Poetry Reflection
My English 7/8 class was assigned a poetry project where
we had to write five poems. All of my poems had inspiration and a theme.
I learned a lot from this project, and now know what is easy and hard
about writing poetry. Before writing my poems, I needed
inspiration. Many of my poems were inspired by nature, such as my nature
poem. My English class was given the assignment to go outside and
take observation notes, or notes based on the surrounding environment. I
observed chirping birds and rustling leaves. Using actual, natural occurrences helped make my poem rich
in imagery and very descriptive. I also used nature as the inspiration
for my picture poem. The picture I used was a photograph of the French
shoreline. The French shoreline is a great example of an area that
has a lot of natural beauty. An area like that can easily be
the inspiration for a poem or other form of writing. In addition, my
found poem was inspired by nature. The writing piece that I
selected to write my found poem about was not mainly about nature. In
order to make my poem interesting and different from the original writing
piece, I used the secondary theme of nature as the inspiration for my found
poem. My list poem's inspiration was a rainy day. I had to run
track in the pouring rain. I wanted to write about it, since it was an
interesting experience. The only poem I wrote that was not inspired by
nature was my narrative poem. It was based on an athlete, Joe
DiMaggio. We were required to write about someone from Billy Joel's
"We Didn't Start the Fire," and Joe DiMaggio was mentioned in the
song. I enjoy sports, so I decided to write about him. All of my poems
had themes based on the elements by which they were inspired.
Since many of my poems were nature inspired, many of them had nature-based themes. My nature poem's theme was that nothing is more complicated than nature, and it is impossible to understand. Nature is very complex. I sat outside and observed nature for almost an hour and a half, which led me to come to this realization. The theme of my picture poem is that natural beauty is everywhere. No matter where you go, there is natural beauty. Whether you are in France, the United States, or Iceland, there is always natural beauty. The theme of my found poem is that natural beauty doesn't last forever, so enjoy it while you can. This is true, because, natural beauty is taken away by darkness, storms and other occurrences of the type. I wrote about a beautiful atmosphere, with many colors in the sky. However, a storm was approaching, and the storm would take away the natural beauty, temporarily. My final nature-based poem, my list poem, had the theme that nature can sometimes be bad. In the case of my list poem, nature was bad, because it made running feel like torture. The rain pelted down on me and the other runners, making it hard to run. My narrative poem was my only poem without a nature-based theme. The theme was happy and upbeat; anyone can do anything, if they set their minds to it. Joe DiMaggio was a high school dropout who worked as a laborer for many years. Eventually, he found baseball. He set his mind to becoming good at it, and he did. Joe DiMaggio is ranked the number two Yankee to ever play. Completing this project helped me learn a lot about poetry.
Through the process of completing this project, I learned many new skills and concepts for writing poetry. Before completing the poetry project, I thought that all poems had to rhyme. I was wrong. Many great, old time poets never used rhyme. Knowing that relieved a lot of pressure, and made writing poems easier. In addition, I used to just write poems with no real plot line, theme or purpose. By doing this project, I learned how to create a meaningful poem with a complex theme. In the future, if I am asked to do a project similar to this, I will know how to develop meaningful, well-written poems that are interesting to the reader. From the poetry project, I also learned that in order for a poem to be well-written, there needs to be inspiration. It is very hard to write a poem with deep meaning without inspiration. Inspiration gives the writer something to write about and develop. Often, when inexperienced, poetry that is written without much thought can sound weak and uninteresting. Poetry that is written without a process may lack rhythm and flow and this may result in a poem that is not pleasing to the reader. Finally, I learned that poetry should not be taken for granted. Poetry may seem like it is easy to write, but it is not. It requires a long process: gathering inspiration, writing a rough draft, editing it, and then writing a final draft. All of these steps are crucial in producing a well-written poem that is interesting and makes sense. As well as learning a lot about poetry in general, I also learned that there are both easy and hard parts involved in writing poetry.
In the process of writing a poem, there are many steps. In my opinion, some are easier than others. I believe that the hardest part in writing a well-written poem is formulating the rough draft. Once the inspiration is found, it is difficult to form a poem based on it. You must break up lines properly, give the poem some sort of rhythm and incorporate literary elements. Using appropriate line breaks, incorporating rhythm and including many poetic elements make poems flow and more enjoyable to listen to or read. As students, it is sometimes a challenge to make writing of any kind read the way we want it to read. Finding inspiration is fairly easy. Inspiration is all around. It is in nature, newscasts, newspapers, art, memories, and even speeches. Parents and older relatives can also be very inspirational. They have many stories, and most are willing to share. Justby looking out the window, we can be inspired. Passing cars can be written about, animals can be written about, and plants can be written about. The world is full of inspiration, waiting to be written about. I also feel like editing is fairly easy. After the original copy is written, there is always room for improvement. Asking peers to help edit is a good, efficient strategy. Peers are willing to make changes, whereas, writers are more reluctant to make changes to their own writing. Finally, I believe that the easiest part of writing a poem is writing the final copy. The inspiration has already been gathered, the rough draft already written and the editing completed. All that must be done is to incorporate the editing. After that, you have a final draft. The poetry project helped me learn to write poems with clear themes based on inspiration. The poetry project was a good experience because I learned new writing skills that I can use for future assignments. In addition, I was exposed to many poems and poetic elements, giving me a greater appreciation for poetry and poets.
