I read Lu Xun’s poem “Swimming,” and my initial assumption was that the poem represented a puzzle that had to be solved. I may have focused on finding a clear interpretation of the poem and ignored the emotions and themes that the poem conveys. However, after reading Hirsch’s essay, I would realize that this assumption would limit my understanding of the poem, which Hirsch suggests should not be “solved” like a puzzle, but should be felt and experienced. In this poem, I would realize that the theme it conveys is not just the technique and skill of swimming, but a deeper sense of being and thinking about the meaning of life. I would realize that there are multiple interpretations of this poem, and that your interpretation is only one possibility.
Daily Archives: April 19, 2023
As I read through this week’s poems, the main three assumptions referenced in “How to read a poem” popped up in my head many times. The poem that stood out for me was “White Lies” by Natasha Tretheway. The first time I read the poem I felt like it was the easiest to understand out of the list of poems assigned so far. I even went on to read the rest of the other poem thinking I fully understood it. As I finish the remaining poems I go back to “ White Lies” and realize I may have missed some details. When I read lines like “I could act/ like my homemade dresses/ came straight out the window/ of Maison Blanche.”I assumed the poem was about the narrator lying about their financial situation. After rereading the poem and analyzing lines like, “like the time a white girl said/(squeezing my hand), Now/we have three of us in this class.” I start to think maybe the narrator is black and has fair skin and lies about their ethnicity, which is much more of a punishable offense since her mother disciplines them for these lies. Then again, I can be be wrong, maybe there is no right or wrong and it was left to be interpreted by the reader however they please.
My way of rephrasing the quote “Reading a poem is part attitude and part technique” is “Read a poem with an open mind to truly interact with it.” Before reading “How To Read a Poem” by Edward Hirsch, I always read poetry trying to find the meaning behind it immediately. I guess it is my impatient nature to want to be able to properly understand the abstraction behind more difficult poems. After reading the essay by Hirsch, I attempted to approach the sonnets in a different, less preconceived manner. The last poem “What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why” was the most successful for me to read in this nonjudgmental way. I read it twice to myself and twice aloud. While reading it, I asked myself of the qualities of the poem; including what is the rhythm? How is imagery used? One of the first things I noticed was the use of imagery to create a hauntingly lonely atmosphere. For example, “Under my head till morning; but the rain Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh Upon the glass and listen for reply, And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain” (Millay, lines 3-6) Each time reading it, I absorb more of the speaker’s mood and how she feels about the lovers of the past she is referencing. It inspires me to ask, is the narrator just somber in her solitude or does she long for a new love?
“How much we receive out of a poem depends on how receptive we are to its themes and language.” While reading Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” I experienced two aspects of reading poetry: attitude and technique. I approached the poem with curiosity and found it interesting due to its realistic portrayal of love when he describes how he is in love with her cheeks. “I have seen roses damasked, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks;’ Technically, I noticed the poem’s structure and use of language. The first line, “My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the sun,” This line sets the tone for the rest of the poem by establishing that he is going to describe her honestly and realistically. Through it, I learned to appreciate the unique way that Sonnet 130 looks at love and to understand Shakespeare’s literary techniques. I also found that reading poetry requires both an open attitude and an eye for technique. Attitude allows us to appreciate the emotional impact of the poem, while technique helps us understand how the poet achieves that impact through structure and language.
