When you think of poetry what comes to mind? Do you think of the abstract thoughts of Emily Dickinson, the intense illusions of T.S. Elliot, or the vengeful stories of Sylvia Plath? Most people do think of poetry’s complexities and think that it does not relate to them because they cannot understand the meanings of the poetry. On the other side of things, there are poets who write goofy rhymes to make people laugh such as Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein. While it is easy to understand these goofy poems, they do not really relate to real-life. Then there are poets like Carl Sandburg and Robert Frost, who really know how to capture the essence of life. When poets do this, readers can easily relate to what the poets are talking about. They have made a connection with the reader about something the reader can understand. In particular, Frost and Sandburg’s “Out, Out –“and “Chicago,” respectively, are poems that offer a connection to readers because they focus on the everyday or “working class” side of life. Frost and Sandburg use their “blue collar” connection along with diction and imagery to create poetry that will be adored for many years to come.
“Chicago,” published in 1914, describes early twentieth century Chicago as “Hog Butcher,” the “Tool Maker,” the “Stacker of Wheat,” the “Player with Railroads,” and the “Nation’s Freight Handler” (Sandburg 1437). The diction used can only poise one’s imagination to think of the laboring, gruesome meatpacking town that was Chicago in the early twentieth century. We get a great image of what the town is like and how the people are the hard working kind. Sandburg goes on to emphasize the harshness of the city but he embraces the people who live there. He writes, “Come and show...
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...uational irony to bring the reader into their poems. Without this connection, we would be lost in the land of Emily Dickinson or Sylvia Plath where their works do have an audience that can connect, but it is not as “blue collar” as the works of Robert Frost or Carl Sandburg. When reading poetry, look for the different allusions and imagery that the authors use because it is there to help you see what they have drawn out for you. Carl Sandburg described a realistic city, where the people overcame their vices to create a vibrant place unified through pride and love of life. Robert Frost described a situation where a boy simply wanted to help but actually made things worse. We can understand these real-life circumstances without having been there. Therefore, the next time you are reading some poetry stop and take a minute to think about what you can relate to.
Poetry is often created by an author’s need to escape the logical, as well as expressing feelings and other expressions in a tight, condensed manner. Hundreds of poets have impacted society throughout history through phenomenal poetry that, even with dark tones can be emotionally moving.
Poetry is something that is to be read delicately and cautiously if one wanted to find meaning through the words. Readers have to be gentle and patiently ponder about what they are reading in order to find any significance in the poem. If someone is not patient with reading, they will not feel impacted by poetry and will not want to read it. In Billy Collins’, “Introduction to Poetry,” he uses figurative language to help readers see that the way to enjoy and understand poetry is by reading between the lines and being patient with how each individual relates to the readings.
Sociologists often employ intersectionality theory to describe and explain facets of human interactions. This particular methodology operates on the notion that sociologically defining characteristics, such as that of race, gender, and class, are not independent of one another but function simultaneously to determine our individual social experiences. This is evident in poetry as well. The combination of one poet’s work that expresses issues on class with another poet’s work that voices issues on race, and so forth, can be analyzed through a literary lens, and collectively embody the sociological intersectionality theory.
Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities; it is solely used to evoke emotive feelings in the reader in which to convey a message or story. This form of literature has a long history dating back thousands of years and is considered a literacy art form as it uses forms and conventions to evoke differentiating interpretations of words, though the use of poetic devices. Devices such as assonance, figurative language, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve a musical and memorable aspect to the poem. Poems are usually written based on the past experiences of the poet and are greatly influenced by the writer’s morals values and beliefs. Poetry regularly demonstrates and emphasises on the
Quite often, tHere are two sides to every story. Similarly, there are often several different viewpoints on any given topic. The idea of the importance of poetry is such a topic. While some may find poetry pointless and hard to follow, others stand behind such writing wholeheartedly. Naomi Shihab Nye stated, “Anyone who feels poetry is an alien or an ominous force should consider the style in which human beings think. ‘How do you think?’ I ask my students. ‘Do you think in complete, elaborate sentences?... Or in flashes and bursts of images, snatches of lines leaping one to the next?’ We think in poetry. But some people pretend poetry is far away.” Nye is correct when she compares the way humans think of the way poetry is written. It is clear that Naomi Shihab Nye is correct in her statement through the study of poems such as Streets by Naomi Shihab Nye, Halley’s Comet by Stanley Kunitz, and Who Burns for the Perfection of Paper by Martín Espada.
Poetry is defined by William Faulkner as “some moving, passionate moment of the human condition distilled to its absolute essence” (Ford, 527). Many literary pieces look at human nature and how human’s reaction during those situations, so while the environment may change the human part does not. When we really look underneath a stories surroundings and exam the underlying human pieces they are the same in literary pieces written years ago compared to human kind today. The “Narrative Legerdemain: Evoking Sarty’s Future in ‘Barn Burning’” discusses the human internal battle of good versus evil (Ford, 528). “Tennessee Williams and the Two Streetcars” by Daniel Thomieres describes the human battle of wanting to live life to its fullest, but also staying within the limitations set by society. “’Don’t Turn Back’: Langston Hughes, Barack Obama, and Martin Luther King, Jr.” by W. Jason Miller examines how Langston Hughes poem can be used to motivate people to keep “climbing.”
