Teaching Poetry

This paper examines various studies and arguments that give reasons why many students, and also teachers, feel dislike toward the subject of poetry. Next, the concept of poetry interpretation is explored, and various experts give advice on how to get students to develop the best possible interpretations, including the possibility of using schools of criticism. The paper then establishes the connection between poetry interpretation and poetry writing. It also looks at the importance of creativity, and gives suggestions for cultivating this in students. Methods are then explored for getting students to not only write good poetry, but enjoy writing it.

Keywords: Literary Criticism; National Education Association (NEA); New Criticism; New Historical Criticism; Poetry Interpretation

Overview

Teacher & Student Attitudes Toward Poetry

Considering its prominent if not central position in cultures and civilizations of the past several thousand years, poetry's place in today's society seems peripheral and inessential. Perhaps the rise of science and technology in the last century has caused a decline in poetry's cultural importance, but whatever the reasons, most students today would most likely express the opinion that poetry is old-fashioned and outdated, and that poetry has very little importance in the modern world. Studies show that both teachers and students generally feel aversion toward the study of poetry. According to a survey conducted by Ray (1999), a majority of high school teachers expressed fear of teaching poetry, and reported feelings of inhibition over teaching poetry. She observes that "in some cases, [teachers] could not see the purpose of [poetry]" (p. 405).

Of course, if teachers feel this way, what should we expect students to feel toward the study of poetry? Ray's study also included a survey of high school students, and found that, "the teachers' feelings were reflected in pupil attitudes to poetry: 84 per cent of the pupils did not like poetry" (1999, p. 405). Thus, from the outset, most students feel dislike toward the study of poetry, and that makes the teaching of poetry much more difficult. Young (2007) makes the important observation that "cultural attitudes are often dismissive of poetry" (p. 50), and cites a survey carried out by the National Education Association (NEA). The survey revealed that roughly only 12% of society ever chooses to read poetry. Young describes the bias that a majority of students feel:

In classrooms across the United States - even at the college level - too many students mirror these cultural beliefs in their comments: "poetry is deep," "poetry is dark and mysterious," "I just don't 'get' poetry," and "all poets are depressed and wear black." These are just a few examples of the faulty logic that haunts my classroom every fall. Teaching poetry effectively, then, means not only bringing it to life but also getting past the stereotypes that imprison students' creativity (2007, p. 50).

Reasons for Adverse Attitudes

There are various additional factors that most likely have an adverse effect on teaching poetry. Peskin, Allen and Wells-Jopling (2010) point out that mistaken beliefs and perceptions about teaching poetry may partly create negative attitudes in teachers and students alike. According to Peskin et al., some teachers misperceive the idea that poetry has a quite subjective and personal nature. This perspective, if taken to an extreme, means students can only acquire an understanding of poetry through their own silent and unexpressed perceptions. In other words, some teachers believe that understanding poetry comes naturally to some students and is simply not accessible to others. Many teachers complain that they were never given any instruction in how to teach poetry to students, and they should have had some training on this in their degree programs. They conclude that "lack of experience, lack of preparation, and lack of confidence quickly add up to lack of interest if not complete apathy [toward poetry]" (2010, p. 498).

Ray's survey brings out a related point. According to responses to her survey, those who are supposed to teach students about poetry complained that in their own experience as students, "they were 'taught' poetry rather than shown how to enjoy or appreciate it" (p. 407). Thus, they were instructed in a way that dictated to them what they should think about a poem, rather than led to their own understandings of what a poem means. Such a method of instruction may be due to teachers concentrating too much on exam responses. As Ray puts it, "teachers are anxious that pupils should produce the model answer rather than expressing their own opinions, which might not coincide with the accepted version" (p. 407). She notes that allowing students to reach their own interpretations does present its own problems with assessment, and expresses concern that allowing completely subjective interpretations of poetry "could bring about such difficulties in assessment and marking that poetry might disappear from the English curriculum altogether" (p. 412).

