I was never a big poetry fan until recently. During my year 12 exams we studied poems such as The Flea by John Donne and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla Khan. At the time, I didn't think much of them - perhaps when we have to study something it becomes a chore. And yet when I read those poems today I love them!
Poetry gives people the opportunity to express themselves in the most creative ways. The techniques available to poets, including the use of simile and metaphor, personification, sound devices and symbolism are all perfect ways in which to express oneself. Some poems are simple in their meaning and their words, others can take a bit longer to figure out. Some techniques, such as enjambment and alliteration, may be less easy for you to identify (without having studied these techniques per se), but they play a necessary and beautiful role in the sound and the flow of the poem. Most poems are best read aloud, and it is my encouragement to you that you either find a reading to listen to (preferably one done by the author themselves) or read poems aloud yourself. Play with the words, change where you put the emphasis in your reading, listen to the sounds the letters and words make.
Another appeal of poetry is the wonderful diversity in the themes, styles, structures and interpretations of a poem. It is a form of language that traverses all cultures and has been around for millennia. There really is a poem for everyone; something that speaks to the soul and never fails to move, no matter how many times you may have read it.
As I grew up I began to develop an interest in poetry. I taught with some wonderful English teachers who were very experienced in teaching poetry and I loved listening to them speak and share their expertise. The first poem I ever taught was Dante's Inferno to a year 11/12 Renaissance history class. I had studied Renaissance history at university and to this day it remains one of my favourite periods in history. The students and I (albeit constrained by time) got so much out of that analysis of the poem. Whilst at university I found beautiful old copies of the The Paradiso and The Purgatorio, with the Italian on one side of the page and the English translation on the other. As a student of Italian and History, this was such a wonderful second-hand find!
After Dante's Inferno, my next foray into teaching poetry was with my Advanced Spanish students. I chose two very different Spanish poems to study with them: the beautiful sentiments of Pablo Neruda's Poema 20 and the more dramatic expression of Nicolás Guillén's Sensemayá. This opened my eyes to the world of poetry and I began to explore other poems, outside my teaching area.
Historically, Western poetry begins with the Greek epic poets, notably Homer. Homer is the author given to the great epic poems The Iliad which describes the Trojan War, and The Odyssey an epic journey of a hero's return home after the Trojan War. "Poetry," wrote Aristotle, "is more philosophical and more worth-while than history, for poetry speaks in general terms, while history concerns itself with detail." In her book, The Well-Trained Mind, Susan Wise Bauer tells how the early Greek poets were often a combination of historian, librarian and philosopher. Their role in society was to compose poetry that would preserve the history of their people. She says, "The poet was a reshaper of tales" and she is right. For me, the epic poems are definitely amongst my favourites. I love poems that tell a tale, one in which the poet takes the reader to another place and time, as if they are journeying together. The Odyssey is one of my favourite classics, as is Dante and Beowulf. It may be surprising then, that one of my favourite poems of all time is not an epic.
Desiderata by Max Ehrmann is one poem that truly speaks to my soul (as Voltaire said, "Poetry is the music of the soul") and as soon as I begin to read it, I feel a calmness come over me, like my soul is taking a deep, relaxing breath. I truly believe there is something for everyone in this beautiful poem on how to live well. This reading on Youtube is a lovely way to hear the poem spoken aloud (but if you don't like this one, there are plenty more to choose from!)
Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.
If this is a poem that you or someone you know loves, a wonderful Christmas present idea could be to order a beautiful calligraphy print from the artist Sherrie Lovler. Sherrie does not know who I am, or that I am an endorsing her work - I'm just a fan.
You can see more of her beautiful prints, here.
Of course I have just touched the tip of the poetry iceberg in this post, but as they say you have to begin somewhere. I would like to explore more poetry and different styles in future posts. But for now, please tell me what you think about poetry. Do you like it? (If you've read this far, I'm guessing maybe you do!) If so, what is your favourite poem or poet?
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