I would rate my ability to read poetry after the past 2 weeks from 1 to 10 as a 5 /10 because I like to reread the text more than twice to get a better understanding of the meaning of the poem most times I can’t read between the lines hard enough to understand the Poems meaning correctly. And it starts to feel like I’m creating my own meaning of the poem which could be totally wrong or somewhat right but the vocabulary section explaining the meaning of certain words I’m unfamiliar with helps a lot because it can help me better understand the poem and what the people that play a part in the are saying whether the poem is speaking about something, someone or speaking about something that is taking place or happening. Some ways I feel my experience with poetry can help with the reading of Oedipus the king is if I read each person in the poems part as if I were in a real play discussing amongst the other characters about the role I play in the story and the meaning of my part being played in the poem to get a full understanding of everyone’s role and what is taking place as if I were in the characters shoes. I would also reread the poem part by part at least 3 times to understand the main point of the story being told and the important role everyone plays connecting everything together to get a better understanding of the whole poem while using the vocabulary word section or searching the definition of the words that are difficult for me to understand. One connection I have to the play “Oedipus the King” is how they worship and praised their own Gods who they felt were powerful and important I also look at praying to God is important to me in a time of tragedy or in difficult times, or praying just to pray overall.
3 thoughts on “Valerie Green Week 7 Discussion”
Thanks for the good comments, but please read the directions for how to post.
Hi Valerie,
I relate to your experience with poetry because I also find it difficult to understand sometimes, especially when trying to figure out the deeper meaning. Rereading definitely helps me too, and I agree that looking up unfamiliar words makes a big difference in understanding the poem better.I like your idea of reading Oedipus the King as if you were acting in a play. That seems like a great way to really get into the story and understand the characters’ roles. Since Greek tragedies rely so much on dialogue, this approach could make it easier to follow what’s happening.
Hey Valerie, I like your point, “I’m creating my own meaning of the poem which could be totally wrong or somewhat right”. I sometimes feel the same when reading any type of poetry, especially one as complex as Oedipus the King (at least it’s complex to me). It makes me kind of feel unsure about how I’m interpreting the poem, and will make me avoid even speaking aloud in class when trying to analyze it, fearing I’ve just misunderstood it completely. But, you’re so right about the definitions of some words being explained. Those are a big help in figuring out the meaning of lines, and also spares me some time from googling nonstop. Also, even googling you’ll get the literal definition of a word rather than the definition as it was meant to be read within the poem.