Understanding the Strength of Poetry Essay Example for Free

Understanding the Strength of Poetry EssayPoetry celebrates the common senses, and sharpens the mind. These attributes make the genre a favorite among understanders 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 devil very different poets give us two very different poetic experiences, two very different articulatios. Emily Dickinsons 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 heighten and intellectual understanding straightaway they are non easy to read, compared to convention tout ensembley-written poems. Nevertheless, this writing style does not diminish the brilliance in the text it instead enhances it. ace example is the poem entitled, 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 Dickinsons 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 close 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 little evocations of the subject.For instance, in the poem entitled 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 progeny of your resource here). The poem descri bes 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 beliefively communicates the message.Emily Dickinsons 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 likewise make the reader frustrated in trying to decode what Dickinson really meant. Despite this, the strength in Dickinsons poetry is undeniable. She is one poet whose place in literature will always be secure. 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 ask to know his background to thoroughly enjoy his poems. Nevertheless, most of his poems in the selection provid ed for this paper have universal themes, so that the verses may be understood and understand as they are, without the cultural context.Dream Deferred, for instance talks about the figurative outcome of ambitiousnesss, of plans, withheld. It causes a deep a resentment that could corrupt the soul Hughes writes that the dream may, fester like a sore/and then run (lines 3-4), or stink like rotten meat (line 6) signifying a dreamers 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, Same in Blues and Mother to Son also express universal themes.Same in Blues is the illustration of dreams deferred, a humorous portrayal of goals not reached, dreams not fulfilled. 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 divvy up 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, The Negro speaks of Rivers, and 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 ones pride in ones identity and culture, certainly a universal theme every person can relate to. 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 att ribute that may make the reader dislike Hughes verses is the particular 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. The vicarious experiences offered by both brilliant poets, Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes, affirm the strength of poetry to awaken the readers intellect and emotions.