Monday, April 25, 2011

Synthesis

Kay Ryan's poetry is almost always very personal, written in a way that doesn't show it to be personal. Her poems are short, because her poems are not about discussion or pondering, they are about stating a feeling or point.

In her poetry itself, Ryan uses a lot of oxymorons, not only does it draw attention to an important line in her poetry, but it is also a great way for her to express her humor in her work. The way in which she writes her poetry is very specific, the syntax is choppy and the lines create awkward or unnatural breaks in a sentence.  This is deliberate and contrasts with the lines that rhyme in order to keep the reader alert.

Kay Ryan also uses a lot of imagery and symbolism, often related to birds. For example, the imagery of birds is forefront in her poems: Home to Roost, Felix Crow, Flamingo Watching, Soft, Paired Things, and most likely in others that I have yet to read.

Her poems are often simple in meaning on the surface, but with a deeper meaning the more you read. The issues and feelings she writes about are very common, but not easily explained, the issues have long been around, yet not easily solved. In my opinion, she writes these poems because the feelings and issues within are the ones that are most important to her, and she wants other people to see it as well.

One thing to note when reading her poems is that her diction is very simple, with the exception of a few complicated words. These words must not be overlooked, for their meaning is important.

Overall, Ryan's poetry is deeply personal, with a sophisticated simplicity that draws in the reader. The issues are ones we all know and the feelings are all ones we have experienced to some degree, and this allows anyone who reads her work to connect with it in their own way, creating deeply personal poems for all to enjoy.

15 comments:

  1. I totally agree with your statement about the simple diction. From my own experience, I feel like simple diction does, as you said in your post, give poems more meaning and maybe make them even more symbolic. Diction that is too complex can sometimes be distracting and difficult to decipher, whereas simplistic diction reveals a message from the poet that to me always is something like, "What I have to say is important. You all need to read this and understand it because what I have to say is meaningful."

    Also, was anybody else kind of reminded of Mrs. Dalloway when reading some of the more recently posted poems?

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  2. I also noticed the use of enjambent and limited punctuation. This forced me to read it quickly with little breaks. I think this adds to your idea about how simple they are at first but then once you scratch the surface they are very deep. After reading some quickly I went back and read them again and better understood their meanings. A common theme among the poems I read was separation and lonliness. Usually using nature as a lens.

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  3. I really like what you said about the "sophisticated simplicity", because that's the same feeling I got from these poems. Although the poems and their lines were short, the enjambment kept them from being choppy and the imagery and figurative language were very strong throughout. The shortness of the poems emphasized that even more to me.

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  4. I think that because "her poems are simple in meaning on the surface, but with a deeper meaning the more you read" is something that mirrors human nature as well. Many people do not keep their thoughts and feelings on the surface for everyone to see, but there are still more deep down. This is one of the elements that makes Ryan's poetry more realistic. The simple diction and "unnatural breaks" also make her poetry more realistic.

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  5. I did notice and like the way that the syntax was deliberately broken up the way it was. She basically bent the English language in order to say things a different way rather than just straightforward sentences. I've that short poems can be the ones that make you think the most, as they don't overwhelm you with information when you read them. I've noticed that loneliness and solitude are often themes in poetry, but they don't seem lame or overused with Kay Ryan.

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  6. I feel like the poems all rely a bit too heavily on enjambment. I understand that this is just Ryan's style, but I feel that it is a bit overdone. That being said, I do feel that it lends a purpose when combined with the limited punctuation that Caroline mentioned. In order to make the words not be a big mush in the readers' heads, she must break the lines up in some way, and this combination achieves this goal.

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  7. Alex, compliments on the blog name. I agree with Connor's explanation of the enjambment and style. It represents the message the poet is trying to express. I also like how the poet uses oxymorons which is very different than other poets, especially mine. They dont use them often so when they do it catches my attention immediately.

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  8. I agree with most of the people in saying that the enjambment balances out the simple syntax. I can also really appreciate the short lines and lengths of her poems because it keeps the reader's attention. It is often intimidating to read such a lengthy poem but Ryan's poems are so relatable because they are bold and forward without creating complicated thoughts.

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  9. I actually had a lot of difficulty getting through these poems. I think it was the heavy use of enjambment and lack of punctuation, as previously mentioned, that was very distracting. However, I do understand that there is definitely a deeper meaning prevalent in Ryan's poems than what is presented on the surface. As Libby said, the simple diction makes this obvious. However the fragmented thoughts result in a poem that superficially is just as complex as it is.. internally? Does that make any sense? I don't know how else to put it.

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  10. I feel like the personal aspect of her poem, noted by Alex and many of my classmates, as well as the simplicity of her syntax and diction makes for poetry that resonates and echoes within the reader. Does anyone else get that impression? That some words, lines, whatever are so potent, yet so simple, that they just echo? I felt that with my poet, Gwendolyn Brooks, as well. I think that the enjambment adds to this, and is not overdone, but rather a characteristic trait of Ryan's poetry.

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  11. Kay Ryan is an interesting poet and quite different than others I have encountered. Here poems are short and choppy, often needing to be read several times, with different reading styles to get the full meaning of the poem. She often uses analogies or allusions to illuminate her themes which I found interesting, such as in the poem “Atlas.” The poems that are short make a quick point and end, yet cause you to continue thinking about the subject matter.

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  12. As several have mentioned, Ryan's use of enjambment is quite distracting and fragmenting. It's quite difficult to understand the meaning of her poems without reading them at least several times. However, in her poem "Sharks' Teeth," this heavy enjambment definitely serves to enhance the image of the shark and its teeth. However, I still believe that the enjambment is distracting to various degrees depending on the poem.

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  13. Kay Ryan displays different qualities in his writing. His style is short and choppy, and relatively fragmented. Much like other people, i found his poems to rather difficult to understand. In some instances it took me several times to fully grasp what Ryan was trying to portray. I noticed like Dimitri that she often uses analogies or allusion to highlight her overall theme.

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  14. Kay Ryan's use of enjambment keeps the poems flowing. The poems are short and quick; however, because of this they sometimes require multiple readings in order to understand them even though the diction is simple. Like many others have said, sometimes the excessive use of enjambment is distracting and takes away from the poem.

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  15. I think that the best way to describe this poem is via an analogy. Ryan's poetry is like a corn muffin. A corn muffin is not the softest and smooth muffin you could find. It is coarse and shoppy. This is like Ryan's poetry. Her poems are not suave and smooth with elaborate rhyme schemes. And the fact that her poems are relatively short and do not provide a lot of detail show that she is looking to only convey a snapshot. This is similar to a corn muffin because a corn muffin only has three or four ingredients, it very simple to bake but it still tastes good. In addition, Ryan's poety is basic without using many literary devices but is still strung with vivid meaning

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