Poetry is Boring

This is something I'm pretty sure that most of us have said. "But Miss, why do we have to learn this? Poetry is so boring". Well, I'm here to say that I think that's because it's being taught all wrong.

Poetry Is Taught Wrong.

So saying that I think it's taught wrong is a pretty strong opinion, right?

I think that you're being taught to jump straight to the analysis and criticism too quickly. You need time to just feel the meaning. Even if there's not one. Just read, listen and enjoy it first before you let that brain start working overtime. Then you analyse every single word to death, pull meaning out of it and write five hundred words on it that you got from somewhere.

Also, stop starting to read poetry with Shakespeare and Marlowe, (and as much as I love his work) poets like Keats. No. That's too far removed from you language wise, instead start with something a bit more modern. But, if you're already reading a Shakespeare play in class then go with his poetry since you're surrounded by that language. Either way, start with something that's a bit more familiar to you and work from there.

If you start with someone more removed from you then it's harder to experience poetry - you're having to work to understand the meaning instead of being able to feel and enjoy it.

Also, poetry isn't just stuffy old white men who were paid money to sit about all day and put words together in creative ways. You have some amazing writers like Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Hayden among others who were non-white. Female writers like those previously mentioned, Christina Rossetti, Aphra Behn and Sylvia Plath.

It's also not all English; there's writers like Pádraig Pearse (Patrick Pearse), Seán Ó Ríordáin and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill who use Irish. And that's important to look at in the original text and in translation. You also get to compare translations sometimes which was always useful for a few extra words, or a bit more context.

There's so many types of poetry and in so many different styles that I'm sure there's one out there that you'll like. Or at least be able to tolerate.

Photo by Vics Szal from Pexels

For Wider Reading

I have a free resource to help with your wider reading! Instructions on how to use it are in the comments, but it's really simple.

You add the genre, title, author's name, all as you would normally. Then include things like the specific theme (e.g- not just love but unrequited love), the quote itself, what you think of it and then the analysis.

When you need to memorise quotes and your analysis you take these, write them on flash cards and stick them around your house. Play a game where you miss out some words and have to fill it in whenever you see it, write the analysis on the back of the card and try to remember exactly what you said.

Also if you can listen to them being read or sung! That helped me so much with poetry wider reading.

Don't Just Read It...

How do you find poems then?

First of all, poemhunter and websites like that are great resources. So are libraries, book shops and dedicated blogs. If you have anything from class, use it, if you hear a site mentioned, use it.

Google, "poems about unrequited love" and you'll get loads. Check you can find author, year and it's from a reputable place, and you're good to go.

Don't just read, also listen to it.

Reading only gets you so far. You can see where the "s" sounds will be, but can you really hear them? To properly understand the feel and sound of a poem you should hear it spoken out loud.

Pay attention to- when a voice cracks, when the speaker gets louder or quieter, their tone, any pauses.

This is also a much better way to start remembering poems. Listen to this song by Stevie Nicks and this song by Nemo Shaw . These are two poems I used for my wider reading - Annabel Lee by Edgar Allen Poe, and Funeral Blues by W H Auden.

I went into my exam, knowing the songs and therefore knowing the poems.

If you're doing Shakespeare I highly recommend this version of Sonnet 130. This changed how I viewed Shakespearean sonnets.

This also helps poetry seem more fun! It's no longer just something you read on a page - it's now music.

Try Writing Your Own

This is perhaps the most fun part (to me, a fan of poetry, but don't let that put you off)! Try writing your own.

This may sound strange at first but it's amazing how much sitting down to write a poem can make you think about all of those things that you were analysing minutes ago and put them to good use.

So, I'd suggest something free verse to start. Then try listening to spoken word poetry and imitate that. Then, if you're feeling up for it, a ballad. Then a sonnet. Then a villeneuve.... and just go for it!

Even if you can't do it- you're making progress!

Thinking Point...

Are there some songs out there that you think are poems too? Why?

Photo by Sofia Alejandra from Pexels

So, to me, poetry isn't boring. I love it.

There's always something creative, or new, or making you sit there and doubt your own abilities as a writer because it's just that good.

My issue is that many places teach it wrong - they start you on the complicated things and don't give you time to just feel and enjoy poetry for what it is before you need to start analysing and critiquing.

But I hope my resources today could help and get you to view poetry as something that's not just by people in the 'olden times' who got paid to do nothing else.

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Hey! Tara here and thanks for checking out my blog. I update every Tuesday with posts about studying tips, advice and talk about productivity and organisation too. If you want to keep up to date with my latest blog posts I’d love it if you subscribed to this blog.