In today’s modern view, poetry has become more than just paragraphs that rhyme at the end of each sentence. If the reader has an open mind and the ability to read in between the lines, they discover more than they have bargained for. Some poems might have stories of suffering or abuse, while others contain happy times and great joy. Regardless of what the poems contains, all poems display an expression. That very moment when the writer begins his mental journey with that pen and paper is where all feelings are let out. As poetry is continues to be written, the reader begins to see patterns within each poem. On the other hand, poems have nothing at all in common with one another. A good example of this is in two poems by a famous writer by the name of Langston Hughes. A well-known writer that still gets credit today for pomes like “ Theme for English B” and “Let American be American Again.”
...the reader to think in a different mindset. By creating this mindset Hughes and Brooks communicate thousands of years of black history as the speaker of “The Weary Blues” has the singers blues echo through his head so too do we have the weary thoughts of generations past echo through ours. Their creative use of words creates connection between performer and audience through the style of communication. Hughes doesn’t just use the grief of the singer’s lyrics; he uses the moan of the piano to express sorrow. Brooks doesn’t just ponder the life choices of the young boys; she forces the reader to think from their point of view. Brooks creates a connection between the speaker and the reader through the style of communication. By using these styles Hughes and Brooks prove that creating connections is less about what is said and more about the music that drives the poetry.
Poetry is a versatile avenue from which waves or ripples can be made potentially. A writer of poetry has the ability to make their readers feel a while wide array of emotions and situations synonymous with the human condition. I, at first, was completely turned off to the idea of poetry at first because all I was exposed to early on by way of poetry were bland professions of love or lust or seemingly simple poems I was forced to process down to a fine word paste. Edgar Allan Poe was interesting, but it was a tad bit dry to me. But, after reading poems the Harlem Renaissance gave me a bit of hope for poetry. To me, the poetry written during that time period has a certain allure to it. They have serious depth and meaning that I, myself and empathize
“I look to poetry, with its built-in capacity for compressed and multivalent language, as a place where many senses can be made of the world. If this is true, and I’ve built a life around the notion that it is, poetry can get us closer to reality in all its fluidity and complexity.”
When reading or listening to poetry, the main objective for me is to feel moved. Happiness, longing, sadness are some of the feelings that can be achieved just by listening to others’ words. It is within these words that creates another world, or separates us from our own. Words all have a certain kind of attachment to them, so if used properly an author can stimulate a reader beyond belief.
Carl Sandburg has been captivating reader’s attention since his first published poem in 1920’s(Baym 763). Sandburg understood the powerful use that literary devices play in literary works. He was known for using these devices to connect with readers, and implementing deeper themes into his works. He is one of the most famous poets for using these techniques. Nina Baym wrote that “Sandburg believed that the people themselves, rather than a cadre of intellectuals acting on behalf of the people, would ultimately shape their own destiny”(763). He shaped his literary work so people of all demographics could relate, and embedded different unique perspectives with literary device for people who
“Chicago,” by Carl Sandburg wrote a poem that the great city of Chicago that embraces everything that the city has to offer, from hog butchers to railroads, from construction sites to prostitutes. The poem paints a portrait of a vibrant, cunning, wicked, joyful, laughing place. The speaker begins the poem by telling the reader about all of the negative aspects of the city of Chicago but ends in the exact opposite stance. The poet feels that Chicago will face the future ready to fight and win. Sandburg can show how Chicago holds many of the same qualities as an immature young man: both are vibrant and active, but both also have many flaws. Sandburg also celebrates the many types of workers that helped the city grow, from the hog butchers that feed the populace to the people that build the
“I took the one less traveled by, / And that has made all the difference” (Frost 19-20). Many famous lines like these have been written at different periods of Robert Frost’s life. Most of his poems can tie back to a specific time and place in Frost’s lifetime. Different poems convey various emotions as Frost writes about many personal struggles and successes that he encountered in his lifetime. Robert Frost portrays his childhood, marriage, and adulthood through his various poems, like “A Peck of Gold,” “Birches,” ”The Thatch,” and “The Birds Do Thus.”
Poetry in essence is a written artistic form of expression. It allows for writers to reveal their ideas and feelings in a very unique way. Wallace Stevens once said, “Poetry is a destructive force”. In other words poetry has power, I believe this is a very true statement. Another poet by the name of William Carlos Williams once said, “Poetry is a small (or large) machine made out of words.” I also believe this statement to be true, each aspect of a poem is important to its function as a whole, and if something is missing or changed it can no longer work in the same way. The poet Derek Walcott I believe knew these “rules of poetry” and modeled them in his own writing. For example we can see use of these statements in his poem “A City’s Death By Fire”.