Stephen Dunn Poetry Analysis
The Role of the Reader in Analyzing Stephen Dunn’s “Poetry”
All roads do not lead to Rome. There are some roads in life that lead to adventure and freedom, and others that will turn us into people who sit idly by and passively accept whatever comes our way. One must choose which path to take not only in life, but also when analyzing poetry. Stephen Dunn uses his ars poetica poem “Poetry” to point out that while the poet should and does exert some amount of influence, the ultimate interpretation of the poem must be left up to the reader.
Dunn points out very early in the poem that the beginning is not the most important part of the work. In fact, he expresses this in the very first line: “It makes no difference where one starts” (“Poetry” line 1). Even though the content of the beginning lines of a poem is not important, its purpose is emphasized. The speaker declares that in the beginning of a poem “I mostly find myself/with little purpose or design” (ll. 5-6). In other words, the purpose of the beginning of any poem is to figure out where the rest of the poem is going. It …show more content…
This point is expressed through imagery and diction in the middle section of this particular poem. One of the first powerful images is that of “a fast red car” (l. 15). This evokes a feeling of freedom: of being able to drive as fast as one wants to, and in any direction. Similarly, in poetry the reader has power to interpret events the way they want to. However, they cannot drive their car in just any direction. The poet’s influence over the reader is symbolized by the “winding, country road” (l. 16). Some attention must be paid to the context of the situation so one does not drive off the road and go completely off course in their
All roads do not lead to Rome. There are some roads in life that lead to adventure and freedom, and others that will turn us into people who sit idly by and passively accept whatever comes our way. One must choose which path to take not only in life, but also when analyzing poetry. Stephen Dunn uses his ars poetica poem “Poetry” to point out that while the poet should and does exert some amount of influence, the ultimate interpretation of the poem must be left up to the reader.
Dunn points out very early in the poem that the beginning is not the most important part of the work. In fact, he expresses this in the very first line: “It makes no difference where one starts” (“Poetry” line 1). Even though the content of the beginning lines of a poem is not important, its purpose is emphasized. The speaker declares that in the beginning of a poem “I mostly find myself/with little purpose or design” (ll. 5-6). In other words, the purpose of the beginning of any poem is to figure out where the rest of the poem is going. It …show more content…
This point is expressed through imagery and diction in the middle section of this particular poem. One of the first powerful images is that of “a fast red car” (l. 15). This evokes a feeling of freedom: of being able to drive as fast as one wants to, and in any direction. Similarly, in poetry the reader has power to interpret events the way they want to. However, they cannot drive their car in just any direction. The poet’s influence over the reader is symbolized by the “winding, country road” (l. 16). Some attention must be paid to the context of the situation so one does not drive off the road and go completely off course in their