Monday, November 21, 2011
Poetry Analysis
Discuss whether you agree with Seamus Heaney when he credits poetry "because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase.” Say why or why not, and give examples from poems studied or other poems to illustrate your position. State your thesis clearly and include at least three pieces of evidence to support it.
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Poetry is expressing yourself. It's very personal and when you're a poet your poems are very dear to you. While what Seamus Henry said is true in some ways, I believe that poetry doesn't always have to be true to life, or to anyone at all. Poetry only has to be true to you and your own feelings and thoughts. I do not nessacerily agree with Seamus Henry in this matter because I believe that poetry should have credit for some things, but not because it is 'true to life'. I believe that poetry should be credited because it is a new way to get our personal emotions and thoughts out into the world, and maybe or maybe not somebody out there can agree with you. Poetry should be credited because it is one of the best ways in my opinoin of expressing your feelings. Some people have a hard time expressing how they feel, but with poetry this is made a little easier. But this also does not mean their feelings are true to everyone. For instance, in Nikki Giovanni's poem "Love is", it talks about what she personally thinks love is all about. But I may not agree with her. Or in the poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn" it talks about how the song that goes unsung is the sweetest. Well, this is the poet's personal opinion, maybe I think the songs that are sung loud and clear for everyone to hear are the sweetest. Seamus was right when he said credit is due to poetry, but he said it for the wrong reasons. I think poetry should be appreiciated because it is a fun way to share your opinion on life, love, and anything you want. I also think poetry should be appreciated because it can also be used for fun purposes. Like poems by Shel Silverstien, which are not as insightful as other poems but are funny, entertaining, and are a good way to express Shel's creative ability. This is what I believe poetry should be credited for.
ReplyDeletePoetry is one of the most beautiful types of writing ever invented. I agree with Seamus Heany, because poetry is timeless. IT was beautiful then, and it is beautiful now. The most amazing thing about it is the way it is written differently by everyone. Poetry is one of the most beautiful types of writing because no two poems are interpreted the same way, no matter how you look at them. Like Robert Frost’s “Two Paths Diverged in a Yellow Road”. Most people think of it as two roads in life where one is harder but exciting, where the other one is easier, and the one most people tread because the ending place is familiar. My original reaction to first reading this poem was along the lines of that, but then I started thinking about different meanings.
ReplyDeleteI love poetry. It’s my favorite type of writing. There are some authors who love to make their readers think, whether they like it or not. Like the “John Barley Corn” poem. Having not the slightest clue what John Barley Corn is, I thought it was a person. So there I was, listening to Ms. Kelsall read, and I’m thinking that it’s a murder poem. Then she told us that it’s a type of whiskey. Suffice it to say that I felt sheepish. I’m too used to Edgar Allan Poe’s drunken stories and I subconsciously figured that the drunken writer of the poem had a similar style. Only a brilliant poem could make me feel this way.
Some people actually mean what they write, but people interpret it far too much. People who think outside the box sometimes forget they’re in a box. Don’t overthink things; some things are best when they’re beautiful because they are simple. I like bethany1121’s example of Shel Silversteen. His poems are extremely simple, but they are cute and memorable nonetheless.
Shel Silversteen wrote his best books a few years ago, Robert Frost’s poems were written a few centuries ago, and John Barley Corn was written in a whole different language originally. Poetry was and is incredible. Therefore, poetry will always be timeless.
Poetry is not just a piece of writing; it is a state of mind, what you or other people might be feeling no matter what that feeling may be only written on a piece of paper. Seamus Heaney states, “because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase.” He is right, poetry should be credited for and it is true to life. If you gathered up all of your precious feelings, spilled them onto a piece of paper and they were published for the world to see, you would want some credit for writing what you have felt or are feeling or just because you wrote it. Many people will feel the way you do or have felt the way you have, that is why when Seamus Heaney states that poetry is true to life, he is correct. When you write poetry no matter how funny, how sad or happy it may be, the people that read it will be touched and moved by what you wrote in some way because you have put all of yourself into that one piece of writing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Seamus Heaney when he said "because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase.”Credit is due to poetry, credit for someone’s tears, laughter, and even revelations. People discover things through poetry life, love and sometimes even themselves. I believe poetry is truth to life because poetry can be understood and comprehended by anyone in whatever life they live. Poetry is not held down by the bases of life or the laws of the world but by the imaginations of the people who write and read it. As we all know imaginations are endless and imaginations are a part of life. Poetry though it says one thing on paper can be understood as many things by the reader. Life is defined not by others but by yourselves whatever life you live is yours so when poetry is read it is read into the life of the reader whatever the truth to the readers life may be. Poetry has been used to show love such as “An Entrapment” by Anthony kolos. Poetry has also been used to express life like in “Life” by Henry Van Dyke. Poetry is also a tool to make one laugh like in “sick” by Shel Silverstein. Poetry is many things and for the many feelings, emotions, and revelations poetry brings to the reader credit is due to it.
