/lit/ - Literature

>>9440522
Hardly anybody reads poetry anymore because they are not taught in school to analyse a poem's techniques.
They are taught to find the 'messages' and 'themes' of a poem instead of contemplating the stylistic choices and aesthetic appearances, which is what poetry is really about--memorable word choice and phrasing. Everything else is secondary.

Even people on this board complain that poetry does nothing for them. I would argue it is because they read poems like prose--they expect a poem to unfold itself to them naturally as their eyes scan over the words, how prose works.
This is not the case for poetry.

A poem requires multiple readings, rereadings, and study, no matter its length.

Poetry is not for this age, where instant gratification, which prose often delivers, is required, otherwise the reader loses interest and concentration quickly.

It is a great shame, as the benefits of poetry are boundless.