Do you think cursing in poetry makes the poem sound tacky?

Question

I know quite a few people who think it does, but then others who think that if it's used well, it can actually add to the poem.

Answer 1

I think it does.

Answer 2

I don't have a problem with profanity here and there at all.  Well said and placed words of all kinds can be funny and/or powerful. Same with poetry about adult behaviors.   But there is always the extreme in everything.  I think poetry should flow out of a person the way it's meant to, with no censorship on it.  However, that doesn't mean I advocate posting all material in wide open spaces for everyone to peruse.  Yahoo has a standard and so does poemhunter.com.  I'm sure other publishers do as well.  

Just as we have x rated everything else in the world, sometimes if this is the way you write, prolifically, then you should publish your own material on your own website.  To me this is true freedom of expression and the only controls are over "where" and by whom it can be published and viewed.

Answer 3

It's all about context and tone. If you curse in a poem it can either seem out of place or unnecessary, but other times it just adds to the mood of the writing.

Answer 4

Poetry is more of a art, so I find swears make it choppy and improper. Also, swears are a sad excuse for a lack of true vocabulary, so don't make people think that you are lacking.

Read my poem?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

Answer 5

i think it makes in tacky or not as good sounding. You can always refrain from using those words, so why involve them. Poetry should be sentimental and those words are not.

Answer 6

Cursing, in poems, to me resembles

rap.  There's a difference between

hip-hop and poetry.