Techniques of Poetry Appreciation free essay sample

Poetry is the creativity of a persons imagination. * It is nothing but rhythmical, imaginative language expressing the invention, taste, thought, passion, and insight of the human soul. * Like any other literary work, poetry needs to be understood to be appreciated. * The writer writes for a reason. * The purpose may be to evoke emotion, inform, define, represent something of the world or life, and to entertain. * Whatever the case, a poem is unique to its writer. And each poem can be analyzed to be appreciated. Here are some general ideas that may help one to acknowledge the beauty of the poem: Techniques of Poetry Appreciation: 1. Subject Matter * What is the poem about? * It talks about the general outline of the poetry. * It could be a person, an object, a place, an event, a situation or an experience. * What does the poet want you to focus on, in the poem or in each stanza? Answer: It is a dedication to the humble tomato, which is readily available to us at the grocery store or in our refridgerator. We will write a custom essay sample on Techniques of Poetry Appreciation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2. Theme Once you have identified the subject of the poem, try and figure out what the poet wants to tell you. Look at the following: * the poets message * his purpose * the ideas that he is conveying * the title; * What was the poet’s purpose or motive writing the poem? * What is the central idea of the poem? Always remember that feeling and tone work hand-in-hand with the subject amp; theme. Answer: * The theme of this poem is that you must learn to embrace the usual things in life that are often seen as dull, and find the beauty within them. * People must respect everything in life, no matter how insignificant it may seem * Pablo expresses his love towards tomatoes. The title of this poem is â€Å"Ode to Tomatoes† which is a dedication to the underappreciated but beautiful things throughout life. 3. Moods, Emotions and Experiences * What is the predominating mood of the poem? * Is it the poet flippant, sad, happy, dignified, angry, contemplative, or satirical? * He is saying that the tomatoes is brilliant and gorgeous; it stands out when he looks at it. We must murder it = Exaggerating the slicing of tomatoes. â€Å"We must murder it† is a hyperbole, exaggerating how we cut up the tomato. It is wed to the clear onion = It complements the taste of onions nicely. â€Å"It is wed to the clear onion† is a personification that shows how well the taste of tomatoes and onions complement each other. Pausing and punctuation have an effect on the structure, rhythm and rhyme of a poem. 6. Sounds * What about the sounds in the poem? Are the sounds in harmony with the thought and imagery? * Do the sounds suggest pictures, arouse emotions or bring out quality of the character? * What is the effect produced by the poet’s use of: alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia and metre? * Are the musical qualities of the poem outstanding? * Is rhyme used for emphasis? 7. Rhyme * Does the poem have a set rhyme scheme? * How it is used in the poem? Is the movement slow, steady, or fast? OR Is the rhyme constant or varying? * Does the poet emphasize words or the message by means of the rhyme scheme? What is the purpose and effect of the rhyme scheme? 8. Form/ Structure * How is the poem structured? * How are the stanzas organised? * Is the structure itself convention? The form of the poem is very important. You should know what kind of poem you are dealing with: e. g. ballad, epic, ode, sonnet, dramatic monologue, elegy, etc. Answer: It is an Ode Its written to show reverence to the most ordinary things in life – claiming to have an extraordinary worth or value. Merits| Demerits| 1. Enriches learning of poetry| 1. Time consuming| 2. Add value to the text| | 3. Inculcates scientific temper and a spirit of inquiry. | | 4. Allows critical evaluation| | ‘Ode to Tomatoes’ by Pablo Neruda The street filled with tomatoes midday, summer, light is halved like a tomato, its juice runs through the streets. In December, unabated, the tomato invades the kitchen, it enters at lunchtime, takes its ease on countertops, among glasses, butter dishes, blue salt cellars. It sheds its own light, benign majesty. Unfortunately, we must murder it: the knife sinks into living flesh, red-viscera, a cool sun, profound, inexhaustible, populates the salads of Chile, happily, t is wed to the clear onion, and to celebrate the union we pour oil, essential child of the olive, onto its halved hemispheres, pepper adds its fragrance, salt, its magnetism; it is the wedding of the day, parsley hoists its flag, potatoes bubble vigorously, the aroma of the roast knocks at the door, its time! come on! and, on the table, at the midpoint of summer, the tomato, star of earth, recurrent and fertile star, displays its convolutions, its canals, its remarkable amplitude and abundance, no pit, no husk, no leaves or thorns, the tomato offers its gift of fiery color and cool completeness.