Versification
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Versification is the technique of writing poetry. It differs from any other term used to describe verse form or prosody in that it implies a poet's point of view rather than a critic's. Versification is a creative art as opposed to an analytical one.
Because it is not an analytical category, versification is difficult to write about analytically. At the same time, it is a category that all critics must acknowledge. Marianne Moore said as much:
-
- Hands that can grasp, eyes
that can dilate, hair that can rise
if it must, these things are important not because a
- Hands that can grasp, eyes
- high-sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because they are
useful.
Moore did not mean that interpreted things are not important, but that these particular things are important because they are useful. Versification is the study of the utility of prosody as opposed to its significance.