Find Poetry Exciting! | How To Read Poetry For Beginners!

Reading poetry is supposed to be fun and exciting! In this video I'm going to teach you an easy, simple way to start enjoying reading poetry; you may even see your favourite poem in a new light!
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I just want to make it clear that there is no correct way of understanding a poem. Even saying that feels ridiculous. I’ve had no formal training or have a la dee da way of analysing poems “the right way”, just what I’ve picked up along the way. The important thing is that when you’re reading poems, just like when you're writing them, you're totally open, and vulnerable. So if you want to be able to really appreciate the art of poetry past the minimalist, micro poetry of instagram, keep watching!

So why should you care about how I think you should read a poem. Well believe or not, there’s this whole other world behind them that really brings an adrenaline rush when you crack the puzzle and the light bulb goes off in your head after you find a hidden message or meaning within a line.

So where do you start? Well, funnily enough the first step is the most simple, and yet nobody talks about it. Find yourself in the right mind space. Here’s what I recommend. Find yourself in a nice quiet space, and maybe a few candles. I know sounds a bit much, but trust me. Having reset your body, it’s time to delve into the human condition.

Now this is one of my all time favourite poems. To A Poet A Thousand Years Hence by James Elroy Flecker. When you first come to read a poem, take a good look at the title. What is it telling you? What preconceptions have you already got in your head?

Good. Next comes another very obvious and very important part. Reading the poem. Then read it again. The first time you go over the poem, try to relax and just let your mind ingest what it’s reading.

So, this isn’t a video on analysis as such, its just for beginners who are only starting to read poetry, but what were first impressions of the poem? What did it make you feel? Now, don’t think to hard about it though, let it just come naturally. If nothing is coming to mind, guess what you can do? Yup, read it again. There’s no limit. The more the better. Now, remember this is all subjective, and you might see something totally different, which is what makes this so exciting! I could be projecting my own feelings onto this because that’s how I feel about my own society and generation... I think that’s why I relate to this poem so much because I can really see myself as the longing and desperate poet. Anyway, I went on a tangent there. What are your initial thoughts on the piece. Pause this video, I’ll wait and make a note on your phone or some paper. Jot down initial thoughts, feelings and in one sentence what you think the point or message of the poem is.

So now you’ve written some notes on how the piece made you feel, maybe even what you think the poet themselves were feeling when writing this, it’s time to read it again, but this time taking it very slow and really thinking about every line.

Hopefully the second time round, you would have found yourself understanding it on a much deeper level, because you’ve consciously thought about how the poem made you feel, what you thought it was saying. Of course when it comes to analysis, there is WAY more to think about here, but as we are just slowly getting you into enjoying poetry this is a good place to start. I have a video on complete analysis planned for later this year so if that’s something you want to see, subscribe and turn on notifications.

So remember that reading poetry is for fun! It’s analysing a poem that’s the hard work. Remember to keep the two practices separate. Most importantly, there is no one way, or correct way to read and understand a poem. As humans we are each going to take different things away from a poem, and season it with different spices of our lives, and that’s what makes it more exciting! After watching this video I want you to go away and read the first to poems that come off your shelf, and let me know what you thought about the poem, no in depth analysis just yet! You’re already half way there anyway!

See you next week.
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#poetrytips #poetry #poems

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