Poetry: A Comparison
From my perspective, explicating and analyzing poetry is so different from actually attempting to write it. While I found similarities in the natural understanding and flow of the words, there were few past that for me. I would much rather attempt to create some sort of poetry, as I find it easier to write when I can fabricate my own thoughts and meanings, choose specific words, and explore the variety of directions I can take the piece. Part of this as well, I believe, is how much background knowledge is needed to properly interpret poetry. It takes a deeper level of understanding and patience than what I personally possess. Analyzing any sort of poetic work requires one to think about every aspect-- why the poet chose certain language, meter, imagery, etc.
I feel that writing about poetry had a sizable effect on my own writing process. Having to break a poem down and explicate it really opened my eyes to the kind of work that goes into its creation. Thinking about the different types of literary devices that are used so casually also opened my eyes to what sorts of things I need to use more. By being forced to take a step back and analyze the words I'm reading rather than simply processing them, I was also able to identify what techniques I use subconsciously, which helped the process go more smoothly.
I think this sort of experience will greatly influence my teaching. Through this, my understanding of both the poetry-writing process and explication improved, and I believe using a similar lesson in my classroom will help my future students to gain a deeper understanding as well.
Hello, Hallie! I complete agree with your post. I would much rather produce a creative work myself than write an academic essay. I think it's because in an academic essay you need to do research to justify your choices depending on the direction you decide to go. If it's a science-based paper then you have to research scientific terms and how they can apply to your own, if it's history you need to look at the author's background and historical context, and if it's from a literary point of view you need to examine multiple work from said author. I think when a piece is your own it allows for more creativity such as what direction you want to take it, what interpretation do I want the reader to have, how do I employ words that evoke strong emotion. I do think that analyzing poetry is important because it shows how literary devices can be employed to be effective and these techniques are something that can be stolen and used for one's own creative works, and some literary devices can be used in multiple works or poetic devices can be used creatively in different types of works. I do think this can be useful in the classroom because we will have to have our student explore poetry. Academic writing is important too, but we need to show our students how emotions are preserved rather than logic and how we can pair poetry with other items such as drawings, history, and literature.
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Hi Hallie! When you said that it is easier to fabricate your thoughts when writing poetry, it made me think of my own writing process for poetry. I use it as a way to really let loose and write what I am thinking how I am thinking it (it’s why I use free verse so often). As you said, being able to determine the diction, form, meter, and anything else can really allow you to play with the poem’s meaning. Something I do to amplify this even more is to physically write it with pen and paper so I can play with font sizes, the legibility of my writing, and the literal shape of the poem on the page (which is much easier to do with pen and paper over adhering to a word processor’s capabilities. You’re also so right about utilizing literary devices you learn through analysis in your own writing; it expands your toolbox so much to just simply know the different ways you can play with the sound and shape (both metaphorically and literally) of the poem.
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