11. PLAIN VERSE FACTS

Free verse is a term describing various styles of poetry that are not written using strict meter or rhyme, but that still are recognizable as poetry by virtue of complex patterns of one sort or another that readers will perceive to be part of a coherent whole defined by Wikipedia. The poets of Plainspeech, Free Verse, and everyday “Mere” facts are using a language that is more familiar to the daily reader. When using a more common language the poet can be more plainspoken without relying on other words to convey their poems message.

The use of common language does not restrict the poets from using traditional poetry styles. In Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Armadillo” she uses the traditional rhyming scheme of rhyming the last word of the second and fourth lines in nine of the ten stanzas. In the eighth stanza the tone and style changes, in the second line “Hastily, all alone,” (line 30) is a shorter line compared to the others. This line also does not continue the rhyme scheme in “rose-flecked, head down, tail down,” (line 32). This is also that free verse Bishop uses to give the poem direction and a style of its own. She wrote this poem is still written in a contemporary style of word choice. The contemporary style is not as complex as previous readings making the poem easier to understand without looking into great depth on what the poet is trying to express.

In Philip Larkin’s “This Be the Verse” is also written with a traditional format in a contemporary free verse style. The poem is written in three quatrains, where the first and third lines rhyme and the second and fourth. The poem has on average eight syllables to each line for the first eight lines. On the last quatrain the syllables are shorter. The quick ending is a way to be stern and to the point ending the poem bluntly, “And don’t have any kids yourself.” (line 12). This is poem is written crassly; Larkin uses curse words and blames parents in an insensitive tone. The word choices the poets use give their poems the ability to transcend mere facts. This is a bold poem to write today and even more so in the 70’s. But this was also right after the time that children began to rebel against society and their parents to create a new generation in the sixties. And it’s that mindset that gives this poem a contemporary style. The poem can be written from a person obviously from a certain time but that does not have to restrict the popular styles of their influences.