Realism vs Idealism in poetry

[Steppe]

Would like to have your thoughts please. In my poems I tend toward idealism a lot. I often give human qualities to inanimate objects. Others wouldn't be caught dead doing this but are very realistic in their poems.

Where do you stand on this and why? Is one or other more correct or acceptable?

Am I misunderstanding the two terms ?

[Dichroic]

Absolutely nothing wrong with either one and neither one is better, I'd say, any more than prose is better than poetry or Spanish is better than French. They are two different ways to get across an idea, and one may be better suited to communicate a particular idea.

I don't think idealism is the word you want here, though - normally that's used for seeing the world as you want it to be rather than as it is. Maybe realistic vs imaginative?

On a slightly different topic, using poetry to communicate ideals, I'd say one sin is for a poem to preach at its readers. "Be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever" never was great poetry: on the other hand, John Donne doesn't preach how wonderful his faith is and how the reader should follow it, but rather conveys its power by personalizing Death and speaking directly to it - and thus "Death, be not proud " is a great poem and a powerful statement of faith.

[Steppe]

Great Dichroic. I hope for more discussion.