if the poets give.. - Writers Forum

jasmin · 05-12-2006, 07:46 AM

sometimes i cant grasp what the poem says actually,would it not be good if the poet gives a bit explaination of the poem while posting it on forum

......thanks

nae411 · 05-12-2006, 07:54 AM

Most people feel if you have to explain a poem it is not working. Poetry should interpret itself, even if it has different meanings to different people. Sometimes a poet will give a brief description at the end and readers get upset because they were not able to feel it on their own. I guess it is just a matter of opinion. I have on one occassion left a brief note on one of mine but it was to make sure they saw the not so obvious. I got very mixed reviews from readers.

mammamaia · 05-12-2006, 06:24 PM

ditto nae's post... i agree with all... m

patthager · 05-12-2006, 06:52 PM

Poetry is like a mystery novel, it's better if you have to think

mammamaia · 05-12-2006, 07:46 PM

it's best, when it causes you to think... but, if you have to think hard, just to guess what it means, then it's not working...

patthager · 05-12-2006, 10:17 PM

If you read a long novel you'll find you cant 'suggest' that a reader thinks (if that what you mean by 'cause') for to long and keep them engrossed. When you write a novle you have to require thought, to a point of course.

jasmin · 05-13-2006, 05:42 AM

thanks nae,mammamia n pat...so the beauty of poetry lies in mystry...i better ask where i got stucked from the author

mammamaia · 05-13-2006, 05:47 PM

pat... i was referring only to poetry... sorry i didn't make that clear...

jasmin... that's not what nae and i are saying... just the opposite, in fact... 'mystery' would be if wording is so vague or fancified that you can't tell what a poem means... the word-art of the best poets throughout history is easily understood... you don't have to work at figuring out what their poems mean or untangle scrambled syntax...

concepts and images beautifully/artfully/coherently word-crafted certainly makes a good poem... but fancy words crammed into fancy phrases that make no sense, doesn't...

there may be parts of a poem that some readers don't get readily, if their vocabulary isn't up to par, or they're short on life/reading experience... that's to be expected... but the overall premise of a poem and most of the wording at least, should be easily understood by the majority of readers, without having to ask for clarification...

and i've probably over-clarified by now, right? ... so, i'll shut up and silently steal away... and go write another poem...

hugs, m

jasmin · 05-16-2006, 06:31 AM

yes mam u`ve very beautifully explaind that poetry should please by a fine excess and not by singularity.It should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts,and appear almost as remembrance.
iIremember a saying ,`The worst tragedy for a poet is to be admired through being misunderstood.Jean Cocteau`
warm regards