How is poetry different from other forms of writing (i.e. short stories, essays, speeches, etc)?

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Vocaloid · Answer

Late question, but here are some thoughts. Please do not copy-paste my response. Poetry has distinct elements that are typically not found in prose. In poetry there's more focus on meter (the "rhythmic" patterns of lines, syllable counts, word counts), rhyming. Prose (which would include short stories, essays, and speeches) tends to be written in "plain" sentences (the way people actually talk in real life). Note: these are not absolutes, but general trends. there's poetry that has characteristics of prose (like free verse, which is unstructured and unrhymed) and prose that has characteristics of poetry (like prose poetry). References: https://www.homeofbob.com/literature/genre/poetry/elements.html https://www.masterclass.com/articles/what-is-prose-learn-about-the-differences-between-prose-and-poetry-with-examples