There are basically two types of poetry: dynamic and static. In dynamic poetry, there are characters, maybe a plot, changes happen. It describes an event. There may be
descriptive elements of background filling in information to understand the event, but the dynamic poem is focused on the action. Static poetry is purely descriptive. It may describe a person, but that person
just is. He or she is not doing anything. It may describe a scene. If Reynard the Fox is crossing a meadow in the woods in static poetry, he never gets to the other side.
Many of the recommendations in this book apply to poetry of either one kind or the other. Since dynamic poetry can contain static elements, it is more likely that all suggestions can apply to dynamic poetry.
It is good practice to be able to write both types. |