctrines, sagas, histories, geneologies, practices and other information when it is mneumonic, in rhyming form and thus far easier to remember. Almost every ancient written tale, starting with Gilgamesh, is in the form of rhyme because that is how these tales first developed andsubsequently spread to ever-wider audiences.

Even more than a century after printing was invented in the West, Shakespeare and almost every other poet, playwright and songwriter was still using rhyme almost exclusively, although it's structure and depth of meaning were increasingly complex. It had become a valued art-form in itself, in spite of the fact that the original reason for its existance was now obselete.

I think that mass communication, near-universal literacy and increasing ease of recording, coupled with the influx of many different cultural influences in this age of easy travel, and the increasing cultural and societal freedom of individual thought, have accelerated this process, culminating in poets like T.S. Elliot, whose freeform work was originally frowned upon, and in many cases villified ,but who is now, by many, seen as one of the founders of modernism, which often questions traditional ways of creating art, and the conservativism of artistic establishment.

Just my two cents: someone more learned and more educated in the ways of poetry could maybe tell you a better tale!

Spot on Jim! A highly informed response.

I set myself exercises in writing traditional forms that seldom even see the light of Neopoet. They are purely for the purpose of developing my wordcrafting skills. Having a full set of prosodic "tools" is invaluable to the art of freeform writing. The "free" in freeform is perhaps a misnomer. Really good freeform will invariably contain at least some prosodic elements-
meter, though often complex and variable.
rhyme, where it contributes and does not detract
assonance, alliteration, metaphor simile, the works.

That being said, freeform can be used as an excuse for laziness. Basically just writing a piece of prose and splitting it into lines.

That's one of the reasons we are here at Neopoet. To point out lack of prosodic values, cliches, over or under adherence to form.

Personally, I think someone new to the craft is best advised to avoid rhyme, it is such a "trap for young players" and concern themselves more with original expression. That is just my approach, it works for some and not for others.

I try to write for all readers but do it with the fore-knowledge that mostly only other poets will end up reading it. Although I've got some ideas about changing that...

I agree...

Seems that free form isn't "free' after all, according to the research I'm doing. As Jim said, I've no creative writing degree. I just read all the poems I can get my hands on, and gain from those.

And as you said, about the laziness/excuse... i think that is where a lot of folks are at.

I'm enjoying the commentary here.

all above

I thank you all for commenting. I hope this has not been taken as a me versus them thing. I just think it helps for a writer to stop on occasion and think on his or her motive for choosing their particular mode of expressing their thoughts. I am used to being in the minority in the form I use most and have not been made to feel stigmatized because of it. And there have been a few poems I've posted in free verse that would have been exceedingly difficult to put in rhyme. thanks again and I look forward to hearing from others on this subject.........stan

perhaps I did not answer your question directly enough

I write for all readers. And have strategies I am putting in place to introduce non-poets to poetry. I can't be more specific at this stage

I believe "freeform" includes all forms and is perhaps the most difficult way to express oneself successfully.

I think all poets should attempt classical forms purely to increase their skills, but not limit themselves to them.

It is wrong to stigmatise anyone for choosing a particular form. One great poet who has not returned to Neopoet yet is a magnificent sonnet writer, and my only persistent criticism of him was for numbering his sonnets instead of naming them. I thought it was pretentious [mischievous grin]

Bottom line is that beginning with Jim's original response, poetry has expanded beyond form but it is not easy. And especially not easy to get non poets to read them. One thing about the history of poetry where my research tends to disagree with Jim's is that rhyme was a later, rather than primal form. Rhythm, meter, is the primal form. Even alliteration came before rhyme. Rhyme can be a deadly trap. We have all read potentially good poetry destroyed by searching for a rhyme that leads to cliche.

Rhyme is often the enemy of good poetry.

Call me dumb ass!!!

Finally caught error,OK had it pointed out, in title..................stan

LMFAO

Call me dumb ass!!!

Not ever.

Jim pointed to the error in a very thoughtful way

in the first comment posted here, after that I just ignored it.

Did you read Jim's comment, the first comment here. Did you read mine? Are you reading anything? Or was this just a self-indulgent self-justifying rant that didn't warrant the thought and consideration your peers gave it?

