What is Poetic License?

An Ignored Prerogative

Unfortunately, it looks like many people use this term interchangeably with freedom of speech. However, there is a large difference, and the actual definition of ‘poetic license’ will most likely surprise and shock many, dismay more, and probably incite fits of rage from others who do not understand the true definition of the term.

Of course, because of the freedom of speech, and more pointedly, because of the Freedom Of Information Act, there is a prerogative that many poets ignore. That prerogative: get the right information before you use it.

Too Generalized

The freedom of speech has become a generalized thing, and because of a lack of proper knowledge the term poetic license has also been dulled down. Freedom of speech has loaned itself to the idea that people can write what they want to write, call it what they want to call it, and to basely ignore the regulations of formal and informal writing. That is not to say that writers do not already have or practice that freedom. However, the reason we have writer’s references and rules for form is for guidance and propriety; to delineate the differences between separate categories or writing devices. The principle that people place on the difference between soccer and hockey is the same principle we have for the difference between poetic license and freedom of speech: they both have completely separate rules which should be followed in order to enjoy the practice and play of each.

Freedom of Speech: Its Implications for Poetic License

In this respect, the writer has the freedom to move around the realm of the written word as widely or as selectively as they personally see fit. The implication here is that such freedoms extend beyond the regulations. However, that is not so.

Ignoring protocols in a government institution is a quick way to earn a heap of trouble for yourself. Ignoring traffic laws is sure to bring the police down on you, not to mention the possibility of fines and jail-time. Ignoring the ’show, don’t tell’ rule in writing is a surefire way to sabotage the potential interest of any work of fiction or poetry.

The ironic thing about this is that when a work loses its coherence or is unsuccessful in creating the desired effect, the blame falls to the processes the author so wholeheartedly ignored. Why blame the stop sign if you drive through intentionally?

What Is A License?

People do not initially acquire licenses to perform illegal acts. The acquisition of a license means that a person has been entrusted with a privilege; been given the permission to engage in a business, occupation or activity that would otherwise be illegal. People go after licenses because they want to stay within the realm of legality. It is when these licenses or legalities are ignored that a person crosses from poetic license or freedom of speech to poetic abuse and verbal incivility.

How Do We Get A License?

Depending on the activity or business, a license can be attained in a number of ways. Yet, the most prevalent way to get one is through a course of study. Young adults study a driver’s handbook and then must undergo a few aptitude tests before acquiring a license to drive. Lawyers take a course and must complete a test with a high level of competence before attaining a license to practice Law. The same goes for operating heavy machinery, running a business, or becoming an accountant. It’s not difficult to see that most specialized occupations require a degree (which is a kind of license) from an accredited university.

In the poetic endeavor, there is no need for a license to practice the art of writing. However, a course of study has the same benefits for the poet as it does for the driver: at least you know what you’re doing once you’ve graduated to a practical level, and in fact, continuing to learn the rules and practicing to do better is the correct mentality to have.

Word Etymology And Definition

The English word license dates back to the Fourteenth Century in the Middle English period, and was a derivative of both the Latin licentia and the Middle French licence. However, it wasn’t until the year 1819, that the term poetic license (licentia poetica) was coined.

Definition of Poetic License according to Coles Dictionary of Literary Terms: The privilege, sometimes claimed by poets, of departing from normal order, diction, rhyme or pronunciation so that their verse will meet the requirements of their metrical pattern.

Let’s repeat that for effect:

The privilege of departing from the normal order of diction, rhyme, or pronunciation to meet the requirements of a METRICAL PATTERN.

Please click here for another source to the definition of Poetic License from ODLIS.

For more on meter and its many forms, check out World of Poetry 4: The Poem

Examples of Poetic License:

In departing from the normal order of diction, instead of saying, “Kubla Khan decreed that a stately palace will be built in Xanadu,” Coleridge writes:

“In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
a stately pleasure-dome decree.”

In departing from the normal order of pronunciation, instead of saying “Look, there’s a Highland lass, alone in a field,” Wordsworth writes:

“Behold her, single in the field,
yon solitary Highland Lass!”

In order to make his rhyme work, Walter Savage Landor depended on sound when he wrote:

“Stand close around, ye Stygian set,
    With Dirce in one boat conveyed!
Or Charon, seeing, may forget
    That he is old and she a shade.”

The Misappropriation of the Term

Having regarded the responsibilities of license and the definition of the term, we can now see what the current problem is. And, the problem is causing people to misappropriate, misuse, and misunderstand the application of the term. In fact, the misuse of this term has given people some kind of liberal excuse to claim license on anything they feel the need to defend within their own writings; like improper punctuation, or, using abstractions to define details, for instance.

It is obvious that the phrase has become synonymous with the idea that anything the poet writes can be ascribed to it. It seems that most amateurs and indeed even most intermediates immediately claim poetic license as soon as a flaw is discovered in their works. Yet, poetic license, as seen in the definitions given, is far from being a grant to ignore form entirely. It is a license provided to aid effect, not a privilege to completely ignore forms and rules.

To Clarify

And from all this information gathered about the idea of poetic license, we must ask ourselves a few questions: is it rightful to say that poetic license is any departure from a particular form for the sake of effect? Yes! Is poetic license a complete departure or disregard of form to effect a personal taste? No!

In Conclusion

Poetic license came about because of certain variances in grammatical structure, word-choice, and rhymes by poets who were adjusting such things to suit the particular metrical patterns that they had chosen to work with. Poetic license was ascribed to aid in the effects of producing poems that were complete in rhythm, meter, and rhyme. It was never used by 19th Century poets to write a piece of prose and claim that it was a poem. The writers of the time knew the difference. Let us learn from them.