Welcome to the legendary father wisdom blog!: Poetry!
My name is Samuel M Lee, and I was the leading figure of wisdom for 18 years. This is a website that is ran by your donations!
Power Of Poetry
It is an irrefutable fact that poetry possesses a unique capacity to inspire change, a quality that is unparalleled by any other art form.
From a cultural perspective, poetry is utilised in a variety of ways. Haikus, for example, juxtapose images of the quotidian, while lyric poetry conveys the personal and emotional. In a similar vein, poets themselves manifest in a variety of forms. The concept of the Romantic poet engaging with the sublime, the impoverished artist in their garret, the erudite individual, the bards, the soldier on the frontline, the spoken word performer, the National Poet, the Poet Laureate, or the Makar is worthy of consideration.
From a pedagogical perspective, it is not uncommon for educators to experience a sense of trepidation when confronted with students who have previously encountered poetry in an unfavourable light, often as a result of past pedagogical experiences. It is conceivable that such pedagogues may be daunted by the very notion of verse, perceiving it as a form of algebraic expression with a solution to be deciphered through an esoteric metric code. However, this apprehension dissipates when students are endowed with the confidence to interpret and engage with poetry according to their own inclinations.
In the context of creative writing classes, students are often encouraged to "find their own voice". The most accomplished poems, it has been observed, are those written in the author's distinct voice rather than in a "poetic" register that is assumed or adopted. This is because poetry, for the writer and the reader, is about relevance.
The relevance of poetry remains constant, irrespective of an individual's familiarity with it. There is a high probability that, at some point in their life, individuals will engage with poetry. The tendency for individuals to seek solace and inspiration in poetry is particularly pronounced during periods of transition and uncertainty. These periods can be characterised as positive or negative, with examples including birthdays, funerals and weddings. The ability of poetry to articulate the intricacies of human sentiment, particularly in moments of profound emotional upheaval, has long been a subject of scholarly discourse.
Indicators of transformation
The utilisation of poetry in the context of marking periods of change is a common practice, often celebrated through public events. In such cases, the practice of reading and writing poetry has the capacity to effect meaningful change. At Remembrance Sunday, for instance, verse is employed to contemplate and process the harsh realities of loss, as well as to commemorate the military service of those who have passed.
In the aftermath of the devastating Manchester Arena bombing, Tony Walsh's This is the Place emerged as a unifying voice for the city, characterised by its defiant and inspiring qualities. It was imperative that Walsh hailed from Manchester, a detail that was of great significance. David Jones fought in the trenches and at Mametz Wood, which lends his In Parenthesis a weight of experience. Holly McNish's written experience in her book Nobody Told Me resonates with the truth of a mother.
The articulation of personal experiences in poetry, employing direct and immediate terminology, became a prominent feature of the early confessional poetry movement, exemplified by poets such as Robert Lowell, Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath. The utilisation of the personal and intimate as the foundation for their poetic compositions was formerly regarded as provocative; however, it has since become an integral component of the contemporary poetic landscape.
It should be noted, however, that poetry is not confined to the communication of direct experiences. A number of poems can be regarded as sites of discourse in which extensive questions are addressed and solutions sought. For instance, in Shakespeare's The Tempest, the notion of death as a transformation rather than an absolute conclusion is articulated.
It is evident that no aspect of his being is subject to dissolution.
Nevertheless, a fundamental shift has occurred.
The subject is rich and strange.
The aforementioned words of comfort can also be found inscribed on the grave of Percy Bysshe Shelley in Rome.
Anticipation
Furthermore, poetry can be utilised as a medium for the exploration of potential future change, thereby conveying the poet's personal concerns and aspirations. A notable example of this is Interim by Lola Ridge, a poem which holds particular relevance at this time. Ridge was a prominent activist and advocate for the working classes. In the case of Interim, the occurrence of change has not yet been observed. The present moment is characterised by the anticipation of imminent transformation, the period of preparation for such change, and the opportunity for reflection, consideration, and preparation for the future. In the text, the author posits a prospective future movement or event. In the midst of prevailing political uncertainty, as evidenced by the ongoing negotiations surrounding Brexit, and when opinions appear to be more divided than unified, the words of Ridge offer a particular source of solace. The world is described as follows:
The avian subject is observed to be in a state of repose, suspended in its migratory trajectory.
In the interstices of the stellar constellations.
The concept of the resting world is a compelling one. The prevailing sentiment suggests that the global population is awaiting a state of organisation, or even evolution, before proceeding to an unknown destination. However, this is merely a personal interpretation and should not be taken as a definitive statement. It is important to note that another reader may hold a differing opinion on this matter, and this diversity of perspective is one of the most rewarding aspects of engaging with poetry. The interpretation of any given text is a subjective process, and it has the capacity to influence an individual's cognitive or emotional responses to the content. In periods of challenge and unease, the subject has been shown to be of assistance.
