What Are Some of the Most Salient Features of Poetry?

Traditionally, the most salient features of poetry have been rhyme and meter. But today most poetry is written without a fixed rhyme or meter. This is called free verse. Robert Frost compared writing free verse to playing tennis without a net. But I don't think that's a fair comparison, as there are still many "rules" to keep in mind. For instance, You must show rather than tell. Never say a thing is beautiful. Show that beauty with description. This is how a dream works. A dream never tells you anything is beautiful. It overawes you with the portrayal. This showing is one of the most salient features of poetry. But don't use too many modifiers. If you think you can do without a modifier, leave it out. 

Metaphor and simile constitute the crux of poetry. Metaphor is a way of communicating a point in a way that will be remembered. If you say, "John has a big head," no one will remember it. But if you say, "John's head was as big as a metropolis," People are more likely to remember it. In this case I am using a simile because I am using "as." If you want to read more good similes read Anne Sexton. 

Irony is also important. It need not be funny:

I’ll write my story

so deep in myself

no one will hear it

in my voice.

Again, irony helps the reader to remember what is being communicated. Emily Dickinson said, "Tell the truth, but tell it slant."

*If you want to read more of my poetry you can purchase my book, Late Alabama, from Amazon.