Think about these reflections on poetry In verse, words are so charged with meanings that they urge us to leave

the ordinary
meaning to the side and encounter new possibilities. (English LC Guidelines).
Thomas Hardy
Poetry is emotion put into measure. The emotion must come by nature, but the
measure can be acquired by art.
Samus Heaney
Poetry verifies a moment.
Pat Boran
Poetry is something that is felt...Poems are messages in bottles that we cast out to
sea, not knowing where they will end up or who will read them... Poems seem like
personal messages, from one particular human being to another.
Shelleys masterful Ozymandias was written as part of a sonnet writing game
between himself, Keats and Leigh Hunt.
Nuala N Dhomhnaill
Poetry springs from the level below meaning; it is a molecular thing, a pattern of
sound and image.
Advice from Niall McMonagleRead the poems closely, preferably aloud. Re-read them. Think about the poems and
talk about the poems. Re-read them until you feel comfortable with them. There is no
substitute for knowing the poems well; reading the poems and thinking about the
poems is the most important of all. After this look at the biography and notes. These
may help you clarify your thinking but should not be the main basis of your
experience of and study of the poem. Then write about the poems.
The impulse to write poetry originates in an impulse to capture, explain, understand,
clarify and celebrate our individual response to the world at a particular moment in
time.
Poetry is to witness the human mind and the human heart at their most interesting.
Professor Declan Kiberd
Every text should have a context.
Allison Pearson
Poetry is not in the business of taking Polaroids: it should be a long, slow
developer, raising images what we frame and keep.
Michael Longley
A poet makes the most complex and concentrated response that can be made with
words to the total experience of living.

To study:
Reflecting on images
1.
2.
3.
4.

Summarise the main images/pictures the poem give you.

What do they suggest in terms of feelings and sensations?
Do the images make any pattern? Contrast or complement each other?
Does any meaning emerge from the pattern?

Asking questions
1. Write down some questions that arise from this poem.
2. Does the poet supply the answers in the poem? Re-read the poem with the
questions in mind.
3. If not, speculate on why the poem raised the specific questions for you.
Noting patterns in words/phrases
1. Note down some words, phrases which surprised/attracted you in the poem.
2. Re-read the poem looking for other words which might relate to you initial
choices.
3. When you have some groups of words reflect on these questions
a. Do they make a pattern of any kind?
b. Does this pattern suggest or create any world of feelings or
atmosphere?
c. What is the relationship between these different groups? Is there any
conflict/contrast between them?