“Poems Poems, burning bright!”
Despite being online and only lasting for a mere hour, the lecture given by Dr Eric Sandberg was incredibly riveting and compelling. We started off with a simple and interactive introduction to poetry before diving into the deep bottomless sea of it. Many abstract concepts were introduced throughout the class but Dr Sandberg was able to simplify them into relatable examples. Take the rhythmic meters for examples, day-to-day lines or phrases were used to explain how they work. I especially liked how Dr Sandberg had used his own name to make things easier. Moving on, we had an actual “case study” to examine together – The Tyger by William Blake.
Neither was Blake nor the Tyger new to me yet the lesson managed to give me new perspectives into this exquisite piece. Before we began our expedition into the “jungle”, we were given lots of context, from the circumstances of Blake’s time to his myriad of contributions to the art world. With that, our adventure began. We started with an initial read and analysis, noting how the rhythm resembled that of tribal and fierce jungle tunes. We then moved on to a comparison with Blake’s previous piece – The Lamb and the one we are covering – The Tyger. Before that, I had never thought about cross-poem analyses, opening up a whole new way to appreciate literary work for me. The lecture ended with a gigantic epiphanic moment that perhaps The Tyger isn’t actually referring to a tiger, rather it’s toying with its very own title. Now, this is just a brief summary of what was taught and learnt. To extend a bit further, after the lecture, I began hearing rhythmic meters in daily conversations and noted how important it is to start from a writer’s background before diving into their work.
All in all, I am immensely grateful to have attended such a roaring class that has once again elicited my fierce passion for poetry.
For I am the “mortal hand and eye” daring to analyze thy “fearful symmetry”!