The second nine weeks is mostly devoted to poetry, and the next work we're reading is Shakespeare's
Hamlet. It is printed in the Bedford, but I highly encourage you to get a copy of your own for annotating. (And so you don't have to carry around the Bedford the whole time.) After
Hamlet, at the end of the second nine weeks, we'll read Tom Stoppard's
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, another play.
But for week 11, I'd like you to post about your experiences with poetry. For example:
- Is there a particular poet you enjoy?
- Have you ever had to memorize a poem? Was it a worthwhile experience? Can you still recite it?
- What is your earliest memory of poetry?
- What have been some of your struggles with poetry?
- What is it about poetry that you enjoy?
- Why do some people (possibly including you) think that poetry is so tough?
- Why is poetry important?
- What makes a poem a poem?
You don't have to answer all of the above questions; I've just given them to you as examples in case you can't think of something to write.
This post is due by midnight, Friday, October 24th.
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71 comments:
1. It's far easier to give you a list of poets I hate. I do, however, enjoy Langston Hughes. Not necessarily "a" poet, but I do enjoy Russian poets, specifically those around the WWII period. Very raw, blunt stuff. Lots of DostoeI'mgoingtoslotmyselfishsky names that I'm too lazy to dig up.
2. Yes. 7th grade, Poe's Annabel Lee. No, I can't recite it today, nor to I want to. Poe was the suck, and I hate memorization to begin with; I don't feel I learned anything other than "do this to get 100pt grade."
3. English class :). My parents were never into poetry, and when they were shoving books into my hands as a kid (and from the tastes I developed from that), poetry was not part of the list.
4. Struggles:
- I hate writing it. My hatred of poetry comes from a long-standing ineptitude at writing it ;).
- I tend to associate poetry (nowadays) with let's-hang-out-in-a-cemetery-and-write-about-my-depression. Stigmas?
- A lot of it is utter crap. I can recognize greatness when I see it; much of what I read is not it.
5. When poetry is where I like it, it is:
- Blunt
- Raw (often uncensored; I believe that, if I feel something, I should write it completely uncensored, and if that means a few blanks, blanketies, or blankings here and there, so be it. English teachers do not usually agree with this :)).
- Not overly pompous; I could do without the Poe style of writing. It's excessive.
- Not too wordy; I pretend to be a person of few words, this blog nonwithstanding.
- NO RHYME SCHEME. It is annoying, repetitive, and triggers-the-psycho-switch-in-my-mind-itive.
6. It's hard as poop to write? At least that's me. Other times, I just can't connect with the author. Knowing a little background helps; for poetry assignments, I usually look on WikiPlagarism to find out what was going on in that point in time.
7. Like all writing, it preserves history. In addition, it is a way to express emotion, and it's a medium that most others can't compete with.
8. Words on paper. Those words must consist of some sort of emotion. They must have a meaning. From there, it's up to the author.
I don't really have a favorite poet, but I do have a favorite poem. It's "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop. I first heard it in the movie In Her Shoes, and then I found it in our poetry book. I love the way it flows and the deeper meaning behind all the symbols. It's not hard to understand because I think everyone can relate to it. I find most poems difficult to sort through because their meaning is more or less hidden, but I think in "One Art" the theme is rather clear.
My earliest memory of poetry is when we had to memorize a poem every week in English class in 7th grade. I don't really remember poetry before this, but I do remember a few poems we were assigned to memorize, although I don't think I can still recite them perfectly I do remember parts of them.
I think poetry is difficult sometimes because it is personal to the author, but it may not be personal to the reader. The author puts words together in a certain way for a certain reason with a particular point to the poem, but the reader may not realize all of this by reading through it once. Poetry is something you have to put your own impression on, and there isn't always a right or wrong interpretation.
This is a bit childish of me, but some of the most memorable poets for me were Shel Silverstein, Bruce Lansky, and Brod Bagert (wrote Elephant Games, which I have an autographed copy of!). Mostly funny, amusing children's poems. They were simple and didn't deal with things like life, death, or sex, but they did talk about ordinary things in a kid's life, like bullies, friendship, and growing up, things that a kid can relate to and enjoy reading and understanding. Of course, now that I can read big people poetry, one of my favorite poems is called "I Am Not Yours" by Sarah Teasdale, which was adapted into a choral piece that the CHS Chamber Choir sang last year. Poetry is just songs without the words, or songs are just poems set to music, so I personally don't really struggle with it. But just like there are millions of different kinds of songs out there, there are millions of different poems, and people are probably going to dislike a majority of the stuff they encounter.
The first timg that comes to min is my mom drilling Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat into my head until I had it memorized. I recited it at Girl Scout talent shows and once for a class project. I still remember most of the words. :)
I also devoured shel silverstein as a kid. Love him!
Poetry appeals to me because it's a great way to express feelings that are hard to state in a single pinpointed adjective. I also like how poetry explores the unexpored. Unlike fiction, poetry digs deep beneath the surface to see what's really going on. Poems are tiny revelations and I like that.
Well of all the poets one of my favorites has to be whoever wrote the book Where the Sidewalk Ends and all the other ones like it. They're just fun poems and some can be pretty sweet in a simple way.
I really struggle with finding the meaning in poetry, like I do in all literary things. When someone explains their interpretation of something, I understand what they mean but I never would have thought of it on my own.
I think poetry is an important way to empress feelings and ideas in a unique way. Poetry is important because it gives people many different ways to look at something. At times it can make everyday things more beautiful, but it can also make many things seem very depressing.
I mostly like poets that write straightforwardly. I don’t like abstract writing that is next to impossible to figure out. I memorized a Shel Silverstein poem once called “Sick.“ It was about a girl who was pretending to be sick so she wouldn’t have to go to school but then she figures out its Saturday and is completely healthy again. It was really funny so I decided to memorize it but I didn’t have to for school or anything. I can still recite some of it. That is probably my earliest memory of poetry, reading Silverstein when I was about 7. My struggles have been just not understanding poetry and figuring out the deeper meaning of the work. I don’t like poetry that rhymes, it seems too forced to me. I like it when it tells a story mostly and the way the words are so pretty together and seem perfect and thought out like other works don’t really do.
