'Anxiety of Influence' by Harold Bloom is the book in which the author presents the idea of poetic influence as an imperative in creating a poem. Poets stick to settled methods of writing, which appeared in the literary works of their predecessors. In another words, poets are rarely revolutionary when it comes to bringing new ideas of writing to literature and introducing new themes in their poems. What inspired a poet more than reading one great piece belonging to a literary canon? Writers don't want to be forgotten, which is possible only if their literary work is accepted by the reader. That is why authors have to establish the communication with reader, the easiest and the most effective way for which is to write in a way which readers are used to. The reader response theory deals with reader's 'horizon of expectations', which is filled up when reader's accepting a particular piece of literature. That means the author's intention to reach it was successful. “According to Jauss, the reader approaches a text armed with the knowledge and experience gained from interactions with other texts. These earlier texts arouse familiarity for the reader based on expectations and rules of genre and style.”
How is Bloom’s theory of influence connected to Keats and his ‘Ode on a Grecian urn’? As indicated by its title, Keats’s poem and Keats himself was influenced by Greek culture, which is confirmed in a further reading of the poem, when Keats mentions Arcadia and gods in the following lines: In Tempe or the dales of Arcady/ What men or gods are these?. It is generally known that Greek religion was based on polytheism and Arcadia is the province of Ancient Greece, in which were localized scenes from many pastoral poems.
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...s being anxious. Every deep reader is an Idiot Questioner.” Sometimes everyone has difficulties in understanding poetry. We are anxious for not knowing the message which the author addressed to us. We are constantly seeking the answers and reject not knowing the truth. It is that way in every aspect of our lives and is the part of human nature. Why is that so? Maybe because there are so many things to search the answer for and plenty of them to admire to. In another words, beauty is everywhere, as Keats says in one of many of his letters to Fanny Brawne: “I have loved the principle of beauty in all things”. Lester Burnham, the protagonist of ‘American Beauty’, says something similar in his monologue at the end of the film: “It's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. “ The world is enigmatic and therefore beautiful. The same is with the poetry.
Poetry is something that is to be read delicately and cautiously if one wanted to find meaning through the words. Readers have to be gentle and patiently ponder about what they are reading in order to find any significance in the poem. If someone is not patient with reading, they will not feel impacted by poetry and will not want to read it. In Billy Collins’, “Introduction to Poetry,” he uses figurative language to help readers see that the way to enjoy and understand poetry is by reading between the lines and being patient with how each individual relates to the readings.
Poetry has a way of making us feel every range of emotion, in some cases better than other forms of entertainment. Unlike a novel, which gives a wide field of vision on any subject, poems have a more focused look mostly on the raw emotion of any one topic. Understanding poetry is an art onto itself, to be able to peel back the words and feel the emotions within them is truly its own work. Harder yet is the ability to dissect and explain these ideas to another person (in this case through an essay)and have them feel and see the poem and the topic it brings to light in the same way that you do. The poem that we will explore is powerful and thought provoking, because it brings the ugly subject of oppression to the front of your mind and forces you to engage in a conversation that you have no control over. It makes you feel hopeless and angry at the same time. In the poem Unwanted by Edward Field we are going to explore the parts of the poem but mainly we will
Poetry is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities; it is solely used to evoke emotive feelings in the reader in which to convey a message or story. This form of literature has a long history dating back thousands of years and is considered a literacy art form as it uses forms and conventions to evoke differentiating interpretations of words, though the use of poetic devices. Devices such as assonance, figurative language, alliteration, onomatopoeia and rhythm are sometimes used to achieve a musical and memorable aspect to the poem. Poems are usually written based on the past experiences of the poet and are greatly influenced by the writer’s morals values and beliefs. Poetry regularly demonstrates and emphasises on the
Poetry is more than just a correlation of words; poetry contains power. Poetry works by sculpting the English language in such a way that it produces sound, while endeavoring to recreate experiences. I really grasped this concept when we read Dulcem Et Decorum Est, by Wilfred Owen. Among other things, this poem contains haunting imagery, and a rhythm that produces the sound of being in the trenches. While reading this poem, Wilfred Owen’s words made me fearful and paranoid. The slightest sound could hold my attention. I also noticed how silent the room felt after we finished the poem. We were all struck and disturbed by the old phrase Dulcem Et Decorum Est.
The definition of poetry, instead of becoming more selective and exact, has become a much more broad and open minded classification of literature. From It's beginning's in romanticist Puritan literature, to its more modernistic function on present society, poetry has become a way to blend the psychological side of human intellect, with the emotional side of human intuition and curiosity. Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman were two early poets from the late 19th century. Unlike Walt, Emily liked to write at home, she was a more secluded author who enjoyed to look out the window for inspiration. Walt on the other hand loved to travel. He found inspiration through nature and the diversity of thriving cultures throughout the world. Although these writers found inspiration from two different methods, their poems have distinct similarities in theme, images, and main ideas.
