Introduction to Poetry as a Subject of Study

It has been noticed though many students are taking or wishing to take poetry as an area of study face one major hurdle: FEAR. It manifests in their extreme lack of confidence and unwillingness to get into poetry unless they don’t have an option. The mere mention of poetry as a subject in English does not make any meaning to them until someone explains it to them.

Consider this; a student is asked, “What is does the phrase, poetic author, in line ten mean?” And the teacher asked A to answer. She freezes and remains silent. And it is not that she does not have an answer, but she thinks her response will not be right or unacceptable. With this kind of mentality, they create a wall around the subject, believing that “poetry is a complex topic which I don’t understand. Mr. Y asked a complicated question because he understands poetry better and perhaps wants us to fall. Perhaps he only wants to bring out hidden messages deep in the piece, and he wants me to get the right answer. I don’t understand such hidden questions, and even the word “poetry” is hard for me.” Stating this, the student concludes that poetry is hard, and there is no way around; they can get those hidden meanings in words.

Perhaps one of the major reasons for such reactions could be that they have learned through simpler poems, apparently about spring, summer, candy, and more. Such are meant for understanding man’s loss of innocence in the corruption of the world, as presented in nature; hence, the students seem less eager to follow processes that lead to such conclusions.

In a more profound elaboration, the fear may take a different form. Another, more practiced students may fear losing the poem completely; hence they will grasp handy schemes and wield them to a clumsy insistence. For instance, while trying the answer the same question about poetry, they may say it is the word means studying about lines and the beginning of knowledge; hence it refers to the knowledge of a civilized society. And of course, such an answer will compel for further clarification, which may lead them to make up more things just to fill in the gaps. They will, for instance, relate to “Christ symbols” in flowers, trees, or kisses; and maybe even use them as ‘Freudian imagery.’ By this, the student has diverted himself from the main cause of the study. They may, therefore, be taking about other different things, far from the line in question forcing a more difficult understanding of poetry into their heads.

Making it easy

Poetry is one of the most exciting genres of literature and linguistic studies. The more general question of attitude is all one requires to enjoy the subject. Besides this, there is morality, which leads to uncovering the real understanding of ideas behind the idea.

Unfortunately, many people are intimidated by the term “poetry’ or its meaning. They perceive it as something that requires a more cognitive approach, and there cryptic and beyond comprehension. It is all in perception and attitude. When you cocoon yourself in a mentality that poetry is difficult, you will not even have the strength to look at the simplest clues that you are perhaps making a mistake. Some pieces of information help us analyze and understand poetry. It is in the simple things you do to make life fun, which can make poetry fun.

Poetry is about interpreting life for us. Those who compose poetic works want to talk about their life experiences and sharing the same with others. It leads to enlightenment, both for the writer and the reader. And although we cannot rule out the fact that poetry is, indeed, complicated, it is upon the individual to make step and effort towards getting the best out of poetry.

Mather Arnold, one of the foremost poets and critics of the 19th century, regarded as the father of contemporary literary criticism, wrote much about social, religious, and education issues. Having been born in an English family, one could say he understood the language pretty well. In 1857, he was elected professor of poetry at poetry, and at this period, he delivered his lectures in English rather than Latin. And today, he acknowledged as being one of the first poets to show modern approaches in his pieces.

And perhaps one of the most of Arnold on literacy criticism in his work “The Study of Poetry.” In this piece, he talks about the ‘higher destiny’ of poetry, which is … “to interpret life for us, to console and to sustain humanity because science and philosophy may eventually prove flimsy and unstable. In this essay, Arnold concerns himself about “high standard” and “strict judgment,” trying to eliminate the fallacy of valuing specific authors and their works too highly or too shallowly. And by so doing, he lays out the way approach to understanding poetry. In his works, he quotes famous poets like Dante, Shakespeare, and Homer, presenting from each evidence of how poetry is timeless and on a continuous course. For him, poems are all about feeling and sincerity in the seriousness of the subject.

“The future of poetry is immense, because poetry, where it is worth its high destinies, our race, as time goes on will find an ever surer and surer to say….” This word shows that we would have an incomplete world with incomplete science, were it not for poetry. Poetry has the destiny to fulfill, and we must accustom ourselves to a high standard and strict judgment. But so doing, we will not only understand poetry, but we shall embrace it as part of our existence. Yes, some poems can be challenging to interpret, but it is only when we are challenged beyond our ability that we see the need to rise above our fears. Hence, everyone has an equal chance to learn poetry can make meaning out of every word.