Week Two Blog

This week we continued to talk about poetry and the music that it creates. The rhythm or music of a poem can evoke emotions within the reader by not only the words that are being used, but most especially the feel or theme of the poem. This week, we were introduced to a new style of poetry- Blues. This style of poem seemed to evoke emotions of heartache or sorrow, which allowed the reader to feel the pain or sadness of the writer. When reading The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes, he writes,

In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone

I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan

This type of poem created music that was relatable or at least allowed the reader to feel empathetic towards the writer or character in the poem. His use of the words ‘melancholy tone’ and ‘old piano moan’ were detailed and allowed the reader to feel his unhappiness and see his sorrow through his use of adjectives, phrase, and rhyme.

The thoughts and ideas that were sparked by this week’s readings were that writing poetry is not as simple as what people may think. It takes a lot of time and effort to come up with the right amount of words to say and phrases to use in order to get the tone or rhythm of the poem just the way you as the poet want it being read. I have enjoyed coming up with a similar style of poem by using another poet’s work as a guide. It is a challenge to try and mirror them in tone and rhythm and I like that!

Creativity seems to be something that cannot be learned per se particularly in poetry. Creating a vision for your poem seems to be a trial and error type of thing. Your imagination or creativity is not being taught, but instead you as the poet have to attempt and experience your poetry and eventually/ hopefully come up with an artistic work. After trying, failing, and succeeding in getting the correct amount of syllables or the right rhythm of the poem in the end, you as poet can then feel accomplished and creative.