Poetry is one of the most fascinating concepts in Language Arts to master. That being said, there are many different perspectives pertaining to poetry and how it should be understood, analyzed, and discussed. In the course, we explored various author’s such as Collins, Nelson, Forman, Snyder, Hicok, and Williams in order to codify what a modern definition is of poetry and how we can utilize that definition to express ourselves. This paper will focus on these authors and how they explore the concept of poetry in their own unique way. Additionally, this paper will highlight any similarities that these prospective authors have in their definition of poetry.
Commencing with Hicok, Hicok discusses the aspect of poetry that makes it distinct and special. What makes poetry so special is according to Hicok, “Why haven’t I heard of you? Because I write poems” (Hicok, Bob, 1960). Hicok in his witty poem discusses how poetry is a starving artist’s way of life, but also discusses that poetry requires intelligence with his line. Williams, in contrast to Hicok discusses his subject indirectly and leaves almost “an elephant in the room” in comparison to Hicok’s method. Williams, in his poem called “Poem” refers to the agile movement of a cat without describing that movement explicitly, (Williams, William, 1934). The quote “carefully then the hind stepped down,” (Williams, William, 1934), discusses the cat’s movement, but is the opposite from the cat’s agile movement as was expected in the poem.
Collins, in his poem that is an introduction to poetry uses this opportunity to show beginners the complexity that poetry truly is. The quote, “I say drop a mouse into a poem and watch him probe his way out,” (Collins, Billy, 1941), is a clear depiction of how poetry is a labyrinth even for the advanced student trying to teach the beginner. A unique contrast to Collin’s viewpoint is the perspective of Snyder who depicts poetry as inspiring him in the sense of an essence that remains “frightened outside the range of my campfire,” (Snyder, Gary, 1930). What this infers is that poetry does come; however, even when it does, it is still hidden like a labyrinth that Collins referred to earlier.
Nelson’s description of poetry illuminates another aspect of poetry and that is poetry’s power of words, (Nelson, Marilyn, 1946). In the poem, “How I Discovered Poetry,” Nelson appears to be referring to a class divide or racism in her poetry and when the character reads, the diction shows the reactions of the power of words on those hearing the poem, (Nelson, Marilyn, 1946). The quote, “When I finished my classmates stared at the floor. We walked silent to the buses, awed by the power of words,” (Nelson, Marilyn, 1946), demonstrates how the words that were described poetry had the force to make a divine impression on many. In contrast, Forman discusses the versatility of poetry in the sense that poetry is the art that wears many different masks, (Forman, Ruth, 1993). In the quote, “Poetry should hopscotch in a polka dot dress Poetry should wear bright red lipstickPoetry should dress in fine plum linen suits” (Forman, Ruth, 1993(, demonstrates how poetry, according to Forman, is an art that takes on many different shades and impressions. Thus, Nelson and Forman take the extremist approach to poetry in that they described the potential of poetry to shock and awe while still being versatile.
In reading these differing ideas of poetry, I became fascinated to see how I as an individual would go about defining poetry. Poetry is one of those concepts that we understand and know what it is, but we do not necessarily have the capability to explain the concept eloquently to someone else. By seeing these diverse definitions of poetry, I am unable to assess how I would teach poetry to others because of how broad the notion of poetry truly is. Based on the readings, I see poetry as strong, intelligent, and versatile. This is why there is such diversity within the genre and why it is classically so difficult to define when studying in school.
Another key aspect of these poems is the notion of irony. One poem that depicts irony presented at its finest is the poem about the agile cat by Williams. In this poem, the poet contradicts the very notion that he is trying to prove. Other poems in our selected readings that do something similar are those by Collins and Snyder. The reason that these poems are ironic is they depict how difficult it is for one to both escape poetry and for poetry to inspire one to write it. These two poems in particular do an excellent job of showing the irony in poetry while trying to simultaneously use poetry to explain the concepts to others.
References
Collins, Billy. “Introduction to Poetry.” Course Materials 1941. Web. 30 April 2016.
Forman, Ruth. “Poetry Should Ride the Bus.” Course Materials 1993. Web. 30 April 2016.
Hicok, Bob. “Making it in Poetry.” Course Materials 1960. Web. 30 April 2016.
Nelson, Marilyn. “How I Discovered Poetry.” Course Materials 1946. Web. 30 April 2016.
Snyder, Gary. “How Poetry Comes to Me.” Course Materials 1930. Web. 30 April 2016.
Williams, William. “Poem.” Course Materials 1934. Web. 30 April 2016.
