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Discussion: words that are too common in "bad" poetry?

wesmdow

wesmdow

Bluelighter
Joined
Dec 13, 2004
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4,016
i find a lot of the same words circulating (not just here) but in a lot of writing.

what are some of the words that can really weaken the strength of a peice of writing?

i think adverbs in general do this, and many adjectives such as "very" and "much."

what are words that you feel drain an otherwise good poem?

(i love thesaurus.com)
 
I know what you mean about adverbs. Adjectives like 'very' and 'much' should definitely be avoided.

But otherwise, I think it depends too much on context to be able to say that a particular word will weaken a piece of writing. Groups of words (i.e. phrases) on the other hand... 'bad' poetry is usually overrun with clichés. If you're serious about writing poetry, it's not enough to rely on ready-made phrases (although again, it depends on context - sometimes these are appropriate in dialogue, for example).
 
heres an example. rhyming 'head' with 'dead.'

i suppose that falls under the category of cliche... but iz thinking the point of this thread might be to sort of enumerate those cliches... maybe itll help some new writers out.
 
imo, there's no such thing as bad poetry, just those who can't express themselves, and those who can't understand the lack of expression.

you need to know someone can count if you wanna teach them algebra. or that they can't.
 
i think poetry that has no imagery is almost laughable... poems that use "I" and never use figurative language.
 
echo off said:
imo, there's no such thing as bad poetry, just those who can't express themselves, and those who can't understand the lack of expression.

you need to know someone can count if you wanna teach them algebra. or that they can't.
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90% of poetry sucks ass, i think.

i guess i have too high of standards. if someone cant perfectly articulate their thoughts into a poem, well, then that poem sucks.
 
Its not so much what your writing in your poem but what you're feeling in your soul. On the other hand it is rather important to make what you're writing original and your own....

Everything is poetry but we have to translate it into words and that is what makes the true poet an artist as he paints with words...they are mind artists as they project imagery and thought into our minds by way of the written word. It depends on how those words are worked and arranged that makes the poem what it is...

Write with your soul...not your brain! Be original and try to steer clear of cliche as much as possible...fuck it even invent words and new prashes....
 
The Frog said:
Its not so much what your writing in your poem but what you're feeling in your soul. On the other hand it is rather important to make what you're writing original and your own....

Everything is poetry but we have to translate it into words and that is what makes the true poet an artist as he paints with words...they are mind artists as they project imagery and thought into our minds by way of the written word. It depends on how those words are worked and arranged that makes the poem what it is...

Write with your soul...not your brain! Be original and try to steer clear of cliche as much as possible...fuck it even invent words and new prashes....
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i dont believe in souls.

good poetry comes from a sharp mind, and an ability to convey your feelings via arbitrary symbols to which weve assigned both meaning and sound.

the combination thereof, if done correctly, results in good poetry. read (wordy)s poems, then some of the other crap on here, and tell me that "poetry that comes from the soul" is good poetry. cuz its not.

its a release, maybe. but thats it.

"fly" and "high" together bother me, to stay on topic ;)
 
SmC said:
I agree. When everybody goes 'that was great" or something, i usually think "Are we reading the samething?"
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this is why i dont respond to hardly any threads in this forum. i dont want to personally insult anyone.

...but usually, im just not feelin it. thats me tho.

also, i hate most of my shit too, so im not on a high horse here.
 
it all depends on context. cliche and stale rhymes can still be used effectively, if given some clever twists or if it suits the the theme.

also, 'good' and 'bad' are inaccurate labels when speaking subjectively. one person will focus on a few good lines, and for them that outweighs how they feel about the rest of the piece. consequently, another person may feel that one or two bad lines ruin what they think is an otherwise great piece.

to accurately rate something as good or bad then, you should have these terms/criteria defined in order for any discussion of this type to have any real meaning.
 
sometimes simple spacing of words bothers me like the words are to clustered without purpose.

and sometimes people dont have a mind for flowing from one sentence to the next. im not talking experimental writting because it is a process, more along th elines of every day rhyme scemes.
 
wesmdow said:
i dont believe in souls.

good poetry comes from a sharp mind, and an ability to convey your feelings via arbitrary symbols to which weve assigned both meaning and sound.

the combination thereof, if done correctly, results in good poetry. read (wordy)s poems, then some of the other crap on here, and tell me that "poetry that comes from the soul" is good poetry. cuz its not.

its a release, maybe. but thats it.
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agreeed, however i think poetry comes from the gut. it's intuitive, instinctive, sharp. good poets can filter that into a language that most can understand (which is what i gather you're saying in the quoted post above).

anyway, on-topic.

- i hate adjectives in poetry, they're bulky, unnecessary
- i hate long strings of adjectives even more (e.g. the ghostly, pale, moist, kiss)
- i dislike when people are afraid to break out of AB rhyme-scheme
- i dislike rhyming 90% of the time
- i hate it when poems describe rather than *do* or *show*
- i think most bad poems can be taken to with a hacksaw to eliminate verbal diarrhea and be turned into good poems
-
 
solitude
alone
dream
sleep
night
rain
black
dark
tear
soul
bleed
ocean
goddess
bloom
wither

i could go on all night, but i'm running out of my livejournal posts to crib off.
i kid.
 
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i think the problem with the majority of writing as we learn to write is a general unwillingness to actually read. so, someone thinks they're being really clever with a particular phrase or rhyme and they don't know that its cliche'd.

people think that good writers (or musicians or scientists) are born, as though every good author simply popped out of the womb spouting fine-tuned metaphors. certainly, there are people with more of an affinity towards words and symbols than others; still, a twee of education -- even self eduction -- goes along way. Einstein's brain appears to have been wired better for thinking more abstractly, which helps with thought-experiments and quantum mechanics, but there was a certain amount of formal training required, some of it self-administered.

that holds true with everything from writing to science to philosophy/logic and music. mind, i'm not an advocate of the 'you absolutely have to go to Uni and master in writing' school of thought, but there is definitely a lack of interest in reading by a majority of writers, especially newer writers.

The Frog said:
Write with your soul...not your brain! Be original and try to steer clear of cliche as much as possible...fuck it even invent words and new prashes....
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Personally, I'm rather against this idea. Well... the actualization of the idea, that is; conceptually, I agree with the idea behind this. But, unless there is an absolute reason for this (ie. trying to convey a certain overall feeling by the use of a completely made-up term/word) or something related to the plot (think 'newspeak'), I feel that there probably is a word already out there that conveys the concept you're going for, in definition, context, and colour.

Making up a word for the simple sake of trying to be 'original' is counter-productive, I think. In fact, people's reaction to contemporary Blackspeak is proof of this.

Also, if you don't think a word exists to solidify your symbolic thought, chances are it's out there and you simply don't know it.
 
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physix said:
i think the problem with the majority of writing as we learn to write is a general unwillingness to actually read. so, someone thinks they're being really clever with a particular phrase or rhyme and they don't know that its cliche'd.

people think that good writers (or musicians or scientists) are born, as though every good author simply popped out of the womb spouting fine-tuned metaphors. certainly, there are people with more of an affinity towards words and symbols than others; still, a twee of education -- even self eduction -- goes along way. Einstein's brain appears to have been wired better for thinking more abstractly, which helps with thought-experiments and quantum mechanics, but there was a certain amount of formal training required, some of it self-administered.

that holds true with everything from writing to science to philosophy/logic and music. mind, i'm not an advocate of the 'you absolutely have to go to Uni and master in writing' school of thought, but there is definitely a lack of interest in reading by a majority of writers, especially newer writers.
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Hear, hear.
 
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