words you've seen too much in poems

[blp]

c i c a d a

was the one that started it all.

I voted for

mote

and

plash

neither of which I ever want to see in a poem again. Jon has also voted for

ethereal understandably and, more mysteriously to me,

gaggle (apparently it's hot right now).

[blp]

I think I've seen parse a fair bit too.

[Silas Thorne]

And roses in love poems

[jon1jt]

brood, brooding

[jon1jt]

ember

[jon1jt]

piroette pisses me off too. :lol:

[Silas Thorne]

how about 'inviolate' ?

[jon1jt]

insipid has made a resurgence in the mags lately.


this one not even worth mentioning, but should be banned from poetry writing:


transcendence

[jon1jt]

swooping

brandishing

[jon1jt]

miffed

[jon1jt]

promontory, promontories

[jon1jt]

I've been seeing bungler lately, getting a lot of play these days. Not necessarily over-used.





The poor are bunglers: my people, whom I
nonetheless honor, who brought no landmark
other than their graves...

from his On Reading: The Essays or Counsels, Civill and Morall

[jon1jt]

fastidious

[jon1jt]

ravenous

[jon1jt]

asymmetric, asymmetrical

[jon1jt]

agonized

[jon1jt]

plush





I saw a room someone had left, a plush sofa returning its
button-eyed stare to the glance she gave it over her shoulder...


from The Abandoned Farm

[jon1jt]

mirthful

[jon1jt]

mended

arid

[jon1jt]

regale

clack

[jon1jt]

low fart Just kidding. :D

crystalline

[jon1jt]

borne or born out

spawning

clinking

[jon1jt]

illusory

silhouette

loins

harmony

[jon1jt]

rapture

searing

rustle

[jon1jt]

vacant

[jon1jt]

mute, muting

[jon1jt]

Hard to believe that I still see ponder used frequently.

Another one of those entered into the Pop Dictionary Of Poets is cinder.

[jon1jt]

allure

[Virgil]

piroette pisses me off too. :lol:

:lol: I used that one once. It depends how you use it.

[jon1jt]

dank

sanctify

liquid

[jon1jt]

:lol: I used that one once. It depends how you use it.


Yeah but you said you love poems with cicada in them. :lol: ;)

That's interesting. Hmm. I just think it's beyond over-used. It's played out. Maybe others will chime in. Hey I'm guilty of using such words as well. tattered. :lol:

[white camellia]

ha, this is fun. jon, i'm sure there's more from you. :lol: but i agree with virgil - it depends, and, often, on the poetic idea. i had one poem with 'cicada' in it too, 'a practice'. ;- )

[jon1jt]

vast, vastness

plumage

[jon1jt]

ennui

[jon1jt]

thrust

[jon1jt]

whiff

wharf

waft

[jon1jt]

impassive

forlorn

[jon1jt]

naught

[jon1jt]

taut

smoulder

shibboleth

[jon1jt]

ha, this is fun. jon, i'm sure there's more from you. :lol: but i agree with virgil - it depends, and, often, on the poetic idea. i had one poem with 'cicada' in it too, 'a practice'. ;- )

Don't you know, cicada is dead! :p

[Delta40]

dark

torn

heart

dwindling

moss

twixt

[~Sophia~]

SOUL. A personal blech.

[TheFifthElement]

sleeved

spooled and/or unspooled

shattered

actually I like shattered, but its one of those words that only seems to be used in poetry.

And the biggie:

LOVE

[crystalmoonshin]

moon
twilight
soft

[TheFifthElement]

gaggle (apparently it's hot right now).

Oy! I used gaggle in my late nite shopping poem. Humph.

Maybe I don't like the word Magma especially in poems about used appliance stores ;)

And while we're on the subject beauty

[PrinceMyshkin]

On the other hand, very few references to pituitary, symbiosis, avuncular, chimaera (thank God for that!).

There's the scathing review by Mary McCarthy of Lillian Hellman's autobiography, of which McCarthy wrote (quoting from memory):


"Every word in it is a lie, and that includes 'and' and 'the'."

[PrinceMyshkin]

verisimiltude
awesome
lambent
chiaroscura (sp?)
doleful
crepuscular

[PrinceMyshkin]

And of course there's the rebarbative


I

[blp]

"Every word in it is a lie, and that includes 'and' and 'the'."

Very over-used, these two. Isn't it time we moved on?

[PrinceMyshkin]

Very over-used, these two. Isn't it time we moved on?

Speaking of "over-used"......

[blp]

Speaking of "over-used"......

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. ;)

[blp]

Oh yeah. fire

[PrinceMyshkin]

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. ;)

Now, that's one I haven't heard since Billy was a wee small boy!

