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Mostly this question is directed at our prolific poet Leavaros, but anybody else who knows anything about poetry can help blaugh

Basically, I would like to know how to read poetry, especially confusing Shakespeare. I know there is a method. The cute guy on TV said so. By hearing just a few minutes of the movie The Prince & Me, I understand more on how to understand poetry than ever. I even found the quote for you ^_^



Eddie: [reading Shakespeare's 148 sonnet] "O me! What eyes hath love put in my head/ Which have no correspondence with true sight?/ Or if they have where is my judgment fled/ That censures falsely what they see aright?" It's beautiful.
Paige: It's gibberish. I have no idea what he's saying.
Eddie: Well, he's saying that love is magical, and that it makes people look at each other in an unspoiled way, without judgment.
Paige: Why doesn't he just say that? Why can't people just say what they mean?
Eddie: Well, people rarely say what they mean. That's the interesting part, is... is what's going on underneath the surface. See, take line. The sun itself sees not until heaven clears. What does that mean to you?
Paige: That the sun can't shine when it's cloudy.
Eddie: No. You're being too literal. See, don't just go for the obvious. See, all these words, they have multiple meanings, and you have to explore the possibilities and then make your choice. See, like the word "sun", that could mean the actual sun, or it can mean light. But then "light" can mean knowledge or reason.
Paige: That could go on forever.
Eddie: Yes. Yes, it could. But I think in this case it means reason. And then "heaven" may refer to the pearly gates, or it could mean a state of being, you know, like being happy or in love. So now read it again, taking in all the possibilities, and tell me what you think it means.
Paige: The sun itself sees not until heaven clears. I guess it means that love blinds you. And when you're in love, you can't think reasonably.
Eddie: Do you agree?
Paige: Yeah... I mean, it's just a poem.
Eddie: Yeah... Yeah, it's just a poem.


So, now I want to see what y'all poet people have to say on how to read "gibberish" poetry. Go ahead and use examples of poetry, your own if you want. Be vain, I don't care. Just help Glory understand to pretty words ;_;

Glory,

To you, I will say what I have always said, in that poetry does not have to be gibberish at all to be poetry, and will remind you that the sonnet by Shakespeare is a single piece of a much larger thing--like a page is a part of a book--and so, we can't really draw many conclusions until we understand his style.

Of course, I would simply like poets to say what they mean to say with as few extended metaphors as possible, condensing the meaning rather than diluting it--the latter is what Shakespeare did--and making short, powerful pieces about something the writer has a passion for.

It isn't always easy to read poetry--I think the hardest one of mine to read is "Celestia"--because sometimes poets leave too much out and use additives to try and replace the things that give the poem the profound simplicity that makes it a poem. Unfortunately, these are the poets who are worshiped by English teachers everywhere.

So, Glory, I cannot in good conscience, give you a guide to reading poetry, because it is different for each and every person, and I've never been very good at teaching anyone anything. (Ask any of my friends.)

What I can suggest is that you get to know the author before reading the poetry--though this cannot always be done--because it makes it easier to assess what he or she is saying. Read lots of poetry, and develop your own style. Write poetry, because it's good--and because once you start writing poetry, you'll begin to develop empathy for poets, being one yourself. Find universal meanings, and store these in the back of your mind.

It isn't advice--no one can advise you on how to read poetry!--but it's a good start, and a better one than I had.

I hope this helps.

Love and Vale,
~Valens

I have to agree: not caring too much about poetry is essential to its enjoyment.
-Valens

As do I. In fact, when I was young, I prefered puzzles to trains and cars as my method to having fun. I was three wen I did my first 300 piece puzzle, a remarkable feat for a child, especially one such as I....

I suppose dissembling puzzle of all sorts is natural to me, be they literal, physical, or a more challenging mix of the two, usually in the form of figuring people out, adding clues together to form different facets of a person's life. That's why I never really got interested in Mystery: I could always figure out the villain through the way the author portrayed them, and the subtle hints along the way. It bored me.

Love and Vale,
-LD

Glory,

First, pie is good.

Now with that out of my way, I know exactly what you mean. I guess that is part of Hobb's charm for me. She lays out such complex characters that I can't think of any of them as evil--not even Regal. Even when the characters come into conflict, there's usually a lot of buildup where you know who's who and what's what to a certain degree, but do to certain restraints, very little can be done about it.

The real mystery behind the masterpieces of Hobb are not the whos and the whats, but the whens the whys and the hows.

Which is why they are so difficult to decipher without simply reading them. They are...so different. So wonderful!

Love and Vale,
~Leavaros Dapple

okay mabeye not that sonnet cause i am still in the midst of reading all of his stuff and i have yet to read that one so just again keep a dictionary nearby it tends to help!