Is Rhyming Poetry Obsolete?

[MsMartha]

I don't think it's obsolete, but for some of us it isn't easy I used to struggle with rhyming when I first tried to write poetry. Now, I only use it as a game (not necessarily a funny game) if I get inspired. It was Ogden Nash who made me feel more comfortable about it--and made me laugh a lot, too!

[stanley]

To condemn rhyme in poetry as being artless is like trying to banish the base drum from music because the drummer is inept and obtrusive in his show off banging at all the wrong places. Rhyme is indeed execrable when it is contrived and inappropriate, but as a device skillfully deployed it is one of the delights of reading poetry. Was it Frost who said something about writing poetry without rhyme or at least without some formal device such as meter? I think he said it was like playing tennis without a net.
I have to agree with DATo that much of what passes for poetry these days ain't. As an amateur poet myself,I plead guilty to producing too often, formless self centered talk distinguished from prose only by it's pretentious ambiguity on the one hand, or its transparent rhymey showing off on the other. Maybe poetry in one self and in others is very rare, but rhyme or no rhyme, it's worth searching for.

[TRose73]

Rhyming poetry is not obsolete for the word artist and those who love their work. I think that free verse has just gotten more popular because it is easier for most people to connect to. Thus, it has become in higher demand. I read and write both rhyming and free verse poetry, and sometimes what I want to say can get lost when I am dead set on making things rhyme. Not only that, but some rhymes are just so common, you groan a little when you see them.

When the poem that rhymes and has meter comes together well, the impact of it tends to be much greater. At least for me. There are some people who just never connect to the stricter styles of poetry and can't stand them.

Free verse, on the other hand, has a freedom where you can focus on the meaning of the poem without rhyme or even meter. It is a story told with only a few punctuated pauses.

[seelkins]

When I first started writing poetry (many moons ago), I thought that the key to a successful poem only came about whenever I was able to get it to rhyme. However, I found that I was greatly limiting myself as a writer. Once I cast off the idea that my words always had to rhyme, I grew exponentially with my work and haven't looked back.

[Genaaa]

Free verse definitely seems to be more common nowadays, but I still love rhyming poetry still. There are so many great works that do indeed have rhyming.

[MarisaRose]

I sure hope not! I do not think it is as popular in this day and age, however, some of my favorite poems are still those that rhyme. I think it takes a lot of skill to be able to create poetry that rhymes and yet is still meaningful!

[pswinnauthor]

My favorite poetry is rhyming, I also like children's books that rhyme. Thy are easier for kids to read and make learning fun. I just finished writing a collection of poems and most rhyme.

[DarthMom25]

I think a lot of younger people see it as cliche. I personally find nothing cliche about it. I very much prefer metered poetry (rhyming or not) over free verse poetry. I agree completely with DATO. I don't like having to hunt for a meaning when I'm reading poetry. Sure, if you don't want to make the meaning completely obvious, don't, but (in my opinion) don't make your readers/listeners have to turn over each and every line to understand what you're getting at.

[Sarah_Khan]

I love when poetry rhymes! But personally I know a lot of people that think adding words that rhyme to their poems makes the poem seem juvenile. So they abstain from rhymes in order for them to be taken seriously.

[Jasmine M Wardiya]

Rhymes can work very well in poems, but it can just as easily make a poem stiff or choppy or juvenile. I tend to struggle more with meter, per say, than rhyme itself, but a lot of old poetry styles use the two together. I like to experiment with my poetry when I have the time, so I write both rhyme and freeverse though only my freeverse poems have been published outside of my blog. Personally, I think rhymes suit some poems and don’t suit others, and it’s the same with freeverse. The content, the word choices: it’s more than just rhyme/no rhyme and structure/freeverse that make a poem after all. Sometimes the poem will decide itself what it wants…and then what are the authors to do but roll with it?

As for rhyme being outdated, similar issue with the ebooks vs. paperback I think. Just because freeverse is more commonplace in the modern era, doesn’t mean rhyme will ever truly become a relic. Though it would be very sad to see that happen, if it does. Rhymes, though not a hard and fast rule of poetry anymore, are still iconic to it. Just like paper is iconic for reading and writing.

[kileiah]

Rhymes can work very well in poems, but it can just as easily make a poem stiff or choppy or juvenile. I tend to struggle more with meter, per say, than rhyme itself, but a lot of old poetry styles use the two together. I like to experiment with my poetry when I have the time, so I write both rhyme and freeverse though only my freeverse poems have been published outside of my blog. Personally, I think rhymes suit some poems and don’t suit others, and it’s the same with freeverse. The content, the word choices: it’s more than just rhyme/no rhyme and structure/freeverse that make a poem after all. Sometimes the poem will decide itself what it wants…and then what are the authors to do but roll with it?

As for rhyme being outdated, similar issue with the ebooks vs. paperback I think. Just because freeverse is more commonplace in the modern era, doesn’t mean rhyme will ever truly become a relic. Though it would be very sad to see that happen, if it does. Rhymes, though not a hard and fast rule of poetry anymore, are still iconic to it. Just like paper is iconic for reading and writing.

I agree very much with this opinion. Rhyme offers so much to language that it would be foolish to discard it, but freeverse can hold its ground as a complete style of its own. There are a lot of different types of poetry and I think a mark of a good writer is the ability to suit the format to the message. After all, you wouldn't use a butter knife to cut a steak, but a jagged steak knife would ruin the bread.

That said, a butter knife appears easier to use, more everyday. Perhaps that is the reason for the plethora of freeverse writers today. If newer poetry seems self-absorbed and unrefined, it may be the fault of the writer's skills and their message, not the form itself.

[kyle364]

I would rather see rhymes. Obviously the more basic, the more boring. That's what makes it difficult though and therefore a more developed skill. Free verse may as well be a short story - and very ambiguous which I agree with reading above.

[pavster]

Honestly rhyming poetry is present in most rap songs or pop songs out there. So it definitely isn't obsolete! While it surely is no longer the favored type of poetry writing in the current time, I do believe it still is something parents will like their toddlers and children to read. So its audience has essentially decreased, and its been disguised into songs rather than nonmusical poetry reading. I'm pretty sure it won't disappear.

[Jasmine M Wardiya]

Honestly rhyming poetry is present in most rap songs or pop songs out there. So it definitely isn't obsolete! While it surely is no longer the favored type of poetry writing in the current time, I do believe it still is something parents will like their toddlers and children to read. So its audience has essentially decreased, and its been disguised into songs rather than nonmusical poetry reading. I'm pretty sure it won't disappear.

Very true. Dr Seuss's books were my favourite back when I was learning to read and I saw them on sale for the Christmas holidays on the weekend - nice time for nostalgia. XD Also, nursery rhymes and those cute things we used to remember months and patterns and things (like the thirty days has september, april etc.). They crop up even now, like the righty tighty one - that one's handy in practical exams.

[Seopromotions5]

Rhyme is a good ingredient to nice creative peom flow and should be embraced the poets and song writers.

-- 13 Dec 2016, 01:17 --

Rhyme is a good ingredient to nice creative peom flow and should be embraced by poets and song writers.

-- 13 Dec 2016, 01:23 --

Rhyme is a good ingredient to nice creative peom flow and should be embraced by poets and song writers.