[qimissung]

I just used 'pirouette'! And I have to stop myself from using 'lambent'. :lol:

[Il Penseroso]

yeah, after reading through this I just know some of these are going to start popping up in my own poetry.

I'll second the nomination for "crepuscular" and add "florid," though I think sometimes even these can be used well (particularly the latter).

And, in jon's poems, how about "light"? :)

[jon1jt]

Oy! I used gaggle in my late nite shopping poem. Humph.

Maybe I don't like the word Magma especially in poems about used appliance stores ;)


Holykamoly I never even saw that poem of yours! :lol::lol: I'll find the mags I saw it in. And hey leave my magma alone! :lol:


IP: Woha---Pot calling the kettle black, eh? :lol: YOU are the grand wizard of using "light!" I'll take this up with you lata. For now, know that it's coming up from the World Light Generation. ;)




rafters

[jon1jt]

fluid (what an awful word)

wistful

wispy

rippling

glimmer

scintillating

gale

[jon1jt]

blight

infinite

[jon1jt]

I voted for

plash




Ah, look what I came across in my morning reading: Sarah Lindsay who sits at the right hand of Louise Gluck:





...a glimmer and then full on---
happiness, plashing
blunt soft wings...

[Riesa]

moon
twilight
soft


totally. :blush:

the thing is any word used in a poem is fine with me as long as the phrase is at least interesting and original.

locks
tresses
deep
ease
lightning

[blp]

Ah, look what I came across in my morning reading: Sarah Lindsay who sits at the right hand of Louise Gluck:

Thank you. It is totally disgusting that one (plash). Especially since it means virtually the same thing as 'splash' and is only used in poems.

I do like crepuscular.

[blp]

totally. :blush:

the thing is any word used in a poem is fine with me as long as the phrase is at least interesting and original.

locks
tresses
deep
ease
lightning

I've used 'tresses', but it was sort of ironic.

[blp]

lingering

[blp]

Thank you. It is totally disgusting that one (plash). Especially since it means virtually the same thing as 'splash' and is only used in poems.

I do like crepuscular.

EDIT: jon, she also used 'glimmer' only a few words before. Kaw. Egregious.

Oops. I meant to edit my last post, not quote it. Oh well.

[jon1jt]

EDIT: jon, she also used 'glimmer' only a few words before. Kaw. Egregious.

Oops. I meant to edit my last post, not quote it. Oh well.

I see what you're saying, blp. It's interesting how these same poetry gods and goddesses are getting two thousand dollars a pop for one-week workshops. Unfortunately I don't know what that comes to in Pounds, Euros, or Yen, but in US dollars they should be required to recite their god-awful poems while doing cartwheels and handstands.


I've used 'tresses', but it was sort of ironic.

I used 'tresses' in a poem about a girl I met in a pool hall. That's sort of ironic too, isn't it? :p



This is bound to get people pissy, but I believe there are two words that should never ever be used in poetry writing.

ART

POETRY

[blp]

I've used 'art', but in a fairly literal way. I agree about poetry.

dulcet

Jon, that's about a thousand pounds, probably. Maybe £1200.

[blp]

heft

gloaming

[joseph90ie]

The word 'rose' because, after all, there's no excuse for it - give it any other name and it'll still smell just as sweet, as Bill Shakes himself says. - Ah no, I could not get sick of the word, in truth; the image it gives the mind is too nice.

[firefangled]

Oh yeah. fire

Let's not get personal here :lol::lol: I happen to like fire. :D

[firefangled]

Yeah but you said you love poems with cicada in them. :lol: ;)

That's interesting. Hmm. I just think it's beyond over-used. It's played out. Maybe others will chime in. Hey I'm guilty of using such words as well. tattered. :lol:

I just used tattered. Do I have to change it? :( I waited many years to use tattered.

Tattered and forlorn were two of the first words as a small child that puzzled me from a poem called The House That Jack Built.

I have never used corpuscular, but I intend to now :D

I'm guilty of wearing out animals, especially birds:

blackbirds (number 1)
deer
hawks
herons (they have so many poetic qualities)

[blp]

Let's not get personal here :lol::lol: I happen to like fire. :D

You wear it well. Definitely a matter of context. ;)

[jon1jt]

surfeit. Ugh, how awful.

