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BOO's avatar

Great comparison Ramya! Your piece is so humorous and meaningful. I believe it is not just with sonnets, even in writing an essay, the concept of simplicity has lent itself to lack of craft form just like sweatpants.

I can understand the need for a break, although I very much look forward to your form filled artistic writings. It is purely a delight read your creations!

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Amelia Ng's avatar

What a lovely analogy between corsets and poetry structure! I am, however, a fervent support of free verse in certain situations (I know, I know - hear me out!).

Literature and poetry appears to be a dying art these days. Today’s youth seem to no longer possess the attention or tolerance for delayed gratification that is needed to properly read, digest and synthesize meaning from a poem or story. In that aspect, free verse absolutely has a crucial role (and benefits!) as a gateway to foster a younger generations’ interest in poetry. It is also particularly useful in its adaptability to the mediums of our time (as much as I detest Rupi Kaur’s particular brand of instagram poetry, you can’t deny that it has found wide success and recognition - a Keats or Tennyson poem just doesn’t have the instant relatability that “online viral-ness” demands).

Perhaps the best compromise is to require structure and meaning in poetry but to leave the expression to the author. Poetry, at its core, is a reflection of the human experience. If the central message is conveyed, could we not excuse a little metrical liberalism? Besides, as Mary Oliver noted in her book, “A Poetry Handbook: “free verse is not, of course, free. It is free from formal metrical design, but it certainly isn’t free from some kind of design”. ;)

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