My Experience With Poetry
I think a similarity between writing poetry and writing poetry was the analysis and understanding of how poetic techniques are used. In both the poem I wrote and the poem I was analyzing, I analyzed techniques such as imagery and metaphors to use them efficiently in my analysis and my own poem. I thought about the concept of metaphors. I thought about how to incorporate it into my poem, and looked at the poem I was analyzing for what made a strong metaphor. I studied imagery and wondered what images evoked the strongest reaction in my poem. In the poem I analyzed what images evoked the strongest emotion or picture in my mind. I think one of the main differences between writing poetry and writing about poetry is the emotion. When I write poetry it is from my own lived experience and circumstances, so I have to call upon my own memories and history. I think the emotions are more intense within the poetry I write myself. I think it’s because I am writing about issues I care about or the moments in my life that matter. When I write about poetry, I feel a lot more detached and academic. I think I can still sense that the poet is expressing strong emotions, but since most poems assigned in academic writing are expressing different issues from a time period that I was not around in, it's difficult for me to feel as strongly about them as my own poetry. I can appreciate them for the history contained in them and what the poets stood for or fought against, but ultimately I see these poems as things to be analyzed or preservations of changes in history.
I think writing about poetry helped inform my own poetry, because I learned how visuals can tell a story. My poem, “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” was a romanticist poem that was focused on nature, so it was easy to picture what was going on such as a cloud wandering, golden daffodils, rivers, and hills. I think it informed my own poem because I used visuals in my own poem to tell a story with the imaging it used. I think writing poetry helped me understand how strong visuals can evoke a strong sense of emotion because it was things I had personally seen. or experienced. I think writing poetry gave me a deeper appreciation for the poem I analyzed and how the poet weaved a story of experience. I think I learned for my future teaching that even the simplest of images can evoke a strong sense of reaction if they are employed at the right time and right place and poem. I think I can have my students write a poem using only pure visuals and write a story about their poem or having my students interpret their peers' work. I think it’s an interesting exercise because it allows students to express themselves within limitation.
Hi Rogelio! I like the connections you made between writing and analyzing poetry, and I think you make some pretty good points. I'm also glad you could apply what you learned from your poetry analysis and connect it to the poem you wrote for our class. I totally can see how metaphors and imagery connect to emotions and memories, I never really considered it before but I think I make similar connections in my writing. I also agree with you about the differences between writing poetry and actually analyzing it. Writing from your own life experiences is so different from writing about someone else's account of their experiences, so I know at least for me it can be difficult to feel connected to another person's work and understand it completely. I also really enjoyed how you mention the importance of imagery and connected it to future lessons you could do in your classroom!
ReplyDelete- Hallie
Rogelio,
ReplyDeleteWriting about poetry and writing poetry can definitely have their fair share of differences and similarities. Although, I like how you used both imagery when writing about the poem you analyzed for the essay and when you were. This can be a great way to view poetry especially when trying to understand what the author is trying to express in their poem. Using imagery when writing poetry can also be great because it allows the writer to express in creative detail perhaps about an experience or thoughts.
You mention that when writing about poetry you feel more detached and academic due to the time period of when most poems are written. This is something that I never really gave much thought to and I understand your point. Of course, life and experiences were different in earlier centuries but poetry during that time was not only a form of expression but perhaps a form of entertainment. However, sometimes when I read certain poems, although they may have been written centuries ago, I sometimes feel a connection and see them as someone who wrote what I may feel at one point.
Having students also apply imagery to their poems when teaching can be a great way to introduce poetry I think. If students are able to express themselves creatively about something they see or describe an experience, writing poetry will be easy.