Tea Chat: Poem? Ugh! – Appreciating Poetry

Hi guys,

I'd like to experiment with coming here to have a chat with you, my friends and readers of this blog from time to time. (So help me God).

So let's get to this. Don't know if it's just me but some times,you find that people who read loads of novels and what-not come back to say they don't understand a poem. I've been getting such comments from people when they come here. I do appreciate the feedbacks (keep them coming). Poetry, being a condensed form of expressing emotion or ideas, might not be so easy to appreciate like a novel or drama.

Here are some things that can help in appreciating poem

1. Read the poem out loud. The sound quality of the poem comes alive when you do this. 

2. Read it more than once. I'm sure you'd have missed some things the first time.

3. Try visualize the images and idea of the poem. 

4. Think about the theme and the poet. You might be able to connect what the poet is saying and something in life or the poet's life.

5. Arts can be explained in more than one way. Don't rush it, listen to the sounds, let the mental images settle in. 

There you go. Over time, this should help have a better appreciation of a poem. Let me know what you think guys. If there's something I missed or you don't agree with,do comment and let's talk about it.
Cheers.

– @feanad