Writing about poetry has helped me become more aware of patterns and rhyme schemes, which I also try to use in my poetry. When I analyze a poem, I look for how the poet uses structure, which helps me think about how to use similar techniques when writing. Both writing poetry and writing about poetry require me to be inspired either to create meaning in my work or to understand the meaning in someone else’s.
However, there are differences. When I write my poetry, I know why I choose certain words or patterns because they come from my thoughts and feelings. In contrast, I have to research and interpret the poet’s meaning when I write about someone else’s poetry since I don’t know their exact intentions. While both processes involve finding patterns, I have a clearer understanding of my choices when writing my poetry because they stem from my thoughts and feelings.
From this experience, I learned how important it is to put ourselves in the poet’s shoes to understand the writing process and its inspirations better. This insight can help me teach my students to connect more deeply with different types of poetry. I also realized how essential it is to explore the poet’s history, time period, and background, as these factors can shape the poem’s meaning. By helping students consider these aspects, I can guide them to develop a stronger appreciation and understanding of poetry. Encouraging students to explore a poet's background, historical context, and the era in which they lived can greatly enhance their appreciation of poetry. This approach helps foster a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the artistic choices made by poets and the themes they address.
Hello Hazel,
ReplyDeleteI love the last line in your first paragraph, "Both writing poetry and writing about poetry require me to be inspired either to create meaning in my work or to understand the meaning in someone else’s." That is a beautiful way to put it honestly because it does require a certain motivation of inspiration in order to create and to analyze. Each process is can only get done of the person doing the work feels capable at that time. Trying to analyze someones else's work is very difficult because like you said you have to research what their intentions were. Of course as poets ourselves we try to dissect every word in order to form our own interpretation. Though when writing about the poem it is best to stick with what the author intended. I think that is why it is difficult because it isn't or own work and the answers aren't as clear. I didn't think about how when going to teach our own students how beneficial the research would be. I found when writing about my poem I needed to understand her background and just history in general to get a good sense of why it was written in the first place. Great observation, thank you for sharing your experience!
Hi Hazel!
ReplyDeleteYou absolutely nailed the point of this assignment/understand the importance of both writing creatively and reading someone else’s creative works. When passively reading a poem or even just a random article, many choose to glaze over the important aspects of the piece. Suggesting a deeper dive into the inner workings of a writer and their art work provides a clearer understanding for the reader. Utilizing and practicing some of the skills needed for this assignment in every day readings, can aid in a quicker, thorough analysis.
Bringing up being able to take the lessons we have learned during this assignment and make use of them for when we are the ones teaching, was very insightful and useful. As you said, employing this type of work environment can help future students develop a passion and appreciation for poetry; storing these techniques for them to teach one day.
Hi Hazel!
DeleteYou absolutely nailed the point of this assignment/understand the importance of both writing creatively and reading someone else’s creative works. When passively reading a poem or even just a random article, many choose to glaze over the important aspects of the piece. Suggesting a deeper dive into the inner workings of a writer and their art work provides a clearer understanding for the reader. Utilizing and practicing some of the skills needed for this assignment in every day readings, can aid in a quicker, thorough analysis.
Bringing up being able to take the lessons we have learned during this assignment and make use of them for when we are the ones teaching, was very insightful and useful. As you said, employing this type of work environment can help future students develop a passion and appreciation for poetry; storing these techniques for them to teach one day.
Hello Hazel,
ReplyDeleteI feel the same regarding the differences between reading and writing about poetry. When I write poetry, I make decisions based on what feels right. However, when analyzing a poet's work, it can be difficult to understand their specific choices because I'm not in their head. You mention that being aware of patterns and rhyme schemes in your writing can help identify the same in others' work. As well as trying to learn the context behind the poem or more about the poet's life because they mostly draw from personal experiences. I think exploring a poem's context creates a clearer interpretation. It also gave us a better understanding of why they could have made certain choices in their writing. Allowing students to create their poems and express their creativity will make them susceptible to understanding others' poetry in the future. Now, they have their own knowledge of how poetic devices work.
- América Negrete
Hi Hazel,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point about writing about poetry. When we analyze another’s poem, we sometimes don’t know what their intentions are or the reasoning behind the stylistic choices they have made, which is where research comes in to fill in those gaps for us. Oftentimes, we can’t and shouldn’t separate historical context from our interpretation of poems, just as we shouldn’t neglect looking into a poet’s life experiences when writing an explication. I would argue that it requires a great deal of empathy to understand any kind of text, but poetry especially, because poetry can be incredibly personal. We all have different life experiences and perspectives, so we run the risk of projecting our own thoughts and opinions onto a poet or speaker when we don’t read up on their background. A life skill teachers should strive to teach students is empathy, and as English teachers, the way we have chosen to do this is through literature.