punctuation

[daryl]

so what is the deal on punctuation in poetry? when or where should caps be used or not. it seems to come up from time to time in critiques. so can anyone discuss and share their opinions on this or any other poetry related punctuation matters?

here to learn

daryl

[eric]

the basic rule is that there are no rules, daryl.  from what I've seen, as a matter of style, many of the best modern poets use a capital letter only at the beginning of sentences and for proper nouns, never at the start of each line.  typical sentence punctuation is followed, there are no big points to be made by deviating any more although that can be done at times.  especially where the poem calls for it, some avant garde types, throwbacks, and (heh) you -- also casey -- do not capitalize at all and rarely if ever use punctuation.  (I do this as well sometimes.)  this only works, I think, if there is good command of the page as John preaches.  those are my thoughts FWIW, JMHO.  

[oxymoron]

i agree with eric
though i become careless sometimes - as i am writing my poems in word, it likes to capitalize every new sentence and i don't always fix it, so usually if i have all capitals in the front, its because of my carelessness to go back and fix what word likes to create.

sometimes, commas are placed unnecessarily and so it might be best to consider where you are breaking your lines - line breaks really help with the flow of poetry, a comma in the wrong place could allow a reader to mistake the sentence to be something else.

but i'm not too concerned with punctuation - though sometimes I think I should be.

[Mark.]

Poetry without punctuation is like shaving your balls. It may seem like a good idea but it very quickly causes irritation.

[caseyquinn]

i think style of poetry really dictates useage. i write generally short poems that uses line breaks to set the flow however if i wrote longer lines i would need commas. if i wrote longer poems broken into bigger sections i would need to add periods and more structure. to me, punctuation is a tool in the toolbox. when it is needed to make the read smoother, apply it. IMO overuse of comma's or periods can kill a poem much faster than lack of punctuation

[daryl]

thanks everyone.