Young Writers Society

So, I just read "The World's Going Under..." by wildlove100%, and what struck me most when reading it was how little I really know about the usage of questions in poetry. I could tell that some of the questions didn't work for me, but once I started analyzing why, it became apparent that I had no idea why I put questions in my own poetry. I'm just curious to know what all of you think about it. When do you use them? How often? Why? Do you target specific emotions or thoughts in the reader's mind? etc.

In responding to wildlove100%'s poem, I stated:

Rhetorical questions in poetry must be mature, emotionally gripping, and thought provoking. You want the reader to stop for a moment and consider the question - to truly, honestly, consider what it means to him/her specifically.

Would you agree?

Now that I reread it, I think that saying that it "must" be all of those things is a bit extreme. But those are the things which I most often find in poetry that I like as opposed to that which I dislike.

Questions do on the whole work well in poetry, I have used them before. However, questions work well in other pieces as well, not just poetry.

I do use questions often, as I think they force the reader to think, therefore gripping their attention.

Some pieces of poetry do work better without questions in them. It depends on the style.

Alainna
xxxxxxx

Question in Poems... hmm....

I think my work generally really well, but I also think that it depends on the poem. Becuase there are some poems that you just don't want to put questions in.

For the most part I agree with you, Man of the Ice Cream -- rhetorical questions can work if they need to be there; if the questioning makes sense and phrasing something in the form of a question adds to the poem -- Like if the poem addresses a certain person or figure, sometimes asking questions can reveal this fact, or add to the feeling of someone talking.

mainly the problem I see with rhetorical questions is that a lot of beginning writers use too many of them, thinking it's really deep to ask "what is life?" "why does it hurt like this?" to the air, when really they're taking up space with generalities.

something euclidean wrote:mainly the problem I see with rhetorical questions is that a lot of beginning writers use too many of them, thinking it's really deep to ask "what is life?" "why does it hurt like this?" to the air, when really they're taking up space with generalities.

THANK YOU.

As the others have said, it should actually make you think. To ask, "What is the meaning of life?" is silly because it's such a worn-out expression.
I also think a question should have a central role in the poem. If the question isn't that important, why ask it? I guess poets are usually trying to say something in their poetry; they're trying to answer questions instead of ask them. So...if you're not going to try to answer your question in your poem, or at least develop it or address it, what's the point?

There is no such thing as a rhetorical question in poetry--or at least, there shouldn't be. The poem should make you want to answer, or at least contemplate an answer, if only within the context of the poem. Therefore, it is not rhetorical. Basically--if the question cannot be answered (completely disregarding whether or not the author wants it to be answered), it should be left out. At least, that's how I feel.

One caveat, of course, is if the poem is more of a soliloquy or a dialogue. In that case, questions that cannot be answered by the reader--but may be answered within the poem, or by another speaker in the poem--are all right, if used sparingly.

I agree that a rhetorical question or question of any description can work well, especially in thought provoking poetry. Like has anyone read 'Stealing?' That starts with a question -

The strangest thing I ever stole?
A snowman.

Here the question adds humour to the poem and informs the reader that there are two characters in this poem, even though one is just a silent listener. A question in a poem can have a variety of effects but most of the time, it's best to use a maximum of one and it needs a purpose, even if that purpose is only to add humour.

Problem is, kitty, is you've only shown that a question well-answered can work, not a rhetorical question. Otherwise, yeah. I'm with Fand here, rhetorical questions are something that shouldn't really exist in a poetry; and I'd be very wary of normal questions unless used well and sparingly. New poets fall into the trap of asking too many questions and not answering them and are left with a poem with little for the reader to extract from.

I was just thinking about this very topic today, actually. I came to the conclusion that I agree with Fand; there should be no unanswered/able questions in poetry. And I think perhaps they should always be addressed to someone, or at least to the reader; when beginning poets ask questions they're often "asking the air" as something euclidean put it, and I find that really grating. Questions should be used deliberately and with conscious intent, not just as a space-filler or an expression of philosophical angst XD

I use rhetorical questions quite a bit in my poetry, I guess it's just because I'm the kind of person who asks a lot of questions. In fact, my poems usually are questions in themselves - more exploring than anything expository. I usually try to word things so that they're statements rather than questions, but sometimes it just doesn't work.

I guess I'm a little bit of a hypocrite, because sometimes I do read questions in poetry (especially the romantic kind) and think that it's awfully cliche, especially when it's "Why did you leave me?" or "Why do you do this to me?" et cetera.

I think I agree with Fand too. When a reader reads a poem, they expect to leave with something insightful or interesting. Asking rhetorical questions frequently does make the reader think, but are they left with anything after they read the poem?
I'm not saying not to use rhetorical questions at all, but using them is kinda tricky.