Journal 41: American Poetry Today

Poetry now can be mixed up with rap because there's a an increased number of people that advocate free verse. Although poems still have to have basic poetic rules to make it a poem, for example, stressed and unstressed syllabus, meter, rhyme schemes, or anything that a basic poem has. Simply reading in a poetic and with a sense of expressing it like an art can make a piece of writing a poem. Poem does not have to be associated with background music however it can be a delightful add-on to a poem. Some people nowadays consider rap because raps often have rhyme schemes and stressed and unstressed syllabus or a lyrical meaning and figurative language. Raps also does not need a beat or background music to go with because rap itself can be music. Poems nowaday is classified into many different groups including sonnets, haikus, free verse, and etc. but they all have the basic fundamental characteristics of being a poem, or at least one of the fundamental characteristics. Of all the poems, free verse is of the most controversial because many critiques of poems doesn't view free verse poem as poems due to its lack of respect for the long lasting traditions of poems. I think free verse counts as poem because some poems, in order to follow strict rhymes or rules, became so cryptic that ordinary reader had to decipher the poem in order to understand it. Free verse allows emotion, if it's a lyrical poem, or events, if it's a narrative poem, or both, to flow and is easier for the reader and it's also easier for the author to express his feelings. Although poems that follow strict rules sounds more classy and intelligent, free verse poems are still a form of poem for ordinary people.