@!$*&%#! - Naughty words
Posted by Adham Smart on 02 March 2010 in
I was just sitting down daydreaming (as I seem to spend most of my time doing nowadays) and I wondered – can swearing ever be used naturally in a poem? Let me put it this way: normally, when I read or hear a poem with a swearword in it, I get distracted. Not necessarily shocked – I think I’m past that stage now – but the use of such an obviously ‘heavy’ word breaks my concentration a little bit. That’s not to say that that’s always a bad thing, and I’m definitely not against swearing in poetry. It just seems to me that swearwords are often used for immediate and temporary effect, sometimes to compensate for a lack of effect in the rest of the poem. Like I said, I don’t think swearwords are bad – they’re just as much part of the language as any other words – but I’d like to see more intelligent and effective use of them in literature. What do you think? If you want to respond, the forum is your oyster. I’d like to see some poems where you think swearing’s been used well, if you know any.
Adham