Teachables: How to read a poem

This is a big part of my classes, and if I’m being terribly honest, a big part of my life.

Poetry seems to be this big dividing factor between people - Either you get it, or you don’t. Either you like it, or you don’t.

Poetry people seem to exist in a category not known to many, and then on the contrary, perhaps even feel superior in reaction to how inferior they are made to feel.

… It’s complex lol

As for me though, my position is simple - it’s a style of expression. It’s a form of art, that is misunderstood, sure, but also demands more from the reader if it is actually written well. Biased, but I stand by it.

So, how would you exactly read a poem if you do not resonate with it?

Understanding the point of any poem

So, like any form of art, poetry doesn’t even have to have to a point, which is its point.

You can’t run away from it and academically, you must always find it. Many students say that the “it” is subjective - it depends on the person reading it. Of course - all art is subjective to interpretation, but remember, baseline reading is all about inference instead.

Say, there is a poem about a Peacock. How the peacock is beautiful, graceful, elusive, awesome all around. So, would the point of the poem simply be about a peacock? Sure. About the peacock? Maybe. However, if it is studied in school, it probably wouldn’t simply center on the subject it is using.

That’s a simplistic form of writing, which would not exist in the wider scope of literature. So, for it to be staring at you on paper, that peacock would need to symbolize something, refer to something greater than itself.

That’s when you have to look at contextual and textual clues to find exactly what it could be.

Join my course to discover how best to perfect this skill. Not a plug, just truly quite a diverse skill to unravel.

Understanding what a poem is and does

Poetry is meant to be a form that doesn’t showcase what it wants to express in a literal way. It builds a scene, a visual, a narrative, a symbol, in order to allow people into the space. So, perhaps that’s why poetry is difficult to read, as it’s abstract or philosophical - it’s indirect for a reason. And, it can be, as its limit to its verses. Apart from epic poetry, poems are general shorter pieces of literature, so they can be complex that way, in terms of form and content.

So, unraveling a poem simply starts at understanding what it is trying to invite you into and then you can work from there.

Try to stay away from the thought process of, what is it trying to tell me, or what does it mean, or where is this all going?

Just step in, look around, and come back. Gauge from there.

Think of poetry in other ways

Poetry is not a connotatively old-fashioned form of expression, or whimsical form of writing.

You see poetry almost everywhere - specifically in song lyrics. Try looking at lyrics of songs you like and actually assessing what it could mean on a baseline level.

Many students do not actually even listen to lyrics properly, as tune takes over.

Poetry is like reading the lyrics, but in the silence of its own self. The tune comes through the rhythm of the words, the pacing and placing of the stanzas and the breaking of the lines.

That’s why you analyze its form too!

Open your mind and heart to it - it won’t be so daunting after.