Why Poetry ?
A look into the benefits of studying poetry in high school.
In an era when the study of language is often overshadowed by the fast-paced, quickly expanding tech and science fields, the study of poetry in high schools seems like a fluffy, anachronistic requirement. Yet it turns out that the study of poetry is rich in benefits.
For one, the study of poetry translates to the study of language and builds critical reading skills. According to an essay by Carol Clark, former poet laureate of New York, “understanding poetry demands that one pay close attention to text, especially to diction, grammar, and syntax; this process naturally strengthens reading comprehension skills.”
Poet and teacher Andrew Simmons wrote in an article for The Atlantic that the study of poetry also yields better writers. He writes that poetry “can help teach skills that come in handy with other kinds of writing--like precise, economical diction.” It can also be used to teach about grammar (in all of its subjectivity and precision.) And it is especially useful for teaching literary devices and explaining what new elements they add to a piece of writing.
But poetry is beneficial for more than just skill building—it speaks to something deeper within. Because of its immediacy of subject, mood, and evolution—as compared to prose writing—Clark writes that it can be “of primary interest to young people searching for self-awareness.”
What Do I Care
By Sara Teasdale
What do I care, in the dreams and the languor of spring,
That my songs do not show me at all?
For they are a fragrance, and I am a flint and a fire;
I am an answer, they are only a call.
What do I care--for love will be over so soon--
Let my heart have its say, and my mind stand idly by.
For my mind is proud, and strong enough to be silent--
It is my heart that makes my songs, not I.
By: Maya Barr
Academics
The Charger, June 2016
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