Learning to Understand Poetry
28 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in authors, book thoughts
I delved into poetry in high school. One author we read often was John Donne. At the time, I
found his poetry extremely hard to understand and harsh in tone. So, I wrote him off as a poet I would
never comprehend and left it at that. I also wrote off poetry. I could comprehend prose better and stuck
with that.
About four years later, I came across a HBO movie
Wit starring Emma Thompson. This movie
describes what it is like to die from cancer. The loneliness, the desire to interact with others, the ultimate fear
of death. Well, the person dying from this horrible disease was a Doctor of Philosophy specializing in
the metaphysical poetry of John Donne. Throughout the movie she recites the Holy Sonnets focusing
on Holy Sonnet VI.
Listening to the poem, rather than reading it myself brought it to life for me. I could hear the tone John
Donne was setting. I could sense the dread of facing death. I could feel the relief that “Death is just a
breath, a pause between life and life everlasting” (Wit)
This new-found understanding of John Donne made me want to find more of his poetry, in particular
his Holy Sonnets. They became prayers to me. I was able to find more of his Holy Sonnets in my
prayer books.
While John Donne is still very difficult to understand properly, I have come to appreciate his work even
more. By understanding how to read poetry, I hope to gain a deeper appreciation for the art that is
poetry and fall in love with it even more.
Like this:
Has a book ever brought you to tears?
15 Oct 2011 4 Comments
Oh yes. Most of the books I read tend to be emotionally engaging and require tissues by my side. I find that if a book does not engage me emotionally or intellectually, I cannot read it. If it engages me emotioally, it is hard to put down. A couple of the books I have read recently that have brought me to tears are Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers and Until We Meet Again.
I leave this open to my dear sister bloggers to continue 
~Camille
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