When discussing power and conflict in social terms, most people think that human beings argue and have to deal with tension. These terms are actually technical terms in writing and critiquing poetry, and being able to revise these aspects might lead to better poetry. Writing poetry for market means conforming to conventions that are typical in the field or at least to know what is being deviated from. Learn power and conflict revision from a credible source.
In poetry, the conflict has a more specific definition as the conflict is essential to a narrative. The protagonist or viewpoint character is usually seeking something or has to overcome an obstacle. The need to be accomplished is the conflict. It is important in poetry because a human actor engages the reader the same as in a story. The difference in a poem is that the narrative is highly concise.
Just like a story, poems often have to be edited to fit the narrative. A story might have a protagonist that seems unbelievable or unrelatable if the story is crafted by an amateur. The same might be true of an amateur poem about a human subject. If the protagonist seems like a stereotype or has a dissatisfying conclusion, then the reader might be put off by the poem.
Poetry obviously has to engage the audience, and poetry is written by the poet for the benefit of the reader if it is meant to be published. Many amateurs write poetry for their own personal expression but then attach ego to it and expect to be recognized for their creations. The reality is that the conflict and aura of the poem have to align with the tastes of a target audience or else it will not resonate with them. A poem for the market is a form of media and it has to accurately communicate.
This brings us to the subject of power. A poem has power if it uses linguistic and comparative devices to illicit familiarity, strong emotions, or some other effective response from the reader. Being able to identify with a human subject is a start, but using terms that carry specific meaning, particularly for an audience. Power and conflict revision has conventions, and other books of poetry provide samples of language that would be familiar to other people who read poetry.
Editing for power means eliminating terms and comparisons that are ineffective. An example would be starting with one comparison and then ending with another. To compare a person to a cat and then to end comparing the same person to a snake might not be all that effective. Finding better replacements for cliche terms is another form of editing. This is what you get into when you want to revise poetry, so find a resource that helps you along the way.
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