| Appreciation |
Appreciating something doesn't
have to mean liking something. Appreciating
something also means noticing or recognising
something. So poetry appreciation is really little
more than just
noticing and recognising things about poems. |
Just
noticing and recognising things about poems. |
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| The Rules Of The Game - or - Things You Can Do
With Words
There are no rules to the game. Poetry isn't any one
thing; there are many ways to
write it, and many ways to read it.
Poetry is simply Things You Can Do With Words - and there are
lots of things you can do with words! |
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| Impressions and
feelings |
Poems are written to convey*
impressions and feelings. Poems can sadden
you, anger you, calm you, amuse you, inspire you, re-assure you, even make you
feel numb. Also, most poems are written to be at least a bit
mysterious, so if some leave you a touch bemused*
it's probably half the point! Just tell us what your
impressions are, and
where in the poem you get them. Are
there a lot of words to do with
colour, or sense* or sound,
for example? |
To convey
your impressions, start off with phrases such as:
"It's as if..."
"I
get the impression..."
"It seems to me..."
"It
reminds me of..." etc. |
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| Tone, mood, pace |
We speak about tone in
the same way as we speak about the tone
of someone's
voice.
So, just as we might
say that
the tone of someone's
voice was aggressive, or cheerful, or
blunt, or contrite*, we might say
the same about the tone of a
text*.
Also, just as we expect you to notice changes in the tone of
someone's voice according to their
mood, we expect you to notice changes
in the tone of a
text.
Tone is conveyed* by the writer's choice of words and their treatment of the subject, so make a note of
any distinctive vocabulary*,
settings or personal relationships. Always consider how
you think the words might be said, and
what kind of
mood the writer (or speaker) is in.
State your reasons for saying
what you say. Use short extracts
to "prove" your point. |
The pace or
tempo of a text is the speed at which the text seems to flow.
Passages
containing many long words and long sentences usually seem slow, whereas
passages containing many short words and short sentences usually seem fast.
The
length of verses, paragraphs, chapters, for example, and the interchange of
characters also affects pace. |
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| Questions |
Few poems make strict sense, so
most will leave you with questions.
Let these questions lead your curiosity.
Investigate the poem in any way you like and see
what you discover! And don't stop looking because you can't make
something out!! Look at something else!!! Your questions should be your
starting point - and not where you end up!
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You can put
your questions to your examiner in your exam, as long you attempt to answer
them. Speculate*. Try starting a sentence
with "I wonder if...". |
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| Be confident |
Many fear looking stupid in their
poetry lessons, but it's a very free topic
so allow yourself the freedom to
explore your thoughts. Don't worry too much about
right and wrong; instead, trust your instincts -
you have something worthwhile to say. |
What our students always say:
"I
thought of that, but I didn't think I should say it!" |
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| The elements |
The elements of poetry are meaning,
sound and structure, and
each plays a part in how a poem "feels".
Consider all three and
how they relate. Often you will find that they
are linked in some way.
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| Vocabulary and definitions |
Students commonly lack the words
to express the feelings and impressions they get from reading poems. To make
matters worse, there are a lot of
specialised terms and you'll need to learn
enough of these to say what you want to say. Poetry tests your wordpower,
so pick up some marks for
vocabulary*! Impress
your examiner with
abstract nouns* and lots of juicy
adjectives*. |
More
adjectives* make you more able to describe.
More abstract nouns* make you more able to
conceptualise. |
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| Culture, tradition and
history |
There are a lot of old sayings,
children's rhymes,
word associations, phrases,
fables* and so on that are
unique to the English language. Poems
are sometimes based on these sayings and develop
the ideas that these sayings create. Many stem from
Christian religion and characters and
events in English history, so poetry
can be hard if your cultural background isn't English. But you don't
have to know about English sayings to score high marks in poetry - just
follow Ka Wai's example on the right.
And if you want to know more about
English sayings, get
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. |
Some well-known English sayings:
"Plenty
of fish in the sea",
"Sending someone to Coventry",
"Cuckoo
in the nest".
Ka Wai compared the ideas in his poetry with
traditional Chinese sayings. |
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| Still baffled? |
If you're still baffled by your
poetry, don't worry! Just explain how you've tried
to make sense of it.
For example, you might
try reading your poem in different directions
- down, up, from left to right and from right to left, and so on. You should
definitely consider doing this,
especially if the poem's layout suggests something
other than the usual way of reading.
You might choose to select only nouns* or
only verbs* or only
adjectives* from the poem to see if they
share any common characteristics.
Remember, the ways you can read a poem are limited only by your imagination, so use your imagination freely.
In
short, if you do not understand something
(and some things are nonsensical after all) then you should explain
what kinds of things you have done to
make at least some sense of the text -
however imperfect or fragmentary that
sense may be.
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If you can't tell what a poem
is about, you can always tell your examiner what it's not
about! Never be afraid to say what a poem isn't.
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| Common mistakes |
Common mistakes in poetry
appreciation:
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English Howlers