- Hey World! Today we're talking poetry. We've spent the last few weeks not only writing and explicating on poetry, but we've also written and performed some as well. There are a few similarities that both share. There are differences between the two as well. As for similarities, you've still got to sit down and write. They both require you to collect your thoughts and really think about what you've got to say. I listen to music while writing both which helps me focus. However, that's where the similarities end. Explicating on poetry requires intense analysis of poetic elements. Its definitely a lot less fun to write about poetry than to write poetry. I love writing poetry and I used to do it all the time. I love the creative expression of it, and thats just something I don't feel when I write about poetry.
- Writing about poetry did inform my own poetry for this week. In a way it was helpful to have a deeper understanding of the elements of poetry. Even though the paper I wrote was on Walt Whitman's poem "O Captain! My Captain!", which is known for lacking his free verse style, I still had to study his free verse techniques. Learning about these techniques helped me as I wrote a narrative free verse poem for class. I've only come to writing free verse very recently and I don't have much practice with it. I definitely love the freedom it allows and the fact I'm not pinned down on what I can say by chasing rhymes.
- I think what I've learned could be helpful in my future teaching practice. I've learned more about the basic elements of poetry. I learned much more about meter, rhyme, repetition, and extended metaphor through my explication on "O Captain! My Captain!". These base elements are important to impress upon our students during creative writing assignments. I'm looking forward to incorporating them into future lesson plans.
- Well, that's about all I have to say. I hope you have a great day. Come back soon for the next exciting installment of Chris Can't Write Good!
Hey Chris,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed diving into your installment of writing about poetry and writing poetry. I would agree with you that they don't have many similarities. The only thing I can think of is that they both can be used to help you with the other. Writing about poetry is not as fun as writing your own considering there is more freedom to writing your own. Not as many rules or none at all unless it is for an assignment of course. I feel I was able to learn a lot from my poem which was Christina Rossetti's, "A Birthday." She uses a lot of imagery symbolism which I was able to discover a good amount of history to help me understand her writing better. So I think writing about poetry does help with the research and history aspect for students so they can learn how to write formal papers. Writing poetry of their own is just good in general for them so they can express emotions maybe they didn't think could be expressed. It is a good channel for thoughts. Overall, really great post and I can't wait for the next one!
Hey Chris! I find it fascinating that you love the freedom that comes with free verse. The freedom is oppressive for me. The more restriction I have in my poems, the more I feel free to live and be creative within those boundaries. If I have too much room to roam, I get lost. Free verse is so intimidating for me. I always end up using a form with more boundaries, like villanelles, sonnets, haikus, etc. for that reason. I definitely agree with your note on the importance of poetry in class plans, and I think "O Captain, My Captain!" is actually a great poem to integrate (at the risk of imitating Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society---though hardly a bad thing!) because of its form, its deviation from Whitman's usual works, and the historical context in which it fits. Your explication essay showed that you definitely have a good enough grasp on the content to make multiple lessons out of it!
ReplyDeleteHey, Chris! I just have to say that I loved your poem from last week. Big props to you for sharing something so vulnerable with us. I know it's not easy to do something like that. I look forward to reading/hearing any more poetry you may write :)
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