A Word on Reading Poetry

I’ve always believed that there is something poetic in all good writing. I have also always believed that reading and writing are intimately related activities, and to do one well, you must be equally able to do the other. With that being said, my post for this week is going to focus on reading poetry.

Most of you have been taught, probably by your high school English teacher(s), that you cannot understand poetry. I'm not saying that they stood up there in front of the class and told you how stupid you are or anything like that. The process is much more subtle and sinister.

I have a theory that this is all a conspiracy to make English teachers look like the smartest people in the world. They've invented what I like to call the "DHM" (Deep Hidden Meaning) that only brilliant people (i.e., English teachers) can decipher. Well, I'm gonna tell you a secret: the only thing "deep" about Deep Hidden Meaning is that it's something you'll need to save your watch from.

The real tragedy of all of this is that most of us enter into the poetry reading process already defeated, convinced from the start that we'll never understand it, when most of it is pretty darn simple. The only really hard things in poetry are allusions (i.e., references to other literary works or historical events), and the important ones are usually footnoted.

The real thing that scares us, however, is symbolism. Don't worry about symbolism. There just aren’t that many poems that are utterly dependent on your knowing a particular symbol to understand it. That is not to say that symbolism is not important, quite the contrary, but it is not vital to accessing or enjoying the work. It merely adds to that access and enjoyment.

Also, don't worry too much about rhyme scheme and meter. These too are important, but worrying about them tends to just get in the way most of the time. When people start talking about things like that, it reminds me of a saying on those old Murphy's Law posters that were popular when I was in college:

A pipe gives a wise man time to think, and a fool something to put in his
mouth.

A lot of people hide behind rhyme and meter when they don't have anything else to say, which is unfortunate. There are a lot of things you can say about sonnets without ever getting around to talking about the sonnet at hand, and sometimes what you say will have some bearing on the sonnet at hand, but most of it is usually just bluster (i.e., something to put in a fool's mouth).

Just approach poetry like it intends to be approached: Enjoy it, take pleasure from it, and perhaps learn something about yourself and your world in the process. Mostly, though, don't be afraid of it. Sure, you're not going to understand everything about it; no one will. There are reasons that people are still writing books and articles on old literary works that should've been figured out centuries ago: they demand investigation. And they're worth it.