Wrigg (1991) notes that, perhaps because teachers have never had any training in effective methods for teaching poetry, and possibly out of "sheer desperation," some teachers force students to memorize and recite poems in the classroom. When the method of forcing memorization fails, "there is always the dubious practice of rebuking students for indifference toward a subject that in some mystical way is supposedly good for their souls. If negative attitudes are not already existent, they certainly will be before these questionable practices have run their course" (1991, p. 252).

Appreciation vs. Enjoyment

According to Ray's survey results, many teachers experienced positive or at least neutral "recollections about poetry during their own primary school years but largely negative attitudes towards poetry at secondary level" (1999, p. 404). Although she does not make a direct connection between the teaching differences that may have existed during primary and secondary school, it seems likely that grade school teachers are more inclined to read poetry with students for simple enjoyment, whereas high school teachers are probably more inclined to study poetry in a more intellectually rigorous way. Ray makes a distinction between the ideas of "enjoyment" and "appreciation," citing Wittgenstein (1996) who defines enjoyment as "an immediate, emotional response to a work of art or literature while appreciation requires a degree of knowledge" (p. 412). Ray proposes that,

…positive steps would be to clear up the confusions between 'enjoyment' and 'appreciation' and make them explicit; to give pupils the language with which to discuss and evaluate poetry; to guide pupils through the articulation of their own responses, and to relate those responses to the body of knowledge inherent in the subject of literature (1999, p. 412).

Ray argues that "appreciation" is a more complex view of poetry, requiring a deeper understanding of its many aspects. Appreciation takes knowledge of literary nomenclature, such as meter, rhyme, antithesis, imagery, etc., and the ability to use these concepts in critical analysis. Thus, students must become adept in using the tools of literary criticism if they are to increase their appreciation of poetry. Also, a more complex understanding of poetry should include knowledge of historical circumstances and literary movements. Peskin et al. (2010) distinguishe between "formalist" and "populist" perspectives on teaching poetry, but it seems these terms are essentially the same as Ray's distinction of "enjoyment" and "appreciation." As Peskin observes,

the formalists emphasized stylistic devices, rhyme, meter, and literary allusion, possibly at the expense of personal engagement, whereas the populists viewed texts to be played with, at the expense of the development of critical literacy. The challenge for teachers is to somehow engender critical rigor and literacy while fostering engagement (2010, p. 506).

To teach poetry effectively in the classroom, teachers need to consider the various answers to the question, why do students and teachers generally feel aversion toward poetry? Wrigg (1991) argues that there is "nothing intrinsic in the nature of poetry to explain its repugnance to many students. On the contrary, the cadence and meter of poetry should contribute to its appreciation, and its rhythmic quality can be the catalyst through which a response is struck among students" (p. 252). He concludes that "rarely does the heart of the problem lie in the subject matter itself but rather in the unimaginative and ineffective way that it's presented" (p. 252). This leads us to the most important question for the classroom: How should a poetry course be taught such that students enjoy the course while learning about the subject in a more complex way? Essentially, teachers should endeavor to deepen students' appreciation of a poem without damaging their enjoyment of that poem or, as Peskin would put it, teachers should foster engagement while engendering critical rigor and literacy.

Applications

Interpretation of Poetry

Poetry can be studied in the classroom in two fundamental directions, that of reading/interpreting poetry, and that of writing/creating poetry. Both of these directions should be taken in the classroom, though a teacher should probably emphasize one of the two directions depending on whether the poetry course is conceived as a survey of poetry or as a creative writing course intended help students write their own poetry.

Ediger (2003) argues that reading poetry should emphasize understanding the poem as a whole, and suggests that the first step in interpreting a poem is to simply read it aloud before beginning to analyze it. However, some background information should be given before the reading; "holism in poetry reading needs to stress providing background information to pupils prior to the read aloud" (p. 165). Ediger reasons that background information helps to make students ready for listening to the poem. But what should be considered relevant background information, and can too much background overshadow a poem? In recent decades, the use of historical context has been a growing trend, and Ulin (2007) observes that the recent editions of collegiate poetry anthologies have included a lot of historical documents and commentaries on historical periods and movements. However, historical considerations may create a disadvantage:

Confronted with 20 to 30 or more sleepy students with little historical background and no theoretical sophistication, most of them intent only on satisfying some irksome humanities requirement, we may find ourselves envying the hermetic clarity of the New Critical classroom (Ulin, 2007, p. 70).

