Why Do Some People Hate Poetry that Rhymes?

Question

I write a lot of verse, and I like rhyming. Makes it flow. I was just wondering why some people hate poetry that ryhmes. I mean, Lots of people are into hip hop and rap right now, and a lot of the artists rhyme like crazy. Just looking for some opinions.

Answer 1

There are people that don't like poetry that rhymes?  I guess it could be a personal preference. I like all kinds of poems. Maybe some poems are easier to write as rhyming and others aren't or maybe they take more time then the person has to give.

Answer 2

I think the problem is that  a lot of poetry is ruined by people forcing inappropriate words onto the ends of lines in order to make the rhyme. Rhyming poetry in itself can be deliriously good or skin dimplingly bad, it is the construction that is important.

In the end it all comes down to personal taste - I love pickles and my wife hates them.

Answer 3

Just personal preference, I would assume!

Have a good day!

Answer 4

Rhyming is delightful but perhaps the most first and basic poetry I ever learned. I still go back to it as that is what I may perhaps do best.

To create a story, that speaks poetically is also a talent as some people just throw a bunch of words together that jar my senses.

A haiku is something "cute" and simplistic I learned in grammar school and I do not appreciate that type poetry all that much for only on rare occasion does it really take my interest. Some one may toss out the question why? so I have given my explanation.

If some people do not like it I would say it is their loss and not to worry because there are likely many more who do indeed like it and just do not make it widely known.

Answer 5

I personally find poetry that rhymes very delightful and certainly adds life and creativity to a poem, they bring a poem to life and add another dimension to the art.

I agree with Bluedragonfly21, although i find Robert Frost a terribly average and boring poet, and his rhymes certainly add nothing to his "poems".

Answer 6

There is nothing wrong with rhyming verse. In fact, it was obviously the thing to do up until very recently in the history of the subject. Up until about Walt Whitman, most poetry rhymed and people equated rhyme with verse. Whitman felt the purity of expression required him to depart from form. Today, this is the switch toward "free verse" versus "form poetry."

There is nothing inherently bad about form, or free verse. Usually the perception is in the eye of the writer, as evidenced by entire magazines dedicated to the subject of sonnets, haiku, etc. There is simply nothing wrong with writing using a form.

Further on that, form is actually quite useful to young writers unsure of how to best create a poem. Writing using the constraints of a sonnet allows them to think concretely while creating. That's why some people think of it as "training wheels."

Free verse, which began in earnest with Whitman and is still influenced mainly by three writers (William Butler Yeats, Emily Dickinson, and Gerard Manly Hopkins) creates a new meaning by allowing someone to break form. (Also, because some will mention it--Dickinson did write in the style of a hymn for most of her works, but her overall style influenced free verse immensely.)

A good way to think of it is if you compare it to music. A couple hundred years ago, most music was comprised of hymns, ballads and what we think of today as "classical" music. Somewhere, something changed and now we have rock music--which is the musical equivalent of free verse. Rock music (and others, but I'm using this an example--rap, hip-hop and jazz, among others, do all these things) gets its power by not using highly articulated, constrained forms. And yet, some of the best rock music does use form, in places. Listen to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," or Nirvana's "Nevermind" album. They use musical scales, progressions and chord structures which are absolutely 'formed.'

Incidentally, these songs also use rhyme. However, it is just one form in the list of style conventions we use. You can use rhyme, but you could also use analogy, onomatopoeia, or metaphor, among others.  

The problem most people have with it now is that rhyme sounds too contrived to them because they are used to free verse--free form art. Most good writers still use rhyme at one time or another, and none would like to see it disappear. If you are a person who enjoys rhyming verse--go for it--seize the day and rhyme away!

Answer 7

I would say that 80% of my poetry rhymes and that's because I love the melodic quality and rhythm of the rhyme.  I've also written free verse in which there there is no end rhyme at all.  However, when I write free verse I always use several forms of poetic device like alliteration, metaphor, imagery...ect.    There is a distinct difference between prose, poetic prose, and poetry, but a lot of people don't seem to recognize the differences.  I'm a firm believer that poetry, whether free verse or structured must contain some form of poetic device to be considered poetry.  I personally don't understand why people claim to hate poetry or rhyme.  I suppose it's just not their cup o' tea.

Answer 8

People hate rhyming because it takes talent, discipline, and imagination to do so.  They would rather take the path of mediocrity and lack of imagination and call it "verse".

Answer 9

scholars dislike poetry with rhyme because it is often sing-songy and archaic.  done properly, poetry that rhymes can be very pleasing (frost, for example), but rhyming poetry is usually forced and contains awkward syntax.  the concentration on getting the perfect rhyme takes over the writing process, and you're left with something mediocre.  some people can write poetry that rhymes beautifully and doesn't feel forced.  those people are very rare.  true poets focus on other poetic elements to write true works of art.

Answer 10

Rhyming brings delight and beauty to a poem, as well as making it flow smoothly. It takes a piece to another level.

I agree with Joachin Murrieta.