 Grammar Sage 2009-01-02 . chapter 1Hello there. I promised a review, and now here I am, giving one. I looked over your poems and this seemed to be one of your best, so I'm giving it the once-over and my personal impressions. Now, to warn you- I tend to sound bossy and arrogant when I review, as I realize when I read them the next day. So just remember, I disclaim any actual skill or ability, and the following review is the opinion of a layman.
That said, let's go.
In the opening lines of your poem, you use punctuation to make a point- let me paste in a segment so you can see what I'm talking about.
((My mind
A collage of pictures, shorts, commercials, movie segments, jingles, and music,
Poetry, literature and so many other;
Smells
Tastes
Sounds
Sights
And textures
This picture…no…this sculpture))
You don't use periods, at all, anywhere in this poem. So that leaves the sentence breaks as the only remaining sign to the reader that "Hey, change of subject." But when you use sentence breaks as emphasizers, putting them in the middle of sentences, it means that there's no longer anything that signals the end of a thought. As a result, the poem gets a little muddled, as the thoughts mix together with no boundaries. You might consider using periods, because although it doesn't look as stylish, it makes your individual sentences more distinct. I prefer clarity to
((This picture...no...this sculpture))
The idea is good, but I don't like the application. For one thing, ellipses (the three-dot things) require a space after them, but that's just a grammatical quibble. In addition, the sentence seems unfinished, like it's a bad place to stop.
((Is equipped with the key ingredients to a recipe that best expresses))
That's a very, very clunky sentence. Is it supposed to be like that, for stylistic purposes?
In any case, lines ((The psychedelic, spontaneous, and zealous creature
That is well spoken and rich in her culture…her heritage…and is proud
I, an eccentric, yet exquisite masterpiece, am one of many
Engineered by one so incomprehensibly powerful
And inexhaustibly POWERFUL…))
I pretty much couldn't understand any of this, and I still don't. It's weird, and it's got a bunch of pronouns. You might consider clarifying that section, tidying it up.
Also, your use of capitals there, the word POWERFUL, seems odd. If you want to emphasize something, italics are usually better for poetry, I believe. Capitals look odd and out of place.
Overall review: I enjoyed the poem, and enjoyed the style- heavy vocabulary, interesting theme, well expressed. You might consider adding a little twist to your poems, however, to make them interesting and original, not just average. If you post further, I'll read and review.
In the meanwhile, good luck, and good work.
-Sage |