In the contemporary era, poetry has never been more immediately accessible. The advent of digital repositories such as The Poetry Archive and The Poetry Foundation has rendered poetry more accessible than ever before. These websites facilitate the ability to access poems with ease and convenience, thereby democratising the art form and making it more inclusive. Regardless of whether one is a habitual reader of poetry or an infrequent encounterer of the art form, it is indisputable that poetry retains its perennial relevance and potency.
The Uses of Poetry
The purpose of this study is to explore the value of poetry for learning and development and to examine its uses in education today. The purpose of this study is to explore the potential contributions of poetry to both formal education and personal development and well-being beyond the classroom. The following research question is proposed: how might we develop our teaching practices to access such benefits? These are all significant questions that must be addressed if poetry is to continue to play a central role in the teaching of English literature in our schools and universities. Nevertheless, the value of poetry in the context of learning and development is frequently overlooked. Assumptions concerning the necessity of formative encounters with 'great' literature coincide with anecdotal evidence regarding the transformative potency of narratives. The following statements concerning the value of poetry and its use are worthy of consideration:
The significance of poetry lies in its role as a prime exemplar of the manner in which human beings employ language to explore and comprehend the world around them. As with other forms of writing that are held in high esteem, this mode of expression imbues our experiences with shape and meaning, thereby facilitating our confident navigation of the world we know and, moreover, enabling us to transcend it. (From Teaching Poetry in the Secondary School: As stated in the Ofsted citation (2007, 6), the following quotation is attributed to an HMI View, Department for Education and Science, 1987.
The following discourse is an examination of the utilisation of poetry by the poet Meena Alexander.
The purpose of poetry is to facilitate reconciliation with the world. This does not entail unquestioningly accepting the world as it is or acquiescing to injustices. Instead, it is intended to foster a broader sense of reconciliation, to guide us back to the scope of our mortal lives in a state of profound love and imagination. (Alexander, 2013)
In both cases, an appeal is made to the significant role that poetry can play in our lives; however, in neither case is there indication of how poetry is able to offer such benefits. In order to establish a compelling argument for the role of poetry in education, it is essential to address the issue of how such benefits can be measured and why they are particular to poetry as opposed to other art forms.
A significant challenge in this field arises from the tendency to conflate the significance of poetry instruction with that of literature in general, without adequately emphasising the distinctive qualities of poetry.For instance, consider the assertions put forth by Fecho, Amatucci, and Skinner, who contend that the primary objective of poetry education is to broaden individuals' self-awareness and societal understanding. They argue that educators in English classrooms should position the reading and creation of texts as conduits for establishing meaning, as processes through which individuals cultivate an existential sense of self as actors within broader social landscapes (Fecho, Amatucci, and Skinner, 2007, 34). While these elements undoubtedly underscore a significant facet of the study of poetry, they are employed as the foundation for a broadening generalisation concerning the value of literature in general. However, there is a conspicuous absence of elaboration on the specific aspects of poetry that can facilitate such a function in the realms of learning and development.
It is vital to establish a robust argument for the inclusion of poetry in the curriculum as a distinct art form, in order to ensure that students encounter a wide variety of poetic works during their education. Failure to do so would risk a reduction in the degree and range of poetry students encounter through education. As has been extensively documented, a significant proportion of primary and secondary school teachers appear reluctant to incorporate poetry into their teaching practice, opting instead to prioritise the instruction of other literary genres (see Benton Citation1999; Cremin et al. Citation2008). Absent a compelling rationale for the integration of poetry within the school curriculum, there is a genuine apprehension that poetry might become marginalised in the context of literary education (Dymoke Citation2001, Citation2012, Citation2015; Xerri Citation2014). This assertion is corroborated by a seminal finding of the 2007 Ofsted report, entitled Poetry in Schools, which observed that a significant proportion of teachers, particularly within primary schools, exhibited a paucity of knowledge regarding poetry, a deficiency that was manifest in the restricted scope of poetry material explored in the classroom (Ofsted, 2007, 4).
In the context of a prevailing emphasis on the distinctiveness of poetry, this approach is frequently employed as a rationale for utilising poetry as a medium for language development and enhancing literacy skills, as opposed to advocating for its intrinsic value as a component of the curriculum. In recent years, the field of poetry education in primary schools has been significantly influenced by the literacy agenda, with a strong emphasis placed on the acquisition of linguistic techniques, textual forms and generic structures (Department for Education, 2006). It can thus be posited that poetry functions as an instrument to assist students in the identification of linguistic features.
