- You might do a close reading of one of the poems (like we did w/ David Mason's poem last week)
- You might compare the poems. What similarities do they have? What differences do you notice?
- You might write about difficulties you have with a poem. Feel free to use the blog to ask questions. I value good open questions. (Open questions are subjective, they lead to exploration. Closed questions are purely factual ("What color is the sky?") or yes/no.) And yes, you get credit for asking good questions.
- Try to answer one of my open questions.
- Try to answer one of you peers' very good open questions. And yes, again, you get credit for responding to classmates' comments and questions.
- Make connections between a poem and other texts you've read (or seen or heard).
- Make connections between a poem and your life experience.
It helps to quote from the text if you're making a specific comment or claim about a poem.
Poet John Ciardi had these three rules for reading poetry:
1) The poem is not to be confused w/ a paraphrase.
2) Avoid speed-reading. Discover the natural rhythm of the work.
3) Read it aloud.
Or we might consider what poet Richard Wilbur wrote about poetry (quoted
in BAP 2018, p. xix): "A poem should not be like a Double-Crostic; it
should not be the sort of puzzle in which you get nothing until you get
it all." In other words, although a poem may puzzle you, it's not for
you to solve. A truly rich poem should offer you something different
every time you return to it. Shakespeare wrote his plays over four
hundred years ago and people are still publishing books and articles
about them. That shows you how rich some texts can be.
I love the poem we did in class call the love poem :chimera by donika Kelly because I feel like the meaning behind it was self love and I kind actually related to that because there times I got be tough and learn to love who I am espically when I remember my memories of being bullied in the past so I tend to lack self love and confidence so I really could relate.
ReplyDeleteThe poem by David Mason has many interpretations. For instance there were many themes that you could come up with. In the beginning of the poem, it was sounded like there was a moment of peace and that there was no stress. Then towards the end of the poem there was a sense of all of that stress was coming back as referenced in the poem that they were carrying the bucket of fire everywhere they went. Poems can be interpreted in anyway the reader suits.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the poem “Yonder, a Rental” is difficult to decipher. The first reading did not create a sense of an event occurring, a description of an event, a narrative or a narrative of a story being told. Before the second reading, I looked up the meaning of a few words to try and understand what was being relayed in the poem. The third round of reading in this poem, I placed myself in what was being told and visualize a wolf howling at a big bright moon as the light shun through the dark. But then, the poem shifted to a different scene with a priest and a cobbler and a reference to a Sultans power and to a reference to some type of French cheese. It is difficult to formulate some idea as to what the poet is trying to say. The poem “Love Poem: Chimera” was easier to interpret. The poet clearly indicates that she is presenting herself using some type of symbolism, that symbol being a mythical creature. The poem “An Old Story” was also easy to interpret as the poet in my opinion, describes human suffering, human awareness and human survival. My first question relates to the poet’s ability to take a subject matter and speak about it in the form of a poem with the use of grossly opposite symbolism that captures the idea the poet is trying to relate? It may be difficult to go inside a poet’s mind to answer this question. An example of a question I would like to ask the poet is, what is meant by “Grab a handful of shine, like disc of doll hair, a dollop of Neufchatel?” Why does poet Kelly compare herself to a mythical , creepy creature in a poem that’s titled “Love Poem.”
ReplyDelete"Yonder, a Rental" left me very confused at first as I had no clear idea on where did the sense of money or rental came into play with the poem. After reading it over and over I began to get a sense of maybe this was referring to donating to a church/paying tithes. The quote that references a priest's collar and the line "it's ok to be sentimental".It made me think about the hesitation we may have when giving money away. I also get the idea that maybe this poem is trying to get someone to be more open to giving money. For example "though there’s no need to bother. Grab a handful of shine like a disc of doll hair, a dollop of Neufchâtel, valor and force, vital—" is almost saying don't be afraid to gather up a bunch of coins and give it away almost like an advertisement.
ReplyDelete"Love Poem:Chimera" seems to be a story about a person who thought that by themselves they were enough but found comfort in loving someone else. It states in the poem "Thought my body enough for two, for we. Found comfort in never being lonely" Towards the end of the poem the writer reflects on how much the two of them of changed. They have become something different. The poem ends with "what we've made of ourselves".
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