Everything a poet does in a poem has the effect of moving the experience of the poem closer to that of conversation or of ritual. Anglo-Saxon root words, contractions, enjambment, lack of rhyme or slant rhyme or irregular rhyme, all make a poem more conversational; Latin-root words, end-stopped lines, regular and true rhyme, all make the experience of a poem closer to that of ritual.
This in Introspections: American Poets on One of Their Own Poems. An excellent book, by the way.
1 comment:
That's an intersting insight.
I use Miller William's book on poetic forms. It's simple, clear and to-the-point.
A good working guide.
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