To start off with, here is an article from The Poetry Foundation that I found:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2012/04/the-difference-between-poetry-and-prose/
To highlight the key points that are relevant to us:
- Martin Earl - this Poetry Foundation blogger dude who says some really elusive and airy stuff (see, this is why people have issues with poetry) that sandwiches some comprehend-able stuff - states, "Poetry creates its own truth, which at times is the same truth as the world’s, and sometimes not." This, I believe, is the case with Beowulf; Beowulf is this sort of superhuman, for one thing, and this story is not exactly "historically accurate," so it is a truth - a constructed truth, not the truth. Any thoughts on this? Are there any elements within Beowulf that relate to our own "truths" today?
- Earl also states, "In both classical and modern languages it is poetry that evolves first and is only much later followed by prose, as though in a language’s childhood, as in our own, poetry were the more efficient communicator of ideas. Whether this has to do with the nature of ideation or some characteristic intrinsic to the material evolution of tongues has never been adequately decided." This directly answers the question as to why Beowulf is written in poetry. Beowulf, clearly, falls into this category of linguistic/literary evolution. More than that, though, think about songs that tell stories, or myths and stories that have been passed along for generations - isn't there a certain simplicity of the descriptions that can also be seen in Beowulf? Lengthy and/or descriptive titles of individuals; a sense of community and a common purpose or enemy; a definitive action taken? In this way, I think "poetry" may be our most long-standing form of story-telling.
What makes Beowulf poetry? It has short lines, all that awesome alliteration...anything else? The syntax is quite poetic-y.
How would Beowulf be different were it written like a novel? A graphic novel? Are there elements to the story that might be lost or altered?
Well, I tackled the questions, but I don't know how clean or effective of a tackle it was.
Here's another meme to conclude with:
Poetry has been defined as, "literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm;" as seen on dictionary.com. One could say that the entirety of Beowulf is thought provoking and its style is almost immediately identifiable. I wonder if this were to be written as a novel, would this confusing tale be easier to understand? Would the never ending questions this poem invokes be answered?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like reading poetry because I feel that when analyzing it, you can never go wrong. The meaning or interpretation is truly left up to the reader. Different people interpret poetry in their own ways which I think that type of versatility is truly beautiful.
ReplyDeleteOne truth that I see in our society that is also seen in Beowulf is, a willingness to help others. When Beowulf heard about Danes being attacked by Grendel for twelve years he was quick to offer his help. There are people in this world, such as, doctors, firefighters and your family, who are quick to assist you when needed.
I too struggle with reading poetry, more so the transitions that the ordinary reader such as myself rely on to stay intrigued and influenced by the story. As far as interpretations go, unfortunately I am quite literal and that does not help me in the least when reading poetry, but in this case so far the story seems straight forward to me, so as far as finding a hidden meaning it might not always be best to use poetry, so you will not find me using poetry when I write my first book.
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to note that we're not reading/hearing the original Beowulf. Hearing a poem is a big deal to me because the poem flows how the poet wants it to. You get to hear how each line was constructed rhythmically, which is a huge part of poetry's appeal. While many sections of Beowulf are quite poetic, I would have a hard time telling that it was specifically meant to be a poem if someone read it word-for-word. When I read great long poems like Beowulf or The Odyssey, there's this feeling I get that paints the story as something incredibly epic. I think it lies in the structure of the stanzas; it makes me feel like I'm reading off of parchment and I love that.
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