We have begun our study of poetry in Textual Studies (again). I get a sick sense of enjoyment out of this time of class because I feel that there is a decent shot that I know more than the professor about the topic. What amazes me though is the inability and unwillingness of the students to open up to poetry. I have taken this class another time (don't ask), and the same thing was said at that time; "They just write like that to be confusing." It seems that most students didn't even make an attempt to understand the poem simply because it was a poem. No sense of adventure, I guess.
Another thing that amazed me was that one girl, who seemed to be well versed in literature, made the serious suggestion that the meter in a sonnet that we were studying was accidental. At that moment I realized that a sort of literary xenophobia exists toward poetry. I've always somewhat known this, but after my initial experience with it, poetry isn't scary anymore. I actually enjoy staring at a confusing poem and trying to dig out the meaning.
I think the problem in the teaching of poetry comes from the fact that often times the teacher doesn't understand it either. I remember back to high school and can only think of one English teacher who would've understood poetry, but he never taught a class that dealt with it. I think this fact leads teachers and professors to present poetry as this alien (as in foreign, not Martian) thing that nobody understands, which downplays the importance of it in the grand scheme of literature. Somebody should fix this.
5 comments:
Poetry has always been my favorite discipline (?) to tear into and analyze because it's really the only one that demands you take it syllable by syllable, word by word, line by line, stanza by stanza. Few people ever do such a close reading of prose or drama.
Well said, Bret. I am often frustrated with my peers' seemingly uninterested attitude toward poetry. While I understand that it can be a difficult genre to learn, and perhaps some students (and professors) feel uncomfortable truly delving into the depths of poetry, I have become increasingly irritated that most are unwilling even to try. How else is one supposed to learn except to attempt to explain what seems inexplainable?
Nothing can ever be appreciated totally by the masses.
I think that's one of the great things about poetry.
Not everyone is willing to open themselves up to the possibility of appreciating the art of it.
Not everyone likes it.
Personally, I'm okay with that.
Poetry is hard. It demands a lot of effort. Most of the time I don't understand it.
Bret,
thank you for the comment you left me. It made more sense than you could imagine, plus I found your unique out look very, very, very reassuring. I'm apologize if I leave typos doing this, I have to finish one of the stories still and try to not look scurvy before dinner.
Anyway, I agree with the misdirection of hate put on companies that produce bad things. What makes me sad are the big corporations that prey on children. Kids that start sneaking cigarettes when they're thirteen because they honest to God believe they'll look cool. Another example would probably be people who work for Nike who have personally see the conditions over seas but still keep the job since they'll make over a million in a few years. Money is a powerful thing. I want to have it, I just don't want to lose control to it. So your Robin Hoodesque outlook made me smile and feel good about myself. So again, thank you.
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