Sophia Morales Discussion 12

“Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique.”

1. Reading a poem requires a certain level of openness and curiosity of what the poem actually means or stands for, and it needs to be read in a meaningful way. A poem cannot be looked at as though it is simply words put together in lines. You have to approach the poem free of judgement or indifference and ask yourself questions as you do so.

2. In my personal experience throughout this course, I have had to learn how to read the poems we’ve been given. I have learned that approaching the poem with an, “I don’t want to read this,” or an, “What is the point of this,” attitude, is not helpful at all in trying to understand what the poem means. I have also realized that it’s okay to misunderstand the poem at first read.

In Sonnet 130: My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun, for example, by just reading the title, I said to myself, “well damn,” because at first it sounds a little rude (lol.) Even after reading a little further, he is describing her hair as coarse and her breath as being a little stinky, but when I read the last two lines, 12-14,

“And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare

 As any she belied with false compare.” 

He ends the poem by saying he loves her more than anything else and his love may be truer than any she’s ever experienced.

I will admit it took me reading this poem twice in my head and once aloud, before I finally understood what he was saying and it’s beautiful. He loves her with her coarse hair, her dull skin and her stinky breath.

Leave a comment

2 thoughts on “Sophia Morales Discussion 12”