Deep analysis of poetry- looking for more than the apparent words.

There is a great deal of resistance to "depth analysis" of poetry (often caused by unfortunate school experiences) however it can provide a great tool for insight in review and critique as well as honing our own skills in the writing of deep, rich, quality verse.

In this workshop each participant will submit a poem which the other participants will firstly attempt to describe/summarise as simply as possible the literal meaning. The comparisons will be revealing.

Second we will attempt to explain how the poem extends (or possibly limits) itself beyond simple literality through imagery, symbolism, association, subtext and references. We'll discuss these terms at the start of the workshop.

Finally a brief discussion of how well the poem works at different levels.

Time limits may constrain the number of poems we can cover so- first in first "probed" [grins, I can't guarantee no aliens will be involved but we won't abduct you]

Up to 10 participants. First come first in, anyone who misses a place will be reserved a place in succeeding workshops. Applicants to apply by Private Message to weirdelf or themoonman. A commitment of 14 days is required, you'll need to check in as often as possible.

ok, let's get started by discussing the terms imagery, symbolism, association, subtext and references. Pick one term and post 50-100 words on it here. Then we will go to specific poems.

Please do not submit a poem for the workshop until requested to do so and when posting them do not post them here but use "Submit a Poem" and select "Deep analysis of poetry" from the Workshop dropdown. Also please do not post intent until every participant has been given the chance to arrive at their own conclusions based on the poem itself. Also please do not edit your poem until everyone has given feedback, or we will be commenting on different poems!

cheers
Jess

Leader: Jess (weirdelf)
Moderator(s): Richard (themoonman)
Anna (Kailashana)
Michelle (michellek)

Level of expertise: Open to all