3 Tips for Learning to Love Poetry

Many people who had unappetizing initial experiences with poetry in their early schooling may tend to shy away from reading poetry. When poetry is taught as something that needs to be systematically deciphered and analyzed to get the proper meaning out of it, it can really turn people off to the pursuit.

So for those of us who are stuck in the house all day, now’s a good time to try a poetry reading that has a more open and inclusive objective — where there is no totally right or wrong interpretation and stress free exploration is the goal.

3 tips to help you (and your kids!) to learn to love poetry again (if you don’t already) consist of the following:

1. Don’t over analyze—While the structure of the poem is extremely important, for folks who are just starting to get interested in poetry, all the talk of iambic pentameter, meter, and form can get a bit dry and boring. If you feel like you must “get it” or that you’re going to have to pass a test afterward, it puts on too much pressure. So just let the poem wash over you. You can always go back later and discuss the parts that don’t initially make sense.
2. Try to visualize as you read (or listen)—Imagine the setting (outdoors? indoors? daytime? nighttime? etc…). What colors do you see? What does the speaker look like? There aren’t always specific answers so just let your imagination run free.
3. Read a wide variety of poetry—While classical poets like William Shakespeare and Robert Frost are well known and quoted, they obviously aren’t going to be to everyone’s liking. The actual world of poetry is enormous so don’t be discouraged if you don’t find something you like right away. Keep reading with an open mind and something will eventually speak to you.

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