I know it's all the rage these days to write poetry that does not rhyme. In fact I've had some people tell me that rhyming poetry is 'oh so amateurish!'... It reminds me of the aesthetic arguments re. 'pure form' versus 'experential continuity'.  As with most things, I see merit in both sides of the argument and can never really be an advocate for a sole perspective.  That's why, when I write poetry, I mix it up a bit. 

Dorothy Porter's 'The Monkey's Mask' is a must-read for poets in my opinion.  Perhaps you've already read it but in case you haven't, grab a copy and take a look.  She has constructed an entire novel in poetic form...It didn't rhyme...and I loved it.

But who can go past magnificent rhyming classics like 'The Pied Piper of Hamelin' by Robert Browning or 'The Man From Snowy River' by good 'ol Banjo?  I know I can't.

What do you guys think?  And perhaps someone can enlighten a novice such as myself, why the shunning of the 'rhyme'?

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Thank you Anthony! :)

I used to have to force myself NOT to write in rhyme ... it seemed every time I put pen to paper out would pop some (often not very good) rhyme.

I still have this problem from time to time but am better now at letting the poem itself shape the form.

The main problem I've found with writing rhyme is I usually very easily get the first stanza or two, then I'm stuck (forced?) to follow the pattern for the rest of the poem!

I guess I could re-write, but again, I let the poem set the form.

Nowadays I write in many forms - rhyme, blank verse, free verse

I own a Roget's Thesauraus but I will also confess to owning a Rhyming Dictionary !

 

I totally agree. I let my words fall out and let it take its own course. for me that is the magic of my poetry. That I don't think too hard about it.
hello interesting topic. I see both sides of the coin like you. But I know personally when I write poetry I don't do it not to rhyme for a reason but its cause when I write I just let it flow out. I try not to think too hard about it. for me writing poetry is more of a emotional release. I usually write when I feel anxious or upset angry etc. so rather bottle up I write it out (well i try to anyway).

I don't know what's worse.... someone obviously trying hard to rhyme or trying hard not to. Either way, the 'try hard' aspect is not a good look.

LIFE is sometimes lyrical and sometimes not. I think...just be honest and however the words pour out, let them.

Sounds like you're not a fan - where do you stand on lyrics? Does the music act as a counter-balance to rhyme's obviousness?

Leigh, well said. I suppose rhyme is often associated with doggerel and has earned itself a bad reputation. Its difficult to write good rhyming verse, especially in the context of classical poetry and adopt both to a post-post modernist perspective. I love both free verse and classical, and can't understand what the concern is about rhyme. Neo-formalism has produced some brilliant poems, so has free verse. Its not the form that matters, its the content.   

Thanks Eugene. Yes, I'm more about using the right words at the right time... .whether they happen to rhyme or not is just how the words fall.

Maybe if I told you the right words

At the right time you'd be mine


Of course it has to rhyme. Otherwise it is not Poetry. It is just free or blank verse. That doesn't mean Poetry is better than blank verse. It just means its different. I mean when you dress up for that big night out you look better with a bit of bling. Rhyme is like jewelery. A pearl necklace makes you look better but you are still the same person. Rhyme makes the message sound better but the message is still the same.

Stephanie, have you heard of Haiku?...Senryu?.... other Japanese short forms? Sanskrit... poetry of Eastern Religions...   there is a whole world of poetry.....rhyming / not rhyming...there is no rule. 

Hit google.

Hit a bookstore.

Yes there is a rule. I just told you the rule.Poetry Rhymes, Blank verse doesn't. 

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