New Criticism

New Criticism is essentially a method of interpreting poetry in which the teacher and students ignore the reader's response, the author's intention, and any historical as well as cultural contexts. New Criticism particularly emphasizes the use of literary devices in a text, and some professors consider this the most objective approach to literature. Though he does not use the term New Criticism, Peskin et al. (2010) seem to promote some of the basic principles that come from the New Criticism school. They explain that, "for readers to understand the nature and content of what they are reading, the readers' own knowledge of literary conventions works in conjunction with their own imagination, leading to a personal interpretation of the writer's work, an interpretation that may or may not be close to the writer's original thought" (p. 499). Perhaps this method (or an even purer form of New Criticism) should be used as a technique for interpreting a poem, but it seems that students should have an understanding of the historical context as well.

New Historical Approach

Ulin argues that the "New Historical approach of assigning historical documents alongside literary texts will do much to help our students recognize the historical specificity of the poetry, drama, or fiction they are reading, but now the task becomes one of helping our students to understand the distinctly literary qualities that characterize a poem's engagement with its historical moment" (2007, p. 71). In other words, we should look at the poem's interaction with its place in history without letting the historical context overpower the meaning of the poem itself. If anthologies and teachers stress historical context too much, we run the risk of forgetting what is being studied. By overemphasis, teachers may create "an unbridged gap between the battles in the war and the psychic life of the poet creating the poem" (p. 72).

Revisions

Ulin suggests various methods for avoiding this, one of which is to examine a well-known poem's phases of revision. Among other advantages, Ulin argues that looking at revisions dispels "the myth of the perfect poem." Although some students may experience "a sense of loss" by pulling a poem down from its pedestal, that loss is often "redeemed by the student's own sense of cultural authority as he or she becomes a kind of arbiter among several possible poems" (2007, p. 73). To summarize, as teachers interpret poetry with students, they should probably use a variety of techniques to show the multifaceted reality that a poem represents.

Writing Poetry

Interpreting poetry and writing poetry have a common link, which is why Connor-Greene, Murdoch, Young and Paul (2005) have pointed out that "understanding and appreciating a creative work is itself a creative act" (p. 216). Poetry frequently uses surprising or unusual language, and the topic of a poem is also treated in unusual ways, such that readers must take creative steps to understand a poem (Connor-Greene, Murdoch, Young & Paul, 2005, p. 216). In short, creativity, which is at the heart of writing good poetry, is also at the heart of effectively interpreting poetry. Even though "virtually everyone of normal intelligence" can be creative, very few actually reach their true creative potential. They argue that there are three intellectual skills that comprise the act of creativity, and they conclude that poetry requires all these elements:

(a) synthetic ability, seeing problems in new ways and demonstrating unconventional thinking; (b) analytic ability, deciding which ideas are worth pursuing; and (c) practical contextual ability, knowing how to effectively communicate ideas to others … writing poetry makes use of all three of these intellectual skills, in both the writer composing the poem, and in the audience appreciating the writer's synthesis, analysis, and communication (p. 216).

Sargent (2006) suggests that the fundamental method to give students more confidence in writing poetry is "to let them realize that they have been writing and thinking creatively on a daily basis" (p. 67). He argues that students should be shown that they already have the skills needed, and they are only applying those skills to a new task. However, accomplishing this as a teacher "takes a little planning, and more than a little flexibility" (p. 67). Students who are challenged to create their own poetry perceive themselves "as active writers and thinkers, fostering future creative experimentation." Also, when teachers stress creativity in assignments, and evaluate students such that creativity is prized, students improve in their academic performance (Connor-Greene, Murdoch, Young & Paul, 2005, p. 216).

