I'm posting this thread because I've noticed a great many folks here prefacing their crits with missives about their lack of knowledge or inability to crit on a certain level. Of course, what I'm putting here is my opinion, but I'd like to know what you think.
Poetry tends to be a lot like wine. If you buy in to the spin, then a certain eye is required for poetry just as a certain nose is supposedly required for the enjoyment of wine. It can be daunting to dive into a poem when you feel inadequate to the task of critting. If you ask yourself, however, what it is that a crit requires, then I think you'll find yourself up to it regardless of your background.
We don't post to critical forums for praise or, at least, I hope we don't. There are other forums for that. The purpose of a critical forum is to help the poet understand what works for you or what doesn't. You might wax poetic on the use of alliteration as a means to advancing the metaphor, or you might simply like a particular phrase or piece of word play that catches your attention. The converse is also true. You might not know an iamb from a dactyl, but you can certainly pick out parts of poems that don't work for you, that you simply don't like.
At this point, I've covered aspects of critting that likely encompass everyone here. Now, how to present a crit.
I'd like to suggest that anything you post in a thread be aimed at helping the poet. We all learned the value of how, what, why, where and when as children. It is valuable here too.
If you like a particular poem, don't simply say I love it. Why? For the simple fact that the poet needs to know what it is you like. Did you like the rhyme, the subject matter, the ending...tell the poet. The same thing goes for what you don't like. Tell the poet. Your background in poetry is less important than what you give the poet who posted here.
Of course, the poet is under no obligation to use your suggestions. The only obligation the poet has is to thank those kind enough to crit.
Anyone else have anything to add?
Poetry tends to be a lot like wine. If you buy in to the spin, then a certain eye is required for poetry just as a certain nose is supposedly required for the enjoyment of wine. It can be daunting to dive into a poem when you feel inadequate to the task of critting. If you ask yourself, however, what it is that a crit requires, then I think you'll find yourself up to it regardless of your background.
We don't post to critical forums for praise or, at least, I hope we don't. There are other forums for that. The purpose of a critical forum is to help the poet understand what works for you or what doesn't. You might wax poetic on the use of alliteration as a means to advancing the metaphor, or you might simply like a particular phrase or piece of word play that catches your attention. The converse is also true. You might not know an iamb from a dactyl, but you can certainly pick out parts of poems that don't work for you, that you simply don't like.
At this point, I've covered aspects of critting that likely encompass everyone here. Now, how to present a crit.
I'd like to suggest that anything you post in a thread be aimed at helping the poet. We all learned the value of how, what, why, where and when as children. It is valuable here too.
If you like a particular poem, don't simply say I love it. Why? For the simple fact that the poet needs to know what it is you like. Did you like the rhyme, the subject matter, the ending...tell the poet. The same thing goes for what you don't like. Tell the poet. Your background in poetry is less important than what you give the poet who posted here.
Of course, the poet is under no obligation to use your suggestions. The only obligation the poet has is to thank those kind enough to crit.
Anyone else have anything to add?