[jon1jt]

dawdle

[jon1jt]

insurmountable

entangle

murmur

prodigal

perennial

echo

remembrance

flit

absolute

wonderment

wonderous

........................I'll think of more in a sec. :)

[jon1jt]

tender

hover

[jon1jt]

grandmother

grandfather

[jon1jt]

slide

expound

[jon1jt]

multitude

arc (how awful)

[jon1jt]

flame

[jon1jt]

imponderable

smell

lavish

[jon1jt]

unforgettable

death

tears

[jon1jt]

feverish

nightmare

[jon1jt]

glide

alone

agleam

[jon1jt]

fallen

[jon1jt]

summon

[jon1jt]

aghast (well, maybe)

[jon1jt]

wring, wringing

[jon1jt]

subtle (argh what an awful word)

[jon1jt]

platitudinous

elegy

thaw

pigment




Now I'm tired............................................. ....weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[jon1jt]

disregard this one

[jon1jt]

I've used 'art', but in a fairly literal way. I agree about poetry.

dulcet

Jon, that's about a thousand pounds, probably. Maybe £1200.

Too much. :lol:

A veteran member of our forum has informed me that I used poetry in a poem, and what's worse is that I allegedly devoted an entire stanza to it! I feel so...spurned. :lol:


bulbous pisses me off. I don't know why. Maybe because it's like you're trying to hard. ---dust, and worms bulbous and flowers blossum in heaps do come upon her bulbous eyes, in lines do I improve my writing, or by your bulbous dress; as I, my love, wring out your bulbous nose.
Ugh.

[blp]

roiling

[jon1jt]

recoil

streaming

window sill

brine

chrysanthemum

cuff

harness (as in harnessing the wind)

extoll :rolleyes:

ineffable :rolleyes:

breathing

breathe

spattered

spiral

scape

hilltop

back-alley

green

stone (oh hi Il Penseroso how are you? ;) )

[jon1jt]

Once I get going on these words they start popping in my head like bad memories.

fisherman

ripples

cascade (or cascading)

diminutive

smidgen

nonexistence (I think I mentioned this one before, but that's because it's that bad)

stained-glass windows

church

viscous

strand

prism

drowsy

savor

ship

farm

plod

grief

prayer (all biblical references, esp that awful one 'grace')

inexorable

clavicle (just kidding, sheesh)

[Il Penseroso]

stone (oh hi Il Penseroso how are you? ;) )

Seriously, are you just going through my poems and listing every other word? :lol:

[jon1jt]

Seriously, are you just going through my poems and listing every other word? :lol:


No no...just stone, the rest I thought up, I swear. I think this thread is making everybody a bit paranoid! :lol:




lyre

ample

[jon1jt]

incandescent

[jon1jt]

cappuccino

shiver

metallic

sphinx

prophet

indigo

smoke

politics

gray

O

[blp]

I love O. I'm for it.

[Pensive]

LOVE

I was a bit surprised why nobody had mentioned it in the first two pages of this thread! :D

Others that I can think of (with hope that I don't repeat any already mentioned) are:

heaven
refuge
shimmering
evening
morning
night
grass
land
star
moon
hope

[qimissung]

Seriously, are you just going through my poems and listing every other word? :lol:


Ditto! I think you've got most of the English language by now!

[qimissung]

Also, while this is well-intended. and no one wants to sound pompous, pretentious, or cliched, please remember that all great works of art were painted using red and blue and green and tne colors one can make by mixing them together, and the colors made by mixing those together, and saturated colors, nuetrals, and colors made by mixing those together, cool and warm colors...and well you get the idea.

In other words, wee've been using the same colors since time began, and the same words-it's using them to create something new that matters, imho.

[blp]

cappuccino

smoke

politics

gray

O

On reflection, I realise I've used all of these and I'm pretty sure the last four were all in one poem. Some doubt about politics. And I spelled gray grey.

[Silas Thorne]

No, ban all the colours too. Oh, and black, white and grey/gray. All been banned already? I'm writing in invisible ink now, that way you don't see me write ANY words. ;)

Just mean some of these suggestions for words we see too much of are getting a bit silly. Maybe you can make the case for the overuse of particular words, but isn't it more the case of an overuse of words in combination, particularly when very common words are identified. For example, 'love' ,'like' and 'rose' too close together.

[firefangled]

uh...hmmm
once...
ungh!
ah !...no.

OK...
?
damn!

oh well...

[firefangled]

anyone done,


dangle
spangle
wrangle
fangled (ouch that hurts!)
mangle
strangle

hark (Christmas is OK)
bark
dark
stark
nark (I used this one a long time ago)

*once we are done here, the Buggles will have a new hit on their hands of how we killed poetry*

[~Sophia~]

:idea:I think we should just eradicate all words that begin with the letters A thru W plus Y from poetry. That way we'll be compelled to exhaust the X and Z words that have obviously been under utilized :D

[qimissung]

uh...hmmm
once...
ungh!
ah !...no.

OK...
?
damn!

oh well...

:lol:

[blp]

:idea:I think we should just eradicate all words that begin with the letters A thru W plus Y from poetry. That way we'll be compelled to exhaust the X and Z words that have obviously been under utilized :D

Might have to exclude Z too. zenith