Welch (1991), an experienced poetry teacher, believes that many students have an adverse reaction to being assigned to write their own poems because "in the past new and scary terms have been attached to poetry, words like antithesis, onomatopoeia, and hyperbole" (p. 149). She advises teachers of poetry to demonstrate that these concepts are often already in use by students, since coming to literary terms in this way is much less frightening. The author points out that "it is far, far less threatening to hear: 'You just created a delightful bit of antithesis,' than to be faced with, 'this is antithesis, now go create your own'" (p. 149). If students see that they already have a sense for metaphor, alliteration, etc., then they quickly come to enjoy writing poetry.

Sargent uses techniques that show the relationship between poetry and other arts. For example, he uses as a creative writing assignment that students watch a powerful film scene that has "transference potential," then try to create poetry. He observes that, "film can provide the scaffolding upon which students can begin to form an understanding of the writing process — which, after all, is a microcosm of the creative process itself" (2006, p. 69). Students already like film and are well acquainted with the medium. He also suggests using music to experiment with writing poetry, while using visual art or paintings would probably work quite effectively as well.

However, with any of these types of assignments, teachers need to consider at length how to assess student assignments, or whether to assess them at all for a course grade. As some experts have pointed out, "it is easier to inhibit creativity than to facilitate it, and trying to 'get it right' can reduce one's willingness to experiment. Fear of failure or criticism interferes with creativity, whereas encouraging creative efforts leads to greater confidence" (Connor-Greene, et al., 2005, p. 217). They also point out that, while "an extensive body of psychological research addresses critical thinking … relatively little published work has focused on ways to enhance creative thinking (p. 215).

Viewpoints

Creativity in Education

It seems that creativity, though it is extremely important as a life skill, and essential to excelling in many careers, is often ignored in education. Sargent makes some important observations about the applicability of creativity:

Over and over, as I read the works of contemporary management theorists, I'm reminded of the experience of poetry — its varied levels of complexity, its insistence on multiple readings … a poem demands critical — and creative — thinking of any who would enter its world (2006, p. 68).

Creativity is difficult to assess because of its subjective nature, but it should still be included in poetry courses since the heart of poetry is creativity. Some researchers have argued that creativity is a quite difficult concept to teach because "the criteria used to measure creativity sometimes seem to trivialize it" (Connor-Greene, et al., 2005, p. 216). If teachers assign students to create their own poems, then students will discover the ways form, content, and expression interact. Students will learn how to tap into their own creative power. As Connor-Greene et al. point out, "creative thinking involves breaking typical patterns of thinking to perceive in a fresh way, to try something different, and to take an intellectual risk" (p. 215). Creativity often gets neglected in classroom assignments, but poetry is the perfect subject for teaching students to be more creative.

Ultimately, a poetry course should make students enjoy reading and writing poetry. Former American Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky certainly supported that position, and teachers should consider his comment about what's wrong with many poetry courses:

Too much of our teaching of poetry has proceeded as though the reason for a poem to exist is to have smart things said about it. Well, I like smart things, I approve of smart things, but a poem is not an occasion for saying smart things. A poem is something that sounds terrific when it is read aloud. That's the nature of the art. I think that school, alas, has inculcated the idea that a poem is something that makes you nervous, because it's a test to see if you're clever (cited in Kelly, 1999, 15).

Terms & Concepts

Literary Criticism: The formal study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Literary criticism is often grounded in various literary theories, such as New Criticism or New Historical Criticism.

National Education Association (NEA): A labor union and association that represents public school teachers as well as faculty and staff at colleges and universities. Among its many activities, the NEA carries out studies focused on education, and also advises teachers on best practices in education.

New Criticism: A method for evaluating and interpreting literature. This literary technique became popular from the 1950's onward, and it emphasizes making a close examination of a poem with minimum consideration of the biographical or historical circumstances in which it was produced.

New Historical Criticism: A method for evaluating and interpreting literature. This literary technique became popular in the 1980's, and aims to interpret a poem or other literary work by examining the historical context in which the work was written. Also, New Historical Criticism examines cultural and intellectual history through literature, so that literature becomes a history of ideas.

