How to Study Poetry

The world of poetry is a vast and diverse one that spans centuries and includes many fascinating poets. Because poetry is so expansive, however, studying poetry can seem like a daunting task. It's difficult to know where to start or what to study. Here are some tips that will help you study poetry.

Instructions

1. Know your history. Whether you are studying one particular poetry movement or the history of poetry as a whole, having a working knowledge of the historical events that took place at the time the poetry was written will help you understand the poetry better. A lot of poetry was and is influenced by political and social trends so being aware of these influences will give you a better comprehension of the poetry and what inspired it.

2. Break it down. Studying poetry will be a much more manageable task if you break it down into smaller sections instead of trying to just study everything there is to know about poetry all together. There are a few different ways you can do this. The most obvious choice would be to study different poetic movements, like separating the Romantic poets from the beat poets. If you are interested in poetry and literature from a particular part of the globe, you can also choose to study poetry only from that part of the world.

3. Read poems more than once. No matter how simple or straightforward a poem might seem during your initial read-through, there are bound to be nuances and meanings that you will understand better by reading it through several times instead of just once. By reading the poem thoroughly, you are allowing yourself to take in the poem's message as a whole, and you will be more likely to pick up on subtle writing devices that the poet is using and to better understand the poet's style of writing.

4. Be open-minded and objective. Even if you are an avid poetry fan there are bound to be poets or whole movements during the history of poetry whose style and inspirations you just don't like as much as you like some others. Even if you don't like the overall style of writing of the beat poets of the 1940s, for example, give their poems the same consideration and time during your study that you give all other time periods of poetry. Though the beat poets' writing style might not be your favorite, their inspirations were still heartfelt and their contributions to poetry were still significant. Reading many different styles of poetry, even some you don't particularly like, will help you appreciate poetry as an art form and a literary style.

5. Explore multiple formats. Many people shy away from studying poetry initially because they think that they will be bored by poem after poem in a book, but the truth is that poetry exists in many forms. Explore your options to see and hear poetry performed and displayed in multiple ways. Try listening to audio recordings of famous poems; many of these have sound effects added and celebrities reading the pieces to make the exciting. Many modern poets can be seen doing readings of their works and some bookstores and coffee shops have events devoted to poetry where poetry fans take turns reading their favorite classic poems allowed. Look into all of these venues and experience poetry in every way that you can. This will allow poetry to come to life for you and help you understand it better.

Resources

• Find a complete history of poetry at poetry.org.
• Download study guides