Repetition?

I love when some poets use repetition, but I never use it because I think sometimes it doesn't sound right or it gets boring.
I don't know if someone can give some tips or advice to use it. What is it that makes repetition good or bad?

Thanks!

XoXo
Gaby

I suppose it depends on the extent of the repetition. I mean, in the following poem:

http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/funny/poems.php?id=639854

I use "The big new death" to start every line. And in this one:

http://www.poems-and-quotes.com/sad/poems.php?id=632532

The first line of the poem is repeated as the last line. Without doing so I think the point of the poem would be lost.

And in Brian King's excellent "Shattered" he uses repetition very effectively:

http://www.best-love-poems.com/poems.php?id=489071

I think it's just a case of knowing the time and the place to use repetition.

I think it's just a case of knowing the time and the place to use repetition.

I think it's just a case of knowing the time and the place to use repetition.

;-)

Repetition is the basis for many poetic forms. The use of repetition can heighten the emotional impact of a piece. Repetition of a sound, syllable, word, phrase, line, stanza, or metrical pattern is a basic unifying device in all poetry. It may reinforce, supplement, or even substitute for meter. Repetition emphasizes whatever it is that is repeated, making it stand out so the reader knows it is important. If you repeat a word or a line in poetry, then that word or line (or those words or lines) appears to be more important than other parts of the poem. In fact, in a poem with repeating lines, all of the other lines are often comments on or elaborations of the repeated line. Repetition can also affect the rhythm of a poem and the way it sounds. In particular, repetition of individual sounds or groups of sounds can strengthen the rhythmic structure.

Repetition can be a great tool in poetry and a very effective one, when done well (right), but it is not easy to do. Anyone whose ever partook of poetry forms that use repetition know that it can be a difficult task, that repeating lines and phrases dispersed throughout your poem can sometimes adversely affect your rhythm and the overall flow of the poem. Repetition is not the hardest thing in the world to do, but is very easy to do badly.

Repetition emphasizes whatever it is that's repeated, but too much repetition can make a great word or phrase seem commonplace. It's a matter of balance or moderation. Repetition is another one of those elements that we usually think of in connection with strict forms of poetry, but which is also of great use in less structured poems, including free verse. There are many possibilities--one can repeat words, phrases or whole stanzas, and one can play with the location of repeated parts. One of the keys to repetition is what you choose to repeat and where you choose to repeat it. If it's done in a poem that requires a specifically structured repetition, as many of the repetitive poetry forms/formats do/require, then it's a matter of effectively choosing what will be repeated in your poem, choosing what to use as your refrain or repeated sound, syllable, word, phrase, line, or stanza one that will still allow it to be rhythmic and fluent (to flow).

If repetition, repeating yourself, in a poem, doesn’t lend itself well to the rhythm and flow of the poem, it shouldn’t be done, used, at all. I personally have tried using repetition effectively in poetry and can safely say doing it "effectively" is the most difficult part of the task, although I have managed to do so on occasion.

Repetition is a skill and like all skills not everybody is graced, blessed, with the ability naturally. The use of repetition is an investment of time and effort. It takes a certain level of skill and craftsmanship to do it well, so for those who aren’t graced with the natural ability it takes work to be able to do it well, right, if you will.

Some of the infomation from an internet article on the Elements of poetry that is no longer up.

Spooky. I looked that article up this morning!

i use repitition slightly sometimes, like at the beginning & end of a poem. but in my one poem Lurking In The Darkness, i use repetition alot. it makes it cooler for some poems, but doesnt work at all for others.

xLaurenx

That's very useful, I'll try to use repetition for a while, and see how it goes.

Thanks for all your help!!!

XoXo
Gaby

I use repetition quite often, in poems such as "Forget, "This Is" and "Hallowed Be Thy Grave". I find it adds a lot to a poem, but it does make it more difficult, so I usually tried to avoid to much of it in my work.

i dont use repitition coz it reminds me of school where we have to analyse poems... *shudder* my poems just come from the heart without thought, so they don't ever encompass repitition, which is not to say that its not a very powerful tool in the world of poetry. =D