Reading Poetry

Poem Review # 103094

Literature > American
Literature > English
Literature > Poetry

Reading Poetry

A discussion of a reader's experience of poetry through an analysis of Theodore Roethke's poem, "The Geranium", and John Keats' ode, "To Autumn".

1,767 words () | 0 sources | 2008 Australia

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes Theodore Roethke's poem "The Geranium" and John Keats' ode "To Autumn" in order to show how poems come to life for a reader through the significance of their ideas and the success of their poetic technique. The paper asserts that the poems may not address the reader's own personal truth, but may touch on a deeper truth that underpins what it means to be human and all its various manifestations. The paper then explains that, while poems are written to convey a certain feeling, time or place, they can be looked at in many different ways by different readers. In essence, this paper points out that all aspects of a poem, be it structure, ideas or context have equal importance in the understanding of a poem's beauty.

From the Paper:

"When taking a closer look at the context of these two poems we are able to understand the bigger picture as well as the intricate details. I believe that like onions, poems reveal themselves layer by layer. Keats was writing during the time of Romanticism, a time mainly led by youthful figures in the arts who were rebelling against the neoclassical values, that of logic, reason and formality. The romantics insisted on the importance of feeling and passion as well as imagination. They focused on nature, emotion and the sublime. The romantics indulged in new forms of language that could more expressively and widely convey feeling and vision. Keats wrote many odes, "To Autumn" was among his last. In this poem we can see how he has perfected the sublimity through his use of imagery and experience."