I have never had to memorize a poem but I must say I have enjoyed a few that I have read. If I had to pick a favorite poet, I would have to pick Anne Sexton because her poems are so obvious! That makes me seem lazy by not being able to look for a deeper meaning in poems but that is not the case. She is just so blunt and open about her desire to take her own life that I find it difficult to look away. Reading her works are like watching a bad movie play out and then wondering why you paid $9 to go see it. Every poem runs into the next but switches up the way in which she explains her lust for suicide. Lovely. As for why I believe most people dread even the word poetry, simple, because few poets are worth reading. Maybe that is an exaggeration but I have not come across many poets who have touched me with their words.
actually I have one more thing to say. Dr. Seuss is my favorite poet because he is an amazing wordsmith. Not joking. I absolutely love his ability to take nonsense words and arrange them in a way that makes me smile :]
SHELL SILVERSTEIN!!
I absolutely love his work! I read his poems all through elementary school and middle school, and I have several different books with collections of his poems in it!
Other than that I'm not a huge poetry person simply because when teachers teach poetry, they usually require us to write some of our own.. and needless to say, I'm really terrible at it.
We have to memorize german poetry every year in class for Dr. Halliburton [language fair] and I actually placed 2nd last year :) So that part's not too bad in my opinion!
Poetry is in the eye of the beholder... like beauty and art.
Oh, and I can't believe I forgot Dr. Seuss... I love Dr. Seuss!!
Who doesn't love a good "Fox in Sox?"
Of course I would have to mention Shel Silverstein as one of my all time favorites, because there are so few poems out there that can be equally enjoyed by a older teen as well as a child in elementary school. I tend to lean more toward poems that are straightforward, relative to me, or are simply funny. I do not like to "dig" for a meaning in a poem, because I have the tendency to go overboard and on a tangent from its intended meaning. My favorite poem right now is "The World is Mine" by an anonymous author because it is one of the VERY VERY few poems i have read that i could connect to instantly. As far as writing poetry goes, it just doesn't happen to be one of my talents; I will leave that up to the more artistic people of the world.
Poetry is a big part of my life. I tend to get inspired the most to write after studying human nature in general. Seriously, I can just go people-watching and write. I also have a section of my sociology binder devoted to my poems because thinking analytically about people in general is what gets me thinking.
I did have to memorize two poems in my lifetime, "Annabel Lee" and some random Robert Frost poem I can't remember. I don't really remember because it wasn't "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening," and that's the only poem I really enjoy by Frost. However, I am going to have to disagree with Sean and say Poe is the shiz.
I love poetry, but I find I love writing it more than reading it. I know it sounds corny, but sometimes it is just too painful for me to bring up all of the emotion that one poem is designed to stir. I am very empathetic, so I put myself in the writers' shoes. However, I do like Matsuo Basho a good deal, and just completed a book of Chinese love poems I enjoyed, believe it or not.
Poetry is art in one of its simplest and yet most complicated forms. It has no melody behind it to pick up where the words leave off, no colors or fluff. It is purely human depth and communication, an attempt to express the inexpressable, to have someone else see fully through your eyes. The best poem will be utterly beautiful but won't come close to accomplishing this. This is why I stand by the fact that all great poets are masochists! :)
I like many poets, but I do not really have a favorite. Oh I cannot forget about Dr. Seuss! I have had to memorize poems in the past including The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. I learned one that was called Bear In There by Shel Silverstein and I can still recite it to this day. I think I started memorizing poems in the 7th grade. I sometimes have difficulty interpretting what the poet is trying to say and they confuse me. I like how you can express yourself through it. You can write down your feelings but you can write them down in a unique way.
I can honestly say that I like no particular poet. Like Hillary and Becca, I too, enjoy Dr. Seuss, but I'm pretty sure that's not exactly what you meant. If it is, then Dr. Seuss would have to be my favorite. Green Eggs and Ham is a personal favorite and my earliest memory of that came from about 4th grade when they made everyone eat actual green eggs and ham. It was disgusting. But everyone thought it was fun and it gave everyone a chance to read the book all day. Oh I remember! I think we had like a Dr. Seuss week, and everyone got to wear those huge cat in the hat hats. Dr. Seuss week is honestly the earliest memories I have of poetry and they were pretty balling outrageous. After that, poetry just kind of went down hill for me :)
Yes I had to memorize Annabell Lee in seventh grade. It was a good, but very sad, poem. We read another one that year that i liked even better, though, The Highwayman. I really liked the repitition and the story itself. Also, I've had to memorize several poems in German the past two years, some of which i can still remember.
The earliest poems that I remember are those of Jack Perlutscky(I think that's how you spell his mane). My mom got several of those books from the library when I was in elementary school. I also have a Shel Silverstein book from when i was little that I enjoyed reading, especially with the pictures that accompany them.
I really like how there are so many ways to disect a poem and how many different interpretations you can find in them, though sometimes they are frustrating because they are long and hard to figure out.
I think it's hard to understand somethimes because they are either very abstract and it is hard to tell exactly what they mean or the language is confusing.
I'm getting pretty enraged by all the Silverstein fans. I encourage you all to crack open one of his books again and realize the complete lack of humor in them. It's not just cheesey or nonsensical (I happen to like both). It's simply terrible. I am, however, a big fan of Dr. Seuss.
Annabel Lee is the only poem that I recall having to recite. I have a freakishly good memory about most things, but all I can remember from Annabel Lee is the line ". . . can ever dissever my soul from the soul of the beautiful Annabel Lee."
