Yesterday I called poetry a “misunderstood creature.” This stemmed from the fact that few people read poetry, and even fewer consume it. ((This is based on a completely un-scientific sampling of people I’ve known. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of people I know who read poetry on a regular basis.)) The question that arises, then, is “why do we need to learn about it?”

Here was my answer: ((I know that there have been hundreds of defenses of poetry written—a colleague recently recommended Edmond Spenser’s “the pleasure of poetry . . . inculcates forms of profitable pleasure,” which, I just Googlearned, comes from Horace.))

Poetry : absurd thinking : : Math equations : logic. To put it a different way, poetry helps us define our associative muscles, helps us better make metaphorical connections within our world. I’ve been saying for years that we think and communicate in metaphor. In order to explain something to someone else, we usually compare the unknown to something known. The example I gave in class is that a plantain is like a banana, but brown or green, less sweet, and more starchy. I relied on your understanding of what a banana looks like, then modified it to help you imagine an unknown fruit.

Poetry works the same way. When Wilfred Owen ((Who, I just learned, was killed in battle one week before the end of the war…)) tosses image after image at his readers in “Dulce et Decorum Est,” he is setting a scene that contrasts greatly with the common understanding of war. By comparing soldiers to “hags,” he undermines his audience’s image of the great and proud British soldier, and delivers the final blow by following a painfully descriptive account of the death of a soldier with “the old lie” that “it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country.”

There is a psychological term for our image of “war” and “bananas”; it is called a schema. While mathematical thinking helps us to better think on the literal, logical level by manipulating variables and such, poetry and literature allow us to improve our metaphorical thinking. We are building schemata by vicariously experiencing new events and ideas, then breaking them down and rebuilding them as we analyze.

So what’s the point? I recently read Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, and they gave a solid explanation of what they call “generative analogies”:

Some analogies are so useful that they don’t merely shed light on a concept, they actually become platforms for novel thinking. For example, the metaphor of the brain as a computer has been central to the insights generated by cognitive psychologists during the past fifty years. It’s easier to define how a computer works than to define how the brain works. For this reason it can be fruitful for psychologists to use various, well-understood aspects of a computer—such as memory, buffers, or processors —as inspiration to locate similar functions in the brain.

Good metaphors are "generative." The psychologist Donald Schon introduced this term to describe metaphors that generate "new perceptions, explanations, and inventions." ((Heath, Chip. Made to Stick. New York: Random House, 2007. 60. Print.))

Thinking metaphorically, even absurdly, allows us to come up with novel ideas, with new ways of thinking. ((See John von Neumann’s The Computer and the Brain)) Mathematical equations allow us to better comprehend the world as we know it within the boundaries of logic. Poetry and literature help us better understand ideas an concepts that aren’t logical—emotions, relationships, inventions “that just shouldn’t work” (think DaVinci or Escher, as much artists as they were mathematicians), innovative ways of looking at the world—that, my friends, is why we read poetry.

The Assignment

Find two words with nearly identical definitions in two separate contexts (or write two different contexts around similar words) that emphasize two different connotations.

For example:

Today I told the story of Joe from Johnny Got His Gun, which presented a terrifying vision of what it means to be isolated. The connotation comes from the main character’s terror, helplessness, and inability to communicate.

In Pablo Neruda “Unity,” however, gives us a very different view of what it means to be isolated:

I work quietly, wheeling over myself,
a crow over death, a crow in mourning.
I mediate, isolated in the spread of seasons,
centric, encircled by a silent geometry:
a partial temperature drifts down from the sky,
a distant empire of confused unities
reunites encircling me. ((Neruda, Pablo. “Unity.” Poets.org. 2005. Web.))

Better example

From Shelby:

She chose the color blue. Colors are not something I considered for this project, but would work very well. If you are having trouble finding a word that works for this project, try a color, an emotion, an element (earth, fire, water, wind).

I found “Goodbye Blue Sky” from Pink Floyd and I think it works. When it refers to "blue sky," I think it means goodbye to peace and normality not necessarily a pretty blue sky.

