Student Question
How do two or more poets meld self-expression with creative control to articulate personal and cultural experiences?
In his TED Talk, Lemon Andersen admits, “I thought poetry was just self-expression. I didn't know you actually have to have creative control.”
Quick answer:
A reflection essay presents an opportunity to dig into the deep meanings of a text and apply them to one's personal experience and to other texts. To illustrate this quotation, choose examples of poems that show intense self-expression and well developed ideas that are given form through meter, rhyme, poetic diction, and figurative language.
A reflection essay invites you to “chew” on a quotation or a work of literature, digging into the depths of its meaning and applying it to yourself and your other reading and experiences. Let's get you started on this paper by discussing the quotation itself, applying it to personal experience and looking at a couple examples of poems that illustrate it.
First, read the quotation carefully. The author says that at one time he thought poetry was no more than self-expression. Poetry does allow for self-expression, of course. This is one of the main reasons poets practice their craft. They have ideas that they want to share with others. But the author quickly discovered, when he actually started trying to write poetry, that poetry is actually a craft. It requires much more than some ideas to share. One could do that in prose just as well. Poetry demands “creative control.”...
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Poets need to think about meter, rhythm, rhyme,diction, syntax, form, imagery, and figurative language, just to start. They must channel their ideas creatively into poems. This isn't easy. In fact, it requires a lot of hard work.
If you've ever tried to write poetry, you probably understand exactly what the author means. I tried to write a sonnet once, when I was a junior in high school. I was passionate about the topic, and I had some great ideas to share, but I thought at the time that a sonnet was just a fourteen-line poem. How wrong I was! My teacher returned my poem with the comment that it really didn't seem like much of a sonnet, and he was right. I had completely neglected rhymes and line lengths and numbers of syllables. I might as well have written a short essay, for I had failed to channel my ideas into the proper form to create a sonnet.
I'll give you a couple examples of poems to help you see how poetry requires both self-expression and creative control. Let's look at Shakespeare's “Sonnet 1.” Shakespeare certainly has ideas to express. He tells the receiver of his sonnet in no uncertain terms that he ought to get busy and produce an heir to preserve his beauty when he himself grows old and dies. But look at what Shakespeare does with this idea. He creatively gives it the form of a sonnet. He creates rhythm and a pattern of rhyme. He inserts imagery like “beauty's rose” and figurative language like “Feed'st thy light'st flame with self-substantial fuel.” He chooses his words carefully, making sure to select just the right ones to express his meaning. All of this requires strict control and effort.
Now let's take a look at William Wordsworth's “The Reverie of Poor Susan.” In this poem, Wordsworth describes a woman stopping for a moment to relish the beauty of nature and her memories. These are lovely ideas, and Wordsworth was very much taken by nature and its effects on the human mind and heart. Yet again he channels his ideas into a poetic form. He exercises control over his creativity. He chooses a particular meter and rhyme scheme and stays with it. He carefully paints the scene with vivid language and images that remain in our minds. Like Shakespeare, Wordsworth proves the original quotation correct. Poetry is much more than mere self-expression; it's hard work!
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