Is poetry really that boring?

last SG · 2006-04-24T01:04:38+00:00

If you know the references it is not difficult to understand but if you do not know then it is hell.

DeadPoet SG

How many of you have friends who are interested in poetry? Five? Two? Most likely none. Most of my friends find poetry boring. Although a handful of them do read poems occasionally but as far as I know none of them write poems.

Where are all the Literature students? What killed their interests in Shakespeare, John Keats, William Blakes, John Donne, etc? Was it because of their Literature teachers? Was it because they find poetry difficult to understand? Was it because they were belittled by real poets and thus felt discouraged?

What happened? Lets share some of our experiences. Tell us why you like or dislike poetry. Tell us what are the difficulties you are facing now regarding poetry writing. Share your learning process and interesting stories (if any).

Let's help each other since there are so few of us. Wink

dsnake1 SG

The teacher. The teacher killed the poem! Mr. Green

Just kidding, but seriously i think the teacher do play some part in the process.
i was fortunate to have a Lit. teacher who taught out of the box. When she starts a lesson, she would not dive straight into the textbooks. Once , she played a Beatles' song, "Eleanor Rigby", and then we discussed the lyrics of the song, about a lonely old lady. Then we would look at the text books and find any poems about old age or loneliness.

The teacher can only help so much.
The people i know (before i discovered DPS) do not read poetry, let alone write.

DP >>Most of my friends find poetry boring. Although a handful of them do read poems occasionally but as far as I know none of them write poems.

hey DP, i not your friend ah? Mr. Green

hisoka SG

i not even sure what peoms. is it just a long winded way to express oneself??

then must waste brain cells to understand what the peom means, so troublesome....

MooKu SG

I wonder how poets compose with such extensive use of metaphors, alliteration etc etc and hide meanings behind those words.

I like analyzing poems. It's like opening a present - beneath that layer of pretty paper there's something hidden in a box!

dsnake1 SG

never mind, hisoka! It's good that you care to comment here! Very Happy

Ito_^ SG

i read abit here and there only.

noone i know even is 0.00001% interested.

dsnake1 SG

>>It's like opening a present - beneath that layer of pretty paper there's something hidden in a box!

MooKu, what a good analogy. Very Happy

LazerLordz SG

Many were killed by orthodox teachers in school who shot down their sense of lyricism.

I'm quite radical in the sense that I believe that each person has his/her sense of lyricism and therefore, the poem reflects an accurate thought or sense of their own self, and should not be forced to cramp that into a pre-set poetic framework.

Wink Even the war stories told by my grandfather had a lyrical sense to it, because he was telling it from his memory, and it's like a river of thoughts, mixed with comments from the present.

DeadPoet SG

x2. Of course you are my friend and so are the rest of the members here. Very Happy

hisoka SG

Very Happy

i shall endeavour to learn!! i heard it helps to hook girls right?? Laughing

DeadPoet SG

Eating is troublesome too, so why bothers?

hisoka SG

cos i wanna stay alive Mr. Green

DeadPoet SG

Same here. None of my friends (excluding those from sgforums) are interested in poetry.

It is a lonely passion. Sad

DeadPoet SG

That's also true. Laughing

Personally to a certain extent I need poetry to "stay alive" too. It is very difficult to explain this feeling, either you feel it or you don't. Wink

DeadPoet SG

A bit lah. But my wife is not interested in poetry. Laughing

hisoka SG

was just joking no offence but really feel peotry is too troublesome. i would prefer jsut staaight out say the feeling or whatever.

i guess its the same as other pple with other passions. its something that only those with similar feelings can apporach

udontknowme SG

i read poems.
but i only like very few that i read.
english teachers here killed my passion for it.
but i just do not read shakespear stuff.
dont like that dude...

DeadPoet SG

I can tell that from your poems and to a certain degree I do agree with you. Very Happy

DeadPoet SG

At first a bit lah. But I am okay now. Mr. Green

For me it is not at all troublesome. I am not sure if other poets will agree with me as different people write for different reasons but to me I am more concerned with the process rather than the final product.

I simply love the process, every second of it. Well to each his own my friend.

Just curious so what is your passion? Very Happy

hisoka SG

no passion so far sad to say. Crying or Very sad