Hi i am trying to get into poetry but it is hard for me to know what the author's true meaning ( not the literal meaning). Do any of you have any tips so i can enjoy poetry more
ReZeN-
I don't think there are any short-cuts.
Read. Read. Read.
There's a list of classic poets on this site. Pick a few.
I don't know your tastes. I'll give you my favorites (or favoUrites if you're a Canadian or Brit) others reading this will no doubt throw in their two cents.
For my money you can't miss with Kipling, Frost, Teasdale, Dickinson.
When you're done with that, feel free to browse User Submitted Poetry here. But don't be put off by nasty comments. It comes with the territory.
Welcome to emule.
Jack
Don't be afraid to take the literal meaning...and then think about possible metaphors tht relate to that literal meaning. Sometimes poems arn't as "deep" and "meaningful" as the cliche goes. But like Jack suggested, read, read, read. The more you read and understand the more comfortable you will fee approaching poetry. I too reccommend Emily Dickinson. Her poems are short and great!
My advice is: FOCUS on poets who are not steeped in metaphor. If the literal meaning of a poem escapes you, pick another poem.
I've recommended Corso's MARRIAGE several times -- here I mention it again because the literal meaning is the only meaning.
Ogden Nash is light and either literal or silly (puns, invented words).
Robert Frost is pretty literal. The deeper meaning is conveyed by images, not metaphors as such.
KEEP LOOKING FOR STUFF THAT YOU LIKE,
Try anything by William Carlos Williams, who attempts to write in Twentieth Century American English which might be accessible to his medical patients in Paterson, N.J. This is not to say that his poetry is easy, but a new reader should challenge her/himself and maybe not restrict his/her reading to poetry which wishes to sound like poetry. Good luck.
***************************************************
Five card stud, nothing wild, and the sky's the limit. -- straight poke.
Try anything by William Carlos Williams ...
Fair enuff - what does this one mean?:
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
It's the simple things that matter sometimes
I think you're turning into Hugh Obscury
hay .......
I want discass of
the Long Love That in My Thought Doth Harbor
by WyattReZeN wrote:
Hi i am trying to get into poetry but it is hard for me to know
what the author's true meaning ( not the literal meaning). Do
any of you have any tips so i can enjoy poetry more
Please click on New Topic, and start a new thread, either in this forum or (if appropriate) in Homework Assistance..
Stephen
One of my English Lit. professors required that we read critiques and criticisms of the research material that we planned to use when writing our term papers. We had to write a review of that critical writing before using the material as reference in the term paper, itself. I found the exercise to be rewarding and enriching, although I complained loudly about it at the time.
Consequently, I always recommend that someone new to poetry begin by reading criticisms and analyses of the poems they will be reading, at least intially. It really helps when you can understand how others interpret a poem before trying it yourself.
joet