Descriptive poetry is realistic and focuses on description rather than emotions or metaphors. It has been around since the beginning of poetry but rose to prominence in the 16th and 18th centuries. Examples include “Poly-Olbion” and “The Seasons.” Critics argue that it lacks poignancy and should not dominate lyric or narrative poetry.
Descriptive poetry is the poetic equivalent of a portrait or landscape. It is realistic and does not delve into emotions and metaphors. The description in most poems is an ornament, but in descriptive poetry it becomes the center of attention. This does not mean that such poems lack neither lyrical quality nor that lyric and narrative poetry lack description.
Poetry has developed from oral traditions in cultures around the world. Over time, these poems were written, as were their sometimes complicated rules. Descriptive poetry, and its elements, have been around for as long as poetry has existed, but poetry based on description rose to prominence in the 16th and 18th centuries. Descriptive English poems were inspired by French versions, and early poems include Ben Johnson’s “To Penshurst” in the 16th.
Aristotle’s “Poetics” was an important book in the beginning concerning the content of a poem. He believed that poems should represent emotion and stories should represent fact and narrative. Clearly a descriptive poem goes against this notion, indicating that poems veer between description and emotion or seek to balance the two. Christopher Marlowe’s “Hero and Leander” attempted to balance the two by showing intense emotions, but also minute descriptions of things like Hero’s costume.
One of the earliest and most extensive examples of descriptive poetry in English is “Poly-Olbion” written by Michael Drayton between 1598 and 1612. The poem comprises 30 songs and approximately 15,000 lines and is a comprehensive description of England and Wales. Each song spans one to three counties and covers topography, popular culture, and history. Each verse is written in Alexandrian metre, each of which has 12 syllables. The original poem was accompanied by illustrated maps by William Hole.
Descriptive poetry covers many common topics, both natural and human. Human topics include portraits in verse, descriptions of clothing, and a person’s actions. Poetry is not to be written with admiration, but for a subjective reason. Any motifs behind the descriptive poem will color the impression made in the final product.
Natural themes revolve around landscapes, architecture, objects and elements. An example of the latter is “The Seasons” by John Thomson, which is a long poem describing each of the seasons in great detail. Ben Johnson’s “To Penshurst,” meanwhile, depicts landscapes in a journey, much like Drayton’s “Poly-Olbion.”
The main criticism of descriptive poetry is that it lacks poignancy. This, according to critics, leaves him emotionless and dead. Such poets believe that description is an ornament to put flesh on the bones of lyric and narrative poetry and shouldn’t dominate either.
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