For as long as I can remember, every high schooler ever has hated poems. When teachers introduce class with, "Today we'll be working on a poem," a collective groan could always be heard from the throats of unexcited students. Upon coming to college, I realized that those feelings toward poems haven't really changed, except for the select few — even among most English majors — who understand them. I've always loved poems, and even though that may be an unpopular sentiment, I'm here to tell you why you shouldn't hate them, either.
First of all, poems are often short. This isn't always the case (epic poems are a cool way of saying "long rambling story"), but, similar to short stories, poems often are able to get the point across in fewer lines. More and more it seems that the attention spans of students are waning. Because poems are short, you spend less time reading and more time delving into the ideas of the poem, trying to figure out what it means — much more fun, and a better use of time, if I may say so myself.
Poems can be happy, sad, dark and demented, thought-provoking, dangerous, and daring. I have an immense respect for poets — they can tell entire stories in a few lines. (Who need books when you have poems? Just kidding...) But if you need inspiration for your reading, or if you want to feel cultured without spending lots of time reading an entire book, check out a poem. Sometimes they can be more challenging to understand, but that's what makes a poem fun — it's like a puzzle, figuring out what each line means, and how it contributes to the overall piece. Since there are often few lines in poems, each line contributes greatly to the story.
There is no one "right" way to write or read a poem, either. Sonnets, poems that consist of 14 lines, usually following some sort of rhyming pattern, were made famous by William Shakespeare. "Oh God," you say, "is she really going to talk up Shakespeare?" Well, you know what? YES, I am! Those who don't like Shakespeare are those who don't understand all the little jokes he slides into his works. He seemed like a pretty funny dude. And he also wrote very cool (and romantic... *wink wink*) poems. Sonnet 18, one of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day..." yeah, you've heard it), speaks of a person's beauty, and immortalizes that beauty, explaining how even though beauty is fleeting, words are forever, so their beauty will last because of Shakespeare's poem. Cool, no? Most of his poems speak of the beauty he sees and lust he has for his lovers, but others focus on commons fears and tribulations experienced in life. Pretty relatable, even though Shakespeare was alive in the 1500s.
Maybe you still disagree with me. Poems are tough and cryptic — why expel the effort? Let me tell you: It's worth it. Spending a few extra minutes dissecting poems will open a world of language and inspiration for you. Or, at the very least, the short ones are easy to remember and you can pull one out of your memory bank if ever you feel so inclined. Also, poems are #fancy and if you say you read poems, people might even be impressed with you (I'm still hoping). Read some of the classics below:
Want melancholy and hope?
"A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allen Poe
Want to tell your girl how cool she is?
"How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Want to laugh at Dad jokes?
"Best Limericks" by Edward Lear
Like nature and dreamy phrases?
"Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Need a kiss-off anthem that also doubles as a love poem?
"If You Forget Me" by Pablo Neruda
Looking for advice or inspiration?
"Solitude" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Want to see the impossibly short poem I had to read in high school English?
"The Red Wheelbarrow" by William Carlos Williams