Poetry can be utilised as an authentic text in the teaching of phonics, phonemic awareness, and language development skills such as rhyme, word families, and alliteration. Poems provide a simpler context for students to practice these skills, using text that is at their interest and academic levels. (Stickling, Prasun, and Olsen Citation2011, 32; see also Benton Citation1999, 527)Footnote2
Despite the recognised value of poetry in enhancing literacy skills and language development, concerns have been raised that the full range of potential benefits is not being fully utilised, thereby impacting upon the manner in which poems are employed within the classroom setting. For instance, the 2007 Ofsted report comments that poetry is sometimes used 'primarily [as] a teaching tool for language development rather than a medium for exploring experience' (Ofsted, 2007, 9).
In contrast to the educational domain, therapeutic uses of poetry tend to emphasise the importance of poetry in personal development, understanding the self and its capacity for self-expression, usually through the creation of new poetry (Jocson, 2006; Olson-McBride & Page, 2012) and bibliotherapy (Mazza, 2003). There are documented cases of the advantageous utilisation of poetry in a variety of psychological and therapeutic contexts, including the treatment of dementia, depression, and schizophrenia, as well as within correctional facilities and in the care of the elderly. The emphasis in these contexts is on the act of 'exploring experience' through the medium of poetry (Billington, Davis, and Farrington Citation2013; Gregory Citation2011; Heimes Citation2011; Kidd, Zauszniewski, and Morris Citation2011; Reiter Citation2010; Shafi Citation2010). For instance, Billington and Robinson offer a reflection on the utilisation of poetry in reading groups for female prisoners, which engendered profound personal resonances among the group members. It has been observed that following the recital of Henry Davies' poem entitled 'Leisure' to the collective,
The subject prompted a discourse of considerable poignancy regarding the notion of 'prison time' and the utilisation of its spatial environment for contemplation. One reader elaborated on her experience of observing a floral arrangement with a level of focus and concentration that she had never previously exhibited outside of the prison environment. Another participant reflected on the 'time to stop and stare' her father had had, and expressed a sense of regret that she had not always done this. Furthermore, she expressed anticipation for a future in which she would be able to allocate more of her time to this pursuit. As asserted by Billington and Robinson (2013, 20).
Such examples suggest that the experience of poetry can offer 'thinking spaces' that are crucial for reflection on our lives, thereby enhancing understanding of the self through personal engagement with a poem.
The primary objective of this special issue is to facilitate a synthesis of disparate approaches to the study of poetry's function in diverse stages of lifelong learning. This endeavour is undertaken by scholars from various disciplines, with the aim of providing substantiated evidence regarding the educational merits of poetry and its role in different phases of personal development. This special issue, therefore, presents state-of-the-art interdisciplinary research on poetry and its uses by experts in education, literary studies, psychology, psychoanalysis, philosophy and actor training, in an attempt to commence the integration of the potential benefits of engaging with poetry identified by these different disciplines to inform approaches to teaching poetry.
The original research presented in this special issue collectively argues for the distinct value of poetry when compared with other cultural objects and experiences, not least because of its ability to connect people's cognitive and affective responses, mind and body, experiences and memories. It is important to note that the value of people's encounters with poetry can be enhanced by modes of delivery that encourage multiple modes of engagement: through the written word, the heard voice and bodily movement.
The present collection of essays has been inspired by a project that was funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) under the title 'The Uses of Poetry' (2013–14). This project was led by Dr Kate Rumbold and brought together a team of distinguished and emerging scholars to explore the uses and values of poetry at different stages of life. The aim was to develop new interdisciplinary ways of understanding, articulating and quantifying the values of poetry. This special issue also draws together some important related projects from the UK, such as the University of Cambridge 'Poetry and Memory' project led by David Whitley and Debbie Pullinger, and Philip Davis and Josie Billington's work at the Centre for Research into Reading, Literature and Society (CRILS), University of Liverpool, in conjunction with the Liverpool-based charity The Reader.
The articles reveal several dominant themes, including the manner in which a focus on the memorisation of poetry can reveal insight into the nature of memory, the contribution poetry can make to our well-being, and the importance of focusing on both the affective and cognitive dimensions of our engagement with poetry to enhance both appreciation of the work and personal development. These findings have significant implications for approaches to teaching poetry in order to cultivate such value.
