To poets who write rhyming poetry: poor you! To most of the world there are two kinds of poems: those that rhyme and those who don’t. There are many forms of poetry, but let’s face it: rhyming or not rhyming are big distinctions for most people. And rhyming is on the way out. Sure, it’s cute and clever and all that, but when it comes down to the “art” of writing a poem, rhyming draws automatic critiques.
I hear the same critiques over and over and, I admit, I’ve made most of them. My own poetry doesn’t usually rhyme, but a cleverly put-together piece that rhymes does make me smile.
It is said that rhyming poetry is too restrictive; authors are accused of limiting themselves for the sake of rhyming. And thus we advise them: just try not rhyming, try picking the word that you really mean, one word that conveys the exact thing you’re describing.
In retrospect, I find such criticism unfair. True, many neophyte poets rhyme because of the antiquated notion that poems “should rhyme.” But we shouldn’t discount forms of poetry just because free verse is all the rage these days. Rhyming is a characteristic of many poetic forms. Instead of suggesting that poets remove the rhyme, I wonder what we could say to help them improve it.
Yes! I like it ! Bravo!
I find that those who say that rhyme is dead or on the way out are silly little people who are incapable of putting together a rhyming poem.
A poet today writes in both rhyme and free verse. If not he is not very talented.
You say “antiquated”.
I say do not discard the old unless you have something equal or superior to replace it with.
Just tonight I received another rejection of my poetry. It all rhymes…every time…without fail. My favorite criticism is that it doesn’t sound natural, as if free verse does? Rhyming poetry has a proud history and great staying power. I console myself in that maybe my time will come eventually…but I don’t lose sleep over it. I write for my enjoyment and that is enough for me.