“There is a difference between writing poetically and writing poetry.” Thomas Lux
Beginning poets often assume that poetry differs from prose because poetry is more descriptive or evocative.Not necessarily.Good prose can be wonderfully evocative. One important difference is compression. A prose writer may have paragraphs or pages in which to build a scene. A poet often has only a handful of words.And what looks like the quickest route to description?
The adjective.
That is why beginning poets often use adjectives with a vengeance.
The problem is not adjectives
An adjective can give us colour, size, texture, mood and atmosphere almost instantly. But that convenience makes it very easy to use adjectives which merely decorate the noun:
clear blue sky
white puffy clouds
green grassy field
cold winter morning
Nothing is grammatically wrong with these phrases.The question is:
What has the adjective actually added? If the reader would already imagine grass as green or snow as white, the adjective may be using valuable space without giving us anything new.
Make the adjective work
The answer is not to ban adjectives.
The answer is to make them earn their place.
Look at The Silken Tent.
The poem’s modifiers are doing far more than supplying description.
Words such as
*silken,
*sunny summer,
*supporting central cedar,
*single,
*countless,
*slightest.
These work because they contribute to its patterns of sound as well as to its imagery.
Consider just this cluster. Listen to what happens.
The repeated ‘s’ sounds give the language a softness that belongs to the image itself. Meaning and sound are working together.And silken is not merely telling us what the tent is made of. A silken tent is an unusual, deliberately poetic image. Remove silken and something fundamental disappears from the metaphor.That adjective has earned its place.
Now make the adjectives ordinary
Imagine replacing Frost’s choices:
silken tent → polyester tent
sunny summer breeze → cool refreshing breeze supporting central cedar pole → supporting wooden pole
countless silken ties → endless cotton ties
slightest bondage → least bondage
The meaning has not collapsed.But the poetry has suffered.Why?Because the replacements mostly provide information.
Frost’s choices participate in the poem’s imagery, metaphor, rhythm and sound.That is the difference between an adjective which describes and an adjective which WORKS.
Do we need adjectives at all?
Not necessarily at least maybe just minimally. A powerful poem does not require lavish description. Sometimes a noun and a strong verb will accomplish more than a noun surrounded by modifiers.So when revising, don’t simply count your adjectives.Interrogate them.
Ask of every adjective:
Does it tell me something I didn’t already know?
Does it make the image more precise?
Does it create or change the mood?
Does it contribute to the sound or rhythm?
Does it strengthen the metaphor?
Does it make me see the noun differently?
If the answer is NO, try removing it.If nothing is lost, leave it out.
A quick exercise
Take four lines from one of your own poems.
- Underline every adjective or other word modifying a noun.
- Read the passage aloud without them.
- Put back only those you genuinely miss.
- For each one you restore, ask: What job is this word doing?
- Replace one predictable adjective with something less expected.
- Read the passage aloud again.Don’t aim for fewer adjectives merely for the sake of having fewer.Aim for ‘better words doing more work’.
The rule to remember.
Don’t ask whether you have too many adjectives. Ask what each adjective is doing.
If it merely tells us what we already imagined, cut it.If it sharpens the image, alters the mood, contributes to the music, strengthens the metaphor or makes us see the noun differently, it may have earned its place. And when you do use an adjective, make us glad you did.
