First Approaches to Poetry
　

　
　
　
  • Which of the following texts are poems?  Which do you like?  And why?
  • What makes a poem a poem?  (See explanation below.)

    •  
    Jack and Jill
     
    Jack and Jill went up the hill, 
    To fetch a pail of water; 
    Jack fell down, and broke his crown, 
    And Jill came tumbling after.   

    Then up got Jack and said to Jill 
    As in his arms he took her, 
    Brush off that dirt for you're not hurt, 
    Let's go and get the water. 

    And took it home to mother dear 
    Who thank her son and daughter.
    竹枝詞－劉禹錫

    楊柳青青江水平， 
    聞郎江上唱歌聲。 
    東邊日出西邊雨， 
    道是無晴卻有晴。
     
    "Musical Key"
    by Cowboy Junkies

    My mother sang the sweetest melody  
    althogh she never sang in a musical key.  
    I'd hear her through the house.  
    My name called out loud.  

    My mother sang the sweetest melody.  
    My mother's hands were always cool and soft.  
    And like her eyes they would caress with every touch.  
    She would listen to my chatter  
    as if every word I spoke mattered.  
    She'd hold me close and whisper in my ear.  
    She'd say, "girl you are a part of me  
    I have made you strong  
    when you grow up and are on your own  
    remember to win them with your song".  

    My father sang in perfect harmony.  
    And though he never sang in a musical key  
    you could hear him when he'd enter the house  
    the kiss he'd give my Ma.  

    My father sang in perfect harmony.  
    My father's words were always sure and clear  
    and like his presence they would rid me of my fears.  
    When I crawled up on his knees  
    I was safe as I could be.  
    He'd hold me tight and whisper in my ear.  
    He'd say, "girl you are a part of me  
    I have made you strong  
    when you grow up and are on your own  
    remember to win them with your song".  

    My mother sang in perfect harmony  
    although she never sang in a musical key. 
    鄉愁四韻
    余光中

    給我一瓢長江水啊長江水  
    那酒一樣的長江水  
    那醇酒的滋味是鄉愁的滋味  
    給我一瓢長江水啊長江水  
    　  
    給我一掌海棠紅啊海棠紅  
    那血一樣的海棠紅  
    那沸血的燒痛是鄉愁的燒痛  
    給我一掌海棠紅啊海棠紅  
    　  
    給我一片雪花白啊雪花白  
    那信一樣的雪花白  
    那家信的等待是鄉愁的等待  
    給我一片雪花白啊雪花白  
    　  
    給我一朵臘梅香啊臘梅香  
    那母親一樣的臘梅香  
    那母親的芬芳是鄉土的芬芳  
    給我一朵臘梅香啊臘梅香  

     
     

     
    　
     
     
    • General discussion: 
    (A verse is not necessarily a poem: "Any composition in lines of more or less regular rhythm, usually ending in rimes, is verse. . . . [Poetry] makes imaginative statements that we may value even if its facts are incorrect" Literature 5th Ed.  Kennedy, X. J. 497)
      
    Do you agree with the following statement: 「詩貴於意在言外，使人思而得知。」（詩人玉屑》） 
    • How do we approach poetry? 
    1. Read a poem silently once to try to catch its general meaning and mark new words too.  Remember that poetic syntax may be different from that of our daily language. 

      2.  
    2. After you checked all the new words, read the whole poem again, mark expressions that impress you, and try to figure out the poem's deeper meanings. 

      3.  
    3. For some poems with intricate image pattern or dense symbolic meanings, you need to stop and dwell on some parts of the poem and their interconnections. 

      4.  
    4. Read the poem outloud to feel its sound effects.
    Elements of poetry 
    (for beginners)--stanza and verse form, rime, rhythm and other sound effects, figurative language, poetic kinds (e.g. lyric). 
     


    A Handbook of Terms for Discussing Poetry--Compiled by Harry Rusche and the students of English 205, "Introduction to Poetry," at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia; including sections on Figurative Language, Language and Meaning, Poetic Kinds and Genres, Rhythm and Meter,  Stanzas and Verse Forms.   (not comprehensive, but clear and easily accessible.  Its introduction to Rhythm and Meter in English Poetry is clear.)