Reaching into the Mind of the Poet - Part I

Several reasons have been put forward as to why people get so caught up with poetry. Some of the reasons that are being shuffled around are that poetry is a stress reliever for those moments when the blues set in. Poetry fills the need for pleasure reading that does not involve the pouring over long chapters after chapters. Poetry through its many genres provides inspirational motivation. Recently, many people have been talking about the great mystical feeling they get from reaching into the mind of poets. All these reasons why poetry is love by so many folks all over the world come with much validity. As a matter of fact, these reasons resonate with me as well.

However, the last reason raised some questions in my head. Foremost in my mind is how someone can reach into the mind of a person or a poet for that matter! Isn’t that an impossible task for us mortals? Grant you, there are people out there called psychics who claim that they can. Be that as it may. The next issue that comes to the moment is this. How can one be sure that one knows what the poet intended in a poem? Not really because poetic images are not always precise. I think that with a little modification in the reason for persons who adore mental gymnastics in poetry would be most accommodating. Yes indeed, it is possible to come up with intelligent ways to account for the feelings the poem gives when it is read. The modification would go like this: How to interpret what the poet intended in the poem. This position allows one to explain what one thinks the poem is doing and how the poem does it.

There are some basic tenets which are very helpful when seeking to interpret what poets say in their poems. I find that trying to understand the poem’s explicit, literal meaning is important. Then asking oneself attentive questions about the poem to find out what is implied, unsaid or suggested in the imagery are vital moves to make. Also, there is the matter of trying to understand the language of the poem. For example, these are some of the poetic devices like the metaphors, similes, understatements, overstatements, and other unusual uses of language that poets use to stretch the readers’ imagination so wearing a thinking cap is highly recommended. Poets are noted for setting up words to resonate with many meanings at once, and that’s the beauty of poetry. So in poetry, expect to find words packed with more meanings than when used in ordinary language. Therefore, any attempts at interpreting the language of poems would necessitate that one thinks outside the box. In other words, one must think divergently most of the time.