ReplyDelete“Because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase.” Seamus Heaney said this in his speech he gave while receiving the Nobel Prize. I believe poetry is a way to express one’s feelings and shows beauty, emotion, and ideas, I also agree that poetry expresses some truths to life. In my opinion, poetry tends to be written by someone who wants to express things that they experienced in their life whether it’s loss, hurt, joy, sadness, or even happiness. What you find in poetry is someone painting a picture of what life is to him or her. We see someone’s expression of what love to her is in “Love Is” by Nikki Giovanni. In “Campo Dei Fiori” by Czeslaw Milosz, we see death painted in a world that doesn’t seem to care. We see a funny creative side in “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too” by Shel Silverstein. While the picture painted shows the truths of life it is not necessarily a true picture of what life is supposed to be.
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ReplyDeleteI dont necessarily agree with Seamus Heaney. When he says "because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase" not all poems express truths of life. Most poetry is what life is to him or her. Which is different from actual life, the life to the people who do poetry is their thoughts and emotions about what life is in their perspective. There are other poems which are funny which has no meaning to what Seamus Heaney said. The funny poems are more of thoughts and ideas which people put out on paper which is what they think and some others may not think.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with every word Seamus Heaney stated about poetry. He says "for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase."This statement is not necessarily true, not all poems are about life, and love. Some may contain feelings, but not every poem has to do with love and life. The poem A Lemon is an example of this. "Cutting the lemon the knife leaves a little cathedral: alcoves unguessed by the eye that open acidulous glass to the light; topazes riding the droplets, altars, aromatic facades." Though the majority of poetry is about love and life there are some that are not. But I agree with Seamus Heaney on the fact that he credited poetry in the first place. Poetry is beautiful no matter how tragic it may be, there is still beauty instilled within the tragic poems. Whether a poem is about life, love, or a tragedy, every poem has to do with feeling.
ReplyDeletePoetry can be true to life if you make it true to life. It does not always have to be. If you choose or write your poems wisely it can about anything or anyone. The favorites of many people are the poems that are beautiful in their minds. You can credit poems all you want but I disagree with his statement because poetry is thing that people do to let their mind roam on a piece of paper. The way you can credit their poems is if it means something to them. If it wins you a prize you can, if it gets the girl of your dreams it can, but if it makes you happy credit yourself not the poem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Seamus Heaney. poetry is explained as a state of mind not just some essay or song.Seamus Heaney states, “because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase.” He is right, poetry should be credited for and it is true to life. If you gathered up all of your precious feelings, spilled them onto a piece of paper and they were published for the world to see, you would want some credit for writing what you have felt or are feeling or just because you wrote it.I believe poetry is truth to life because poetry can be understood and comprehended by anyone in whatever life they live. Poetry has always been a part of life and will always be. Poetry is timeless.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Seamus Heaney."Because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase." I agree with this quote because poetry is a truth to life. Poetry expresses life and feelings and truths and lies and sadness. Poetry expresses so many emotions and it deserves to much credit. For all of the authors who write poetry themselves, they are taking their feelings, their experiences, and their life and putting it on paper. Poetry, in some ways, is like music. Music and poetry express the same thing - feelings and emotions. Poetry deserves so much credit and so do their authors.
ReplyDeleteI don’t agree with everything that Seamus Heaney said about poetry. I don’t agree with him when he said, “I credit it because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its the truth of life, in every sense of that phrase,” because poetry is not about life all the time. Poems can be used to describe someone’s feelings such as happiness, sadness, joy, loss, etc. Some poems that have those feelings are “Campo Dei Flori”, when we read this; we get a picture of death. Another poem that the theme is not life is, “Love is,” by Nikki Giovanni. The theme of this poem is, obviously, love. However, I do agree with him for crediting poetry because poetry is beautiful no matter what. You could read the saddest poem and it could be beautiful. Just like the “Scarlet Ibis,” the story was very sad but in a beautiful way.
ReplyDeleteI don’t agree with what Seamus Heaney said about poetry. When he said,” because credit is due to it, in our time and in all time, for its truth to life, in every sense of that phrase,” I think that that’s his own opinion. Poetry doesn’t always have to be about life, because most of the time the author uses his or her own personal feelings to write a poem. When a poet uses their own feelings and expresses it in a poem, they can turn just a couple of words into something very meaningful and deep. They’re basically taking out all of their feelings and emotions and turning it into something beautiful by simply putting it on paper. Musicians can also do the same because most poems have their own flow and rhythm. At the same time, I do agree with Seamus Heaney because he did credit poetry in the first place. In my opinion, every poem is beautiful whether it’s sad and tragic or happy, every poem has something to do with feeling.
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