How To Read Poetry?

[Kieran_Obrien]

Sounds like a silly question but I'm curious what people think.

I have trouble reading poetry. I get bored. I always feel like I'm missing something. I'll read a poem three or four times and still not feel like I'm benefiting from it. When I DO notice some kind of poetic technique I get so caught up in figuring out WHY the poet used it, that it ends up killing any enjoyment I could get from the poem.

Basically, I think I'm reading poetry wrong. how do you guys read Poetry? (If that question even makes sense!)

[gadau]

Hello!
Thank you for your good question.Personally I like reading poems.They make me feel happy.I read every time I feel like reading poems.Indeed reading a poem like any other activity is an art. So,before reading any poem I read the biography of the poet first.Then I try to observe the diction used paying attention to figures of speech,language structures and other devices like rhyme,rhythm,assonance,alliteration,repeation e.t.c.Then,I read a poem several time. At this moment I pay attention to the repeated ideas or themes.

[Yung Senpai]

Read it, absorb it and interpret it.

[pauljames_03]

One has to be really imaginative when reading poetry. Without it, the reader would not be able to absorb the symbolisms and the metaphorical entitlements and situations that envelope the piece.

[Jeyasivananth]

To me reading a poem is like solving a puzzle. Understanding why the poet has used a specific rhyme, image or diction is so satisfying.

[DustinPBrown]

Reading poetry is like looking at art. There's gonna be a lot of stuff you don't really get at first, but you'll still like it. The more you read, though, the more you see the different tricks poets use to describe things or to be original.

Here's how I say you read: Read the poem once, then read it again, but out loud. How was the experience? Did any words or phrases pop out at you as especially cool or exciting? Was any image particularly beautiful? Did you relate at all with any of the feelings the poet tried to convey? How about the sounds, was it enjoyable to listen to or say? It's okay to not like things too! If there was something you hated, it's good to know why you hate it so you don't read things like it again.

I always try to enjoy poetry first on an aesthetic level. On rereads I'll think about theme and advanced techniques and all that more academic crap.

[Arrigo_Lupori]

It is not a silly question. Reading well is essential to giving poetry the sentiment that it deserves to be read with. It's not always easy to read in a way that makes complete sense, but one has to try to embrace the writing, as if he was the one jotting down the poem.

[tendertouchted]

Use the guidelines below to learn how to read a poem and understand it.
Read with a pencil to link up words and underscore important words.
Examine the basic subject -matter/ themes of the poem
Pay special attention to the context of the poem.
The form of the poem must be carefully studied.
Take cognizance of the diction/the word choice as well as the poetic devices deployed by the poet.
In a nutshell, use this formula :
T. C. T. E
T - Theme
C- Content
T- Techniques
E- Effect/Appeal.

[R-Myra]

I don't like reading poetry because they confuse me most of the time.