Spoken Word
* Focus: Primarily performance-driven. It emphasizes the delivery and interaction with an audience.
* Delivery: Often involves elements like:
* Rhythm and intonation: Intentional use of pauses, volume, and pitch for dramatic effect.
* Physicality: Use of body language, movement, and gestures to enhance the performance.
* Direct address: The performer often speaks directly to the audience, engaging them emotionally.
* Content: Can be diverse, covering personal experiences, social commentary, political views, or even humor. Often addresses contemporary issues and utilizes colloquial language.
* Form: Less rigid structure than traditional poetry. While it can rhyme and have a rhythm, it's not always necessary.
* Examples: Slam poetry, hip-hop, rap, spoken word poetry, storytelling.
Poetry
* Focus: Primarily on language and imagery. The emphasis is on the crafted words on the page.
* Delivery: Typically read aloud, but the focus is on the written form and its meaning. While intonation and rhythm are important, they're less central than in spoken word.
* Content: Can be about anything - love, nature, loss, the human condition, abstract concepts. Often uses more formal language and imagery.
* Form: Has a wide range of forms, with specific rules for structure, rhyme, and meter, including:
* Sonnets: 14 lines with specific rhyme schemes.
* Haiku: A three-line poem with a specific syllable count.
* Free verse: No set rules for structure, rhyme, or meter.
* Examples: Sonnets, haikus, limericks, odes, elegies.
Similarities:
* Both use language creatively to evoke emotions and create a lasting impact.
* Both explore themes of love, loss, identity, and the human experience.
* Both can be performed and read aloud, but the emphasis on performance is more pronounced in spoken word.
In essence: Think of spoken word as a stage performance, while poetry is a literary art form. They can be closely related, with poets often using their work in spoken word performances, and spoken word performers drawing inspiration from poetry.