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I developed a passion for poetry during my senior year in high school. My English
teacher, Jim Hovey, was the one who introduced me to this expressive element of literature.
He forced us as students to use our minds to unlock the message that the writer
of the poem was trying to convey.
He taught from a book by Laurence Perrine entitled, "Sound and Sense : An Introduction to Poetry". It effectively explained the various components of poetry, and used examples from classic poems to support the topic it was explaining. I now own three separate editions of that book. This page will convey some of what I have gleaned from my pursuit of poetry. It starts with the first poem that Mr. Hovey challenged us to interpret. What is Poetry? It is a universal language spoken by people of all walks of life. Whether they're from different countries, ethic backgrounds, male or female, rich or poor, simple or intellectual, people have a common mode of communication in poetry. It is a language that says more, and says it more intensely than does ordinary language. Two categories of literature are "escape" and "interpretive" literature. Novels are considered escape literature. They "take you away" to a world that is created in your mind as you read the book. This form of literature is loved by many, for it takes them to countless worlds, limited only by imagination. Read Emily Dickinson's poem, "There Is No Frigate Like A Book" to hear her express that very thought. It's included below in the section on "Denotation and Connotation". Poetry is interpretive literature. It challenges you to find the meaning (interpretation) of the poem. There is a challenge in finding the meaning of the poem, and many times the passion of the poet is conveyed by the poet by the way he/she expresses his/her feelings. These are two of the attractions of poetry. Another attraction of poetry is the recapturing of the eloquence of the past. The English language has deteriorated drastically in the last century. In the past, being a well spoken person, or having a clever wit was a mark of distinction. Those days are past. Only in older books and movies can you find captivating dialogue, and thought provoking subject matter. Interpretation - Finding the meaning of a poem It's essential to find the meaning of the poem. We learned quickly in class that the author of the poem was not necessarily the one "speaking" in the words of the poem. Earlier, when I referred to unlocking the message that the "writer" of the poem was trying to convey, I was referring to the one who is "speaking" in the poem. It plays an important role in finding the message of the words. The following poem, "Is My Team Ploughing" by Alfred Edward Housman, was the first poem that captured my attention. It was the first poem that Mr. Hovey challenged our class to interpret. |
Is My Team Ploughing
'Is my team ploughing,
That I was used to drive
And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?'
Ay, the horses trample,
The harness jingles now;
No change though you lie under
The land you used to plough.
'Is football playing
Along the river shore,
With lads to chase the leather,
Now I stand up no more?'
Ay, the ball is flying,
The lads play heart and soul;
The goal stands up, the keeper
Stands up to keep the goal.
'Is my girl happy,
That I thought hard to leave,
And has she tired of weeping
As she lies down at eve?'
Ay, she lies down lightly,
She lies not down to weep:
Your girl is well contented.
Be still, my lad, and sleep.
'Is my friend hearty,
Now I am thin and pine,
And has he found to sleep in
A better bed than mine?'
Yes, lad, I lie easy,
I lie as lads would choose;
I cheer a dead man's sweetheart,
Never ask me whose.
- A.E. Housman [1859-1936]
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After the class read the poem for the first time, we didn't know where to begin.
Then, we noticed that every other paragraph was in quotes - we realized that
two people were talking to each other. Further study revealed that one person
was dead, and the other was still alive. At the end of the poem, we discovered
an unexpected twist... I was hooked!
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Denotation and Connotation
Denotation refers to the dictionary meaning of a word. Connotation refers to what is suggested beyond a word's meaning. In the following poem, Emily Dickinson pushes beyond the literal meaning of the word "book", suggesting that it is also a mode of transportation... |
There Is No Frigate Like A Book
There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears the human soul!
- Emily Dickinson [1830-1886]
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In order to convey the power of a book, the speaker of the poem compares a book
to various modes of transportation: a boat, a team of horses, and a chariot.
Imagery Imagery is the writer's tool to get us to sense or feel something. Even though "imagery" may suggest something visual because of the word "image", it goes beyond just the sense of sight. The use of the right words can awaken any of the senses, immersing you in the environment, making you "feel" like you're "there". The following poem is not rich with imagery, but I included it because it always transports me to the place it describes. |
Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
- Robert Frost [1874-1963]
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Symbol and Allegory
A symbol may be roughly defined as something that means more than what it is. "The Road not Taken", included below, concerns a choice made between two roads by a person walking in the woods. He would like to explore both, but must make a choice. While reading, we realize that the poem implies more that just the choice of literal paths, but choices in life as well. An allegory is a narrative with a second meaning. There is a surface story that has it's own interest, but the author's main interest is in the ulterior meaning. It differs from symbol in that it stresses the second meaning more strongly. The book, "Pilgrim's Progress" is an excellent example of an allegory. The second meaning is crucial to the full understanding of the book. |
The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Robert Frost [1874-1963]
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Paradox, Overstatement, Understatement, and Irony
A paradox is an apparent contradiction that is nevertheless somehow true. Overstatement, understatement, and verbal irony form a continuous series, for they consist, respectively, of saying more, saying less, and saying the opposite of what one really means. Overstatement, or hyperbole is simply exaggeration but exaggeration in the service of truth. Read the following poems. See if you can identify which figures of speech are used in them... |
In the Garden
In the garden there strayed
A beautiful maid
As fair as the flowers of the morn;
The first hour of her life
She was made a man's wife,
And was buried before she was born.
- Anonymous
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A Red, Red Rose
O, my love is like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June.
O, my love is like a melody
That's sweetly played in tune.
As far art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in love am I,
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till all the seas go dry.
Till all the seas go dry, my dear
And the rocks melt with the sun!
And I will love thee still my dear,
While the sands of life shall run.
And fare thee well, my only love,
And fare thee well awhile!
And I will come again, my love,
Though it were ten thousand mile!
- Robert Burns [1759-1796]
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Allusion
Allusion is a reference to something in history or in previous literature. It is like a richly connotative word or symbol, suggesting far more than it says. Did you the catch the allusion in the poem, "In the Garden"? |
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Loveliest of Trees
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
- A.E. Housman [1859-1936]
On Seeing Weather-Beaten Trees
Is it as plainly in our living shown,
By slant or twist, which way the wind hath blown?
- Adelaide Crapsey [1878-1914]
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Bredon Hill
In summertime on Bredon
The bells they sound so clear;
Round both the shires they ring them
In steeples far and near,
A happy noise to hear.
Here of a Sunday morning
My love and l would lie,
And see the coloured counties,
And hear the larks so high
About us in the sky.
The bells would ring to call her
In valleys miles away:
'Come all to church, good people;
Good people, come and pray.'
But here my love would stay.
And I would turn and answer
Among the springing thyme,
'Oh peal upon our wedding,
And we will hear the chime,
And come to church in time.'
But when the snows at Christmas
On Bredon top were strown,
My love rose up so early
And stole out unbeknown
And went to church alone.
They tolled the one bell only,
Groom there was none to see,
The mourners followed after,
And so to church went she,
And would not wait for me.
The bells they sound on Bredon,
And still the steeples hum.
'Come all to church, good people, -
Oh, noisy bells, be dumb;
I hear you, I will come.
- A.E. Housman [1859-1936]
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