tailieunhanh - WRITING ABOUT POETRY - Express yourself

THIS CHAPTER will explain some of the unique characteristics of poetry and show you that it’s probably easier to read and write about poetry than you thought. Tips for understanding theme and then using the language of the poem to help you craft a response will be demonstrated. | CHAPTER Writing About Poetry THIS CHAPTER will explain some of the unique characteristics of poetry and show you that it s probably easier to read and write about poetry than you thought. Tips for understanding theme and then using the language of the poem to help you craft a response will be demonstrated. You are probably just like thousands of others who hear the word poetry and respond by saying either I don t like it or I never could understand it. It is true that poetry is more complicated than other forms of literature and it takes more skill and patience to penetrate. Because poems compress major ideas into few words and rely on figurative language metaphors and similes you are often left on your own to analyze and interpret possible meaning. You can never expect to fully understand or quickly appreciate a poem s significance in only one reading. For example let s take a look at the following poem by Emily Dickinson regarded as one of America s greatest poets. Her style is unique. No two poems are alike and there are no rules to help you figure out what 99 Writing About Poetry EXPRESS YOURSELF she is saying. She writes about the biggest of subjects death life love and nature in the smallest of ways. Her poems are short explosions of thoughts and feelings. Look at the poem below We play at Paste Till qualified for Pearl Then drop the Paste And deem ourself a fool The shapes though were similar And our new hands Learned Gem Tactics Practicing Sands Emily Dickinson didn t title her work. This puts the reader at a disadvantage because unlike more traditional poems the reader has no signal about the subject. Instead there is an invitation to the reader to bring his or her own insights to the poem and even declare his or her own subject. To analyze a poem this way there are certain questions that you should bring to any reading of poetry and we will use them to analyze the Dickinson poem. 1. What is the subject of the poem She uses the pronoun we which is a clear