I struggle a great deal with the comprehension of poetry, so I am more attracted to it not by its meaning, but by the sound of its words. I keep a mental list of words that I like to hear and say, such as "specious," and words that I hate the sound of, like "cozy." Just like with song lyrics and powerful quotations, some words just fit and could not have been said in any better way.
I think a major reason poetry can be tough is because it often seems ambiguous. Readers of poetry can often be daunted by this, and it feels like the words only made sense to the poet when he was writing the poem.
Some of my favorite poetry, is from Robert Frost. I love "The Road Not Taken" and "Fire and Water."
Of course you can't ignore the classics, like Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss.
The best poems are those you don't have to memorize. You get out of something what you put into it. If you're forced to read something for a grade, you lack the open mindedness those that chose to read it have.
1. If I had to pick a poet, my favorite would probably have to be Shel Silverstein.
2. I actually don't think I've ever had to memorize poetry. Which is probably a good thing, because I would mess it up really bad.
3. My earliest encounter with poetry would probably be when I got Shel Silverstein's book "Where the Sidewalk Ends."
My biggest trouble with poetry is that if it doesn't rhyme then I hava a hard time reading it, but if it does rhyme, then anything I read after that, I find myself trying to make it rhyme. Also, poetry can be really hard to understand sometimes.
4. The thing I like the most about poetry is that it can be about anything. There's no rhyme or reason to why someone writes a poem.
5. It usually doesn't make any sense at all. Then, when I'm asked to analyze it, I have no clue what to say and I usually end up making something up that has nothing to do with the poem.
6. I think poetry is important, because whether we like it or not, it makes us think and it makes us smarter and more attentive when we are reading.
7. I think a poem is something that needs to come from the heart. It is something that the author is feeling right then and just needed to get it on paper.
I remember having to memorize "Annabel Lee" in 7th grade. It was awful and I couldn't tell you a single line of it. Its not that I don't like poetry, I'm just not drawn to it. Its probably really immature of me to admit that I still really like Shell Silverstein, but its easy and there's no guessing about some "hidden meaning" that I could possibly be missing. Neither of my parents are exceptionally interested in literature or poetry, which is probably why I kind of resent having to read it. Its just something different.
Poetry definitely is not at the top of my list when it comes to reading. It has its ups and downs. Even though it normally is a huge pain in the rear to read and interpret, it opens up a part of the mind rarely used. It digs deep into a person's mind to open up thoughts and ideas stored way down in there. We are able to learn new things about ourself and the world around us. Every poem when I first look at it just appears to be a bunch of random words the author threw down on the paper. However, it is far from it. I have learned that every word of the poem is there for a reason, whether the author is trying to tell us something or something else. I have had to memorize a poem, Annabel Lee like everyone else it seems. I am glad someone else remembered the name because I could even remember that! I do not think it's the poem itself that is the important thing, but what we take from it.
Truthfully i really like poetry, not all poetry but some. i like how it makes you look beyod the words on the paper for a deeper meaning, i ealy lik when the peoms are short and they are actually able to understand though. i dont really have a lot of facorite poests but i love poems like "life is like a box of chocolates"i guess you could say i like shrt witty yet meaningfull poems and i am not gay but i do like poems speaking of love and family and relationships.
I personally enjoy reading poetry. Shel Silverstein has always been one of my favorites ever since I was little. I love the one about seeing a monkey in the mirror and then realizing that it's you.
My first memory of poetry, though, comes from third grade when we were required to either write a poem or draw a piece of art to be turned in to the Collierville Herald newspaper. My poems were printed a few times, and my teacher loved this one that I wrote about her steping on a mouse. It was totally random, but she obviously thought it was funny. :)
I think a poem is defined as having more than just a literal meaning. If different opinions can be taken from it, then it is a work of art.
It's important to be able to take other people's opinions as well as your own, too.
I would have to say that Dr. Seuss is my favorite poet, mainly because I grew up on Horton, Sam I Am, Truffula Trees, and his many other works- and also because I don't read a lot of poetry outside of school. I remember reciting "Annabel Lee" by Poe and something about a pony by Robert Frost in 6th grade, but i couldn't account for either today. Up until my freshman year, I absolutely detested poetry; but I am happy to report that poetry and I now have a steady relationship. I really enjoy breaking a poem apart in order to discover what complex issue the author is trying to simplify. The only frustrating aspect of decomposing a poem is coming to the wrong conclusion when I thought my synopsis was irrefutable. In my opinion, a poem is a work of art that implements imagery and precise diction to allow a concept, emotion, item,
(or anything the author wants to write about that day), unfold to a reader. Poets want to express something personal to a reader by printing their attitudes on paper.
I am probably the worst poet analyst ever. I have always struggled with finding the hidden meanings in poems, so I am not exactly looking forward to a lower grade because I don't understand poetry. The problem is that I actually enjoy poetry. I wish I could understand it. Hopefully one day I will lose my shallowness and be able to understand it. For now, poetry is like being surrounded by people speaking German.
I was in creative writing last year, so I wrote a lot of poetry. It's funny. I can't analyze other people's poems, but when I write them myself, my teachers consider me to be a poetic genius.
I had to memorize Annabell Lee when I was at Houston Middle in seventh grade, but I like Edgar Allen Poe, so it was fun. I also memorized the Cat in the Hat and The Night Before Christmas when I was five.
I don't plan to do well on the poetry part the AP exam, but I hope I'll at least enjoy reading poetry.
Ah poetry...it's definately not my thing but i can appeciate it. I enjoy the simple stuff- like what we did in class today. The color poems were simple and easy to come up with, without being weighed down with excessive symbols and meaning. When I see the long ones that are full of wordy stuff, I tend to think more about "I don't get this" as opposed to analyzing it. One poem I do remember is the one on the poster up on Mrs. Martin's wall in the 9th grade. I don't know the exact words but it was something about "I took the road less traveled." It has always stood out to me and it was short and sweet!
