Introduction
I have been writing poetry for about five years now, and with this experience I have grown to develop my own style. My style consists of techniques and topics that I have been fond of through writing and reading famous poetry. To me, poetry is a combination of the beauty of linguistics paired with the human experience. Poetry is a reflection of one’s own sentiments and senses through language as though it were song. Every poem I write involves playing with words and the human experience, and that I believe is what makes a great poem.
The Beauty of Language
When I write poetry, I find it fun to engage in wordplay and diction. I love nonsensical wordplay (like Gertrude Stein) and beautiful phrases. A lot of these wondrous phrases include subtle alliteration or fun diction. In my poetry class at UNH I wrote a phrase reading “spinal nerve sandwiches” which I am fond of due to its fun diction and alliteration; the line has a flow in the stresses and sound. Through lots of practice, the ability to create songlike diction in poems becomes second nature and needs little thought. I greatly admire fun, nonsensical wordplay and beautiful diction, as to me that is part of what poetry is about.
The Human Experience
Aside from the mechanics and poetry techniques for writing, a great poem consists of the human experience. They share deepest desires and secrets, hidden motives and sentiments even a writer wasn’t aware of. Poetry touches upon abstract ideas and emotional events. They grasp the human experience and sum it up into a beautiful combination of language and feeling. They leave impacts on readers through their raw nature and ability to create simplicity in such a complex feeling. I believe that great poetry is about the human experience and how one goes through life with feeling, sensation, and observation.
The Equation of a Good Poem
To me, poetry is a combination of beautiful linguistics (wordplay and diction) along with the human experience (abstract ideas). When paired together, these techniques and topics create a poem of fun, play and emotional depth. It is a poem of complexity and simplicity where both are facing off in a room for control—where both are at balance in some oxymoronic sense. With the beauty of sound and language as though it were a song and the wonders of the human experience, a poet can truly do no wrong when it comes to writing.