How to Read a Poem Out Loud - Poetry 101: A Poem a Day pushes Anxiety away.

Poetry is a beautiful, rhythmic expression.

It is often said that.

"POETRY IS TO PROSE AS DANCING IS TO WALKING"

This means that poetry is a more creative, expressive form of communication. It often uses metaphors and similes to communicate its message in a more creative way than prose.

The first known forms of literature have been poems. Somehow poetry came naturally to humans, and poetry has taken various forms (sonnets, odes, elegies, free verse and whatnot) and still stayed relevant to date. It is that form of literary work that has stoked some specific emotional response through words.

What is Poetry?

Poetry is literature that uses human experience and emotions to beautiful effect. It often utilizes language tools such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre to create an impressionable, unforgettable impact.

According to Merriam-Webster, poetry is "literature that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm."

What is the point of poetry?

The purpose of poetry is to tell a story, evoke emotion, or paint a picture. Often, poetry is used to express something that is too difficult to put into prose. It is a way of communicating that goes beyond the literal meaning of words.

Why Read Poetry?

Poetry is not just a pleasurable rhythmical composition; it's much more than that. Throughout history, poets have motivated, inspired, and tantalized the world. Reading poetry has immense mental benefits. It can help relieve stress, ease anxiety, and improve sleep. poetry can also boost your brainpower, enhance your memory and concentration, improve your writing skills, and increase your empathy.

Poetry and Mental Well-being

In a research report published by Dr Eugen Wassiliwizky in 2017, various benefits of reading poetry were enlisted. His extensive research findings over the years it was found that reading poetry or a collection of poems can enrich the life of an individual significantly.

Reading poetry broadens one's perspective, allows for different opinions to be respected, and acknowledges the beauty in all viewpoints. Oftentimes, reading a poem can remind the individual of a similar experience or emotion, creating a sense of belonging. Poems provide an emotional outlet for people to express themselves, and they remind us that we are never alone. There are poems out there for everyone, no matter what you're going through. You can always find one (or many) that speak to you on a personal level (Wassiliwizky et al. 2017). In our darkest hours, poetry can show us a way out and provide hope that we are not alone in this world. When certain lines from a poem strike us to the core, it is an electric feeling of happiness and relief, knowing that somebody else has felt what we feel.

The American Academy of Pediatrics published a study in 2021 that found hospitalized children who were encouraged to write and read poetry saw decreases in emotion, such as anger, worry, sadness, and fatigue. The researchers said poetry was an excellent way to distract from stress while still providing an opportunity for self-reflection.

In an article written in 2020 for the Journal of Medical Humanities, David Haosen Xiang and Alisha Moon Yi explore how poetry can help reduce feelings of loneliness, something that has become more pervasive since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both Xiang and Yi, who were students at Harvard Medical School and Harvard College, respectively, when they did the research for this article, found many studies backing up claims that reading, writing or listening to poetry has benefits for our health. These include reducing stress and symptoms of depression; both chronic pain and post-operative pain have been shown to get better following exposure to poetry too. Not only does it make us feel calmer and happier, but it can improve mood, memory and work performance as well.

How do you read poetry?

Poetry is meant to be read aloud. This is because poetry uses sound devices, such as rhyme, meter, and alliteration, to create a musical effect. When you read poetry aloud, you can hear these sound devices and get a better sense of the poet's meaning.

When reading poetry, it is important to read slowly and carefully. This will help you to notice the sound devices and to understand the poet's meaning. You may need to read a poem several times before you fully understand it.

Annotating a poem can also be helpful.

How to Read a Poem

There are many different ways to read a poem. However, there are some things that you should keep in mind when reading poetry:

- Read the poem aloud. Reading aloud will help you to notice the sound devices and will give you a better understanding of the meanings implied.

- Read the poem slowly and carefully. This will help you enjoy the figurative language employed by the poet.

- Read the poem more than once. Best poems can be enjoyed by the reader each time it is read, and often it can be discovered that the poem means different from what it meant at the time of first reading.

Poetry is not just about reading the words on the page. It's about understanding the feeling behind the words and sharing that feeling with others. When you read a poem out loud, you're not just reciting words - you're sharing an experience. When reading poetry out loud, it is essential to use your voice to convey the meaning of the poem. You want to use inflexion and changes in volume to emphasize.

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