meldy

We did "The Hollow Men" and 'The Wasteland' in grade 10 English.
I didnt find them awful, in fact I was somewhat obsessed with The Hollow Men for a number of years and had darn near memorized it.
We had an excellent English teacher though, so maybe that helped?

I had load of trouble with my 2nd year poetry where the poetry seemed clear but actually held all sorts of hidden crap.

I am not much of a poetry fan though....beyond Lewis Carroll and other nursery rhymes.....

Hee hee hee
I am SO sophisitcated I know

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I thought about building you a raft to survive the river of tears I am crying for you but the worlds smallest violins just arent a realible source of lumber. And that cross you are nailing yourself to seems bouyant enough anyway- G. House.

The Backward OX

THAT’s not sophisticated
THIS is sophisticated:

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought --
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'
He chortled in his joy.

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

meldy

Ummm...ya...dont understand a word of that.
Well okay, maybe I get the "and, the, of' bits....

And I was being sarcastic in case you missed it lol.
Poetry isnt my thing at all.

I am of the "who cares if she is wearing a red hat and what that may/or may not mean" camp.

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I thought about building you a raft to survive the river of tears I am crying for you but the worlds smallest violins just arent a realible source of lumber. And that cross you are nailing yourself to seems bouyant enough anyway- G. House.

The Backward OX

That nonsense was also Lewis Carroll.

And your sarcasm wasn't lost on me - sarcasm is my forté.

You should be the official spokesperson for the anti-poetry camp - your "red hat etc" was hilarious. Where do I go to join?

"'The time has come,' the Walrus said,
'To talk of many things:"

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

lin

A poem should not mean, but be.

Archibald MacLeish, Ars Poetica




Understanding shouldn't have that much to do with it.

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The Backward OX

changed mind

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

meldy

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"

In all honestly Lin, I might actually like poetry if it could just 'be'
But I was taught and told, in no uncertain terms, that ALL poetry has hidden meanings and symbolism and it's the readers job to decipher that.

Which makes reading serious poetry about as fun as a trip to the dentist.

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I thought about building you a raft to survive the river of tears I am crying for you but the worlds smallest violins just arent a realible source of lumber. And that cross you are nailing yourself to seems bouyant enough anyway- G. House.

The Backward OX

And some of us are presently caught up with other things
Like ships and string and sealing wax and cabbages and kings
And so don't really have time to pen a worthy reply

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

The Backward OX

I enjoy my trip to the dentist. Maybe it's because she's a young attractive Asian.

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

lin

Did they teach you anything else that you might have come to doubt later?

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meldy

Good point.....

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I thought about building you a raft to survive the river of tears I am crying for you but the worlds smallest violins just arent a realible source of lumber. And that cross you are nailing yourself to seems bouyant enough anyway- G. House.

Hodge

Of course all poetry has hidden meaning and symbolism. Whether it was the poet's intent is a different matter...

Literary analysis is basically a form of introspection through something else. You learn more about a person by reading an explication and their reaction to a text than you do about the text or author of the text.

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Science

raymondstary

Dr. Seuss.

The Backward OX

Yep.

It is on a par with the ancients inspecting a hen’s entrails to determine whether it was a good time for planting. It may not have been the hen’s intent, but they were determined to find meaning there.

What a bunch of dopes. Not you, Hodge, just those simple souls aka readers who look for meaning in witless and immeasurable dreck.

The hen of course, in this instance, being the poet. Buk…buk….buk…..buk....bugurk!!

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

Baron

If you study phonetics, Ox, then you'll find that this is more sophisticated than you may think, yet another irony. The fact is that it works and a story can be discerned even out of the nonsense rhyme. This is why it is a masterpiece.

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