English Literature

Poetry is a complex literary form which has different strengths and weaknesses when compared to other literary forms, yet other people like, love, and appreciate it because it is unique in its own right. But what makes poetry poetry and so different from other literary forms What is the definition of a poem and what makes it stand out from prose, narration, essay, story, novel, and other literary forms which convey a message or a thought such as a text message or email Thus, this essay will focus on this aspect of poems as a form of literature that is unique and distinguishable from other forms of communication.

Some critics believe that as a literary form, poetry would be hard to define since it is so versatile and dynamic and there can be truly no single definition for it. As Paul Reuben puts it in Elements of Poetry - A Brief Introduction, It is difficult to define we have been more successful at describing and appreciating poetry than at defining it (n.p.). Thus, poetry is a literary form which cannot really be defined but described and appreciated. However, how does one go on describing poetry
A poem is a poem if it is not prose, story or novel.

A poem is a poem if it embodies the different aspects that make a poem a poem. These different aspects are translated to the poem containing the essential elements that would distinguish it from other literary forms.

A poem is a poem if it employs rhyme and rhythm.
A poem is a poem if it contains figurative language pertaining to the different figures of speech that poems use in abundance.

Thus, a poem is the most free of all arts and literature. Freedom is synonymous with poetry.
The following statements above can be both prose-like and poetic, but overall, they all describe what poetry is all about figurative language, creativity, freedom in structure, and composition. However, other works of fiction and even creative non-fiction writing are known to employ the usage of the different forms of figurative language as well. Thus, the elements are not determiners that would make poetry poetry but rather the characteristics that are within poetry. But what makes poetry really known as poetry This can be described in one wordemotions.

According to C.M. Lotspeich, poetry represents an appeal to the emotions (293). This one aspect is generally what makes poetry stand out from other literary forms like prose for example wherein Lotspeich has concluded that it appeals to reason. Such an appeal to the emotions can be best shown in an explication of Theodore Roethkes poem, My Papas Waltz. The poem employs rhyme and rhythm like the usage of rhyming words at the end of each line (e.g., breath and death in lines 1 and 3). It also uses the figurative language like exaggeration with the line I hung on like death in line 3 which does not really make sense but it seems to say a lot on the strength of the Papa of the poem. However, what strike the most are the emotions that the poem evokes in a reader. The poem portrays this child and father who are having a hard time with each other and the feelings of the child are greatly apparent with the rendering of the poem that even the childs emotions of fear, sadness, desperation, and resignation are made visible to the reader. Thus, the poem shows emotions throughout and not just in the beginning or in the climax, appearing in the writing of prose-like creations.

The structure of the poem can also be seen as significant in the description of the poem. In My Papas Waltz for example, the literary work is portrayed in four stanzas or in what is known as terms in proses lingo in four paragraphs. Each stanza would make distinct thoughts that are not connected to each other in the most obvious of ways but they are somewhat connected. However, the usage of lines or stanzas does not really define a poem either as there would be many other poets that would most likely disagree.

In the end, there is really not one thing which defines a poemone can only describe it. But to define poetry is poetry itself since only the most beautiful and choicest of words can be used to define something which many poets have used as an avenue to express their love, angst, or sadness. The best way to go about it would be to declare a literary work as a poem if the person has decided that it is and will always be a poem.