【B1】 【B9】

Okay. You remember that I’ve mentioned that it’s important to read the assigned poems aloud, so you can develop an appreciation of the sounds of the poetry: the rhymes, the rhythm, the repetition of words or sounds, and to get a sense of the interplay between the sounds of the words and their meaning.
This is really critical as we move into modern poetry, especially by writers who place so much importance on sounds that the meaning becomes all letter-relevant. Like this line by Gertrude Stein that I’d like to quote. Listen as I say the words. "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose." Taken literally, this would seem to be an empty statement, one which gives us no information. But the purpose of a poem need not be to inform the reader of anything, but rather to evoke feelings. To create a sensual as well as phonically pleasing experience. Now Gertrude Stein was better known for her prose than for her poems. But I’d like to quote this line, because of its musicality, and because I think it helps open up our awareness to the unconventional style of contemporary poets. You’ll see this in your homework tonight as you read the poetry of John Ashbery, especially if you read it out loud, which I recommend you do. Poets like Ashbery don’t rely so much on any formal rhyme scheme or meter as on the musical quality of the individual words themselves. As I said, Stein was better known for her non-poetical work. And now I’d like to touch briefly on her essay entitled "Conversation and Explanation". This work deals with her theory of writing and will help to explain some of the things we’ve talked about.