I had asked this question of one of our telusaers (whose views I am
quoting without asking his permission ... so I will not name him) and
I am still searching for the answer.
My question is how do you differentiate between poetry and prose ?
May be it is the exposure I had or the conditioning but I came to think
poetry needed rhythm and to some extent rhyme. I was too young to care
about the content. When I liked some poetry that wasn't rhythmical
but was striking, thought provoking, I started to consider a little.
Even then I felt the need for a sentence construction different from
regular prose. I think I feel it today too. Call me naive / old fashioned
/ simplistic but I somehow feel reluctant to call, a bunch of well
formed regular sentences albeit broken into different lines, poetry.
So tell me those who can truly appreciate modern poetry, where do you
draw the line between prose and poetry ? Help me understand and appreciate
modern poetry better ! And please believe my sincerity, there is not
an iota of sarcasm anywhere in this post.
--- The telusaer I had asked had this to say: (ofcourse this is my paraphrasing from my understanding)1. The need for rhyme and rhythm in poetry which evolved (probably) from story telling is based in the recitability or need to recite, of the art form.
2. This need for rhythm evolved into strict rules which stopped being aids and began to restrict the creativity and at least did not discourage the poet from engaging in gimmickry, if not encourage him/her !
3. Now that the age is of poems written for one's appreciation and not for reading out aloud or recitation the need for rhythm and rhyme is obviated. The emphasis has deservedly gone towards the content.
4. In reply to a specific: Arbitrary sentence breaks are probably a legacy from the bygone days and a concession to prose-poetry differentiators.
(I beg the forgiveness of the telusaer if I have gone wrong in conveying his ideas !)
Sincerely,
---Sankaram
=================================================================== | SANKA RAMAKRISHNA | | e-mail : sanka@erc.msstate.edu | | home page : http://www.erc.msstate.edu/~sanka/ | | phone : 601-325-2526 (Work.) | ===================================================================