The issue commences with an examination of Debbie Pullinger and David Whitley's 'Beyond Measure: The Value of the Memorised Poem'. The article presents the findings of a recent survey conducted as part of the Poetry and Memory Project, which sought to investigate the role of memorisation in the internalisation of poetry and the facilitation of a personal connection with poems. In their thought-provoking article, Pullinger and Whitley seek to understand the relationship between memorisation and literary analysis, arguing that the memorised poem can be a source of meaning for the individual to accompany them at different stages in life.
In a more direct examination of the role of poetry in education, Jacquelyn Bessell and Patricia Riddell concentrate on the memorisation process itself. In their article, 'Embodiment and Performance', they present a small-scale study that investigated the role of bodily movement in the memorisation of poetry. The study examined whether performing physical actions in learning the lines of a poem aids recall of those lines. The results of the present study are discussed in relation to embodied cognition, which suggests that an embodied approach to engaging with poetry can heighten the internalising of the poem, and thus the ability to recite the work accurately.
Building on this foundation, Kate Rumbold and Karen Simecek put forward the argument in their article, titled 'Affective and Cognitive Responses to Poetry in the University Classroom', that there is a necessity to nurture heightened affective responses in the pedagogy of poetry. The present study introduces recent work in psychology, which demonstrates that affective engagement can lead to cognitive rewards that could not be achieved by taking a purely analytic approach to the poem. The study therefore concludes that there is a need to rebalance cognitive and affective engagement with poetry in the classroom. In addition, the discussion encompasses the impediments to the adoption of affective-oriented pedagogical approaches in the context of teaching poetry. These insights are drawn from a recent small-scale study, which provided valuable observations for further analysis.
In their 'Actual Texts, Possible Meanings: The Uses of Poetry and the Subjunctification of Experience', Andrew Green, Viv Ellis and Karen Simecek discuss how they recreated Jerome Bruner's classic experiment exploring the differences in experience of hearing different forms of text read aloud. In the original experiment, Bruner compared a transactional text with a literary text, noting that hearers were more likely to use complex, 'subjunctifying' language in reporting what they heard after listening to the literary text read aloud. In their version of the experiment, Green, Ellis and Simecek introduce a further layer by considering the difference in experience of literary texts of different kinds, comparing the language used in reporting on hearing a news article, literary prose and a poem. The findings of the present study suggest a heightened use of subjunctifying language in the case of poetry, demonstrating that poetry holds an important place in our exploration of language and meaning.
In her work 'Metaphor, Simile, Analogy and the Brain', Riddell explores the human need for creative use of language by reflecting on recent work in neuroscience and research in philosophy on the nature of metaphor, as well as the differences served by metaphor, simile and analogy. The present article delineates the intricate cerebral mechanisms implicated in the processing of figurative language, with a particular focus on the distinction between metaphor and simile. Through her discussion, she puts forward the argument that these important aspects of language use are of evolutionary significance and that repeated engagement with such complex forms of language aids 'conceptual expansion'.
In the final three articles, the focus shifts towards a more pragmatic approach, exploring the practical applications of poetry. In the publication entitled 'Becoming Poetry Teachers: Studying Poems Through Choral Reading', Gabrielle Cliff Hodges explores the challenges faced by student-teachers in preparing to teach poetry. She posits that student-teachers frequently exhibit a paucity of confidence in their ability to teach poetry and experience uncertainty regarding the most efficacious methods to engage their students with this specific literary genre. Cliff Hodges has expressed disapproval of the recent emphasis on the recital of poetry, which she contends fosters an individualistic engagement with poetry. In opposition, she advocates for a more collective approach, emphasising activities such as 'choral reading'. In reflecting on her own teaching practice, she posits that the most efficacious method of engaging student-teachers with poetry is through the collaborative reading and exploration of poetic texts.
Nicholas Bayley presents a practitioner's perspective on the subject of poetry, drawing on his own personal experiences of the value of learning poetry by heart and how this has had unexpected positive results in his psychoanalytic practice. The author presents a perspicacious argument for the recognition of poetry's imagistic potency and its correlation with our personal interpretations of the world we inhabit.
Finally, Philip Davis and Josie Billington provide a further exploration of the mechanisms by which poetry works on its audience, once again offering a vision of the therapeutic benefits of reading poetry, in particular the way in which poetry provides a place for thinking about life without ceasing to be in it. It is suggested that the experience and value of reading should be prioritised prior to the kind of experience of poetry that is encountered once the formal study of poetic structure has been undertaken. When considered within the context of education, it can be argued that teachers have an important role to play in providing students with the opportunity to encounter and value poetry in this pre-theoretical way. It is evident that an encounter with poetry can be an immensely powerful experience, which lends further support to the notion that greater care should be exercised in attending to the rich affective dimensions of poetic experience, in order to reap the cognitive, emotional and social benefits thereof.
