Poetry

Oh, please, it's the likes of this guy who helped propagate the Dogged Nice Guy as the "proper" "romantic" approach to seduction. One of the most poisonous memes in history. I'll take the opportunity to jump forward a few centuries and send a figurative kick up Gustavo Adolfo Becquer's pale nerdy ass, for he participated in the same terrible sin of believing that women should be worshipped rather than loved, and from a distance rather than from up close.

And I still can't help but love the bastards. Tsk.

edited 11th Jul '12 2:08:10 PM by TheHandle

Well, in Petrarch's defense, he did build upon an existing and pervasive literary theme — Courtly Love. His poems are simply much more intense than those of the poets before him (like Bernard de Ventadour, who was overall quite light-hearted and playful).

Yeah, he gave it an unhealthy Serious Business spin.

At least he was aware of it himself —

(from sonetto 150)

Self aware dogged nice guys make me cry. I used to be one myself.

Regardless, Petrarch wrote beautifully. You needn't think Troy had it coming to appreciate The Iliad, nor share Dante's religious or interpersonal fixations to love the Commedia. Hell, I love Mayakovsky's poetry, though it was composed for some of the most destructive ends ever envisioned.

I'm leaving Prague now, and I've never seen such a beautiful setting have such depressed people. "Defeated" is the word that comes to mind, or maybe "disappointed". First by Communism, then by Capitalism. One could say that their mistake was the same as that of the Dogged Nice Guy poets. Placing something on a pedestal. Placing all their hope and their dreams in something other than themselves. Getting too exalted, too caught up in the apology, and being caught off-guard when the blue mountains in the horizon turn out to be just big mounds of barren dirt.

There might be some material for a poem in here.

Does anyone know here any sites that are good for learning about scanning and metrics and such?

This looks like a good resource. And thanks for not leaping to free verse.

I may as well dump this here. While I was bored and scrolling around Tumblr I found this poem. It's interesting.

In reading it aloud I've found that despite being a native speaker I mispronounce several words. Although, my need to defend myself points out that I haven't even seen a few of those words before. If you're curious here is my attempt.

I have no trouble reading that without making mistakes, as long as I know the word.

So yeah, english has a terrible writing/pronounciation correlation, but you can work it out if you have the etymology in mind.

Necroing the thread with Crimean Sonnets:

http://www.ap.krakow.pl/nkja/literature/polpoet/mic_crim.htm

What's your opinion, guys :D

I've written a handful of my own poetry/lyrics. Would anyone care to critique?

You'll want to post those in Writer's Block.

Maybe I'm just being a little impatient, but doesn't seem like critics are workin' on the designated threads there. I was also under the impression that was more for fiction and prose (which I'm already trying to get critiqued there), rather than poetry or lyrics.

edited 22nd Jun '13 3:50:32 AM by Izon

Anyone want to read my poetry? (Or rather, is anyone here?)

bumping this up.

wrote this about The Last Unicorn.

I've written this little piece inspired by these photographs. It's very rough, improvised, but I don't know which direction to take in refining it.

I, personally, love the works of Lord Byron, and Percy Shelley. Ozymandias is quite possibly my absolute favorite poem.

I'm a Walt Whitman man myself.

I love Tennyson myself, and Dickinson.

edited 10th Apr '14 11:37:18 AM by Ellowen

Speaking of Wikisource, I came across this gem by Bertram Dobell:

ON A PHYSICIAN

"My patients never of my skill complain,"

Said a physician, ignorant and vain:

"That I can understand," a jester said

"For no complaints are uttered by the dead."

edited 5th Sep '15 9:59:40 AM by RicaCriscia

Reading excerpts from War Songs, a collection of poetry written by 6th-century Arab poet and knight 'Antarah ibn Shaddad as he wandered across the peninsula, taking lovers and destroying people.

What. A. Lad.

Anyway here's some Patti Smith.

rape

From the Edward Ridley translation of Lucan:

And great the glory in the minds of men,
Ambition lawful even at point of sword,
To rise above their country: might their law:
Decrees are forced from Senate and from Plebs:
Consul and Tribune break the laws alike:
Bought are the fasces, and the people sell
For gain their favour: bribery's fatal curse
Corrupts the annual contests of the Field.
Then covetous usury rose, and interest
Was greedier ever as the seasons came;
Faith tottered; thousands saw their gain in war.

As a friend of mine said in response, the follies of man know no age.

Very artful use of iambic pentameter, too.