Hirsch's Major Points of Poem - Essay Example

How to Read a Poem. Hirschs Major Points al affiliation Reading poetry is a challenge. Those who lack experience, special skills, and patience are likely to fail it. Reading poetry sometimes requires considerable efforts. The hardest thing for an unexperienced reader is to get rid of a thought that reading poetry is a true torture. Those who dare to try should be aware of several helpful techniques. First of all it is necessary to put up with the fact that it is impossible to understand a poem on the first reading. In order to understand a poem one should read it aloud several times and pay special attention to its sound, rhythm, and rhyme. Grammar, punctuation, and even visual shape are important too. It is sometimes necessary to apply several techniques of reading until line arrangement becomes clear. It is also wrong to think that a poem may mean anything the reader wants it to mean. There are always certain limits of interpretation. There are many other things which should be taken into consideration. However, a poem cannot be regarded just a sum of all its parts. The poet’s message lies beyond literal meaning of words. Only those who possess talent and experience are able to reveal this mystery. How to Read a Poem. Hirschs Major Points. Reading poetry well is an art. Those who lack natural talent and curiosity may probably fail to embrace it. However, several techniques and a little bit of practice may help a person understand, and what is more, enjoy poetry. It only remains to find out how these techniques may be applied practically. It is impossible to comprehend a poem unless its form is paid enough attention. As Hirsch emphasizes, form of a poem is part of its meaning. Sound, rhythm and rhyme of a poem may give readers a key how it should be understood. That is why an ear for music would be a great bonus.   There are three common mistakes an unexperienced reader may make. The first one became a part of my personal experience. It is an assumption that it is possible to understand and appreciate a poem on the first reading. Those who fail to do this (most of unexperienced readers) sometimes feel frustrated, just like me. However, this problem is possible to solve. All you need is just a little patience and practice. The second mistake is to assume that a poem is a code which is supposed to be broken. This is also a bad strategy to suppose that each detail in a poem corresponds to only one thing. It is also untrue that poetry presupposes freedom of interpretation. A poem cannot mean what the reader wants it to mean. To tell the truth, I have never made this kind of mistake. There are a lot of elements in a poem which set limits of interpretation and may be felt intuitively. However, for me it has always been very difficult to approach a poem with no regard of its historical background. Additional information is sometimes necessary indeed. But most poems may be interpreted out of concept. It is necessary to remember that poetry, like all the other forms of literature, is what helps an author share his or her experiences, ideas, or feelings. A poem is sometimes the only way to express them. In order to grasp the author’s message it is necessary to rely on personal experience and viewpoint. That is one more reason why a poem may not be interpreted the way readers want. The first thing which catches the eye of a reader, the poem’s title and shape, may be an important source of information. It may elicit certain associations and give readers helpful context clues. Lines of a poem may be either continuous or broken into groups – all of this may create certain effect. That is why reading a poem aloud may be a good advice. This is actually the first step which a reader is supposed to take. Rhyming words and even similar clusters of sounds may be really important. I have checked this advice by my own experience. Reading a poem aloud creates totally different impressions than those you experience while reading a poem silently. It is also important to determine where a line stops in poem. It is quite easy to recognize end-stopped lines. However, this task sometimes may be really difficult. Very often lines break as the first punctuation mark is reached. That is why punctuation and grammar should be paid a lot of attention. The best option is to read a sentence to the end (even if there is more than one line). However, even this method sometimes fails to work. It is possible to encounter a poem in which grammatical relationship between lines should be neglected. Instead, it should be read as it is written because that is what the author puts his stake at. This method may seem easier, but not for me. I find grammatical arrangement of lines more logical and easy to analyze because nothing interrupts my train of thoughts. However, poems with unusually long lines require another method – breathing. Breathing may help readers reveal a hidden musicality of a poem. Visual form of a poem may also be important. The way lines of a poem are overlapping and layering may also be a clue. Thus, the best way to understand how a poem should be read is to try all these techniques by turn. Impressions of a poem may seem too personal to share with anyone. However, discussion may be a helpful method. It is possible to provide a list of questions, applicable while dealing with any poem. It is quite useful to discuss them in a group. Everyone receives an opportunity to get rid of preconceived attitude and develop an alternative point of view. It is necessary to remember that a poem is not just a sum of its parts. It is impossible to perceive all the words literary. Something is placed beyond their literal meanings. Only those who manage to solve this mystery may reveal how enjoyable poetry reading may be. References Hirsch, Edward. (2007). How to Read a Poem. 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