Poetry is emotion recollected in expressing tranquility. By recollecting, we learn to feel, learn to experience nature in all its wild beauty, learn about the mysteries of the universe, and learn about love, happiness, joy and sorrow. We are enriched in more than one sense and are instinctively transported into a world where rhythm, harmony and creative forces integrate in the most delightful way possible. Unfortunately, poetry is found to be missing in many people’s lives. Teaching poetry is a means of establishing a link between mere existence and life itself, thereby uplifting mortals to a higher plane of excellence. How then do we teach poetry?
Some students love poetry and have a natural flair for it. They love to read poetry and enjoy writing it too. Such students should be encouraged to write without drilling into them the mechanics of writing poetry. Rather than trigger an increased interest, it could actually turn them off. On the other hand, Students not really interested in poetry could become bored if the creative aspect is not instilled. In such students then the mechanics of writing poetry should be inculcated. Mechanical teaching of poetry does not really tax the little minds and it may actually stimulate them to appreciate the dynamism which poetry has. Other students may be interested only in the analysis of poetry and hence enjoy only reading. Their interests must also be catered to.
The important point to consider in teaching poetry is teacher’s approach to this subject as it relates to each student. It is not always true that the teachers must love the subject they are teaching to create an interest in Poetry. Some students are naturally gifted. Many are born with the interest in reading poetry, writing poetry or both. However, the teacher may help or hinder the student’s interest or otherwise provoke an unknown, hidden interest. If the student is very much interested in Poetry but yet receives too much teaching and focus on the mechanics, without allowing the student to try their own hand at writing, the student may become disinterested. If the teacher’s approach is from the creative aspect, not addressing enough mechanical teaching the student could very well become bored and disinterested or lose an unknown or hidden interest. A child not interested in Poetry or creative writing would become bored with anything more than the mechanical teaching. A child may be interested or enjoy reading and analysis but nothing more
Basically there refers tare 2 approaches to the teaching of poetry, the creative approach, which refers to how to write poetry and the approach of instruction, which seeks to inform the student about the mechanics, dynamics and analysis of poetry. It becomes important then to identify what kind of student you are dealing with and adopt the right approach. A balance between the 2 approaches is also possible. Whenever we teach poetry, choose poetry that delights and poetry that is suitable for their age. To capture and enrapture the little minds, you need to find poetry that is captivating and arresting—poetry that is individually delicate and sensitive.
When we teach poetry, read poetry aloud and encourage students to read aloud. Make them memorize and choose poetry that they like, make them recite and make them compose. Have the students write for magazines and have them make poetry greetings. Hold poetry workshops, organize poetry readings, tape poetry written by students and play the tapes back, have “poetry of the week” contests and be as imaginative as we can. Bring poetry to life and we will enliven the little minds and in the process be enlivened.
F. APPROACHING THE TEACHING OF POETRY
Sometimes teachers and students start from a position of ‘this poem has a hidden meaning that we have to find’. This approach, although enjoyable for some, often over-complicates the process. The best approaches to teaching poetry balance the enjoyment of the poem for its own sake, with exploration of the craft that has gone into its making.
Firstly, make sure that students are exposed to many forms of poetry, so that they see that there is a whole range of genres they can imitate or emulate. Draw out, early on, the key elements that differentiate poetry from most prose:
ð A structure based on linesnot sentences;
ð The importance of shape, layout, rhythmand sound(the look of the poem on the page is not accidental, unlike most prose, where line lengths are determined by the size of the page);
ð The freedom of languageto operate beyond conventional grammar structures (e.g. to write in ‘non-sentences’).
