There were a lot of topics discussed in this chapter that I particularly liked. Poetry has always interested me, but there is no doubt in my mind that I struggle with it. Poetry has many purposes, depending on what the author or reader is looking for. I really like that Jago opens the chapter by referring to music as a form of poetry. Music plays a huge role in many teenagers lives, and it is a great way to introduce poetry. All songs use different literary devices like rhythm, tempo, alliteration, etc.
I also really liked that she uses think-aloud strategies to teach poetry. In my opinion, reading poetry out loud is one of the best ways to teach poetry. It allows the reader to hear all of the literary devices the poet purposefully added to the poem. The more correctly a poem is read, the easier it becomes to understand what the poet is trying to convey.
Jago's section about the difficult poem was my favorite part of the chapter. I really liked the two points that Charles Bernstein brings up. He states, "It is not your fault that difficult poems are diffficult. In fact it is perceptive of a reader to discern that a poem may be hard to understand. Not being able to make sense of a poem on at first glance does not mean there is anything wrong with you"(88), he also says, "It is not the poem's fault that it is difficult. Many are quick to jump to judgement and declare a poem incoherent or meaningless simply because it is hard to understand. When a poem is difficult, there is not necessarily anything wrong with the poem"(89). When poems are difficult it is common for people to just give up, but as readers we have to realize that one of the best parts of the poem is its challenge. We need to look for imagery, themes, and so forth. Poetry would not be poetry without difficulty.
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