I’m think I’m an ignorant, undereducated boor. I just don’t get poetry. Never really have. Sure, I get little limericks that obviously and simply rhyme like “Roses are red, violets are blue…” or “Jack & Jill ran up the hill…” but when it comes to “real” poetry, well I’m lost.
I consider myself fairly intelligent. I like art. Well, except pop art, which I also don’t get but that’s another thread.
I can get subtlety, I can get “deep meaning.” But I just don’t get poetry. I have friends and they’re all “oh, I just read this really cool poem, let me read it to you.” so they do and I’m trying to suppress the eye rolls and pretend to listen intently & meaningfully, but what I’m thinking is, “uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”
It just makes no sense. It means nothing. It’s just words. Sometimes they sound cool. But I get no meaning from it.
What’s wrong with me?
I see someone start a thread like, “Share your favorite poetry” and I’m like, "well, ok, I’ll give it another shot & read it. Nothing.
Is there anyone else here, anyone at all that feels the same way I do? Please? I don’t want to be the only ignorant boor on this board.
You are not alone. I feel exactly the same way and I’m ashamed about it. I don’t have any favourite poetry, I can’t distinguish bad poetry from good poetry and I have a very hard time figuring out the meaning of most poems even though I have no problems reading prose.
I’ve always said I have a tin ear for poetry. I can read a poem that most people feel is great and another that most people say is terrible and I honestly have to admit I can’t discern any difference in quality between them.
I didn’t get anything but limericks or Ogden Nash until I took a required firstyear poetry class in college. Totally opened my ears. If you’re curious to find a way into poetry, why not look for a course like that? or start a reading group, and find a poet or someone knowledgeable to lead the group? Of, I’m sure there are decent books out there on the subject. There should be a Poetry for Dummies book!
Man, THAT was a mispaste. I didn’t realize I still that on the clipboard, and apparently my control-C didn’t take. So really I did beat you to it, Ilsa. You only got there first on a technicality.
I’m really glad that link was bogus, 'cause I was thinking if poetry lovers automatically get some sort of connection between poetry & Rock, Paper Scissors, I’m totally not getting it, and I’m totally fucked.
If you want to DIY, I think haikus are a good foot in the door. They’re short enough not to be overwhelming. If you spend some time with one, contemplating the images it suggests, you might get some practice. Look for hidden things: if the poet mentions a seagull, seafoam, ice, and salt (totally random examples, btw), he/she is probably trying to get you to unconsciously see WHITE; a subliminal layer of color over an image. One of an infinite number of things to read for.
Haikus. That’s another one of those poetry things I keep hearing, and just don’t get. Seems like everyone knows all about haikus, as if general poetry weren’t bad enough.
My friends are like, “oh, I just made a haiku!” I’m thinking, “I speak Russian, shall I start speaking to you in Russian? You’ll get about as much out of it.”
I think it would be best to start with the Imagists, as they present the most immediate aesthetic attractions.
For instance: Pound’s *In A Station Of The Metro:
“The apparition of these faces in the crowd:
[indent]
Petals, on a wet, black bough.”
[/indent]
*
Read this link, which almost singlehandedly got me through my upper level lit classes.
Look at how the poem is structured. Ask yourself what parallels of society and nature Pound is trying to draw. Look at the particular words used (the main focus of the Imagists was to use the exact word, not just a generally appropriate word) and ask yourself what you see and what you think Pound saw and what you think he was trying to tell you.
You’re not alone. While I did post my favorite poem in that thread, it doesn’t mean I understand poetry. If you read the one I posted, it’s very simple and does not have any abstract imagery in it. Basically I’ll read a poem and most of the time I won’t get it. Sometimes I do. Stuff like The Raven, that’s not hard to understand, right?
As for what’s good and what’s bad poetry: It seems to me that this is for the most part subjective. As is most art, IMHO.
I’m no great expert, but here’s my theory: poetry is designed to be read aloud. If you hear somebody read out a poem it sounds far better than reading it silently to yourself. Its like the difference between hearing someone singing a song and reading the lyrics on a page.
