What to people see in POETRY ?

Question

its just words. most of the time the words dont make sense. its like random words put together. people will read a poem and be like "that was beautiful" and ill be like (._.) it has absolutly no effect on me and ill never know what people see in it.

Answer 1

Some people really enjoy having to visualize something or think about what's not being said or is being said. Personally I don't enjoy poetry very much even though I usually "get" it it does not have a connection for me. Good thing there's a wealth of other types of literature which people can read.

Answer 2

I guess peotry is so popular because it is the oldest form of expressive art and anyone can do it. Seriously anyone!!! Also it comes down to the idea of the narrative. Do you really want to hear every story dry with no color or feeling, inspired words can make even the most mundane of storys facinating. As for people saying a poem was beautiful it is much the same as when people say that about a modern art masterpiece. They look into the poem and they see something familiar and they relate it to their own lives, therefore the reader becomes part of the poem since it now means something unique to them and their interpretation could be completely different from what the poet meant. Anyway that is what i think.

Answer 3

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Alligator Pie
by Dennis Lee

From: Alligator Pie. Toronto: Macmillan, 1974.

Alligator pie, alligator pie,
If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die.
Give away the green grass, give away the sky,
But don't give away my alligator pie.

Alligator stew, alligator stew,
If I don't get some I don't know what I'll do.
Give away my furry hat, give away my shoe,
But don't give away my alligator stew.

Alligator soup, alligator soup,
If I don't get some I think I'm gonna droop.
Give away my hockey stick, give away my hoop,
But don't give away my alligator soup.

Here are two poems--one by the renowned American poet, Robert Frost, and the other by Canadian poet, Dennis Lee.
Diverse in their content, yet they get a message across, whether it is the beauty of nature versus our hurried existence or the fun of rhyme for a child. I agree that it gives a message to the imagination and the heart. Unfortunately, sometimes in school, the enjoyment of poetry is lost when poems are 'dissected' looking for the author's purpose and meaning, techniques used in the writing, etc. I am of the opinion that primary school children should be introduced to poetry the same as they are to stories--and they should be read to them so that they can truly enjoy the beauty of the words and they should read poetry to each other. Then, perhaps, when these children reach middle school and high school or higher education they will be enthralled with it--and then it can be analysed.
And as for songs--they are poetry set to music!

Answer 4

As another above said, song lyrics are poetry.

You like music? You like songs? Yes? Then you like poetry.

All poetry has a cadence, a rhythm, just like all lyrics for songs. In fact, there is still a type of poem that's called 'lyric', simply because it's designed to be sung, not spoken.

Your frustration with spoken poetry comes probably as a result of insufficient knowledge, on your part, about how it works.

Are you aware that poetry has a mathematical underpinning, without which there would be very little poetry of any worth? It takes a lot of brain-power and language knowledge, I can assure you, to write lyrics for songs. So also spoken poetry.

Hence, why don't you get a primer on the basics of poetry and find out more before you throw up your hands? You never know: you just might learn something new...;)

Answer 5

Well, you obviously dont like details :)
Poetry, controversingly to prose, is made from lots of details - words. Sometimes, i admit it, the peotry is written just because the poet thought of a good collocation, but even then its fun to analyse the poem and to understand why particularly this word was chosen out of 100 synnonims. Every word in language has his own story; putting 100 of stories together creates another story, more wider, teling much more than 1 or 2 words. Thats how you get a meaning from 'meaningless' poems. Meaninglessness in poetry does not exist. Look for meaning not 'behind' teh words, but in the words.

Answer 6

Lots of people enjoy it. Like any art it has the capacity to give a different slant on the world and make you think. It does require a bit of effort and engagement, but there are times when a line from a poem resonates.Like this desceiption of the situation in the Middle East:

Things fall apart
The centre cannot hold

Or this, about the plague of boosters and populist politicians:

The best lack all conviction
And the worst are full of passionate intensity.

Apt descriptions of modern conditions, but they were written by WB Yeats (one of my favorite poets) in the early 20th century. Good poetry expresses timeless truths.

Answer 7

bottled feelings
sometimes i run, sometimes i hide
paper heart that tears easily

clipped wings of fantasy
fairy godmother is on holiday
pumpkin dust fading into zilch
can paper aeroplanes sodden with tears fly?

mood swings
fly high high into the sky
the next minute
down in the dumps

running away
a lone figure in the dead of the night
at the crossoads of life
tattered map

shadows of the past
haunts. prowls. stalks.
scarred for life
will i ever smile again

broken dreams
twirling. swirling. whirling.
in a dark world
oh just drop dead

upside down life
but i will survive
life is still beautiful

Answer 8

That's because it mostly sucks. You probably like music right? Your favorite song lyrics to a song with meaning is a good poem. The stuff in books is like the poems that weren't good enough for music.

Answer 9

Words on page=pictures in mind and emotions in heart. Don't just look at the words, digest them.

Answer 10

I guess you don't just read it you have to feel it. And I know some people who don't get poetry, but usually they just haven't opened up their minds to it.