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Writing prose or,
sentences with,
line breaks and punctuation,
is not
Poetry.
Yes, but sadly that has been defined as poetry and popularized on social media, blogs and even in books. This form of poetry is often called Instagram Poetry and has taken the world by storm.
The age of Instagram Poetry, for better or worse, has arrived, and it's here to stay. Each day more people join in on this trend of writing short snippets of words meant to grab their audience's attention in a single image or post. But is this really what poetry should be?
What is Poetry?
At its core, poetry has been a way for authors to express themselves through carefully crafted metaphors, images and deep levels of emotion. It's created with intention and purpose. In contrast, Instagram Poetry can lack depth and give only a superficial view of the author's feelings.
Poetry in itself is glorious. It's a rhythmical composition of elevated thoughts or a specific emotional response. It is an expression in a rhythm. It is a dance of sound and word in a language chosen by the poet.
The earliest known forms of poetry were spoken; written poetry came much later. Over the years, poets have talked about history, mythology, the natural world, emotions, and life in a rhythm. Sometimes poetry captures a moment or an idea; other times, beauty or feelings.
The Popular Form of Poetry Today
The expression of thoughts, feelings or ideas in a collection of random lines or phrases, without a structure, rhyme or rhythm, is today's major form of go-to poetry.
An example
These un-inspired, un-imaginative forms of poetry written, lack depth in meaning and are just statements that claim to be called poetry.
It's not that these forms of poems have done only a disservice to poetry overall. A few years back, poetry's unofficial death and decay was announced. It was a vanishing and fading art away in the real world. It was only alive with literature students.
Instagram poetry has brought back attention to poetry, albeit more shallowly. The short sentences and snippets have created a new wave of interest in this otherwise neglected art form.
Why and How Modern Word Poetry Became Popular?
The sudden rise of Instagram Poetry can be attributed to its accessibility. It is an easy-to-consume medium that allows anyone to share their thoughts quickly and conveniently online. It's a low barrier to entry for many writers who want to express themselves without diving too deep into poetic conventions or literary devices.
What's more, the poets writing this new form of poetry are majorly those who have seldom read any literary work or anything closely related to pure poetry.
Unless at least a hundred pieces of poetry in a specific language are read, studied, analyzed and understood, that is to say, tasted, eaten and digested well, a person cannot create anything that can be called a poem.
Some examples:
How to write good poetry
A poem comes from the heart and has a rhythm.
A good piece of poetry doesn't have to rhyme (if it rhymes all the way better) but it has to have a structure and form. It should be deep and meaningful. A poem should reflect something and give the reader a concentrated imaginative awareness. Language plays an important role. A verse is born not by forcefully rhyming words but by establishing harmonious rhythm among words ad emotions.
It would be incorrect to say that all contemporary or modern forms of poems do not have the qualities of a good piece of poetry. Some poets are writing good poems today; one needs to have the sense to distinguish good from bad, which comes from reading.
Read classical and contemporary poets; read about metres, forms, structure, rhyming schemes etc.
While social media is a great platform to showcase one's writing or poetic skills, it instantly provides a platform to publish beautiful poems; it should be used to present verses elegantly formed and tactfully composed. Even someone beginning to write should try to master the art of poetry and not muddle the otherwise graceful form of literature.
One should also keep in mind that writing poetry requires practice and dedication. It is important to be patient and not rush through the process.
One Sentence Conclusion
Read, Read, Read well. Think, Think, Think Well. Write Well.
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