Monday, August 18, 2008

How do I relate Kubla Khan?

Poetry has an unidentified pattern to describe it. In fact, it has different interpretations to analyse its structure. Poetry is more than a group of well ordered words. In this description, the poem Kubla Khan is a example about how poetry is covered by explanations which are more profound than the poem itself.

According to those extracts, this poem is a description of subtle and "external nature" which is an important part in it, because of its romantics roots. On the ther hand, it is not a simple poem, it is not a clear and accessible creation, which is a contradiction according to the second extract, because it is not simple enough. At the same time, I believe that poetry is not written for people it is written by people for themsleves as an ego-exercise, in other words, the third comment it is an example about how we have to support our comments despite of our own preferences, that is an element that poetry gives us to consider as future teachers.

2 comments:

Claudia Trajtemberg said...

Hi George,
You are very right in that poetry has different meanings to different people. Interpretations vary depending on who reads what and when. Also, your criticism about how much we try to explain a poem or interpret it, even going beyond the poem is very valid. Coleridge believed his poetry was simple, but for the reader it might not be so as you very well expressed it in your analysis. So, clearly, his desire to write simple was somehow contradicted by his own writing. Very true.
Your idea of poets as egocentric is powerful. Don´t you think that people always write having in mind that somebody will read their writings? Are we not implicit readers in a secret pact between the writer and ourselves? Would a poem be a poem unless it is read? And, yes, teaching poetry requires an open mind to accept that everybody experiences it differently.
Great job!!
Claudia

Patricia Morgado said...

Hello my dear friend. I would like to say to you that your comment is very deep and I agree with you when you wrote something like poetry is more than put words in order because we should not forget that poetry is a way to express our feelings or thoughts in a deep and interesting way.