Form vs. Prose

If a poem was written in the same format as an essay or letter it would not have the same effect as it would in poetic form. A poem is broken up into separate lines to emphasize the drama, emotion, and meaning that the author is trying to express. Without poetic form the author’s imagery and expression is lost. A good example of how poetic form works to produce dramatic and meaningful lines is in Ozymandias by Percy Shelley. The last sestet of this poem reads:

“And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

(Prose)
On the base were these words:
“My name is Ozymandias, the greatest king of all:
All those rich and powerful, look at what I have created and give up hope!”
Nothing beside the statue remains. Around the decay of the tall statue, vast and bare
The lonely and flat sand stretches far in every direction.

It’s clear that the prose version is not as powerful as the original version and is much more boring! Every word that the author put into this poem was chosen to serve a specific purpose, to cater to a specific emotion or image. That’s what poetry is—the art of creating images and emotion through words.

Authors break poems into separate lines at certain strategic points because people automatically put a break in what they are reading at the end of a line (I do at least). This break can cause people to, in a way, break up their thought process once a line ends. The way that the ending lines of this poem are broken up gives extra emotion and extra emphasis to what is happening. The second and third lines deliver such a strong proclamation that the pause at the end of the third line adds extra contrast to the next line. The sentence, “Nothing beside remains.” is so strong and delivers such a strong visual and dramatic change to the poem. The form at the end of this poem strengthened the impression of the ironic and tragic end to a king that was so vast in power. While clearly the prose simplified the poem into something anyone could understand, the way that the commas, periods, vocabulary, and line breaks are placed in the original poem delivers a much more interesting, dramatic, and thoughtful poem. Clearly, poems aren’t meant to be easy to understand. Where would be the fun in that? : )