Ever since the beginning of this poetry unit, I've been wondering...when someone decides to sit down and write a piece of poetry, do they think, "Okay this poem is going to have a specific purpose. I'm going to write it in order to make the reader think/feel a certain way." or does the person think, "This poem is going to help me express my feelings about something in my life, and it doesn't matter what the reader's opinions are or what the purpose is." Although this is kind of weird, I've written some poetry before. I don't know if anyone else in our class has, but it sometimes helps me get my feelings out in a calming way. I know if I decide to tell people my feelings, they can judge me all they want, but that piece of paper in front of me can't. It's there to let me rant and rave about anything, and I tend to turn my words into a poem. (I'm not too fond of journals.) But sometimes poets just seem so stuck-up and arrogant, and I wonder if there are any out there who could care less about what the reader thinks and just want to write something to help themselves get through life...
But these are my questions for anyone who has an opinion on the matter: What thoughts do you think run through the minds of authors when they sit down to write a poem? And does every poem have to have a purpose?
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I've had the same question going on in my head for quite some time. Literature doesn't ALWAYS have to have a purpose, does it? Poetry in particular. Someone can't just sit down, think, "I'm going to write something beautiful." and go to it? I've written poetry before also, which is just sort of like a mental itch for me. I get the urge to write, so I sit down and write.
ReplyDeleteI don't think all poetry has or has to have a purpose. Even Mr. Bruno pointed out in class that some poets, imagists and such, have poems that are two lines long, and describe one image. Odds are, they didn't REALLY write those two lines and publish them with the intent of, "I want the people who read this to see this image in their heads, and then realize [whatever] about the world." It was probably just an aesthetically pleasing lyric representation of an aesthetically pleasing something or other, unless the poet wrote notes specifying what it was they were writing about and why. After all, T.S. Eliot, who wrote all this ridiculous high-flying poetry, ALSO sat down and wrote Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, and that certainly isn't something you hear raved about in literature texts. It was something silly and fun. Perhaps if you REALLY needed to, you could drag it through the muck of interpretation, but it doesn't require interpretation, just appreciation.
I wish i was able to write poetry as well as you natalie. Poetry can be a form of expression but it does not always have to have one purpose. It is like what Mr. Bruno said if you can find one example backing up what you believe it is then its credible. I think all writers who have written well known poety has had some inspiration so maybe it has had the purpose of beautifing that subject.
ReplyDeleteI think a poem can have a purpose, or it can be purposeless. It's up to the reader - and the purpose is different for each reader. As long as you have proof to back it up, like Mr. Bruno said, your purpose is valid.
ReplyDeleteBut I think this also applies to literature in general. Although the writer of a piece of literature may be trying to send a message to the reader, the reader could simply be reading the piece for pleasure, and not be looking for a purpose.
I think that not everything that is written has a purpose, but I think literature has a purpose. I agree with Mr. B when he says that good literature has the intentions, purposes and literary devices that make it literature.
ReplyDeleteDaniel has a good point though, the author may have a different intention than the reader perceives it, but I think that's another reason why good literature can be timeless.
The reader also can have an aspect when reading a piece of work. If a reader wants to find something, then they might find it; but if they aren't looking for something then they may miss it completely. But now that we've all taken Mr. B's class we will never find literture without finding something.
I see exactly what you mean. I personally think all of literature is so difficult because you can interpret anything to mean whatever it is you want. It's not like math where there's one definitive answer, there can be multitudes! It really is just so frustrating. Random, but it kind of goes with what you're saying. :D I totally understand where you are coming from! Sometimes I'll read a piece of poetry and it seems like there is no explanation or reason for why it was written; it was just written because the poet had some paper, a pen, and an idea that sounded nice. Poetry isn't really my favorite, and I'd prefer to stick to the short stories because short stories are much easier to find purpose in compared to poetry!!!! Oh, and Natalie I think that poetry doesn't need to have a purpose. It's okay if it just sounds nice to me.
ReplyDeleteI think poetry does have a purpose. Maybe the author's purpose in writing poetry was somewhat like yours [Natalie], just to express what they are feeling. Who makes the judgment to say whether a purpose is exceptional or not anyways?
ReplyDeleteTo me poetry is an outlet for emotion. Some poems I think have a purpose, some people sit down with a mission to write a poem, but others it's natural, and a flow of feeling. Why does everything have to have a purpose though? I HATE THAT. Can't somebody write to write, or is that a purpose? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.
ReplyDeleteI think poetry is subjective, and that one person may read it and say its purposeless, or see a simple story of a dude called Beowulf who's all around awesome. others may read the poem and say wow this has symbols and you know the dragon killing Beowulf in the end well that was his own greed coming back to get him. I am a simple minded middle american, i read whats one the page, not in between the lines, so like i said the poetry is all subjective and in most if not all cases is open to manipulation and interpretation.
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