Poetry Interpretation: The act of using literary concepts and literary theory or criticism to analyze a poem so as to explain what a poem means, and how it means what it means.

Bibliography

Christopher, C. (2013). Poetry: Share it and shout it!. Practically Primary, 18, 4-6. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=88866784&site=ehost-live

Connor-Greene, P., Murdoch, J., Young, A., & Paul, C. (2005). Poetry: It's not just for English class anymore. Teaching of Psychology, 32, 215-221. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=18598837&site=ehost-live

Ediger, M. (2003). Exploring poetry: The reading and writing connection. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 30, 165-168. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=10164866&site=ehost-live

Kelly, S. (1999). An interview with … Robert Pinsky. Writer, 112, 18-20. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2407964&site=ehost-live

Lambirth, A., Smith, S., & Steele, S. (2012). 'Poetry is happening but I don't exactly know how': Literacy Subject Leaders' perceptions of poetry in their primary schools. Literacy, 46, 73-80. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=77602204&site=ehost-live

Lockney, K., & Proudfoot, K. (2013). Writing the unseen poem: Can the writing of poetry help to support pupils' engagement in the reading of poetry?. English in Education, 47, 147-162. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=88235585&site=ehost-live

Peskin, J., Allen, G., & Wells-Jopling, R. (2010). "The educated imagination": Applying instructional research to the teaching of symbolic interpretation of poetry. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53, 498-507. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=48376516&site=ehost-live

Ray, R. (1999). The diversity of poetry: How trainee teachers' perceptions affect their attitudes to poetry teaching. Curriculum Journal, 10, 403-419. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=6684224&site=ehost-live

Sargent, D. (2006). Not how you are used to thinking: Reaching for poetry through film. Interdisciplinary Humanities, 23, 67-72. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=21065890&site=ehost-live

Ulin, D. (2007). Texts, revisions, history: Reading historically in the undergraduate survey. College Literature, 34, 70-91. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=25852683&site=ehost-live

Weaven, M., & Clark, T. (2013). 'I guess it scares us' - Teachers discuss the teaching of poetry in senior secondary English. English in Education, 47, 197-212. Retrieved December 15, 2013, from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=90675565&site=ehost-live

Welch, L. (1991). Back-door teaching of poetry. College Teaching, 39, 149. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9607300483&site=ehost-live

Wrigg, W. (1991). A strategy for teaching poetry. Clearing House, 64, 251-252. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9706300012&site=ehost-live

Young, L. (2007). Portals into poetry: Using generative writing groups to facilitate student engagement with word art. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 51, 50-55. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=26561898&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Benton, P. (2000). The conveyor belt curriculum? Poetry teaching in the secondary school II. Oxford Review of Education, 26, 81-94. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2942093&site=ehost-live

Feder, L. (2000). Using poetry in adult literacy classes. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 43, 746-747. Retrieved July 22, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=3054799&site=ehost-live

German, G. (2007). Beyond confessional: Jonathan Holden…honest poetry, honest discovery. Midwest Quarterly, 48, 497-501. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=25930012&site=ehost-live

Knapp, J. (2002). Teaching poetry via HEI (hypothesis-experiment-instruction). Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 45, 718-730. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=6629879&site=ehost-live

Poets tell how to teach poetry without feeling insecure. (1994). Curriculum Review, 34, 9. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=9412080981&site=ehost-live

Saito, A. (2008). Between me and the world: Teaching poetry to English language learners. Teaching Artist Journal, 6, 197-208. Retrieved July 24, 2010 from the EBSCO online database Academic Search Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=33190193&site=ehost-live

Essay by Sinclair Nicholas, M.A.

Sinclair Nicholas, MA, holds degrees in Education and Writing and is a freelance writer with many feature articles, essays, editorials and other short works published in various publications around the world. Sinclair is the author of several books, including The AmeriCzech Dream — Stranger in a Foreign Land and the Comprehensive American-Czech Dictionary; he is a lecturer at the University of Northern Virginia — Prague, and has lived in the Czech Republic since 1991.