Do you think a poem needs to rhyme to be good, or is that entirely a personal preference thing

Started by ArcMage, Aug 03, 2026, 10:55 AM

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Topic: Do you think a poem needs to rhyme to be good, or is that entirely a personal preference thing   Views(Read 108 times)

ArcMage

Grew up believing real poetry rhymes, took years of reading free verse to unlearn that assumption, curious where other people actually land on it now

Brandon87

Think rhyme is a tool, not a requirement, some subjects need the tension a rhyme scheme creates, others are better served by the freedom of unstructured lines

VacantTundra

Personal preference entirely, I love a well executed rhyme scheme and I've read plenty of free verse that felt stronger without one, no rule settles this either way

Canopy

Think rhyme done badly is worse than no rhyme at all, forced rhymes that distort natural word choice actively hurt a poem more than skipping the device entirely would

Router53

Depends entirely on the poem's actual subject for me, playful or musical subjects benefit from rhyme, grief and quiet observation usually land better without one

Reuben

Grew up dismissing free verse as not real poetry, completely reversed that opinion after reading poets who use rhythm and line breaks as effectively as any rhyme scheme could
Football is life. Everything else is just details.

David93

Think the skill required for a good rhyme scheme is underrated now that free verse dominates, a rhyme that doesn't feel forced is harder to write than people give credit for

NovaBreaker10

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