Perrine What Is Poetry and Reading the Poem

Uses of language?

practical, literary, and argumentative

Purpose of poetry?

To give pleasure and because it is central to existence and without which we are spiritually impoverished

What is the one essential criterion for any poem aspiring to the condition of literature?

Effectiveness in communicating experience

What are the two approaches to experience?

the scientific and the literary

Literature exists not to tell us about experience but to ...

communicate specific experiences - synthesize experiences, allow ourselves to participate in experiences, broaden experiences, and deepen our experience

What are the two limiting approaches to poetry?

1) Always look for a lesson or bit of moral instruction 2) Feel that poetry deals exclusively with beauty

Poetry's primary concern is not with beauty, not with philosophical truth, not with persuasion but with

experience

Why do people seek out poetry about subjects like death and pain or frightening poems?

Because of their ability to enlighten us and move us; when we cry or have emotional or intellectual responses we appeal to our humanity and feel and see the significance of life.

What is the difference between poetry and other forms of imaginative literature?

Poetry is the most condensed and concentrated form of literature; individual lines have more voltage than other language because of own brilliance or that they focus so powerfully on what has gone before; Can be recognized by the response made to it by a practiced reader.

What is/are the dimension(s) of ordinary language? What is/are the dimension(s) of poetry?

The one dimension of ordinary language is intellectual; The 4 dimensions of poetry are to be directed at the whole person, not just your understanding; to involve not just your intelligence but also your senses, emotions, and imagination; greater pressure per word; and greater tension per poem.

What language resources does a poet use to shape and make a poem?

connotation, imagery, metaphor, symbol, paradox, irony, allusion, sound repetition, rhythm, and pattern.

How can you develop your understanding and appreciation of poetry?

1. Read a poem more than once 2. Keep a dictionary by you and use it 3. Read so as to hear the sounds of the words in your mind 4. Always pay careful attention to what the poem is saying 5. Practice reading poems aloud

When is a paraphrase useful?

If you understand that it is the barest, most inadequate approximation of what the poem really "says"

To aid us in the understanding of a poem, what four questions should we ask about it?

1. Who is the speaker? 2. What is the occasion 3. What is the central purpose of the poem? 4. By what means is the purpose achieved?

What are some purposes of a poem?

To tell a story, to reveal human character, to impart a vivid expression of a scene, to express a mood or an emotion, or to convey vividly some idea or attitude.

What is the one important piece of advice to be given about reading poetry?

Maintain mental awareness