Jess

Of course I've been reading comments. I have intended this to be about what others thought not what I thought.And I'm sorry you perceived this to be a rant.................stan

nah, I only called it a rant when you didn't seem to have read

the very first comment, which pointed out the error in the title in a very clever way.

time for rhyme

"Freeform" is, of course, another name for lack of discipline. I have yet to read any freeform poem , no matter how effective and erudite the writer is, without the sneaking suspicion that this very competent write could have been much more if written in a classical style. While the best of freeform can stand comparison with classical works, I suspect that an audience might find the lack of rhyme and metre a distraction. Finally, I can still recall songs from my youth, the words spring to mind by a combination of tune and rhyme. Most individuals can recite some poetry, again because of the classical structure.
Regards

Ian

greetings Tam

I guess I'll need to answer each comment as though I intend to influence others' thinking.else Jess think I'm ignoring you all . I agree in your feeling that classical may require more effort than free form. Yet I have read and written some free form writes that had intent that would have been near impossible to put in rhyme form without the rhyme itself interfering with the message. At the same time I think a good classic write is more likely to be remembered over time than a good free form..........stan

I disagree

With your characterization of freeform poetry. I spend considerable amounts of time writing mine, and often simply scrap what I have and start again because it does not meet the standards that I set for myself.
I cannot speak for scotland, it has been almost 30 years since I set foot upon her green hills, but at open mic sessions that I have attended and participated in here in the US, audiences have great enthusiasm for freeform and blank verse poetry, as well as rap, although they still appreciate good classic verse as well.
There will always be rhyming poetry, it is how we've made and enjoyed it for probably tens of thousands of years. But freeform poetry is here to stay.

hi Jim

There is a difference between free verse and good free verse just as there is between good rhyming and just rhyming. I think to write either well is difficult, but to write just free verse may be easier than just rhyming. I am not meaning to take a stand against either but am hoping this forum merely gets people to think about both types and maybe explore trying a type they have not tried yet. Either type..............stan

I haven't read the commentary

I haven't read the commentary since I don't want to be influenced and have my thoughts swayed to or from my intent.

I think that rhyme is the way poetry was, I see no more Shakespeares or Frosts etc. in the making since the English that was used is no longer in effect, spoken in today's vernacular. It was then.

However, that there are an infinite number of voices that can speak of their own time...in our own words....and can add layers upon layers of meaning in free form is the essence of a WS Merwin or Plath, Hughes, Bukowski, performance/rap. In my viewpoint rhyme is encased and put to music. Some of the purest musicians are brilliant poets.

An example I will cite is a song and a poem by musicians and a poet.

First Merwin:

Cave

Stone room dug into the brow of the ridge
one corner of it the rose-gray living rock
that covers the dark halls of the underworld
grate maned green water-dog on the south wall
where the whitewash is mottled to a map of time
casement windows to the north facing
the guilt of small fields and the bend of river
far below them and set into the hillside
in the east wall the ancient oven mouth
a dark shape like the backs of sunrise and moonrise
and the black arches of the woodstove with its scrolls
of iron leaves and love goddess and rainbow
I have come back through the years to this
stone hallow encrypted in its own stillness
I hear it without listening

(You can hear music, the rhythm and cadence though not one punctation mark is used..Merwin has won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry along with every award possible, including Poet Laureate.)

Here's a band (The Mumford Brothers) playing and the lyrics to *The Cave*, winning awards and playing on the Grammy Awards recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtEasM--AQg

Lyrics to The Cave :

It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind

The harvest left no food for you to eat
You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see
But I have seen the same
I know the shame in your defeat

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

Cause I have other things to fill my time
You take what is yours and I'll take mine
Now let me at the truth
Which will refresh my broken mind

So tie me to a post and block my ears
I can see widows and orphans through my tears
I know my call despite my faults
And despite my growing fears

But I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again

So come out of your cave walking on your hands
And see the world hanging upside down
You can understand dependence
When you know the maker's hand

So make your siren's call
And sing all you want
I will not hear what you have to say

Cause I need freedom now
And I need to know how
To live my life as it's meant to be

And I will hold on hope
And I won't let you choke
On the noose around your neck

And I'll find strength in pain
And I will change my ways
I'll know my name as it's called again
It's empty in the valley of your heart
The sun, it rises slowly as you walk
Away from all the fears
And all the faults you've left behind