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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
We know there is a word filter on the software for inappropriate words. But in YOUR opinion, what words should be filtered out as well? What words are overused in poetry (and if you think they are, please post what you think would be a suitable alternative).  |
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Brad Member Ascendant
since 1999-08-20
Posts 5705Jejudo, South Korea |
How much time do you have? Really, if you want my list, all you have to do is take a page from any forum and start counting words -- won't heart, soul, sin, angel, love, dream show up? But that's not really the point -- all of these words can be used and used effectively in a poem. What they have a tendency to do is generalize the feelings or ideas a person has, they are a crutch that guarantees someone else will be able to 'relate to a poem'. Asking for a substitute doesn't help matters much either because that assumes a one to one correspondance between words and feelings, between individuals and feelings (this is the translation fallacy) and that goes against, in my opinion, the very idea of what good poetry is supposed to do (to make you look at something in a different way). Why is poetry generally regarded as difficult? Well, if we put aside the magic word 'talent' for a moment, poetry is difficult because it presents you with something new, something outside your general, everyday perception. It can be about an everyday thing but looked at in a way that the reader hasn't thought of before or perhaps has forgotten. Overused words create a barrier to creating that feeling and limit the flexibility of a writer to write something new. But that's not all, great poetry also resonates (I sometimes say vibrates ). It stays with you, it pops into your head at unexpected times, it sometimes changes meaning right in front of your eyes (and in this, one gets the curious sensation that the words themselves actually moved on the paper or the screen).Overused words limit perception, it's not so much that they don't work for the majority (perhaps they work too well) but that they turn poems into mass products, not individual moments to be treasured. They suck the individuality out of the poem. Brad |
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Temptress
Moderator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-06-15
Posts 7136Mobile, AL |
Hmm..I'm rather sick of seeing the word "angel" or variations.."angel of....." I'm sure there are words that I use that are tiring too though. maybe I'll have more thoughts later on this. |
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Severn Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-17
Posts 7704 |
Gee Brad...what am I going to say now?? LOL Haven't we done something like this before? This kind of thread...? Anywho...I'm tired, I'm sick and I'm wimping out right now with a 'wot Brad said'  K...and I have found that a lifetime can be lived in one moment... T.G.M. |
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