What is Poetry?
Now that you have learned some basics about poetry, take a moment to read the following quotes:
"If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold that no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry."
-Emily Dickinson
"Poetry is the best words in the best order."
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge."
-William Wordsworth
"Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion."
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T.S. Eliot
"Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds."
-Percy Bysshe Shelley
Which one most accurately describes what YOU think about poetry? For this assignment, you will select one of these quotes and compose one to two paragraphs explaining what the quote means, as well as why it best describes what you think about poetry. Your piece should be at least six to eight sentences, and you should use the vocabulary that you learned in this topic to support your claims.
After you have completed your quote analysis, write two to three sentences to respond to the following questions at the bottom of the document:
- Did this topic change the way you think about poetry? How?
Once you have completed your paragraph(s), please submit your work to the dropbox.