English Composition 3

essayons89

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I'm four weeks into the term with this course (online), and I really like it. Unfortunately, we are getting what has always been the bane of my literary skills- POETRY. Why? I'm good at finding themes and symbolism in short stories and other literature but I stink at it when it comes to poetry. It makes my head explode.

Out text is pretty helpful, and she gave us some web sites to help us out. I need to grab my nemesis by the throat and throttle it. Yikes...
 

katkisses

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I am not that great at getting the symbolism and true meanings of some poetry to.

But I sure feel stupid when someone explains it to me, LOL. THEN it makes sense, usually.

Good luck!
 

katiemae1277

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I'm glad I don't have to take a third English class


You know what I've always wondered? Do you think that the poets meant for us to analyze every single blasted word like English teachers want us to? I'm thinking not
But I do like poetry
Robert Frost is one of my favorites
Also, if you ever go on Jeopardy you better know your poetry
 

mrblanche

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As an English/Journalism major and a former English teacher, I'm going to commit heresy here: I think, for the most part, that writers and poets just meant to write a good story or a captivating poem. Deep meanings are left to the analysts that come later.

For example, I don't think the white whale meant anything in Moby Dick.

When someone asked Robert Frost if the last line of "Stopping by Woods On a Winter Evening" referred to it being a long time before the rest of death, he said, "H*** no. It meant I was freezing my a** off and wanted to get home where it was warm."

Or, in the book "Les Carnets du Major Thompson," by Pierre Daninos, he talked about the habit of historians telling what the generals said to each other. His reply: "Les combatants font parler les canons. Les historiens font parler les combatants." (The warriors make the cannons speak; the historians make the warriors speak.)

In other words, take it all with a grain of salt.

However, I do like poetry, if you want some help.
 

zorana_dragonky

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Originally Posted by mrblanche

As an English/Journalism major and a former English teacher, I'm going to commit heresy here: I think, for the most part, that writers and poets just meant to write a good story or a captivating poem. Deep meanings are left to the analysts that come later.

For example, I don't think the white whale meant anything in Moby Dick.

When someone asked Robert Frost if the last line of "Stopping by Woods On a Winter Evening" referred to it being a long time before the rest of death, he said, "H*** no. It meant I was freezing my a** off and wanted to get home where it was warm."

Or, in the book "Les Carnets du Major Thompson," by Pierre Daninos, he talked about the habit of historians telling what the generals said to each other. His reply: "Les combatants font parler les canons. Les historiens font parler les combatants." (The warriors make the cannons speak; the historians make the warriors speak.)

In other words, take it all with a grain of salt.

However, I do like poetry, if you want some help.


Well said! I agree completely.
Whenever I write a story or poem, I am not analyzing it as I write it and I certainly don't intend it to be analyzed, or write it with some "deeper" or more complex meaning in mind. I imagine most other writers are the same way.

The cool thing about finding meanings in poetry (or song lyrics, which are really just poetry to music) is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you find that a poem about a walk through the winter woods makes you think about being cold and wanting to get home and not about death, there is nothing wrong with that.


One of the things that always helped me the most when analyzing poetry was thinking of it as similar to listening to a song. I have a pretty deep connection to music, and I always sort of find deeper or different meanings and interpretations of the songs, so I sort of think of the poems like they were songs and it helps me.

Good luck!
 
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