Introduction to Poetry

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Introduction to Poetry

• How do we read poetry?

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You are reading this too fast.

• You are reading this too fast.
• Slow down, for this is poetry
• and poetry works slowly.
• Unless you live with it a while
• the spirit will never descend.
• Its so easy to quickly cut across the surface
• and then claim there was nothing to find.
• Touch the poem gently with your eyes
• just as you would touch a lovers flesh.
• Poetry is an exercise in patience,
• You must wait for it to come to you.
• The spirity manifests in many guises
• some quiver with beauty,
• some vibrate with song.

What is happening? Slow down, slow down, take a
few deep breaths, read the poem slowly, read the
lines one at a time. read the words one by
one, read the spaces between the words, get
sleepy, this is poetry, relax until your heart is
vulnerable, wide open. - Ken Norris
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Questions to Ask Yourself

• Who is the speaker in he poem? Are the speaker
  and the poet one and the same? Is there more than
  one speaker?
• Is the poet using an identifiable persona as the
  speaker?
• What is a persona you ask?
• When the poet creates a character to be the
  speaker, that character is called the persona and
  the poet imagines what it is like to enter
  someone else's personality. For example the
  voice of an elderly person, a young child or a
  historical figure

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Questions to Ask Yourself

• To whom, if anyone, is this poem addressed? How
  does the intended audience for the poem affect
  how we understand it?
• Imagine the speaker expressing the meaning of the
  poem to one intended audience. Now picture the
  speaker talking to another possible audience.
  How does this look to you? Does it make
  sense?

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Questions to Ask Yourself

• What is the dominant tone of the poem? Can you
  identify the poets attitude toward the subject
  matter?
• Ex// amused, judgmental, ecstatic
• Can you identify the poets attitude toward the
  audience?
• Ex// respectful, sarcastic, frustrated, charming?

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Questions to Ask Yourself?

• Is there an identifiable plot? Is an event or
  occasion being described? Is the poem set in any
  particular time or place?
• Ex// Is the poem about war? Is it about death?
  Which war it is about?
• Does the poem make sense on a literal level? Are
  there any parts that doesnt make sense? Is this
  related to its structure?

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Questions to Ask Yourself

• Does the poet make generalizations? If so, do
  these seem to be true only within the context of
  the poem?
• What do we mean by context?
• Is it a feminist poem? Does it speak to Marxist
  ideals? Is it about a specific time period? Is
  it about a specific situation, like a
  relationships or breakup

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Questions to Ask Yourself

• Do any words or phrases stand out? Has the poet
  used diction (word choice) to good effect?
• What level of diction is being used?
• Formal, informal, slang
• After reading through the poem several times, can
  you identify a specific mood? How does this poem
  make you feel? Do you think this is how the poet
  intended you to feel?

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Questions to Ask Yourself

• Most importantly!
• Has reading this poem given you any fresh
  insights or perspectives? What are they and how
  do they compare to ideas you had before?