Questions for Poetry Fans

[ysabetwordsmith]

Reading a poem is a participatory experience. It's not like watching television where you just sit there and passively absorb the broadcast. Good poetry makes you think. It raises questions.

What kind of questions? I'm glad you asked! Here are some examples of questions that you might ask yourself while reading a poem, or while discussing poetry in general. Feel free to use these as a jumping-off point for comments on this post or on individual poems posted to this community.


For Poetry in General

• What is poetry?
• What do you think poetry can do better than prose, or vice versa?
• Which poetic techniques do you like or dislike?
• Which poetic forms do you enjoy reading?
• Have you read poems by people very different from yourself (another religion, ethnicity, sex, etc.)?
• When did you get interested in poetry?
• Have you tried writing poetry, or do you prefer to read someone else's poetry?
• What do you think about the state of poetry in today's world?
• Do you feel that the publishing industry is doing right by poetry today? Why or why not?
• How do you feel about poetry online?

For a Specific Poem

• What does the title tell you about the poem?
• What is the form of this poem? What are some of your favorite forms?
• Who is telling the story here? What does that voice sound like?
• How does the poet set the scene and the mood?
• Which techniques can you identify -- rhyme, meter, alliteration, metaphor, etc.?
• Can you spot any hidden symbolism or other 'eastereggs' in the poem?
• How straightforward or mysterious is this poem? Which do you prefer, and why?
• How does the poem make you feel? What words or phrases evoke that emotion?
• What is your favorite line or verse?
• What is the poem about? What message(s) does it send?

No doubt you can think of some more questions for exploring poetry.  Share them in a comment, or make a post of your own if you want to go longer.

Further Reading
"Analyzing Poetry"
"How to Read a Poem"
"Questions to Consider When Reading Each Poem"

Comments

Re: Yes...

[jjhunter]

Heh; I take it you've been to testyourvocab.com as well.

Forthright's Phrontistery looks neat! I was a bit disappointed not to find a page dedicated to names of groups of things, especially animals, since I've been specifically looking for such a resource, but what it has it has most wonderfully. (I love such names: 'murder of crows' sends a shiver down my back, and 'gaggle of geese' makes me giggle.)

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I have, although the actual quote is from a button. I also have the t-shirt "English doesn't borrow words from other languages. English follows other languages into dark alleys, knocks them down, and rifles their pockets for loose grammar."

>>I was a bit disappointed not to find a page dedicated to names of groups of things, especially animals, since I've been specifically looking for such a resource, but what it has it has most wonderfully. <<

I love those too. I recommend:
http://www.amazon.com/Exaltation-Larks-Ultimate-James-Lipton/dp/0140170960

http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/collectives.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animal_names

Among my favorites are "aurora of polar bears" and "conflagration of dragons." I came up with "mosaic of butterflies" in a poem.

Re: Yes...

[jjhunter]

The guy who coined that phrase is on DW, by and by: james_davis_nicoll:

Back in 1990, I made this comment:

"The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."

* Usenet article <1990May15.155309.8892@watdragon.waterloo.edu> (1990),

Much to my surprise, that was my fifteen minutes of fame. It's been quoted around the world, on BBC and in Chinese ESL texts. Most of the products with that phrase on it or a paraphrase have nothing to do with me and I don't see a penny from them. The sole source of such goods actually connected to me is my cafepress site.

I'm rather fond of Bruce Coville's 'glory of unicorns' myself. :o) Thanks for the references!

Re: Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm glad I could help.