Why Is Poetry Written?

I think that poetry is written because it is a form of expression. As stated in the packet we had received, "an author is limited to his words to express his feelings and ideas". In this sense, this is no different from when you are writing other texts such as an essays, novels, and so forth. After all, they're composed of mostly words that only come out of our heads, aren't they? Words are all of what we have to create a text from our minds. However, these forms of writing are differentiated for a reason, and that's no exception for poetry. The way I see it, poetry is almost like a secret language. Poets are indeed able to express themselves, their experiences, and others through various ways and kinds of words. However, additionally, it's through words and phrases that mean something specifically to the poet. This is why I am adamant on the idea that although we are open to interpreting poetry as we wish, only the poet may truly understand what it means, as it was their experience, knowledge, and sentiments that created it. While poetry is indeed a form of writing, it has it's individual traits as well. It's expression, a story, a thought; something that wants to be said that can be executed and properly said by the poet themselves. Basically, I think poetry is written for ourselves to open up parts of ourselves in many ways.

Sunday, October 12th

In American Literature we've begun digging into poetry, including a few pieces by Edgar A. Poe. This included The Raven, The Bells, and Annabel Lee. When we were given the assignment to read them, I was under the impression that we'd probably discuss them lightly and then probably progress into the bigger picture of whatever was planned for the lesson. However I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that we actually spent a chunk of class time both reading and talking about one of the poems, Annabel Lee. This is because it's my personal favorite of the three. While it's a little biased as it's a favorite of a dear friend of mine, I still think that despite that it has to be one of the three I really did enjoy. Some might argue that it's easy to comprehend and not all that interesting, but I honestly find the simplicity and it's content in all to be the beauty of it all.
Anyways, aside from Annabel Lee in particular, I liked taking time to focus on Poe's work. Growing up I have read "The Tell-Tale Heart" multiple times, and it was nice to branch out and see some of his other pieces as well as learn a little more about his style of writing or even him himself. Rather than strange, I find him to be an interesting guy. Because of this I was highly considering taking one of his poems for the future presentation we are to do. I enjoyed his writing.

Civil War

On October 3rd, we answered a journal that addressed the question as to whether or not, considering the stakes of the Civil War, was it worth it. I am adamant in regards to the idea that the Civil War was an important piece of history and that it was indeed worth the occurrence. This is because it seemed to be the only thing that moved us forward. As I listened to other people sharing their ideas during class, they brought up the generalized point that slavery might've continued longer than it did if it weren't for the war. I have to agree with this statement, mostly due to the fact that it appears as if violence is the only solution America can find to taking it's step forward. Personally, that's what I find a major issue to be. Even then, with all these wars fought, we're barely making progress- racism still exists almost anywhere today, and it's a real wonder when people will be able to open their eyes and eliminate the ignorance for good. However, despite this, some progress is better than none. Even if it meant going through what had happened to get where we are today, I still believe that is was well worth it. Either it was the best decision to make, or it was not, in which case, you live and you learn. As days continuously pass, there will come a day where people DO learn the things they should have realized long ago. These pieces of history, such as the Civil War, simply take part in that.