Poetry

A few simple tips: Do NOT read line by line! I've found that this is the biggest mistake readers can make. Here is an example of the first few lines of Hamlet's famous soliloquy: To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep.

This is what many students who read poetry line by line are hearing in their heads when they read: To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or to take arms against a sea of troubles. And by opposing end them. To die: to sleep.

For sure, that doesn't make any sense at all For sure, that doesn't make any sense at all. So, let's try something different. Let's IGNORE the line breaks. Instead, pay careful attention to the punctuation, and read SENTENCE BY SENTENCE rather than line by line. Then what you hear in your head will sound more like this: To be, or not to be, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them. To die: to sleep Now you try one-

Now you try one:           As soon as the bell rings,           students pour out the doors,           surging down the halls           shoving, jostling, dodging,           in a roar of voices.            Pushing forward, I weave            in, out, and among            a thousand others,            feeling as if                                   I'm swimming upstream.

More Tips 1. Read through the poem in its entirety without stopping, whether you understand or not. The problems most people have with poetry, especially with modern poetry, come from thinking they must understand the poem immediately and in its entirety. They puzzle over words, syntax, allusions, and then give up and conclude that, as they expected, poetry isn't for them. The essence of a poem is in its whole, and often poets will be giving you only hints as to their meaning, which will become clearer further along, or when reread, with the ending in mind.  

2. Read the poem aloud the second time. You usually understand better when you hear the words pronounced. Reading aloud helps correct misplaced emphasis, helps prevent you from skipping over misunderstood phrases, and helps you recognize words you might otherwise not register if read silently. Ok- Who wants to volunteer to read “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night?”

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light

  3. Read for imagery. This is probably the most pleasurable step. Cast off your familiar way of looking at the world. Prepare yourself for a novel look at reality; let the poem affect you. Create pictures in your head. Be an active reader. Let’s try a bit of imagery. (website)Frost

Start with finding out who the person is who is speaking.   4. Read for organization. Start with finding out who the person is who is speaking. Then ask who the poem is addressing: what kind of person is being spoken to? What is the tone?

5. Read a poem with a pencil in your hand. Mark it up; write in the margins; Circle important, or striking, or repeated words. Draw lines to connect related ideas. Mark difficult or confusing words, lines, and passages. Read through the poem, several times if you can, both silently and aloud.

Some questions to ask while reading: Consider the title of the poem carefully. What does it tell you about the poem's subject? What does it promise? (After having read the poem, you will want to come back to the title in order to consider further its relationship with the poem.) What is your initial impression of the poem's subject? Try writing out an answer to the question, "What is this poem about?“ What is the author's attitude toward his or her subject?

What is the poem's basic situation? What is going on the poem? Who is talking? To whom? Under what circumstances? Where? About what? Why? Is a story being told? Is something--tangible or intangible--being described? What specifically can you point to in the poem to support your answers? Your turn- look at Robert Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Jabberwocky listen By Lewis Carroll One, two! One, two! And through and through By Lewis Carroll       The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves He left it dead, and with its head       Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:       He went galumphing back. All mimsy were the borogoves, “And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?       And the mome raths outgrabe. “Beware the Jabberwock, my son!       Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”       The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!       He chortled in his joy. Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun       The frumious Bandersnatch!” He took his vorpal sword in hand;       Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree       And stood awhile in thought. And, as in uffish thought he stood,       The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,       And burbled as it came!