Since many of my poems were nature inspired, many of them had nature-based themes. My nature poem's theme was that nothing is more complicated than nature, and it is impossible to understand. Nature is very complex. I sat outside and observed nature for almost an hour and a half, which led me to come to this realization. The theme of my picture poem is that natural beauty is everywhere. No matter where you go, there is natural beauty. Whether you are in France, the United States, or Iceland, there is always natural beauty. The theme of my found poem is that natural beauty doesn't last forever, so enjoy it while you can. This is true, because, natural beauty is taken away by darkness, storms and other occurrences of the type. I wrote about a beautiful atmosphere, with many colors in the sky. However, a storm was approaching, and the storm would take away the natural beauty, temporarily. My final nature-based poem, my list poem, had the theme that nature can sometimes be bad. In the case of my list poem, nature was bad, because it made running feel like torture. The rain pelted down on me and the other runners, making it hard to run. My narrative poem was my only poem without a nature-based theme. The theme was happy and upbeat; anyone can do anything, if they set their minds to it. Joe DiMaggio was a high school dropout who worked as a laborer for many years. Eventually, he found baseball. He set his mind to becoming good at it, and he did. Joe DiMaggio is ranked the number two Yankee to ever play. Completing this project helped me learn a lot about poetry.
Through the process of completing this project, I learned many new skills and concepts for writing poetry. Before completing the poetry project, I thought that all poems had to rhyme. I was wrong. Many great, old time poets never used rhyme. Knowing that relieved a lot of pressure, and made writing poems easier. In addition, I used to just write poems with no real plot line, theme or purpose. By doing this project, I learned how to create a meaningful poem with a complex theme. In the future, if I am asked to do a project similar to this, I will know how to develop meaningful, well-written poems that are interesting to the reader. From the poetry project, I also learned that in order for a poem to be well-written, there needs to be inspiration. It is very hard to write a poem with deep meaning without inspiration. Inspiration gives the writer something to write about and develop. Often, when inexperienced, poetry that is written without much thought can sound weak and uninteresting. Poetry that is written without a process may lack rhythm and flow and this may result in a poem that is not pleasing to the reader. Finally, I learned that poetry should not be taken for granted. Poetry may seem like it is easy to write, but it is not. It requires a long process: gathering inspiration, writing a rough draft, editing it, and then writing a final draft. All of these steps are crucial in producing a well-written poem that is interesting and makes sense. As well as learning a lot about poetry in general, I also learned that there are both easy and hard parts involved in writing poetry.
In the process of writing a poem, there are many steps. In my opinion, some are easier than others. I believe that the hardest part in writing a well-written poem is formulating the rough draft. Once the inspiration is found, it is difficult to form a poem based on it. You must break up lines properly, give the poem some sort of rhythm and incorporate literary elements. Using appropriate line breaks, incorporating rhythm and including many poetic elements make poems flow and more enjoyable to listen to or read. As students, it is sometimes a challenge to make writing of any kind read the way we want it to read. Finding inspiration is fairly easy. Inspiration is all around. It is in nature, newscasts, newspapers, art, memories, and even speeches. Parents and older relatives can also be very inspirational. They have many stories, and most are willing to share. Justby looking out the window, we can be inspired. Passing cars can be written about, animals can be written about, and plants can be written about. The world is full of inspiration, waiting to be written about. I also feel like editing is fairly easy. After the original copy is written, there is always room for improvement. Asking peers to help edit is a good, efficient strategy. Peers are willing to make changes, whereas, writers are more reluctant to make changes to their own writing. Finally, I believe that the easiest part of writing a poem is writing the final copy. The inspiration has already been gathered, the rough draft already written and the editing completed. All that must be done is to incorporate the editing. After that, you have a final draft. The poetry project helped me learn to write poems with clear themes based on inspiration. The poetry project was a good experience because I learned new writing skills that I can use for future assignments. In addition, I was exposed to many poems and poetic elements, giving me a greater appreciation for poetry and poets.