My first memories of poetry are when i was younger my mom would read me Shel Silversteen poems. I love how his poems are simple and silly! I usually have a hard time interpretting poetry. I am usually the type that will just read things and take them for face value which is not the right approach for poetry! I do enjoy Robert Frost's poems though! I love the one about the the road less traveled. Poems like that are easy for me to relate to and appreciate. Poems we read in school have always been a little harder for me to grasp but hopefully i will have a better experience with poetry this time around!
I have always been afraid of poetry. It just seems so confusing once you get past the cute little rhyming ones!
My first memory of poetry was in the third grade when I had to recite a poem all about freckles for the thanksgiving show. I was so nervous, it was ridiculous. I was proud though because my poem was the longest one in the whole show =), silly third graders. I don't remember the poem at all but I do remember that day and the many days before it spent going over my lines a million times.
Since then I have tried to stay away from poetry as much as possible. It is not that I don't like it, it's just sometimes hard to understand and when I read something I want to understand the true importance.
I have a great respect for poetry and those who write it because it's something I am not naturally able to do. The ability to morph language into any time of meaning is essential to our society that is continuing to focus on a more objective and scientific approach to life and its issues.
Hopefully this year I can finally understand a poem! :)
Like many others have said, one of my favorite childhood writers was Shel Silverstein! His poems are so funky and creative and very easy to read. They are simple, but they bring joy by giving a memorable meaning to something ordinary. In 7th grade I had a teacher who made us memorize a poem every week (I think) and recite it to her. The only one I remember is actually a Shel Silverstein poem about a polar bear in a "fridge-a-dair." Haha! Anyways, I also remember memorizing "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. I really enjoy his poetry too! But a lot of poetry is very confusing to me. I have trouble figuring out what it is saying literally, so it is hard to analyze what it really means. I am kind of dreading all the poems I will struggle to understand, but hopefully I will get better at it!
Well my favorite poem is "Since There's No Hope". I really enjoy poetry but only if it is significant to me. I can't stand poetry about inanimate objects; I think it's a waste of time. Except for those poems, I could sit around all day and read and analyze poetry. In fact, I do that frequently. When I go to my friend's house, one of us will be cooking and the other is looking through a book of poetry, reading poems aloud, and talking about them. I know it sounds cheesy but it is really fun. We have about ten poems that we really like and there are post-it notes holding their spots. I frequently send poetry to people expressing my feelings and passing it off as my own. I always ruin it though because I end up telling them that I didn't really write it.
Personally, I love Robert Frost. We had to memorize his poem "Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood" in middle school, and I always thought it was so peaceful. I love all of the work and emotions that go into poety. It's one thing just to say "Hey, I love you," and it's another thing to say "My cold heart melts with the sound of your voice." I think poetry is important because it gets everyone to think more about the connotation and diction from the author. It's pretty amazing. (:
And by the way, the word verification code I have to type in has the word dead in it. Freaky.
I had to memorize a poem in 7th grade and I do not even remember the name. It was a good experience and i guess it was worthwhile because my brother had to memorize the same one so I helped him by telling him tricks I used to memorize it. The first time i encountered poetry would probably be Dr. Seuss's "Green Eggs and Ham" and love his poems even though they are still simple.
I have to say I don't think that I ever had to memorize a poem like everyone else seems to of had, which I remember because I considered myself lucky, but I have been awuanted with poetry for quite some time now. My earliest experiences would probably be like Dr. Seus of course or some other kind of childrens story; or the famous roses are red, violets are blue. etc. But other than that I never really had to look into a oem until high school which is probably a bad thing. The hardest thing about poetry for me right now would have to be when I read a poem and I am set on it meaning whatever it is I thought it ment and then getting to schooland being completely off. But other than that I seem to do decent at least with poetry as long as it isn't too encoded for me.
I dislike most poetry. It's not that I always find it challenging (although some poems are more difficult than other), but it is that I do not always see the point in poetry. It seems to me that, more often than not, poets tend to take very "roundabout" ways of saying an idea, creating a symbol, etc. I also dislike a lot of the modern free-verse peoms. It seems as if these poems are normal sentences that are simply broken up into stanzas and given the title of 'poem.' I equate it to something like modern art. It appears as though anyone can do it, but someone just happened to get it titled and published.
However, as I am reading more poetry, my opinions are beginning to change (though I keep the same feelings when concerning modern free-verse). I can relate to the long (and sometimes obscure) symbols that the poet is creating, and, oftentimes, this way of presenting makes the symbol appear more clear.
Having said all of this, I think that I am still "on the fence" when concerning poetry. I can really just take it or leave it.
I love to write Poetry! To write a poem has always been a stress relief for myself. I'm not so much the fan to have to memorize a poem though, because I believe it just takes the meaning out of it.
My favorite poet would have to be Robert Frost, his writing is just simply amazing! :) The Road no Taken, is the only poem I actually remember memorizing, besides Dr. Suess. Who I still to this day love! My only problem with poetry, would have to be trying to figure out the meaning of it. That is a complicated thing to me. :(
Like almost everyone else, i had a Shel Silverstein fetish. I remember in second grade when our class mourned his death.
But one poem i will remember until my grave is not by Silverstein. In fact, it's not even in English. Freshman year, thanks to Doc, German I Honors memorized "Ich bin dein" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. We spent forever memorizing it and often utilized it in our skits and as a random response to a question we didn't know. I imagine I will continue to utilize it in similar fashions down the road.
I suppose German influenced my writing creativity as well. Last year I submitted a poem entitled "Der Bergman" to the U of M Language Fair and placed second. And yes, I got a trophy which looks oddly out of place next to my medals and other relics from athletics.
