Poetic License (or Poetic Nonsense)

While I was growing up, I used to read my dad’s books. Then, he had a book on English literature which dealt on literary terms. One of them is Poetic license. I was confident I understood the term then; after a while, I wasn’t sure anymore.

I had always believed (like many of my readers), that Poetic License referred to the disregard by writers and poets for grammar and pronunciation rules. Several events have challenged that belief. As such, I decided to dig deep into the concept and my findings were revealing.

Poetic License is not just a flagrant disregard for conventions as many understand it. It is an appeal to transcend the world of conventions to express the unconventional. It is described as “a freedom that polite society allows poets so they can enlighten us and achieve certain effects or work within the constraints of certain poetic forms such as rhymes or meter”¹. It is an act with an end in mind; an end that must justify the act.

For example, if a poet decides to write:

I want to have my dreams for breakfast

One possible interpretation is that he wants to see his dreams come true. In this case, he is using language in an unconventional way to express his wish. This is a good use of Poetic License.

Poetic License is not an inherently positive concept; it can also have negative connotations. This means it can be used wrongly. This would result into poetic nonsense. This poetic nonsense is what we should guard against. I understand that the world of poetry allows a wide space for the use of Poetic License but it should not be abused.

The abuse comes when it is used for the sake of using it, without a desired effect. Many times, when it is obvious that someone is using words wrongly, he would just appeal to Poetic License rather than admit his wrong. This is not to be so.

I remember a session I had with fellow poets some time ago. We were reading our poems aloud in turns to the house. After anyone had read his poem, we would ask questions on why certain words or even lines were in the poem. We then discovered that many times, we are often carried away that we just use words because we feel we have the right to. That is not how it should be done.

For example, imagine someone wanted to write:

I shall exalt your heart over all else

And ended writing:

I shall exult your heart over all else

It is obvious that a mistake has been made. “Exalt” and “Exult” may share some similarities but they are two very distinct words. But rather than admit their mistake, some people will immediately appeal to poetic license.

I am not saying every word has to express a lofty idea or concept. The words may just be for exaggeration or humour or something else. The point is that it should serve a purpose. Furthermore, writers and readers alike should be conscious of the fact that a word “used for the sake of it” might have another change the interpretation thereby obscuring the general message of the writer or poet.

So the next time we feel compelled to exercise our Poetic License, we should ask ourselves: what do I want to achieve with its use? That way we would exercise our poetic license correctly and not produce poetic nonsense.

Your comments, suggestions and questions are welcomed.

¹www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/what-is-poetic-license