preview

Compare And Contrast Reading Poetry

Decent Essays

Poetry Comparison Essay Across the world, students and adults alike struggle to read poetry. Theoretically, reading poetry seems like a simple task, so why do so many teenagers and young adults consider this to be such a difficult task? Some may consider poems to be difficult because of the vague titles, strange layouts, and uncommon language. However, many consider the main reason for poetry being difficult to understand because many pieces of poetry are symbolic. Because a majority of people are not accustomed to thinking symbolically, they often find poetry to be confusing because they take each word in a poem literally. In other words, people who read poetry cannot read poetry like they would other literary works because poetry should not be taken literally. To read poetry, one must have an open mind and think uniquely about each setting and plot of a poem. A reader of poetry must be able to take chances on a …show more content…

In other words, one should not assume that the title or the author will reflect the meaning of the poem in any way. A poetry reader may assume that the title of the poem is a direct reflection of the metaphor, symbolism, and meaning behind the poem, but this way of viewing poems is one reason why people believe reading poetry is difficult. In reality, there is such a varying range of poetry with a larger variety of deeper meanings beneath the surface. To view poems with expectations about what it will or will not mean is limiting the true potential of every poem that person could read in his or her life. Edward Hirsch describes reading poetry as “a perpetual beginning” (How to Read a Poem, 1999). Hirsch does not only describe poems this way because each poem is unique, but he also implies that one must begin each poem with a fresh, new outlook on this poem, hence the “perpetual beginning” (How to Read a Poem,

Get Access