There's a tie for my favorite poet: it's between Dr. Seuss and Robert Frost. Dr. Seuss because let's face it, he was a literary genius. And Robert Frost because I fell in love with the poem "The Road Not Taken" when I read it in elementary school.
I know that I've had to memorize a poem at some point in an English class in school, but I do not remember which one; as a result, I don't remember the lines of it and can't recite it. My earliest memory of poetry was sitting on my grandmother's lap and her reading to me "Are You My Mother?" by Dr. Seuss. That, and "Green Eggs and Ham." Some of my struggles have been trying to understand the meaning that the poet wants to project to the reader; in a poem, there seems to be so much more depth than in just a novel for some reason.
I like most poetry that I come across, though I have to normally think about it and read it several times. One thing that stands out to me was in middle school, when I hated poetry and reading it, I realized that song lyrics were just poetry put to music. I began to look at poetry in a different way, as well as listening to song lyrics more closely and that helped me when I analyzed poetry later on.
I've only had to memorize one or two poems, but they were for French class. So, I'm not sure that counts. I could recite parts of it, but translating it would be another story.
I struggled a lot with poetry in general until this year. They intimidated and confused me. I'm taking a Creative Writing class this year in which I turn out a poem a week. I'm getting more comfortable with and used to poetry.
I enjoy that its abstract, yet blatantly obvious. I'd rather interpret a poem from my point of view than read a flat story with no double meaning.
I am, however, tired of the doom and gloom poems...
-I dont have any favorite poets that are well known, but if you consider song writers poets, then I would have to say Aaron Weiss, David Bazan, Wanye Coyne, Jim James and Thom Yorke.
-Ive never actually been assinged to memorize a poem. Either that or i dont remember one because i dont rememer memorizing one
-I remember doing one of those drawing poems where its the shape of the thing your talking about. i think in the 2nd grade.. it was a rat.
-the main thing i stuggle with is vocabulary..oh and staying focused while reading a really complex poem. sometimes i feel like im just staring at a bunch of words.
- i enjoy the fact that a poem can be anything. the vast meanings you can comprehend from your own experinces in life.
-it can get confusing if you dont read it right. meaning if you red poems in a monotone vocie or like its a story theb you probably wont get most poems.
-poety is important because it can create change in someone.. it can make emotions seep out that you wouldnt normally have seepage..
-a thought or idea of some meaning put into anything any word or words
I enjoy poetry more than most i would say. I have no particular poet that i enjoy but I don't particularly enjoy any nature-driven poetry. I have never had to memorize any poem and I hope that I don't ever have to. I have no vivid recollection of first finding poetry, other than the obvious Dr. Seuss. I think poetry is important because its a artistic form of writing that gives a contrast to every-day prose. What defines a poem is really its author i think-art is created perfect from its creators perspective and if they call it poetry then it is.
I don't have a favorite poet, I just usually find random poems that I enjoy (although I'm horrible about remembering titles). I had to memorize a poem in seventh grade--it was about a cat. I thought it was a pointless assignment, because the fun of the poem was taken away. I like to analyze their meanings piece by piece, not be forced to recite the entire thing just to test my memory skills. I actually used to write a lot of poetry a few years ago but ending up stopping for various reasons, although I still feel like writing poetry comes naturally for me (like my poem about Indigo in class). It took me awhile to learn to read poetry correctly because I couldn't figure out the flow of the words. E.E. Cummings' poems are the worst to try to read, he's like the original "leet" speaker. Anything can be poetry, but its impact on people is what makes me love certain poems better than others.
I am not a fan of poetry per say, but I do respect them for their work. Homer, for instance; writing the Illiad was nothing short of a miracle I believe, and I would never read it unless I had to for school. I respect the effort and incredible amount of thought that must be put into each poem to say exactly what the author wants to say. I think the thing that turned me off poetry was Shakespeare freshman year; I had an incredibly tough time memprizing the passages and writing them down for a grade. I still think Shakespeare is incredibly hard to understand and am dreading trying to decipher Hamlet, but I do respect him for his writing because we would not still be talking about him 400 years later if he did not write the way he did. However, I do enjoy rhyming poetry and poetry in meter, simply because of its musical qualities.
I like several musicians who happen to also be poets in their own respect. But as far as "literature poets" I do enjoy T.S. Elliot and contemporary poets.
My 7th grade teacher made us memorize a poem every week. So I've memorized several. The only poem that seems to stick with me is "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost.Due to my teacher forcing me to memorize these poems, my interest in them shrank greatly. Enjoyable? Yes. Interesting? No.
Yes, I can still recite that one. Although, I wouldn't want to try and remember it on a spur of the moment thing.My earliest memory is Shel Silverstein in about 3rd grade.My main struggle with poetry is finding multiple meanings. I can find one, and maybe two on a good day. To me, poetry just is really cathartic. It's fun to read and think about. I guess most people struggle with poetry because it's generally a self-interpreting art. It can mean almost anything you want it to. There isn't a right or wrong answer really.
For one, I was never much of a poetry person. However I do like Walt Whitman and much more recently: Robert Creeley.
My earliest memory of poetry is probably Dr. Seuss (if that counts). If not, Edgar Allen Poe in middle school is most likely my earliest experience with poetry.
I always have had trouble with understanding and grasping poetry in general. I have trouble understanding the concept of how poetry is meant to make things clearer rather than the other way around. This is partly due to my belief to the contrary of the concept.
Finally, one immediate importance of poetry is it is in the AP exam. Plus, it is a big part of literature as a whole.
