Ever since I was in middle school, poetry has been an interest of mine. If I'm being honest, I like writing poetry a lot more than I like reading it. However, to become a better poet, you need to read poetry and know the elements of poetry. For both explicating a poem and writing a poem, you need to know elements of poetry to achieve the "best" results. The process of explicating a poem could also be a learning process for elements of poetry, especially when you are explicating a poem that is unfamiliar to you. Sometimes you need to do some research about the poem that you are reading in order to gain a better understanding of its components. These components can be about structure, sound, diction, themes, symbolism, or anything else related to the poem.
As for me, when I learn new structures, techniques, or anything else I may find unique about a poem, I try to emulate that in my poetry. One such thing that I like to experiment with is different meter and rhyme schemes. I love making my poetry sonically pleasant or interesting. In my poetry explication, I focused on Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and how Poe uses sound to elevate the atmosphere of the poem. I like how sound can play a role in a poem's meaning and tone, so I always try to play with it to see how I can use it to elevate my own poems.
When I become an English teacher, I would like to use poetry explication assignments to help students learn about, understand, and use techniques and elements of poetry. By diving deeper into what makes certain poems what they are, students can discover some of the many ways that poets use words to make art. Hopefully, this can then spark an interest, if not just an appreciation, for poetry.
Hello Dania, I think that providing different types of literature to students is a great idea. Especially when it comes to poetry, as it is a form that requires a high level of comprehension, intent, and skill to create a "good" poem. Although some people may shy away from analyzing poetry, it offers a lot of opportunity to find meaning and make connections, making it an efficient form to analyze. Plus, it might be a little less tiring to write/learn about poems than traditional prose. Since they are very condensed when compared to an essay, there is less to read at times—if you do not choose an epic or long free verse poem. Still, there is some discretion that is needed when it comes to choosing a work to teach. While drawing on pieces from the canon is fine, there is a greater opportunity to choose more diverse and comtemporary works that diverge from the traditional literary expectations.
ReplyDeleteHi Dania,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your insights! Explicating a poem can be challenging, especially if we’re unfamiliar with certain techniques or if we’re unfamiliar with the poet’s life and the events that might have led up to them writing a particular poem. Perhaps there is a deeper reason we feel an affinity for certain poets and therefore choose to analyze their works, as we may relate to their subject matter. I also chose to explicate an Edgar Allan Poe poem, “Annabel Lee,” because although I haven’t recently experienced a death of a loved one, I nonetheless experienced a loss and the grief that comes with that. While some students may never develop an appreciation for poetry, explication assignments will at least expose them to a new genre of literature and help them think outside the box in terms of making sense of a text that may not contain a structure they are used to seeing in other texts, such as novels or short stories.
- Aida Husakovic
Hi Dania,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your insights! Explicating a poem can be challenging, especially if we’re unfamiliar with certain techniques or if we’re unfamiliar with the poet’s life and the events that might have led up to them writing a particular poem. Perhaps there is a deeper reason we feel an affinity for certain poets and therefore choose to analyze their works, as we may relate to their subject matter. I also chose to explicate an Edgar Allan Poe poem, “Annabel Lee,” because although I haven’t recently experienced a death of a loved one, I nonetheless experienced a loss and the grief that comes with that. While some students may never develop an appreciation for poetry, explication assignments will at least expose them to a new genre of literature and help them think outside the box in terms of making sense of a text that may not contain a structure they are used to seeing in other texts, such as novels or short stories.