Poetry and the Senses

1. Poetry and the Senses By: Raven Cole

2. What is Poetry? • Poetry can be defined as a “spontaneous overflow of powerful emotion” • This phrase was first used to describe poetry by William Wordsworth • The term poetry comes from the ancient Greek word Poieo which means -I create • Poetry is a way of using language that differs from ordinary prose in order to express and evoke emotion

3. Poetry- Development • The earliest form of poetry was oral and predates the development of literacy • Early forms of poetry were a way to remember oral history or genealogy • They were often in the forms of songs or hymns and had religious themes • The earliest written poem was either “The Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor” or “The Epic of Gilgamesh”

4. Poetry-Development • The first written poems were in the form of epics such as: • “The Epic of Gilgamesh” which first started out as an oral tradition but was written around 1000 B.C. • “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” written by Homer of the ancient Greeks

5. Poetry-Development • During the medieval era, poets began to experiment with subject matter and language of their poems • One example is “The Canterbury Tales” by Geoffrey Chaucer • “The Canterbury Tales” was one of the first poems to be written in vernacular or the language of the people • During the renaissance period poets such as William Shakespeare who experimented with verse drama began to arise • Poetry continued to evolve until we reached poetry as it is known today

6. Poetry-Ecology • Many poems deal with the surrounding environment both the biotic and abiotic aspects • Poems that deal with nature specifically place emphasis on the surrounding environment • The environment in which we read a poem often affects the way we interpret a poem or our mood surrounding the poem • Our mood or current state of mind can also affect the way we interpret a poem or how we understand it • This relates back to Dr. Greenberg’s message of “getting it”

7. Poetry-Ecology • An example of environment affecting the poet is the poem “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” • This poem was written by Robert Frost one morning after watching the sunrise

8. Poetry-Ecology • Another example of a poet being influenced by environment to write poetry is the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by Wordsworth • He was inspired to write this poem after going on a walk in the woods with his sister, when he happened to see a line of daffodils near a lake

9. Poetry-Ecology- Excerpt from “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. • .

10. Poetry- Evolution • Our current brain size is 3 to 4 time larger than our early ancestors • The increase in brain size over the years can be linked to an increase in cognitive abilities • An expansion of the Broca area of the frontal lobe of the brain lead to an increase in language abilities which can be linked to poetry since it started as an oral tradition

11. Poetry-Physiology • When reading, there are a network of neural regions stimulated by all written materials • However, researchers at the University of Exeter recently found that additional areas of the brain lit up in response to “more emotionally charged writing” such as poetry • These regions are located on the right side of the brain and are the same regions activated when listening to music especially music that “produces shivers down the spine emotional reaction”

12. Poetry-Physiology • In the Exeter study, they also found that reading poetry was associated with areas of the brain related to introspection and long term memory storage • This study also found that when reading a favorite poem, the brain responded more strongly • This indicates that reading a favorite poem is a process of recollection rather than an actual re-reading of the poem

13. Poetry- Physiology • Authors aim of the study from Exeter University: “Some people say it is impossible to reconcile science and art, but new brain imaging technology means we are now seeing a growing body of evidence about how the brain responds to the experience of art. This was a preliminary study, but it is all part of work that is helping us to make psychological, biological, anatomical sense of art.”

14. Poetry- Sight (imagery) • Certain poetry often seeks to elicit a response from specific senses • Visual poetry often seeks to stimulate the senses through imagery • This stimulates and activates parts of the brain that deal with memory • An example of a poem that seeks to evoke imagery is “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams

15. Poetry (Imagery)- “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams • so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens

16. The Red Wheelbarrow DEEP Analysis • Development: The neural pathways responsible for imagery are first developed three weeks into the life of the embryo • Ecology: The ecological aspects come into play through the imagery that the poem creates- the chickens and the rainwater upon the wheelbarrow

17. “The Red Wheelbarrow”- DEEP Analysis • Evolution: The evolution of our brain to deal with visual stimuli- see development • Physiology: The neural pathways of the brain are responsible for our imagination- In order to fully visualize the red wheelbarrow you have to recall one that you have seen in the past through image or in person