My favorite poet by far is Edgar Allen Poe. I was introduced to him in seventh grade I believe and I have been hooked ever since. I recently bought a compialation of his poems and short stories, but I haven't had the time to sit down and read it yet. In seventh grade I had to memorize his poem Annabel Lee. I definitely could not recite it right now, but I remember the basic story of the poem. I'm sure my first experience with poetry was some sort of poem to memorize either my colors or months of the year in kindergarden. Then there is also the cliche "roses are red..." that I'm sure I learned very early on. I guess some struggles with poetry have been mostly with Shakespeare. I just have a rough time understanding the different figures of speech he uses, and the different arrangements of his sentences. I actually really enjoy poetry, seeing has I do have a favorite poet. I don't read poetry as often as I read novels, but I do enjoy it. When I think of poetry, I do think of rhyming poems, but I know that not all poems rhyme. That's when it gets tough for me, because sometimes I can't tell the difference between a poem and a short story; except the line numbers on the side of the page. I'm not a good poet either. I can't write a decent, meaningful poem worth squat. I love reading other people's work, but I would just stick to the basic ABAB rhyme scale if asked to write a poem. I've heard a lot of complaints about doing poetry this year, but I am honestly excited to learn more about poetry and just to read more, too.
I'm not the world's biggest fan of poetry. in fact i kind of hate it. I do like Edgar Allen Poe's poems and Shel Silverstein's. I have had to memorize some poems. "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe in 7th grade and "The Road Not Taken" by robert frost in 8th grade. I dont see the educational value in memorizing poems. I never really got into poetry. it just doen't excite me like a book or a short story.
Like most other people, I enjoy those kids poems by Shel Silverstein. They are often really easy to understand and are funny. I don't reall remember memorizing any poetry, but I'm sure I've had to somewhere along the way. My earliest memory of poetry is of the great Dr. Suess. Those were some of the first things that I learned to read. Even though I often have trouble interpreting the theme, or overall meaning, of the poem, I like the fact that something so brief and entertaining can be so concise and meaningful. I think poetry is important because they very briefy explain the unexplainable. They can put into words feelings and reactions that otherwise would take a whole essay to explain. I think that something is a poem if it allows for complete interpretation by the reader, whether it is interpreted emotionally or logically.
I don't have a favorite poet but I have to agree and say that Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. Theodore Roethke's "My Papa's Waltz" and Lisa Zaran's "Girl" are two of my all time favorite poems. I haven't really ever had to memorize poetry except for "Annabel Lee" by Poe and a few things in French that I remember a few lines from (avec un chapeau sur la tete). My biggest struggle with poetry was making sense of it, I can do Shakespeare with no problem, poetry on the other hand was an absolute mystery to me. In order to help me out, my mom found poetry that i would find interesting, something easy at first but it gradully got harder to understand. She also encouraged me to write poetry, and I actually managed to get some poems published! Writing became a way for me step back, step up, and step out of whatever I was busy in. It gave me an easy out, without quitting, and I think it can do the same for everyone else who takes the time to appreciate it.
My favorite poet is Edgar Allen Poe. He's really rad in how psychotic and screwed up his stories are, its really ominous. Unfortunately, as with most poets, this stemmed from the problems in his true life. I probably had to memorize some Dr. Seuss poems (or chose to), but I don't remember them. My main gripe with poetry is that I think so much of the meaning of the poem comes from the poet's experiences. There will be devices the author inserts in there that many people will never understand, and that means they won't get the complete picture the author wants to face. I think this is more frequent in poetry because poems are usually so short every word must count, so if I miss something I won't get the whole meaning of the poem.
1. I really enjoyed "To the Harbormaster" when I read it from our Poetry Book. It is one of the most enjoyable poems I've read, though I do enjoy poetry.
2. I've had to memorize many poems in German and take tests where I had to rewrite them completely from memory on tests. The poems were very good and I enjoyed the German authenticity. I can still recite many of them.
3.Yes, I should have read this question first.
4. Samesies.
5. My earliest memory of poetry is Robert Frost's "The Road Less Traveled By." I learned it when I was in elementary school and the lines are still fresh in my memory.
6. My struggles with poetry center around writing it. Every time I attempt to write poetry I immediately encounter writer's block trying to remember words. Some poems are hard to understand, but not so many as people say are.
7. I enjoy the flow of poetry and the insights about life. They are very fulfilling to me.
I don't have much experiene with poetry at all--mostly because I am one of those people who think poetry is pretty tough. There is only one poem that I have had to memorize, and have actually remembered. Ironically enough, it is German, "Ich bin dein". We had to memorize it in the ninth grade for German I. For some reason that poem sticks with me, and anyone who has had German I. I think it is permanently engrained in our heads or something. But that is okay because I really do like the German poems we had to memorize :)
I'm not the biggest fan of poetry, but I guess if I had to pick my favorite poet I'd go with Maya Angelou. Her poem "Phenomenal Woman" is my favorite.
I'm sure I've had to memorize a poem, but right now I can't really think of one. I guess it wasn't really worthwhile considering I can't even remember one.
My earlies memories of poetry would probably be little poems that go something like "Roses are red, violets are blue; sugar is sweet, and so are you."
I think I tend to have trouble grasping the meaning of poetry because it pretty much has no limits. A list of adjectives could be considered poetry. And then there are the poets who describe something so vividly that it gets confusing, but I guess that's just the way it goes. I think poetry is a good way of expressing your thoughts and how you feel. Poetry can be sad, happy, scary, romantic, etc. Poetry can tell a story, it can practically be whatever you want it to be.
I never really read poetry before my freshman year, unless you count the little we did in middle school with Edgar Allen Poe. In 9th grade English, I had an assignment to take some poems and compose a book. Most of the poems I used were written by a guy name Bradley Hathaway. He changed my view of poetry. He broke all the stereotypes I held for poetry; it was very modern and had some free verse and he wrote about things I didn't know poets wrote about. The thing I struggle with most is just figuring out what is going on, sometimes it just seems like a bunch of random words.
CAUTION: I HIGHLY DISLIKE POETRY. IF THE CONTENT OF THIS AD OFFENDS YOU, SORRY, BUT THIS IS MY OPINION.
