To Teach and Learn

Today, one of my students asked me why did poets write poems in languages that were difficult for the students to understand. He said, "Why didn't the poet use simple/straight forward language?" It was a straight forward question and I tried my best to satisfy him with an answer. I told him to compare two sentences:   "I miss you"    "I miss you like the dry earth misses the fresh showers of spring. " I asked him which one did he like. He said that he liked the second sentence. I asked why and he said the second sentence was more beautiful and I asked him why again and he said because the second sentence was talking about spring.  Then I told him to close his eyes and listen to the second sentence when I read it. I asked him what pictures did he imagine when he heard the words. He told me that he saw the rain in the spring. I asked him what else did he see and he said, "flowers". I told him to imagine the rain on his face ...

I have always loved poetry. My all-time favorite is Ulysses by Tennyson. At the moment I am teaching 'We are Seven' by William Wordsworth and it is a joy to read it aloud with my students. Every word conjures pictures so vivid that I can't help but live the moments and sing the song. Before reading the poem, my students wrote their own poem on the title 'We are seven' and that was an overwhelming experience to draw the pictures with their words. Pictures of seven stars that wrote, pictures of seven friends they spoke, and pictures of the seven beautiful colors of the rainbow arched over snow-capped mountains and the wide-open sky did they draw. It is a beautify poem, 'We are Seven', the simplicity with which Wordsworth touches on the subtle pleasure of being innocent and living in ignorance of death and the bliss that follows. We Are Seven BY  WILLIAM WORDSWORTH ———A simple Child, That lightly draws its breath, And feels its life in every l...