The Possibility of Poetry

Annotations of Emily Dickinson's poem, "I Dwell in Possibility"

Claims:
Policy: Emily Dickinson’s poem should be read by all to understand the importance of poetry

Definition: The poem is a metaphor for the wonders of imagination
Comparison: The change in the meter is like the change in our minds and how we process life
Evaluation claim: It is better to be on a quest for knowledge than to quit at the first hard test.
Casual: Dickinson uses her religious background frequently throughout her writing.

Meta Poetica Part II

Writing out and annotating a poem is an excellent way to really pull apart and understand a poem. From this we can really start to form different kinds of claims to talk about the poem:

Policy Claim: Elizabeth Alexander's poem should be read out loud because of how it is paced, the tone, and tension she builds.
Definition Claim: This poem is about the poet's belief that poetry is inspired by happenstance occurrences in human lives, she expresses this through metaphor and questions.
Comparison Claim: Elizabeth Alexander's poem claims that poetry is like the small details and inspirations in a humans life through this poem with metaphors and an assertive tone.
Evaluation Claim: "Ars Poetica: #100: I believe" is best understood as a plea to young people to take poetry seriously and as a way to connect to others by using understandable metaphors and a passionate tone.
Causal Claim: Elizabeth Alexander causes the the reader to reflect on their relationship with poetry, and by extension how it connects them to the world around them by using personal metaphors and asking questions to instigate personal reflection.

Poet & I Didn't Even Know It

8 Steps to Follow and Questions to Ask

1.   Listening or reading the poem out loud without over analyzing it is a great way to start!

 

BY EMILY DICKINSON

I dwell in Possibility –

A fairer House than Prose –

More numerous of Windows –

Superior – for Doors –

Of Chambers as the Cedars –

Impregnable of Eye –

And for an everlasting Roof

The Gambrels of the Sky –

Of Visitors – the fairest –

For Occupation – This –

The spreading wide my narrow Hands

To gather Paradise –

2.   Articulating expectations for the poem allows readers to go into detail about where, when, and how the poem fulfills or frustrates your expectations.

I am a romantic, and I come by it honestly. When looking at Emily Dickinson's title, "I Dwell In Possibility" it excites me. I love nothing more than a possibility, because it has a positive connotation, it means anything could happen- it's possible. I think it's going to be about something she hopes for or something she wants, we know she's talking about poetry even though she never says poetry. 

3.   Analyzing the syntax of a poem allows the reader to truly understand what is being said. 

I had to look up a few different renditions of the poem to understand what exactly Dickinson was trying to accomplish. I looked up the word Prose, and I noticed when she capitalized words to turn them into a proper noun. She capitalizes the end of almost every phrase making it stand out and almost to add emphasis on the terms. 

4.   Consulting reference works for anything the poem may mention that you do not understand.

After a simple google search, I found that Emily Dickinson lived in Amherst, Massachusetts in the mid-1800's. Although part of a prominent family with strong ties to its community, Dickinson lived much of her life in reclusive isolation.

5.   Understanding who, where, when, and what happens is easier after you've come to a literal understanding of each sentence. 

Who: A poet who seeks the possibility

Where: In a house where there are grand visitors 

When: As soon as possible

What: Living a life where poetry is apart of how we live and interact

6.   Addressing those questions allows us to ponder the bigger picture questions such as why does the poem matter and what does it mean?

I think Dickinson's poem matters because she longs for this world where people connect and interact through poetry. Misunderstood herself, she longed to be heard, understood, and for people to respect her writings. 

7. How does the form of a poem contribute to its effect and meaning?

Her form is three tidy quatrains, I think it was symbolic that while it may look like a normal poem that follows all the rules, it ends up getting wild within the meters, and she is making a statement. She isn't a poet you can just put on the shelf, but she is a powerhouse who knows what she wants and how she is going to get it. 