1. Those people who are dead set that poets are there to confuse English students... yeah, I'm one of them. So therefore, I don't have a favorite poet and don't have one I even enjoy reading because I see no point in poetry.
2. Yes, it was some Walt Whitman poem in seventh or eighth grade. I didn't understand how the words were poetic, other than they rhymed, and I really didn't think anymore about it. No, I memorized it the period before and forgot it the peoiod after.
What is your earliest memory of poetry?
3. The few memorization excercises in middle school.
4. It has no point to me. If someone has something to say, say it in plain English, and don't beat around the bush.
5. I honestly don't enjoy it. I'm never sure if I'm reading it properly, or if there is even a proper way to read it. I'll think a poem is about a cloudy, rainy Sunday afternoon with a woman sitting in a warm room reading a book, and it will really be about how the derivative of x squared is not equivalent to the third root of pi cubed. ????????
6. It has so many possible meanings, and I'm a person who is very math and science minded: that is x=x and x does not =y, but in poetry x=a or b or c...
7. I really have no idea. To fill in the other half of the AP test?
8. rhyme scheme, figures of speech, imagery, unusual diction, confusion... I really couldn't define "poem"... can one define "poem?"
What makes a poem a poem?
sorry, it was Robert Frost, not Walt Whitman in #2.
I definitely enjoy to this day Dr. Seuss, and every once in a while, I'll bring out one of his books and read it again. I'd had to memorize several German poems, which we later had tests on, but besides that I've never had to memeorize one. When I was younger, though, I actually just decided to memorize these two poems: "Do your carrot all for me?" and the one about Monday's child, Tuesday's child, etc. I was always kind of annoyed at the latter for saying that Wednesday's child is full of woe, since I was born on a Wednesday. I can still recite the first one, and it always makes me laugh. Those two poems and ones by Shel Silverstein are probably my first memories of poems. When it comes to poems that are not modern day or straight-foward, I struggle a lot. I am awful at analyzing poems like the Shakespeare one today. I think poetry can be difficult to understand because it is written poetically and not in every-day used language. I like that sometimes it is easier to convey your feelings through a poem than through just some writing. Poems are more expressive and seem to have more meaning. Sometimes if I'm really down and just need to let it all out, I'll actually write a poem. None of them are very good, but they're just a way of letting out my feelings in an expressive, artistic way.
I don't really have a favorite poet. I like poems that apply to life specifically.
I can remember carrying around a copy of Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein every where I went when I was younger. I loved it. I read that book from cover to cover several times. (Although I probably couldn't remember very many of them now)
I do struggle with truly grasping the hidden meanings behind poems a lot. I enjoy the challenge sometiems though and a good poem always makes it worth it.
The poem that I had to memorize was in eventh grade. It was Annabelle Lee by Edgar Allen Poe. I actually liked that poem. It was not that hard to memorize and even though it was a sad story, it was interesting.
My earliest memories of poetry are Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham. I knew The Cat In the Hat before i could even read the words! Those are the kind of poems that make poetry fun to read and enjoyable.
I think that many people think poetry is hard because they try to read into it too much. I mean, I'm pretty sure many poems have hidden meanings and all that, but I think people just make them more difficult than they actually are.
Honestly, I have never been a huge fan of poetry because I personally find it hard to understand. However, I greatly respect the people that can write great poetry, because I do not posess that skill in the least. As many others have said, I loved Dr. Suess, and I still enjoy little rhyming poems. I have had to memorize a poem, in sixth grade; however, I do not remember it at all, I could not even tell you the title. I think my biggest problem with poetry is that I am not patient enough to try and figure it out. I also think that poerty is tough because it uses many abstract and out of the box approches that people like me do not catch on to quickly. Honestly, sometimes it seens like the poems we read have no meaning...like the author just wrote random words on a page. However, poetry is important because it makes a reader and a writer think out of that box and become creative.
I have never really enjoyed reading poetry because I usually interperet poems differently than anyone else or never understand what it is about unless I read it several times. I struggle with understanding the meaning of poetry, although I think it is fun to write when given enough time to be creative. Throughout school, I have read several poems, but none stick out as being a favorite except The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. I do remember having to memorize poems, but I do not recall what they were. But, I am looking forward to reading Hamlet and getting better at understanding poetry.
Some of the earliest memories of poetry i have are definitely Dr. Seuss :) and also Jack Prelutsky who wrote "A pizza the size of the sun" (a book full of poems). At my elementary school he came to visit and i got the book signed by him; i thought it was the coolest thing ever! i read his book cover to cover and the poems were really fun--most of them were about silly things and everyday objects. I enjoyed it though, and even remember memorizing one in 3rd grade for a project. I don't remember it now, but all i know is it had something to do with sardines!
Poetry is important because I think it's a way for an author (or anybody) to let out their feelings and write about something they find interesting or significant. I like how each poet is different and has their own style--how no two poets are exactly the same.
For me, poetry has always been pretty tough, but when i finally figure it out and am able to undedrstand, I feel like i've accomplished something!
First of all, my favorite poet would have to be Robert Frost. He creates poems to where it isn't too difficult to understand, yet takes some thinking to be able to interpret his hidden meaning behind the literal meaning. My particular favorite poem by him would have to be "The Road Not Taken". Throughout the years, I have had struggles with poems that I could not relate to. If I can relate to a poem in some way through my personal experiences, it becomes more interesting, therefore catching my attention. Otherwise, I tend to just read the words and end up missing the meaning behind them. I think poetry is important in the sense that it is a form of writing in which writers can deliver a message about life with very few words.
I particularly enjoy Slyvia Plath because she has an interesting way of saying and describing things; I like her word choice. For some reason I can understand her poetry better than most. I have had to memorize a lot of poetry, the first being in a poem in fifth grade that compared body parts to food. I have memorized The Raven, Annabel Lee, and For Annie, all by Edgar Allan Poe. I can't still recite the whole poems, but I remember parts, and I actually liked memorizing the poems. I have a hard time initially understanding a poem and forming an opinion of it.I enjoy poetry because it expresses unique ideas in a few words and makes you think. Poets seem to use so much precise and even figurative language in such a short time, that it's hard to take in all of it unless you analyze it piece by piece, which most people aren't willing to do.
