Poets and Poems
Despite my major, I haven't had much instruction on poetry's metric and figurative facets. I have vague memories of lessons on iambic pentameter in my 9th grade English class but almost every course since, even college courses, has totally skipped the literary form. I think teachers and professors opt it out in place of essay writing and lessons on how to make a strong thesis. After learning more about poetry and writing it myself, I've realized how useful reading poetry is to one's ability to form interpretations and arguments from primary texts.
With poetry, less is more and oftentimes interpretation is left to the reader. I'd argue that studying "an easy poem", one with narrative structure, can assist students in understanding elements such as plot, themes, and figurative devices. The short narrative structure of such poems usually leaves out certain details, like character, such elements can be interpreted by the students. This task can become an in-class exercise to introduce the "missing" plot element itself and why it's an integral component of the narrative. In short, poetry can be used as a precursor into heavy plot-driven narrative texts which usually have very little room for interpretation. The consistent practice of interpreting poems can then be applied to these denser texts and make locating figurative elements within them that much easier.
Reading poetry is always a treat. The latest assignment was the first time I ever wrote any kind of poetic analysis. Although writing about texts isn't something new for me this far into my major, it came with a set of challenges I hadn't dealt with. I had to think about things such as meter and speaker. But when it came to writing my own poetry, these aren't things I necessarily thought about. I just typed and didn't stop. I didn't think about rhymes they just came naturally. I realized that although poetry involves meter and speaker, this isn't always the case. I think writing anything with a structure or "rules" in mind leaves little room for creativity. I kind of wished I hadn't learned of meter because now when I write poems (as I have been for a few months now) I'm going to keep them in mind. I'll consistently ask myself if this is the correct form and if it'll fit a mold. However, I don't believe learning these forms is without purpose as they can help strengthen your writing. I just think reading the rules of poetic structure can leave the novice poet like a freshman in art school, overwhelmed with the technique and momentarily depleted of ingenuity.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Jasmine! I agree on a lot of points you have made on your blog. For me personally, I am in the same situation when it comes to iambic pentameter and other poetic structure issues. Just like you, I haven't encountered much play with those concepts until now, which is later into my major. I had always assumed I would encounter this more, but I guess my professors were usually the essay and discussion post type. Either way, I am glad I get another opportunity to relearn these concepts, so that when I become a teacher, I could understand them better and be able to communicate those teachings. I also liked how you talked about natural rhyme, as I feel most rhyme comes from the unconscious brain. There is a certain connection with rhythm that simply cannot be explained. In all honesty, poetry is a tough subject to learn, but I feel as though I learn better when given examples or am able to demonstrate my own writing through poetry.
ReplyDeleteHey Jasmine,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because I remember that in high school we did not go over poetry as much as we should have and it made me believe that poems were all about rhymes. However, as I began taking college courses I realized that there was a lot more that went into poems than just making them rhyme. I also learned more about the poetic devices that go into poems. I think that students should be able to analyze poetry at a younger age because that would better their writing. Apart from making their writings better, it would also help them analyze any type of work as well. I think overall writing about poetry is an important aspect to ones writing techniques and further analytical techniques. It’s also important for students to start to build this analytical strength from at least high school in order to better their own writing in the future. Poetry also helps students express themselves in a different manner than simply writing. Doing a poetry slam as we did during class can help students with this. It may help them realize that they enjoy writing poetry as well. It is important to introduce students to it in order to open up a new experience for them.
~ Daisy M.