Understanding the Strength of Poetry Essay Example for Free

Understanding the Strength of Poetry Essay Poetry celebrates the senses, and sharpens the mind. These attributes make the genre a favorite among readers who like their literary adventures short; in as few as four brilliantly written lines, a poem reader emerges enlightened, his senses heightened by the verses. Such an experience is rendered by impeccable poets like Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes. These two very different poets give us two very different poetic experiences, two very different voices.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Emily Dickinson’s strength as a poet lies in her ambiguity.    Most of her verses need at least a second reading, because her poetic style makes her poems unconventional readings. The use of dashes and capitalizations make the verses require attentive focus and intellectual understanding straightaway; they are not easy to read, compared to conventionally-written poems. Nevertheless, this writing style does not diminish the brilliance in the text; it instead enhances it. One example is the poem entitled, â€Å"Much Madness is divinest sense.†    The first two lines alone require a pause from the reader so he could go on and read the rest of the lines to be able to get the message of the poem. Another striking attribute of Dickinson’s poetry is her preference for death as a topic or as a symbol, at least based on the selection supplied for this paper.   The surprising thing about is that although the poems are largely about tragedy, madness and death, the verses do not have a melancholic feel about them. Dickinson seems to cushion the readers from feeling melancholia through her brilliant symbolism and her presentation of detailed evocations of the subject. For instance, in the poem entitled â€Å"After great pain, a formal feeling comes,† Dickinson likens sadness to death, the use of the words ‘tomb’ (line 2), ‘wooden’ (line 6) and stone (line 9) all pertain to, or connote death (please cite the page number of your resource here).   The poem describes the numb emotional state of a person, that space we go through after grieving and before moving on. The literary device used may be grim, but it is most appropriate. The poem succeeds because it effectively communicates the message. Emily Dickinson’s verses are a good read. Her ambiguity however, is what the reader likes and at the same time, dislikes about her. This is the attribute that makes her verses intriguing, the attribute that draws, magnetizes the reader to leaf through the pages; but it could also make the reader frustrated in trying to decode what Dickinson really meant. Despite this, the strength in Dickinson’s poetry is undeniable. She is one poet whose place in literature will always be secure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Langston Hughes is in an entirely different position, compared to Dickinson. Most of his verses reverberate with racial and cultural themes, so that a reader needs to know his background to thoroughly enjoy his poems. Nevertheless, most of his poems in the selection provided for this paper have universal themes, so that the verses may be understood and interpreted as they are, without the cultural context. â€Å"Dream Deferred†, for instance talks about the figurative outcome of dreams, of plans, withheld. It causes a deep a resentment that could corrupt the soul; Hughes writes that the dream may, â€Å"fester like a sore/and then run† (lines 3-4), or â€Å"stink like rotten meat† (line 6) signifying a dreamer’s inadequacy to cope with his failure (please cite the page number here). Thus, the reader needs no cultural briefer to understand this poem and to fully relate with its themes. His poem, â€Å"Same in Blues† and â€Å"Mother to Son† also express universal themes.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Same in Blues† is the illustration of dreams deferred, a humorous portrayal of goals not reached, dreams not fulfilled. â€Å"Mother to Son,† meanwhile, is a touching poem about a mother sharing her life experiences to her son, so that he may be able to handle life better. The language however, is unmistakably African-American. His other poems in the selection, however, weigh heavily on his African-American race and its sentiments. In the poems, â€Å"The Negro speaks of Rivers,† and â€Å"I, Too† Hughes gives a voice to the African-American people, asserting their clamor for an equal position in society and dignifying their identity as a people (please cite page number here). The strength of Langston Hughes as a poet lies in the strong voicing of his African-American convictions. He is an important figure in literature precisely because of his strong sense of racial pride. However, his poems appeal not only to the specific group of his race, but to everyone. His verses have the quality of boosting one’s pride in one’s identity and culture, certainly a universal theme every person can relate to.   Ã‚  What is most likeable in the poetry of Langston Hughes is its motivational effect for racial pride. Its verses seem to leap out from the pages and arouse the reader into asserting his racial and cultural identity. The attribute that may make the reader dislike Hughes’ verses is the fact that his poems are hinged on racial and cultural contexts. The reader who has no familiarity with the African-American culture may not feel the African-American sentiment. The reader must read up on African-American history first before thoroughly enjoying the Hughes poetic experience. Nonetheless, Langston Hughes is considered a premier poet, a true artistic hero among his people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The vicarious experiences offered by both brilliant poets, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes, affirm the strength of poetry to awaken the reader’s intellect and emotions.