Paper Example: The Perfect Poem

Poetry is among the literary work that plays a significant role in enhancing the purpose of literature. The form is defined as the literary work that expresses ideas and feelings whose beauty is added by rhythm and unique style. The artistic writing in poems aims at stirring the reader's emotions, feelings, and imaginations during the recitation (Pound 1). Different readers interpret various poems in multiple ways. Therefore, the poet chooses and arranges the sounds, rhythm, and language carefully to diversify the interpretations of the readers. As a result, every reader is satisfied with the poem in different ways. This essay describes the ways that different readers interpret and develop multiple imaginations, emotions, and feelings toward a poem.

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"I ask them to take a poem and hold it up to the light like a color slide or press an ear against its hive" is among the quotes that show that poems need to be interpreted by the readers in different ways. The quote is derived from the "Introduction to Poetry" poem by Billy Collins. In this poem, Collins uses metaphoric language to educate the readers on embracing the diversity of poems and broadening their interpretation. In the context of this poem, the quote urges the readers to interpret the message of the poem according to their understanding without the input of other people or the poets. In the poem, Collins states,

I say drop a mouse into a poem

and watch him probe his way out

or walk inside the poem's room

and feel the walls for a light switch (5-8)

This verse allows the readers to literary get into the poem and acquires the emotions, feelings, and imaginations they feel by reading the text. Additionally, the verse shows that poetry is a broad aspect, and every reader has the freedom to decide the interpretation of each poem. Primarily, the quote in the poem's context shows that the readers have the freedom to develop particular emotions and feelings towards a poem.

The quote is applied by other poets to write poems. Additionally, the quote gives the poets the freedom to diversify the structure, language, and plot of their poems. This freedom is granted since different readers and writers differ in interests and preferences. Therefore, each genre of poetry is preferred by various readers. As a result, each poet has an area of expertise that they can utilize to satisfy the reader's wish. The meaning of this quote is evident in other poems.

Marianne Moore, for instance, portrays the meaning of the quote in her poem "Poetry." This evidence is in the first verse of the poem.

I too, dislike it: some things are important beyond

all this fiddle.

Reading it, however, with a perfect contempt for it, one

discovers that there is in

it, after all, a place for the genuine.

Hands that can grasp, eyes

that can dilate, hair that can rise

if it must, these things are important not because of a

high-sounding interpretation can be put upon them but because

they are

useful ( Moore 1-10).

This poem further explains the diversity of poems in language, style, emotions, and feelings. The poet uses metaphoric language to show that poetry has a place for everyone. For instance, the use of the parts of the body, such as hands, eyes, and hair, shows that every poem triggers a different reaction from the readers. Therefore, each reader has the freedom to interpret any poem according to their understanding. Ideally, the quote in this poem shows that no reader understands the poem wrongly.

Billy's quote also forecasts the interpretation of poetry in the modern days. In the contemporary world, there has been a change in the environment, language, and conditions that influence poetry writing. Therefore, the freedom to interpret a poem in diverse ways enhances the reader's reaction toward modern poetry.

Wallace Stevens, in the poem "Of Modern Poetry," states relates to the quote by describing the nature of modern poems. The changes in the poems trigger the readers to develop different emotions and imaginations from those of ancient poetry.

It has to be living, to learn the speech of the place.

It has to face the men of the time and meet

The women of the time. It has to think about war

And it has to find what will suffice (Stevens 7-10)

The poet describes the diversity of modern poetry. Therefore, the readers are expected to develop different reactions toward modern poems. Primarily, discouraging poem interpretation restriction allows the poets to write poems about the trends in contemporary society.

Billy's quote also describes the characteristics of a good poem. From the quote, a good poem allows the readers to interpret it according to their understanding. This quote is reflected in Kaveh Akbar's poem "The Perfect Poem." In the poem, the author gives the characteristics that define a good poem.

The perfect poem is not gold or lead or a garden gate

locked shut or a sail slapping in a storm.

The perfect poem is its favorite toy.

It is not a state of mind or a kind of doubt

or a good or bad habit or a flower of any

color. It will not be available to answer

questions (Akbar 24-19)

These attributes of a perfect poem merge with the description shown by the quote. In the context of this poem, the quote summarizes the factors that contribute to an ideal poem. Diversification is a poem among the characteristics that are described by the quote as well as the poem.

Works Cited

Akbar Kaveh. "The Perfect Poem." Poets. Org 2017. Accessed from https://poets.org/poem/perfect-poem.

Collins, Billy. "Introduction to Poetry." Poetry Foundation. 1996. Accessed from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46712/introduction-to-poetry.

Moore, Marianne. "Poetry." Poets. Org. 1972. Accessed from https://poets.org/poem/poetry.

Pound Ezra. A Brief Guide to Imagism. Poets.Org 2017. Accessed from https://poets.org/text/brief-guide-imagism.

Stevens Wallace. "Of Modern Poetry." Poetry Foundation. 1954. Accessed from https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43435/of-modern-poetry.