8. Consider ways the poem both uses and departs from poetic conventions, especially those related to form and sub-genre.

Dickinson doesn't follow the generic form that was used within these types of poems, but rather uses different lengths of imab to get her point across. It's a piece about the limitless power of poetry that can awaken human imagination, so why would she write it in a constricting meter? She knows what she's doing and she does it to make a point. There is no right or wrong in poetry, but rather its as far as the imagination can percieve it to be. 

photo  credit: https://quotefancy.com/quote/7429/Emily-Dickinson-I-dwell-in-possibility

Learning to Love Poetry

8 Steps to Follow and Questions to Ask

1.   Listening or reading the poem out loud without over analyzing it is a great way to start!

Ars Poetica #100: I believe by Elizabeth Alexander

Poetry, I tell my students,
is idiosyncratic. Poetry

is where we are ourselves
(though Sterling Brown said

"every 'I' is a dramatic 'I'"),
digging in the clam flats

for the shell that snaps,
emptying the proverbial pocketbook.

Poetry is what you find
in the dirt in the corner,

overhear on the bus, God
in the details, the only way

to get from here to there.
Poetry (and now my voice is rising)

is not all love, love, love,
and I'm sorry the dog died.

Poetry (here I hear myself loudest)
is the human voice,

and are we not of interest to each other?


2.   Articulating expectations for the poem allows readers to go into detail about where, when, and how the poem fulfills or frustrates your expectations.

Not once is the phrase "I Believe" written in the poem, but as the author described what poetry is to her students I figured toward the end of the poem that the description she was giving of poetry was "her belief" of what poetry is. The poem was split into couplets so when the final line came about I was not surprised it was a single line with a question added for effect. The free verse really allowed the poem to have the flow required for the ending effect.


3.   Analyzing the syntax of a poem allows the reader to truly understand what is being said. 

Every sentence begins with the word poetry, which is to add effect or meaning to the poem that what is being read is a poem about poetry. Sentences are elongated through the use of couplets and commas. The authors use of modern prose eliminates ambiguities and the need to reorder sentences.


4.   Consulting reference works for anything the poem may mention that you do not understand.

Sterling Brown was an African American poet and literary critic who lived form 1901 - 1989.


5.   Understanding who, where, when, and what happens is easier after you've come to a literal understanding of each sentence. 

Who: A teacher and a the students and the reader.
Where: No specific setting other than references made by the speaker (ex. in the corner, on the bus)
When: No setting, but the speaker being a teacher may imply a classroom.
What: Describing what poetry is and why it matters.


6.   Addressing those questions allows us to ponder the bigger picture questions such as why does the poem matter and what does it mean?

This poem about poetry is important for understanding what poetry can be and how it can function in our lives. It is a form of expression that can be seen as an art of various forms. It can be as loose as this free verse that is being examined or even more complex such as a sonnet. Poetry can serve to respond to the life around us, express feelings, tell stories or anything in between.


7. How does the form of a poem contribute to its effect and meaning?

The use of couplets and elongated sentences through commas allows me to believe that this poem could be in the mind of the speaker. Perhaps it is a reflection or a retelling to the reader by the teacher. I could also see it as a flow of thought.


8. Consider ways the poem both uses and departs from poetic conventions, especially those related to form and sub genre.

The poem uses poetic conventions through its use of couplets and free verse, but departs from the couplets at the end of the poem with the final line standing alone. The use of free verse contributes to the idea that poetry can be whatever it needs to be regardless of structure and complexity. Ultimately poetry is a form of expression that is as diverse as it can be deep.

Meta Poetica

8 steps to responding to your poem (especially if it's a poem about poetry):

1) Reading the poem out loud is a good way to start, go ahead!

Ars Poetica #100: I Believe
by, Elizabeth Alexander


Poetry, I tell my students,
is idiosyncratic. Poetry

is where we are ourselves
(though Sterling Brown said

“Every ‘I’ is a dramatic ‘I’”),
digging in the clam flats

for the shell that snaps,
emptying the proverbial pocketbook.

Poetry is what you find
in the dirt in the corner,

overhear on the bus, God
in the details, the only way

to get from here to there.
Poetry (and now my voice is rising)

is not all love, love, love,
and I’m sorry the dog died.

Poetry (here I hear myself loudest)
is the human voice,

and are we not of interest to each other?