Reading poetry

You need to have a basic understanding of symbolism in poetry.

You don't try to understand a poem like you would try to grasp the meaning of prose. Even things such as the variation of short and long verses can have their own meaning in poetry.

You will figure out "simple" tropes such as the symbolic meaning of seasons, but when it comes to things such as said variations in verse lengths, you'll be in the dark unless you either find a good resource to study, or some lessons to attend. Simply because the way you read it is an interpretation in itself, and you might glide over things the poet put there with a clear intent. Recognizing the intended tempo, the various ways of emphasising thoughts or pictures etc.

I'd try to help but I just went through poetry terms glossaries in English and to be fair mate, I can't find more than half of the terms we use in my country. It's like looking at my elementary school literature notes.

I always said poetry is not for the anglophones...

Poetry is a form,it doesn't have to be beautiful or profound (its like thinking classical music has to be 'relaxing', virtually no good classical music is especially relaxing).

Get a 'reader' and find something that knocks your socks off and then read more of that. You can work backward or forward from whatever you like to get to other things.

You just haven't found that yet.

Not so much obscure, but local poets might be helpful. If you live in a large enough city, read works written by native poets. If not, then poems about your state, or country. If you want to read poems about love, or politics, or silence, or books, then poke around the Internet for them. If you want to read poems about the weird, or obscure things that you have a connection to, then look for them. Having some sort of connection to the subject if the poetry helps immensely in enjoying it.

I'm starting out with Whitman, which I understamd might not be the best way to go. Where can I go if I like Whitman but want something more rooted in typical verse?

Thanks!! This is exactly what I'm looking for. Trying to figure out the symbols, the rythm and all the hidden gems. This is actually very helpful! Now that you mention it, are there any good opencourseware, websites, or even youtube channels to dive into these tropes?

Well, thanks! I guess I never really thought of the form. Being used to read prose, you basically assume a form. You have opened my eyes!

Oh, i see! This is quite a nice tip! Thanks!!

Poetry is an acquired taste; you'll learn to love it as you begin to read some and, hopefully, write some of your own. I find the best way to get into poetry is to create it personally, but others may take more joy in simply reading it. Figure out which camp you lie in and don't hesitate to ask for help or feedback from others once you get started. The more you indulge, the more you will be familiarized and, in turn, appreciate. So get out there, your adventure begins now!

Personally if I was going to introduce someone to poetry, I'd go with Larkin.

He is a genuinely good writer who knows exactly what he is doing. But he is also funny and likes to mash "high" and "low" language together. You've got respectable poetry anthology stuff like "Arundel Tomb" but also really beautiful stuff like "Sad Steps" which begins with him complaining about his prostate.

Yeats, Elliot, people like that. They are a good way in because they'd also read everything that had been written before them (especially the Romantics).

Its like getting into blues music via the Rolling Stones, if you start off with scratchy Robert Johnson cylinders its going to put you off I think.

People often say start with bland lilting rubbish but I think that puts more people off than it helps desu. You want Yeats' "The Second Coming" in a needle jabbed straight into a vein.

But like I say, its about finding what clicks with you.

>websites,

poemhunter.com

poetryfoundation.org

I think you can browse poets by 'school'/time period of poetry, pick a couple from each, or read wikipedia about the different schools and styles of times and see if any you dig.

and technically like, dantes inferno is a poem and stuff

Good point!! Writing will definitely help me understand better the genre.

Thanks for the recommendations! Will check them out. Not a native English speaker, tho. I speak Spanish. (I'm not the one who is starting with Whitman)

Thanks!! Will check them out.

4chanlit.wikia.com/poetry

Look up good readings of poems on Youtube and pay attention to how they are read slowly and deliberately

if you want the best way to learn about poetry, compare and contrast annotated versions or collections with introcutions or some sort of additional academic analysis

if you want the meme way to have a 'pure' understanding of poetry from homer to slam poetry then read everything in order from the beginning and don't stop reading even if you don't enjoy it. you can still compare and contrast different poetries this way

i recommend the first because you're a fucking idiot if you choose the second since it doesn't give you any extra insight and you're probably not smart enough to do it anyway

tl;dr kill yourself

You are clearly a definition of pseudo-intellectual human being. You can fraud anyone else but not me with your rude response

youtube.com/watch?v=FhWgG42NhLU

youtube.com/watch?v=_NluHDBzwEQ

Poetry is something you have to be taught I feel. Like you could be really into poetry for the aesthetics but that still is a very narrow sort of appreciation. The best way would be to start with the Chinese but it would be very easy to think it's all broken platitudes instead of the intricate pieces of art they are.

poetry isn't written to be obscure for those who didn't study it, really

what's special about chinese poetry? especially since i believe english translators will make it free verse

My mind is like the clear autumn moon
Shining clean and clear in the green pool
No, that's not a good comparison.
Tell me, how shall I explain?

I think by studying pieces of poetry people who aren't familiar with it can aquire an intuitive appreciation for it.

My interest in poetry never took off until I engaged in some close reading/practical criticism

if you have time, try it out maybe?

Look up high school curriculum texts which are pretty accessible to start with. Write out your own analysis which is ideally around 800 words. Reading some scholarship or watching some youtube vids will be helpful to this process to an extent, for context and knowledge of terminology. but remember close reading/practica criticism is really about your interpretation.

at the risk of sounding rude, if you don't do these things or something similar (i.e. keeping a journal of your thoughts on the poem at hand) then it won't make a meaningful difference to you

of course, i understand that poetry is not the exclusive thing i've portrayed it as but if you are serious about making reading poetry a feature of your life then these are things to consider