Relaxed Forms
Why do we have forms? Perhaps they have their origin in song, or at least the oral tradition. Some common reasons given are to control strong emotion - thus making the message more restrained and powerful. Elegies are often in a form. to generate a pattern of expectation/release - once readers have identified the form they will have certain expectations. The writer can exploit these expections, fulfilling them or raising the tension. because form matches the content - Historically, certain forms are considered appropriate for certain types of poetry - a haiku-like experience is best cast as a haiku Some writers use standard forms as templates - starting points from which to wander. For other writers the standard forms are attractors - if a draft is beginning to acquire some sonnet-like features, the poet will steer the poem in a sonnet direction. Either attitude can lead to poems which are loosely formal. Sonnets, like other forms, have definitions that offer some flexibility - f...