learntoread

HowtoReadaPoem

ast,itwascommonfor

asnotsimplyapiece

oflanguagethatconveyeddata;itwasmeanttobeheardthewayasongwasmeantto

besung.

Inordertoreadpoetrywell,

canbebrokendowninto3parts;(1)Thestanza:agroupoflinestofffromtheother

itional

poems,thestanzausuallycontainsaunitofthought,muchlikeaparagraphinpro.

(2)Theline:asinglelineofpoetry.(3)Thefoot:asyllableoragroupof2or3

beginner,llyafoot

esnotalwayswork,butit

e(traditional,

formalpoetry),,allthelinesina

mple,inasonnet,usuallyallthe

cas,though,apoetmightalternatebetweenlines

thercas,thepatternswillbemore

tepsforreadingapoemareofferedhere:

way,try

togetanofthepoem.

fythentencestructure,forpoetryattimesconsistsofcomplicated

ntences.

wmanystresd

syllablesandunstresdsyllablesthereareinaparticularline.

entiontotherhymeschemeandtryto

followtherhythm.

newandunknownwordsinadictionary.

ectionsmaybespeechesgiven

byacharacter,discussionsofaparticulartopic,changesinmood,oranewstageofan

argument.

ethetoneandspeakerofthepoem.

-readthepoem.

Readingpoetrysharessomesimilaritieswithreadingfiction,dramaandessay.

Oneshouldperceivedetailsofactionandlanguage,makeconnections,associations

andinferences,uldalsomakeuofhis

intelligencetoarouhimotionalresponbaduponhisgeneralexperiencewith

,

differencecomprisareader’sbeingmorealerttotheconnotationsofwords,more

responsivetotheexpressivequalitiesofsoundandrhythminlineandstanza,more

igh-demandedqualitiesin

readingpoetryarenecessaryandesntialonaccountofthedensityandcompression

quisitetolearnreadingpoetrywellandappreciatingits

beautyistolearntoaskquestionsabouthowonefeelsaboutpoems,howheinterprets

them,estionscanbethefollowing:

otiondoesthepoemevoke?Inwhatnsations,associations,and

memoriesdoesitresult?

easdoesthepoemconvey?Inwhatwaydoesitexpress,explicitlyor

implicitly?Whatndoesitmake?Whatdoesitsuggest?

’sthepoet’sperspectiveoftheworld?Isitinagreementwithyours?What’s

youropinionaboutthepoet’sperspective?Doesitinfluenceyourownwayof

understandingthepoem?

Diction

Dictionisthechoiceofwords,orthekindofwordschon,inagivenpassage.

Poetrycontains“thebestwordsinthebestorder”.Inreadinganypoemitisnecessary

toknowwhatthewordsmean,butitiquallyimportanttounderstandwhatthe

ordhasatleastonedenotation:ameaningasdefined

Englishlanguagehasmanyacommonwordwithsomany

denotationsthatareadermayneedtothinktwicetoewhatitmeansinaspecific

lsohasconnotations:overtonesorsuggestionsofadditionalmeaning

thatitgainsfromallthecontextsinwhichareaderhasmetitinthepast.

Becaupoetsoftenhintindirectlyatmorethantheirwordsdirectlystate,itis

necessarytodevelopthehabitofconsideringtheconnotationsofwordsaswellas

orboththepoetandthereaderthe“bestwords”aretho

thatdothemostwork;theyconveyfeelingsandindirectlyimplyideasratherthan

hooaparticularwordbecauitsuggestswhattheywant

ropriatenessisafunctionofbothitsdenotationanditsconnotation.

WilliamWordsworth(1770-1850)

IWanderedLonelyasaCloud1

Iwanderedlonelyasacloud

Thatfloatsonhigh2o’ervalesandhills,

WhenallatonceIsawacrowd,

Ahost,ofgoldendaffodils;

Besidethelake,beneaththetrees,

Flutteringanddancinginthebreeze.

Continuousasthestarsthatshine

Andtwinkleonthemilkyway,3

Theystretchedinnever-endingline

Alongthemarginofabay:

TenthousandsawIataglance,

Tossingtheirheadsinsprightlydance.

Thewavesbesidethemdanced;butthey

Outdid4thesparklingwavesinglee;

Apoetcouldnotbutbegay,

Insuchajocundcompany;5

Igazed----andgazed----butlittlethought

Whatwealth6theshowtomehadbrought:

Foroft,6whenonmycouchIlie

Invacantorinpensivemood,7

Theyflashuponthatinwardeye8

Whichistheblissofsolitude;

Andthenmyheartwithpleasurefills,

Anddanceswiththedaffodils.

Notes

y

WordsworthdescribedtheoriginalexperienceinherGrasmereJournalsforApril

15,1802:“WhenwewereinthewoodsbeyondGowbarrowParkwesawafew

iedthatthelakehadfloatedtheeds

ashore,ewentalongthere

weremoreandyetmore;andatlast,undertheboughsofthetrees,wesawthat

therewasalongbeltofthemalongtheshore,aboutthebreadthofacountry

ewamongthemossy

stonesaboutandaboutthem;somerestedtheirheadsuponthestonesasona

pillowforweariness;andtheresttosdandrolledanddancedandemedasif

theyverilylaughedwiththewind,thatflewuponthemoverthelake;theylooked

sogay,everglancing,ndblewdirectlyoverthelaketo

ashereandtherealittleknot,andafewstragglersafewyards

higherup;buttheyweresofewasnottodisturbthesimplicity,unity,andlifeof

thatonebusyhighway.”

----highinthesky.

kyway----theGalaxy;abroadbeltoffaintlight,consistingofcountlessstars

toofainttobeenparatelyandshininglikeariveracrosstheskyatnight.

----didmoreorbetterthan;excelled.

dcompany----acheerfulandmerrycompany.

----referringtospiritualwealth,thatis,thegreatpleasureorhappiness.

----often.

ntorinpensivemood----inanunthinkingorariouslythoughtfulmood.

eye----referringtothesoulormind.

tstanzadescribesthekindofrecollectionintranquilityfromwhichthis

poemaro.

Discussion

esthephra“lonelyasacloud”imply?

es“theMilkyWay”mean?

youthinkofthechoiceofwordsinthispoem?Isitveryliteraryorveryordinary?

identifytherimeschemeineachstanza.