A precritical response to any literature can be loosely defined as the initial raw, emotional reaction to the piece. The feeling of confusion, disgust, impassiveness, or pure joy can follow any reading. On the other hand, a critical response is a critical evaluation or, more specifically, an intellectual response to a piece of literature. Critically thinking about a piece of literature involves taking the work and breaking it down into different parts, thus aiding in understanding the work and specific parts of it to the work as a whole. However, this is easier said than done. Being able to think critically about a text takes a vast knowledge of literature and a keen eye to recognize patterns, and each form comes with its own difficulties when it comes to breaking the text down. Large texts make it harder to look back for evidence, and sometimes while reading with one frame of mind, key themes and ideas can be missed. Poems, on the other hand, can be vague and extremely difficult to pick apart. Poets rely on figurative language to make seemingly random word choices make sense within the right context, and having a vast knowledge of literature becomes essential when reading poetry because one never knows when an allusion can make all the difference. Anthony Hecht’s poem The Dover Bitch provides a good example of how figurative language and knowledge of a previous literary work can interfere with one’s precritical and critical response creating a situation wherein experiencing the poem as an emotional and intellectual work of art is nearly nonexistent.
In the poem Beauty and Variations by Kenny Fries he discusses the topic of beauty, and how the impact of beauty standards causes variations within an individual. To describe to his readers’ the impact that beauty has he uses stanzas to organize his writing to start the reader with a broad meaning to an in depth story between two individuals, with one that is fighting against beauty and variations, and the other person helping the other person to overcome these standards and variations. Fries uses phrases to express a relation of a circumstance called an adverb. The adverbs are used to show the aggressiveness of overcoming beauty standards, and its variations. He also uses the formation of mental images known as imagery to the meaning of his
Poetry is a versatile avenue from which waves or ripples can be made potentially. A writer of poetry has the ability to make their readers feel a while wide array of emotions and situations synonymous with the human condition. I, at first, was completely turned off to the idea of poetry at first because all I was exposed to early on by way of poetry were bland professions of love or lust or seemingly simple poems I was forced to process down to a fine word paste. Edgar Allan Poe was interesting, but it was a tad bit dry to me. But, after reading poems the Harlem Renaissance gave me a bit of hope for poetry. To me, the poetry written during that time period has a certain allure to it. They have serious depth and meaning that I, myself and empathize
This poem helps us to recognize and appreciate beauty through its dream sequence and symbolism. The poem opens with the Dreamer describing this
He describes beauty as delicate and rare, unable to be established. He focuses on the lightheartedness of young girls, how they are caught up in beauty, and he warns them to be conscientious of the fact that their beauty will fade and that they cannot put all their hope on their beauty. At the same time, he encourages them to "practice" their beauty until it is gone, and he promises to celebrate that beauty as best he can, with all its value and frailty.
Accept that answer, just as it is given to you, without trying to interpret it. Perhaps you will discover that you are called to be an artist”. Rilke tells the young poet to look into himself, into his past and recognize what made him create without really understanding what it was(“without trying to interpret it”), but understand it internally. In like manner, on pages 147-148 of “Black Swan Green”, Madame Crommelynck tells Jason,“But the master knows his words is just the vehicle in who beauty sits. The master knows he does not know what beauty is”. She tells that a true poet would know internally why they create but would not know what it was that sits in the vehicle that drives their work. Comparably, both statements follow the idea that “beauty is immune to definition. When beauty is present, you
When reading or listening to poetry, the main objective for me is to feel moved. Happiness, longing, sadness are some of the feelings that can be achieved just by listening to others’ words. It is within these words that creates another world, or separates us from our own. Words all have a certain kind of attachment to them, so if used properly an author can stimulate a reader beyond belief.
...laws and all. The Harlem Dancer, McKay illustrates the scenery and admires the beauty of a prostitute as she puts on a show for the crowd, though he knows she is hiding her true feelings with smiles. Both views on the women are rare thoughts, being that other people don’t usually see the way these two poets illustrate. Beauty isn’t about having a pretty face. It’s about having a pretty mind, pretty heart, and most importantly, a beautiful soul.
-Wasserman, Earl. "Chapter Two: Discussions of Particular Poems "The Ode to a Grecian Urn"." Twentieth Century Views Keats A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Walter Jackson Bate. New Jersey:
During the time-period when they authored this essay, the commonly held notion amongst people was that “In order to judge the poet’s performance, we must know what he intended.”, and this notion led to what is termed the ‘Intentional fallacy’. However, Wimsatt and Beardsley argue that the intention, i.e., the design or plan in the author’s mind, of the author is neither available nor desirable for judging the success of a work of literary art. It is not available because the author will most certainly not be beside the reader when he/she reads the text, and not desirable because intention as mentioned already is nothing but the author’s attitude towards his work, the way he felt while writing the text and what made him write that particular piece of writing and these factors might distract the reader from deciphering the meaning from the text. This method of reading a text without any biographical or historical background of either the poem or the poet practiced by the New Critics was known as ‘Closed Reading’. This stemmed from their belief in the autonomy of the text.