Did you see the frightened ones
Did you hear the falling bombs
Did you ever wonder
Why we had to run for shelter
When the promise of a brave new world
Unfurled beneath a clear blue sky
Oooooooo ooo ooooo oooh
Did you see the frightened ones
Did you hear the falling bombs
The flames are all long gone
But the pain lingers on
Goodbye blue sky
Goodbye blue sky
Goodbye
Goodbye

Alright, my second one is Elvis’ “Blue Christmas.” In this case the word blue is used as a synonym for sad or down. Elvis does an interesting thing in this song, when he uses the colors red, green and white he means the actual color but when blue is used it could be removed and replaced with sad or depressing.

Ill have a blue Christmas without you
Ill be so blue just thinking about you
Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree
Wont be the same dear, if youre not here with me
And when those blue snowflakes start falling
Thats when those blue memories start calling
Youll be doin all right, with your Christmas of white
But Ill have a blue, blue blue blue Christmas
Youll be doin all right, with your Christmas of white,
But Ill have a blue, blue Christmas.

Post your examples below. If you have any questions, post them below as well or email me.

We discussed two poems today: “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, and Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy.” I was glad to hear that a number of you were familiar with Dunbar’s poem (from Jan’s class?), as the historical background helps clear up his references to the artillery and gear of a WWI soldier. The poem’s link above has explanatory notes if you are still unsure about a few things.

While the site I pulled the text from seems to be down at the moment, I did come across a video of Plath reading her poem:

Do you think of the poem differently after hearing the author read it?

I was greatly impressed by your interpretations today. This is a very complex piece, and it’s great to see that you are able to tackle it so early in the year.

We will continue our discussion tomorrow with hope that you will gain a better understanding of this misunderstood creature we call poetry.

Glad you made it to the site okay. Today was a bit of a whirlwind, but we have a lot to do.

Homework:

• Please go to the page above entitled “Tell Me About Yourself” and fill out the form. This will save me much time when I need to get in contact with you or your parents (I email them good things as well as bad, so don’t worry about negative messages).
• Sign up for an RSS feed or email messages under the “Feeds” page above.
• Sign into WinsomeWiki with a username that clearly identifies you.

To find the latest information on your class on this site, go to “Categories” above, then “Courses.”

Some of you asked about materials for my classes, which I seem to have overlooked in the syllabus. Here’s what you’ll always need:

• The book we are reading as a class (or a personal book if we’re not in a novel at the moment).
• Something to write on, preferably a small bound notebook of some sort, for taking notes as you read.
• Post-its, highlighters, your favorite pen, something to write in your book with.
• Loose paper or a notebook with removable pages, and a pen.
• Any work in progress—this is important; even if the paper or essay is not due that day, I may ask to see how it is coming along. It also helps me answer any questions you may have about the assignment.

As always, send me an email if you or your parents have any questions.

Strings outline below.

Is this creative, or does he have too much time on his hands?

Found via TheNextWeb

Here’s the outline so far.  If you have a brilliant idea, post it below.  We’ll continue discussion tomorrow.

1. I. Peace

1. A. Characters Introduced

1. 1. Billy, the only one who has hair

2. 2. Otto, has a wrench

3. 3. Deric MacGrave, extremely thin

B. Talks about normal life

1. 1. Spend days playing in streets

2. 2. Rules/guiding strings

3. 3. School, self-writing blackboard

4. 4. Market

5. 5. Our songs

2. II. Rules for Breaking/Market Vandalized

1. A. Billy is guided by the Strings to vandalize the market (Couldn’t control himself, enjoyed destroying the market)

2. B. Wakes up next day and looks for Deric MacGrave, finds him on the street, broken, with X’d-out eyes. He had fallen

1. 1. 1st miss rule

3. III. Nothing test

1. A. Billy is terrified, decides to stay in bed all day.

2. B. Later, Otto comes in to find Billy. Billy is guided to yell at Otto.

1. 1. 2nd miss rule

3. C. Otto says he is going to tell the Blackboard. Leaves, Billy runs after him.

4. IV. Twisted School

1. A. Billy follows Otto out into the street

2. B. Otto trips and neck snaps on his own Strings. His eyes roll up to X’s.

3. C. Billy drags Otto to the school to see if he can help.

4. D. Writes Question on Blackboard.

5. E. The Board gives a Twisted Drawing in response.

6. F. Billy throws Otto’s body into Blackboard, breaking it. He finds a recording machine…

5. V. End of the Line

1. A. Billy decides to solve his own problems.

2. B. He climbs his Strings.

3. C. Finds nothing, just his Strings tied to a bar.

4. D. Realizes he had been controlling himself all along.

5. E. He has grown out of his strings.