Defining Poetry

Poetry is a powerful form of literature that allows writers to express their feelings rhythmically and intensely. The ideas of poetry are formed creatively by various poets to produce emotional or meaningful text. Good poetry creates images in your head within few words and makes you feel physically connected with the subject that the author chose to write about. The difference between poetry and other types of writing is the fact that poetry expresses important human emotions through style and form. The three poems, “To a Daughter Leaving Home” by Linda Pastan, “Home Burial” by Robert Frost, and “This Is Just to Say” by William Carlos Willams touch on the reader with how we feel and perceive the world. Each poet provides different insights into poetry that span from 19th and 20th century American literature. All three authors bring up different feelings through their writing and experiences that give each poem different but meaningful purposes.

Linda Pastan effectively executes a rhythmic tone in “To a Daughter Leaving Home” through the use of short and choppy lines. She keeps the poem short with only twenty-four lines and about four words per line helps to keep the reader engaged. The adjectives that occur often at the end of sentences ending in “ing” also helps the flow of the poem to keep the rhythm of the poem smooth. A vivid image is also created in the reader’s mind by the consistent use of adjectives, “...with laughter, the hair flapping behind you like a handkerchief waving goodbye” (“Pastan” 20-24). Because the poem is only one long sentence, the author uses commas throughout the poem as pauses to help create a more dramatic effect.

Pastan writes about the past and reminisces about her life and her daughter’s life. She expresses the separation anxiety that she will have now that her daughter is gone. The sad tone of the poem is expressed through the mother’s explanation about the struggles her daughter has been through, “…in surprise when you pulled ahead down the curved path of the park...” (8-10). In the end, her mother hopes her daughter has learned life lessons so that she is secure on her own. The subject of a child leaving her mother for the first time is very relatable to different female audiences. The fact that it is a child leaving their parent can make the reader feel physically connected with the poem.

Robert Frost’s poem, “Home Burial,” uses two characters to express the ways different characters grieve over a tragedy that happened in their life. For instance, the emotion that the characters express makes the reader feel for the dreadful times that the characters are going through, “She withdrew, shrinking from beneath his arm That rested on the banister, and slid downstairs; And turned on him with such a daunting look” (“Frost” 31-33). Showing the different ways that the characters express their grief about their child makes the literature deep and engaging to the reader. The inability of the couple being able to communicate about the grieving of the child destroys the marriage between the characters, “You make me angry. I’ll come down to you. God, what a woman! And it’s come to this, A man can’t speak of his own child that’s dead” (68-70). The conflict between the characters composes a mournful tone to the reader. The dreary side of the story also tends to draw the readers emotions and encourages the audience to continue reading. The author uses pathos to create an emotional experience for the reader.

The way the poem is structured is effective because the three words that are separating each stanza are powerful lines even though they are only three words long. Even though there is not a rhyme scheme, the poem uses dialogue to form a lyric poem. The dynamic build-up the in poem is also compelling because it draws the reader’s attention in closely to see if the two speakers resolve their issue or keep the argument going. The intensity of the poem makes the conflict meaningful to the readers.

The last poem, “This Is Just to Say” by William Carlos Willams does not have the same intensity as the other poems when it deals with human emotions. “Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold” (Williams 9-12). The tone of this poem is sarcastic, which will make the reader not take the poem seriously. The structure of this poem is 12 lines long with two words per line and no punctuation used. There is not much for a reader to physically connect to within the poem; the fact that he ate the food that his wife left for dinner can potentially be relatable, but odd that it was created into a poem. There is no intense or forceful build up in this poem nor a meaningful message that a reader could relate too. This poem shows that poetry does not always have to have a deep message or play a role in effecting the reader’s human emotions.

Each author approaches these three specific poems differently to create an experience for the reader. Pastan uses a rhythmic tone to keep the reader engaged. Frost uses an intense conflict between two characters to create an emotional build up. William’s uses sarcasm to create a humorous effect. The physical connection that the reader feels between the three different types of poetry is what makes poetry meaningful.

Work Cited

Pastan, Linda. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 7th ed. New York,: W. W. Norton & Co, 1998

Frost, Robert. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 7th ed. New York,: W. W. Norton & Co, 1998

Williams, William. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 7th ed. New York,: W. W. Norton & Co, 1998

#LindaPastan #RobertFrost #WilliamCarlosWilliams #poetry