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Photo K. Ananthan

A pleasure Called poetry

A child is exposed to poetry in the English classroom, coached to look at it from the examination point of view. Once out of the exam hall, he erases the poem from his mind and there ends the role of poetry in his life.

“I feel guilty in being part of the ignorant audience. I have grown up in an era where poetry was given step motherly treatment against essays, elocution, prose, etc. Perhaps our quest for instant gratification is not met when it comes to poetry, which does demand some amount of sensitivity and intellectual prowess”, says S. Subramanian, who confesses to not having read too much poetry.

But, he agrees that “a delectable teacher with a wonderful understanding of the art of appreciating poems can make the biggest difference to kids liking or disliking poetry”.

However, Ms Nagalakshmi, an English teacher, states that poems, which are revelations of poets’ souls, cannot be taught in classrooms and that comprehension of poetry is associated with the individual involved. She strongly feels that cognizance, as far as poetry is concerned cannot be induced.

It is misconstrued at present that poetry is meant only for children, as a part of their curriculum. But the extent of solace that it can provide to a ruffled mind is unknown.

But there are those who still enjoy poetry.

Such as Jayashri, a student who prefers poems, dealing with nature to those speaking of people and their emotions. She also feels that poetry sans a definite rhyming pattern is not poetry at all.

How many of us discuss Alfred Lord Tennyson and the Brownings over coffee tables; or recite Lochinvar and ‘The highway man’ with passion; or savoured the poetry of Firdousi’s Shahnameh and Valmiki’s Ramayana. Mention Troy, and instead of Homer, it is Brad Pitt and Diane Kruger that pop into mind.

But, it is not all that hopeless, says Sharanya, a literature student, “It is true that poetry may not be discussed anymore but the love for it is as great as ever. There may only be a handful who continue to pursue it as a passion but it doesn’t come into the bracket of a dying art form. Poetry may have lost its commercial flame but its appeal is greater than ever”.

The vitality of poetry has to be revived. Schools and colleges do have literary societies, for the students to interact and share their pieces of writing with their peers.

Shouldn’t there be literary societies, a la the humour clubs, for the general public to discuss verse?

Walt Whitman’s quote, is something worth mulling over – “To have great poets there must be great audiences too”.

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