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by Jay O'Toole

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A place for discussion on poetry, reviews, contests, etc.

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Mar 25, 2019 at 6:40pm

#3258989

DISCUSSION: Imitation

by Dave

One of the easiest ways to learn how to do something is by imitation. From the very first words we speak as infants, we are encouraged to follow the ways of others to learn the proper ways of doing things. We mimic those behaviors over and over until they become second nature and we develop the confidence we need to venture out on our own.

Writing poetry can be learned in much the same way. When we started writing poetry, many of us probably recalled the Mother Goose rhymes of our childhood and made our first humble attempts with that model in mind. The technical aspects of both classical and modern poets can be emulated to great advantage. Read their poetry and study it closely. When you come upon a poem or passage that impresses you, scrutinize it, breaking it down word by word to learn the techniques and devices that make it work so well. If you study a particular poet extensively, you may find your own writing inadvertently following similar emphasis and inflection, even though you intended to write independently. It becomes contagious. The important thing is to develop the skills and build your confidence in the use of various poetic tools.

While imitation of the technical elements of crafting can be helpful, the philosophies and ideas of others should not be copied directly just because they are successful or popular. If they appeal to you, do the research and study the primary sources on the topic until you have a full comprehension of the topic. Only then will you be able to express those thoughts in your own terms.

Language is a malleable medium, like clay, to be molded and shaped to suit each individual’s purpose. Once you have developed the skills to mold effectively by imitation, you will be able to find your own style and rhythm so that every element in your being can contribute to your poetry. No one else was born to your parents at just that time and place and has lived through the exact same experiences and reached the same conclusions as you have. Therefore, you are the only one qualified to express precisely what you think about any situation. This is what makes your work original. Emotional freedom, integrity and the special quality of your own work are not what you start with, but they are what you finally attain through patience, diligence and inspiration.

EXERCISE: Review the following poems in detail:

	Evenings I hear
	the workmen fire
 	into the stiff
   	magnolia leaves,
	routing the starlings
	gathered noisy and
	befouling there.
 
	Their scissoring
	terror like glass
	coins spilling breaking
	the birds explode
	into mica sky
	raggedly fall
	to ground rigid
	in clench of cold.
	
	The spared return,
	when the guns are through,
	to the spoiled trees
	like choiceless poor
	to a dangerous
	dwelling place,
	chitter and quarrel
	in the piercing dark
	above the killed.
 
	~”A Plague of Starlings” by Robert Hayden
 
					*********

		 
	Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, 
	And sorry I could not travel both
	And be one traveler, I stood
	And looked down one as far as I could
	To where it bent in the undergrowth;
 
	Then took the other, as just as fair,
	And having perhaps the better claim,
	Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
	Though as for that, the passing there
	Had worn them really about the same,
 
	And both that morning equally lay
	In leaves no step had trodden black.
	Oh, I kept the first for another day!
	Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
	I doubted if I should ever come back.
 
	I shall be telling this with a sigh
	Somewhere ages and ages hence:
	Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
	I took the one less traveled by,
	And that has made all the difference.
 
	~”The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost

ASSIGNMENT: Write a 10-15 line poem using your favorite poet as a model. If you don’t have a favorite, use one of the poems quoted in the EXERCISE above.

Let the creativity flow from your soul!