Advantages of The Long Poem Genre
The long poem genre has several advantages over prose and strictly lyric poetry. The most obvious difference between the long poem and other literary genres is the sheer difficulty of composing a long work entirely in verse. Poets who undertake the long poem face the serious problem of creating a work that is consistently poetic, sometimes taking strict forms and carrying them through the whole poem. However, the poets who do choose the long poem turn this liability into an advantage—if a poet can write a long poem, they prove themselves to be worthy. The very difficulty gives the genre an implicit prestige. Long poems have been among the most influential texts in the world since Homer. By writing a long poem, a poet participates in this tradition and must prove their virtuosity by living up to the tradition. As discussed below, the traditionally difficult long poem's prestige can be revised to serve radical purposes.
Additional benefits of the long poem:
- The long poem provides the artist with a greater space to create great meaning.
- A long poem allows the author to be encyclopedic in their treatment of the world, as opposed to the potentially narrow focus of the lyric.
- A long poem poet can work on a long poem his or her entire life, weaving in their impressions gleaned from the span of several generations (and historical events); it can be an ongoing work.
- A long poem can encapsulate not just traditional poetry, but incorporate dialogue, prose passages, and even scripting.
- A reader can absorb an entire world view from a long poem.
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