Don Lusk Books, Poems with a Purpose, Lessons from the Dead

Appreciating Poetry

The surest road to appreciating poetry is to understand the elements underlying the art. Poetry is not just rhyming words. There are many other subtle ways of linking words so they flow together like notes in a musical composition. Assonance, alliteration and slant rhymes are just a few. Meter is more than just the number of syllables in a line; it is the emphasis placed on each that gives the line its rhythmic form; it is the placement and length of the pauses separating phrases that builds tension. Some poets even have their own notations to show the amount of accent each word is to have so that lines are read as they were meant to be. Thus poetry is not some arcane art meant for a museum, but a general applied science of using words in the most effective way both to highlight ideas and to increase dramatic effect. So much so is this that many prose writers study poetry to develop their style and sharpen their feel for our language.

Another key to appreciating poetry is understanding how different it is from the usual prose writing with which we are bombarded every day. We are forced to read reams of words about business, world affairs and getting along in life. Here information is the important thing. Easily understood, straight forward writing characterizes it. Speed of communication is the essence. Ambiguity is strictly outlawed. Transfer of the most information with the least effort, the goal. In most cases once read and understood, prose words are forgotten. Only the idea remains. In fact to maximize reading speed many people skim over words, reading just enough to make sense of the line. Some even read alternate lines backwards to increase eye movement efficiency. And prose is never read with the lips, only the eyes for speed.

Poetry is almost the exact opposite. It is meant to be read slowly, and read aloud when possible to savor the interaction of words and ideas. It is meant to be memorized and repeated over and over like our favorite song, the words representing the music and the ideas the lyrics. Rather than being written directly, each poem is composed of many layers of meaning to be unraveled by the reader as he replays the verses in his mind. Each poem is a craftily concocted puzzle meant to be slowly savored and lovingly deciphered. The combination of sweet sounding words and insightful ideas make more of an impression on our sensual selves than does either alone. It is for this reason that well said quotes and ringing lines of verse are repeated for untold ages. The often used phrase, “Love conquers all” was first written 50 years before Christ was born.

A good reference on the mechanics of poetry and the tools it uses is Creating Poetry by John Drury. This volume will help beginning poets and writers understand the tools of the art and the way words fit together most effectively. But poetry is more than just mechanics and word play. It is the artful use of these tools and the sensitivity to include the most moving elements of our existence in its lines. One of my favorite books on appreciating these more subtle aspects of the art is How to Read a Poem by Edward Hirsch. He introduces readers to a wide variety of poems and follows them with essays pointing out their artistic insights. These go far beyond the mere mechanics shown in the first reference. This book not only clarifies the poems, but does so in such an inspiring way that readers are drawn into the art.

But the best approach to appreciating poetry is to read as many different works as possible by as many different authors from as many different time periods as you can find. Read modern works to find recent trends in thought, and ancient, even pre Christian poets, to get a different perspective on life and language. Read for understanding certainly, but more for volume to cover as much as possible until you come across a work that resonates with your natural rhythms and espouses the ideals your hold most dear. Maybe only one of a hundred poems will speak to you in this way. Use this one soul mate as your key to unlocking the secrets of the art. Memorize it. Recite it aloud, over and over, especially at times of stress or difficulty. As it becomes part of your psyche you will come to understand the power of poems to lift us above the problems that swirl around us. A good reference here is Robert Pinsky’s Americans’ Favorite Poems which gives not only a wide range of the most read and best loved poems of all time, but also the comments of average people like ourselves about why they like a particular work.