I like Dr. Suess and Shel Silversten. Honestly, I don't really know that many poets. But I would love to discover some new ones ! (Which I just did with Sharon Olds weird sex poem haha)
I had to memorize a bunch of poems in 7th grade, but the only one I remeber is that really famous Robert Frost poem. You know, "two roads...I chose the one less traveled by." It was I guess a worthwhile experience because I know who Robert Frost is and learned not to follow the crowd and be yourself. Noooo I can't recite it anymore. I don't have enough brain capacity.
My earliest memory of poetry is definatly the book "One fish two fish red fish blue fish" I loved that book. I loved Dr. Suess. I still love him.
I cannot analyze anything. I stink at it. It takes me forever to dig up the meaning of the words a poet chooses. Just to warn you, I'm about to talk about music. But I will listen to a song by Ben folds and not get the topic he is trying to express until about the 200th time listening to it. Like, I just found out that "Brick" is about abortion...Kind of depressing...
I just love the way a poet is able to string so much into so little. I wish I was able to do that. But i just have way too much going on in my head to narrow stuff down like that.
I think that the words poets make up so it will fit in their poem is one of the toughest things because it usually takes me forever to figure out what they are trying to say.
But i'm starting to like poetry. I still won't like Shakespears stuff. I can't stand him. But anything else, I'm pumped to read.
No offense Mrs. Charbonnet, but I was never really that much of a fan of poetry. It probably started during the seventh grade when Mrs. Dallas made our class memorize Annabel Lee, which was about a thirty line poem or something of the sort. And of course I do not even remember what the poem was about to this day. The one thing I have always struggled with in poetry has been determining what type of meter the poem is in, but our session in class was of much aid to me in this area. But I can also enjoys poems as well, especially when they are quite flowing and simplistic in diction.
My favorite poet has always been Robert Frost. In German 1 we are forced to memorize several German poems. I can still recite them all. I think it was a good experience. My erliest memory of poetry is probably "The Foot Book" by Dr. Seuss. I often have a difficulty paraphrasing a poem. I enjoy the way poetry makes you think, and the way it sounds. Most people thin kits tough because to get the real meaning you have to keep reading it over and over, and most people dont have the motivatin to do that. It can express things in a way no other form of writing can. To be a poem it just has to look at somthing in a new light.
I have not read much poetry, but a poet that I tend to like more than others is Edgar Allen Poe. I have had to memorize many poems in school, but can't remember any of them. My earliest memories of poetry is a book of poems by Shel Silverstein, but not any particular poems. My struggles with poetry includes writing poetry and also interpreting all the aspects of poetry. I enjoy poetry because it can have so many hidden meanings in so few words. I think that poetry is tough for that reason. Poetry is important because it shows how little things can have huge meanings. I think that anything written can be a poem if it is looked at the right way.
I've competed in poetry for speech and debate since last year. What you do is basically perform or interpret the poem or poems. All the poem or poems have to share one theme. You have a manuscript in hand but you don't just "read" the poems you have to act. I'm performing this year poems from the book I Don't Want To Be Crazy by Samantha Schutz (I recommend reading it.) The poets I like are W.D. Snodgrass, Mary Oliver, Eireann Corrigan, Sylvia Plath, Mark Strand and a lot of others. The thing I like about poetry is that something so brief can be so meaningful and how every word matters and contributes to the overall idea being projected. I also like how you can come back to a poem and get a different perspective every time. What makes a poem a poem...causing the reader to pause and actually take the time to analyze and compare their experiences and convictions and coupling it with a poem's possible suggestions is what makes a poem a poem. I think people think that poetry is this obscure void that's pointless to figure out because the poet doesn't even want to be clear in what they're saying. I think also that people just surface level read and take things way too literally. I've been writing poetry since the 8th grade. I've kept almost all of my poems on a website since 2005. The last time I counted I had about 115. I also like poetry because it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but yourself. Sometimes there is great pleasure that can be derived from keeping a secret, yet morphing it into metaphors and sharing it with the general public. I don't know. I think I'm just weird.
For me poetry has always been something i have been forced to read and analyze, so i have never really enjoyed it that much. For Speech sophomore year i had to do a dramatic interpretation of a poem and in the 8th grade, i had to memorize Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe. I do like some stuff by Edgar Allan Poe, when i can understand what he is trying to say. For the most part though, i really can't stand poetry and it usually assasinates my grade.
Is there a particular poet you enjoy?
-no, they are retarded and think they're special because they put words on a page, called it a poem, and were glorified for the accomplishment. but sharron olds is interesting because i have done my poem assignments after her.
Have you ever had to memorize a poem? Was it a worthwhile experience? Can you still recite it?
-Annabel lee 7th grade Mrs. Dallas and yes i can still recite it.....because i'm just good like that(sarcastically speaking)....no it was not a worthwhile experience....i got a 100 and that was it. the end.
What is your earliest memory of poetry?
-it kills my grade. i'm forced to do it. the pantameters and meters and beats and claps stuff make no sense. the counting and stres and unstress make no sense. especially for those that mummble and have speech problems.
What have been some of your struggles with poetry?
-it makes no sense. yes i've repeated the it makes no sense but some rhymn some don't there is no set definition. its a poem if the author says it is.
i.e.
"yes
yes
yes!
oh yes"
that is a poem
What is it about poetry that you enjoy?
-i honestly don't enjoy it. it is the worst part of english
Why is poetry important?
-i honestly don't think it is in any way shape or form IMPORTANT.
What makes a poem a poem?
-the author calling it a poem.
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