How Poetry Evokes Emotion

Already this semester we have gotten into some deep poems in workshop. Ones that we necessarily don’t feel the most comfortable with, or ones that deals with tough or hard to talk about topics, or some that genuinely only apply to a niche audience. I have taken what I observed, read, and hear over the past few weeks and did some research. Why does poetry communicate such strong feelings and emotions?

Throughout workshopping, different poets respond to different poems differently. Does that make sense? I mean, depending on the subject of the piece, a writer will react and respond differently. Any good poet makes his/her literary works of extraordinary deep feeling and expresses these feelings through a medium of poems. These emotions and topics affect us differently, yet, they all effect us in some way. We are all liked by a sentimental relationship that connects us with the ties of humanity. It takes the work of a good poet to relay these feelings and messages to the reader and captivate them into their own experience. Immense talent and deep intellect goes into writing a poem that will move the readers. Also, diction is an essential part of any poetic work. The kinds of words you choose play a significant role in the effect they cause on the readers. I will observe during workshop, learn more about the topics we discuss, and continue to learn about each individual writer.

One Reply to “How Poetry Evokes Emotion”

  1. I 100% agree with your point that different poets act differently with different poems. I must admit, in workshop there has been some poems that I didn’t feel comfortable work shopping. I believe while reading poetry, it is not the poem’s job to draw conclusions for the reader, but for the reader to draw conclusions about the poem. I believe that each poem acts as sort of a guide with multiple paths to follow, the reader chooses to follow the path that best serves them. If for example, a poem is about Concept A, but the reader doesn’t feel comfortable reading it as Concept A, then they’ll choose to interpret it as Concept B. I find a poet’s work a job well done if they’re able to invoke such emotion in a reader that it makes them a bit uncomfortable.

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