After the poem I wrote in my previous article, I realised that I had written my first poem exactly one and a half years later. Although I had been jotting down the rhymes and interesting words that came to mind from time to time, I had not written anything in that time.
The interesting thing is that a few days before I wrote my article, I had made a plan to write poetry on a monthly basis, and I had bought poetry books by master writers that I was curious to read. However, I did not know when I would write or when I would review the poems among all the writings. I am glad that I found the opportunity through this article.
Poetry is such an interesting literary genre for me that I can’t stop once I start. I want to try out so many different styles. However, at this stage in my life, when I enjoy writing more than reading, I have to admit that when it comes to poetry, I prefer to read.
For this reason I could not get away from this subject. I thought I should gradually move on to my other subjects, but first I felt like writing another article about poetry. This time I preferred to read about a subject that has stayed with me and that I would like to share with you.
Percy Bysshe Shelley/Selected Poems (left) — Edgar Allen Poe/The Raven (March ’22) — Novalis/Hymns to the Night (right) — Images by Author
As I was doing my research last night, I was reminded of a poem I last read two years ago. Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven”, a masterpiece that I am sure you all know and have read. Although many people turn up their noses at it because it has become part of popular culture, I assure you that is not the case.
Poe’s turbulent life was often not what we would call healthy. This must have been the reason why his poems were mainly about grief and sorrow. When he got away from it all and devoted himself to poetry, he must have felt good because he was able to continue writing and reflect on his inner thoughts. But The Raven had a completely different effect.
In addition to his stories, he has a very iconic style and poetic structure in his writing. Honestly, his poems are an example of what “poetry” means to me. When you read them, your tongue can get tangled up and you might have to look it up in a dictionary. Because he uses a repetitive, roundabout language, he makes you work hard to determine whether or not he is using the art of double entendre, which is very difficult to use but has a high quality effect. As far as I know he is not, but perhaps I have not yet discovered it. I think I will study the poem a few more times until I am sure.
For me, poetry is not only about expressing emotions, but also about being able to construct your clever plans in the right way. When I came across poems that I didn’t think were like that, I found them meaningless. On the contrary, I couldn’t understand poems that used words effectively.
Perhaps the problem was all in me, or perhaps I was unable to grasp the spirit of the times. In short, practice is important for both writing and understanding. Poetry really is not a simple matter.
Photo by Michael Jerrard on Unsplash
Let’s get back to The Raven. I read it both in the original and in my own language, analysed the translations, looked at the rhythms, admired the rhymes and tried to understand the accents. It is possible to perceive some of these things in writing, at least in our own way. But there is also the other side of the poem, which was the real curiosity for me.
Do poems need vocal interpretation? Does it make a difference if the poem is read aloud? The reason I thought about this question was because I had to guess the emphasis of the words in my readings in both languages. Which words, or even syllables, should be emphasised so that they take on the shape that brings out the literary effect, reflects the emotional expression and helps to understand what is being said?
There are two things that come to mind when I ask this question. The first is to read the author’s commentary on the poem (if there is one), or the second is to analyse examples of oral interpretation of the poem. After reading The Raven for the first time, I listened to several people’s renditions of it, including Sir Christopher Lee’s version, which is truly exquisite, authentic and even legendary. You will understand better what I mean when you hear his version of the poem.
Obviously my interpretation and the one I heard were different. Well, what is described in the poem doesn’t evoke the same feeling in everyone, that’s for sure. But since it is a literary genre and is constructed according to certain rules, shouldn’t it be read in a homogeneous way? My answer was no, but I was not sure.
Instead of looking for comments to support my own answer, I thought about why the opposite answer might not suffice, and a favourite example came to mind. Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, which I mentioned in one of my previous articles, came to my aid here.
“To be or not to be, that is the question!”
Everyone knows this verse. Now say it out loud and notice where you put the emphasis. Which syllable or word did you emphasise? Say it a few more times and see if it has changed.
Perhaps it would be better to ask the question: why does the emphasis seem to be in different places?
So let us try to understand by analysing this most famous verse of his work, written a few years after the death of his son.
The emphasis in “to be” is on life, in “or” on the fact that an idea opposite to “to be” (life) will later gain importance, and in “not to be” on the fact that death is important. The part with the emphasis on “the” tells us that, while the importance of both is increasing, nothing specifically else matters except this question itself. The emphasis on “that” is an exclamation and indicates a repetitive structure by referring back to the first part of the sentence.
As we can see, a structure has been built, each of which can have a different meaning. Isn’t that clever? The point is to think about where the emphasis might be. To understand the poem is to capture what the poem is trying to express. That is the question! This is why poems do not lend themselves to transmission in a single version.
There is a video I really like that touches on this. I think you’ll like it. It also has a surprise ending.
Photo by Matthew LeJune on Unsplash
Now it is a fact that poetry is not like prose. It has a more charming, independent and rebellious attitude. How can we tell? Sentences that end abruptly, words that at first sight seem to have no meaning, and styles that may not fit into patterns as well as rhyme can help to answer this question. Of course, there is also a difference between the aesthetic stretch that occurs when we listen to/interpret poetry and what we see in the text.
In fact, this was the source of my question. When poetry is interpreted (verbalised), it evolves to a different point. Because when we look at the poem as a text, what we focus on can be more of a logical and arithmetical context.
For example, we often pay attention to metres. But there are so many different metres that they are no longer just a matter of the author’s thoughts or the structure of his language. They are enriched by personal additions made when translating into another language, or by the local culture and the prominent works of the time. If you want to go crazy about the subject, you will better understand what I mean by following this link.
On the other hand, poetry interpreted verbally takes on an aesthetic form. Your voice gets louder in a quotation expressing enthusiasm or anger, your heart sinks in a sad passage and you sigh deeply in the embrace of lovers at last reunited. By using various literary devices, you can create both a musical and a theatrical atmosphere (with facial expressions and gestures, if used). Perhaps rhyme and meter disappear for a moment at such moments. The focus is now on how the performer is able to convey emotion and influence the listener.
As we mentioned, you can’t do that in prose. Not in a science fiction novel, not in an autobiography, not in a travelogue. What poetry conveys, and especially its verbal performance, can. That is why poetry is magic. Because it has its own voice, and that voice is different for everyone who reads it.
If you are not at peace with poetry, then you have probably not come across the right poem. The good thing is that poetry is one of the most universal tools for conveying all kinds of feelings and thoughts in different styles. So I am sure there is a poet, a poem or a style out there that suits you. Stick with poetry.
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