KillerMuffin
Seraphically Disinclined
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2000
- Posts
- 25,603
Reading poetry is just as important as writing it. When we read it, we often miss a lot of things because we don't really know what to look for when reading critically.
The elements of a poem that one should consider when reading are also the elements one should consider before writing.
Speaker and situation:
The speaker is usually a "character" created by the author, but sometimes the author his or her self. Who is the poem coming from? Does this make a difference? Yes it does. Consider Robert Barrett Browning's "My Last Duchess." Another important part of the speaker is to whom the poem is addressed. Obviously Elizabeth Barrett Browning was speaking directly to her husband when she wrote "How do I love thee." The situation is a little like setting. What's happening in the poem? Where is it happening? These things are almost always chosen deliberately.
Theme
Arguably one of the most important elements to think about when critically reading a poem. This is the major idea in the poem. You can't always pick it out or slap a thesis statement to explain the theme, but there is always a theme. Before you can get into individual meaning within the poem, you must have a grasp of overall meaning of the poem. A very simple theme to pick out can be found in Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night".
Tone
This can be defined as a state of mind or an attitude. Tone is reflected by word choice, most obvioulsy, and the way the words are strung together more subtlely. There are more attitudes at work than those of the writer. There are the attitudes of the speaker and the reader to think about as well. Certain words have different meanings for everyone. Consider the word Daddy. Most people associate that with a good thing. Sylvia Plath did not. Young Li's poem "Persimmons" has a very good sample of a how attitude and word choice work together to create an overall tone. Words that describe tone are ironic, sarcastic, bored, loving. You get the picture.
Diction
An interesting thing. Diction essentially comes down to word choice and meaning. There are two kinds of meaning, denotative and connotative. It's my belief that a person shouldn't critically read a poem without a dictionary handy. You find words that the poet seems to emphasize more. While we usually know what they mean, we frequently don't know the full denotative meaning. Take the word coy. We all know that it means coquettish, flirty, artful playfullness. Did you know that it also means shrinking from contact or familiarity? Connotation is the flip side. Coy means something beyond what the dictionary says. Consider Adreine Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers".
Syntax
That means the structure of its phrases, clauses, sentences, and lines. It contributes to tone and in itself has meaning. What kinds of words are used, short and choppy or long and rolling? Are the lines long or short. Alliterative or not? What poetic devices are in use. Consider Anne Sexton's "Ringing the Bells". Short, simple, and repetitive. Appropriate to the them of a Bedlamite. Incidentally, sextons were bell-ringers.
Imagery
This is one we talk about the most often because it's the most obvious. Similes and metaphors are two types. Imagery is basically a word picture. The biggest part of imagery that we never discuss, though, is the symbol. Symbolism is such an inherent part of poetry. We think good image, but we don't delve into the meaning. Images have meaning otherwise there's no point to them. Robert Frost's "Putting in the Seed" is full of imagery that magnifies meaning with double entendre. Seed itself is a powerful symbol in the poem.
Sound
This is something good poets must consider and rarely seem to think of. At least around here. Sound is more than just alliteration, rhyme, and assonance. It's also meter, rhythm, and beat. How fast the poem goes, how slowly the lines work. Do the sounds clash with each other or do they have that easy flow of alliteration. A successful poem uses sound to convey meaning.
Consider Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" The poem is about a march. The beginning is slow and and full of commas. In the middle it's suddenly fast and full of single syllable words. This conveys added meaning to the poem.
Anyway. It's my belief that better readers are better writers. When we understand we can apply. If there's any interest--don't want to waste time on something no one cares about--I'll go into each part specifically and some discussion kinds of questions to think about when reading a poem.
I would like, actually, to have something like a regular poetry discussion. Not critique session, actual discussion. I think those are fun.
The elements of a poem that one should consider when reading are also the elements one should consider before writing.
Speaker and situation:
The speaker is usually a "character" created by the author, but sometimes the author his or her self. Who is the poem coming from? Does this make a difference? Yes it does. Consider Robert Barrett Browning's "My Last Duchess." Another important part of the speaker is to whom the poem is addressed. Obviously Elizabeth Barrett Browning was speaking directly to her husband when she wrote "How do I love thee." The situation is a little like setting. What's happening in the poem? Where is it happening? These things are almost always chosen deliberately.
Theme
Arguably one of the most important elements to think about when critically reading a poem. This is the major idea in the poem. You can't always pick it out or slap a thesis statement to explain the theme, but there is always a theme. Before you can get into individual meaning within the poem, you must have a grasp of overall meaning of the poem. A very simple theme to pick out can be found in Dylan Thomas's "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night".
Tone
This can be defined as a state of mind or an attitude. Tone is reflected by word choice, most obvioulsy, and the way the words are strung together more subtlely. There are more attitudes at work than those of the writer. There are the attitudes of the speaker and the reader to think about as well. Certain words have different meanings for everyone. Consider the word Daddy. Most people associate that with a good thing. Sylvia Plath did not. Young Li's poem "Persimmons" has a very good sample of a how attitude and word choice work together to create an overall tone. Words that describe tone are ironic, sarcastic, bored, loving. You get the picture.
Diction
An interesting thing. Diction essentially comes down to word choice and meaning. There are two kinds of meaning, denotative and connotative. It's my belief that a person shouldn't critically read a poem without a dictionary handy. You find words that the poet seems to emphasize more. While we usually know what they mean, we frequently don't know the full denotative meaning. Take the word coy. We all know that it means coquettish, flirty, artful playfullness. Did you know that it also means shrinking from contact or familiarity? Connotation is the flip side. Coy means something beyond what the dictionary says. Consider Adreine Rich's "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers".
Syntax
That means the structure of its phrases, clauses, sentences, and lines. It contributes to tone and in itself has meaning. What kinds of words are used, short and choppy or long and rolling? Are the lines long or short. Alliterative or not? What poetic devices are in use. Consider Anne Sexton's "Ringing the Bells". Short, simple, and repetitive. Appropriate to the them of a Bedlamite. Incidentally, sextons were bell-ringers.
Imagery
This is one we talk about the most often because it's the most obvious. Similes and metaphors are two types. Imagery is basically a word picture. The biggest part of imagery that we never discuss, though, is the symbol. Symbolism is such an inherent part of poetry. We think good image, but we don't delve into the meaning. Images have meaning otherwise there's no point to them. Robert Frost's "Putting in the Seed" is full of imagery that magnifies meaning with double entendre. Seed itself is a powerful symbol in the poem.
Sound
This is something good poets must consider and rarely seem to think of. At least around here. Sound is more than just alliteration, rhyme, and assonance. It's also meter, rhythm, and beat. How fast the poem goes, how slowly the lines work. Do the sounds clash with each other or do they have that easy flow of alliteration. A successful poem uses sound to convey meaning.
Consider Wilfred Owen's "Dulce et Decorum Est" The poem is about a march. The beginning is slow and and full of commas. In the middle it's suddenly fast and full of single syllable words. This conveys added meaning to the poem.
Anyway. It's my belief that better readers are better writers. When we understand we can apply. If there's any interest--don't want to waste time on something no one cares about--I'll go into each part specifically and some discussion kinds of questions to think about when reading a poem.
I would like, actually, to have something like a regular poetry discussion. Not critique session, actual discussion. I think those are fun.