Defining Poetry: Utility Softened by Feeling, Feeling Heightened by Utility

by Andrew Perez

Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poem “Uses of Poetry” reminds readers to not consider poetry solely on the basis of feeling but on the merit of their historical value. The first lines of the poem describe a war-torn landscape “where armed trains run over green protesters” (Ferlinghetti, line 11) and “promises…will be betrayed” (lines 7-8). Ferlinghetti considers himself to be a “reporter for a newspaper” (line 51) attempting to accurately depict these events unfolding around him, and thus reorienting his art to be worthy of some objective merit.

This difference in Ferlinghetti’s poetic intent argues a point the other two poets in this selection fail to justify beyond chaos and contempt, making it my favorite out of the three. Many of the classic poetic works integrated into teaching curriculum in the US make for excellent literary analysis and examples of mastering writing conventions. Poets like Shakespeare and Lord Byron provide insights on technical skill and larger historical movements, but are arguably utilitarian in what they offer students. The contemporary social and historical contexts of poetic works, as Ferlinghetti claims, justify the necessity of the art form despite the common accusation of sentimental excess poetry carries. None of my English classes in high school read poems by James Baldwin or Maya Angelou, or any political poet for that matter. The ideas these poems contain on sexuality, race, government corruption, among a variety of other variables that shape our world, are extremely helpful for the youth who do not yet understand how we arrived at our current human condition. For this reason, I cannot disagree with Ferlinghetti: the uses of poetry are far more practical than they appear.

poetry for the naked eye.

Jocelyn Lemus

When one thinks of poetry, they think of it as separate stanzas that rhyme. For instance, one can always begin with, “roses are red and violets are blue, etc.” However, that is not always the case because poetry comes from different forms and shapes. They can rhyme, or they cannot. They can be extremely long , but also extremely short. The amount of words never determine the amount of meaning a poem brings into life. When I think of poetry and the real definition, I find myself questioning such question that can hardly be answered.

As reading all three creative and well descriptive poems, I noticed that Marianne Moore found her way around words when trying to describe poetry. In her poem, Poetry, she implies her way of describing it with the use of figurative language. The way she uses her manipulation of words allows me to understand more the meaning of poetry because she tries to unwrap the simplicity and complexities of poetry.

It is not about the way we read the poem, but the way we choose to understand it. Moore also best defines poetry because she uses her ability to describe a poem with a genuine vocabulary. She fits the parts that seem to be questioned constantly.

Contempt = poetry understood

By Lauren Hamilton

In contempt we learn the most about something to understand why we hate the idea of it in the first place. In the second, how to grow from the hate to better ourselves as humans. Marianne Moore says it perfectly in the cut down version of her piece “Poetry”, it speaks of having contempt for something allows the reader to find the genuine. In allowing the genuine to be defined by the reader themselves it makes defining poetry rather difficult. In the original version Moore speaks of the more various ways in which poetry pokes and prods the reader into a feelings of dislike for the subject. It is in the poking at a sore spot that one can define poetry as poetry.

Poetry is what speaks to you.

Jackeline Salazar

Even though all three of them are poems, the one that defines the most would just depends on what speaks to you the most. Everyone has their own definition of poetry so we can’t just say that one of these poems defines poetry the most, because they all have a meaning to what speaks most for itself. I personally believe that the poem that speaks to me the most is “USES OF POETRY” by Ferlinghetti, Lawrence. I like how he defines poetry in many ways, at least that is how I seem to read and understand it. He seems to make you think in the beginning that poetry is either used in a good way, but can also be used in some bad ways too. He uses phrases that also have a deeper meaning but usually it is easy to point it out and understand what he is talking about when he says what is the use of poetry. He also seems to be saying that poetry is define in many things and places and even in albums supposedly. He  is trying to acknowledge that poetry can interpret in many situations or in objects, even poetry can be define in our dreams. In lines 4-5, he mentions how poetry can be “paved over to make a freeway for armies of the night”. As in poetry can be covered to define many things.  He interprets poetry in many ways, it is just your way of understanding what it could mean and how you also want to define poetry as well.