This column by Tom Radzienda, an instructor in poetry and culture at Srinakharinwirot University, aims to encourage your interest and develop your skill in creating poetry. Poetry is a combination of visualisation, observation, imagination and creative use of language. Discover your poetic side, too!

“Poetstanding” the poem Every cook has a unique way to blend together the various ingredients in a recipe. The great cooks are the people who go beyond a standard recipe and create original new dishes. In time, those dishes become the standards of the culture. Similarly, every poet has a unique way of mixing together various poetic devices in a poem. The great poets are those who go beyond standard patterns and create original “poetic recipes.” Over time, these become the classics of the culture. William Blake is widely regarded as one of the greatest British poets. He lived during the age of romanticism at the beginning of the 1800s. In the following poem, notice how craftily Blake uses poetic devices to create a fresh, original, recipe. Typical of the romantic era is the deep appreciation of nature. Although the poem is heavy in the use of poetic devices, the imagery by itself captures the reader’s imagination.   To the Evening Star Poetic Device       1 Thou fair-hair’d angel of the evening metaphor 2 Now, while the sun rests on the mountains, light personification 3 Thy bright torch of love; thy radiant crown 2 metaphors 4 Put on, and smile upon our evening bed personification 5 Smile on our loves; and, while thou drawest the   6 Blue curtains of the sky, scatter thy silver dew metaphor 7 On every flower that shuts its sweet eyes personification 8 In timely sleep. Let thy west wind sleep on personification 9 The lake; speak silence with thy glimmering eyes personification 10 And wash the dusk with silver. Soon, full soon, metaphor 11 Dost thou withdraw; then the wolf rages wide, symbolism 12 And the lion glares thro’ the dun forest; symbolism 13 The fleeces of our flocks are cover’d with symbolism 14 Thy sacred dew: protect them with thine innocence deification Mad about metaphor? Is Blake crazy about metaphor when he uses it five times in a fourteen-line poem? Is it too much, or has he successfully constructed the poem so the metaphors flow smoothly? Do his metaphors focus your attention on the power of nature? “Torch of love” (line 3) is a typical metaphor that transforms one item into another, which then shares all characteristics. In this case, the torch is literally starlight in the sky. Metaphorically it is a light empowered with love. This suggests the warm love of god, which metaphorically “shines” upon the people of earth. Spend several minutes considering each metaphor in the poem. Experience how each metaphor (lines 1, 3, 6, 10) adds deeper meaning than literal language. Personification and deification Personification means giving human characteristics to non-living things. The first example is in line 2, when “the sun rests on the mountains” is used to describe the way the sun is setting. The sun seems more human and gentle with the verb “rests” rather then “sets.” The evening sky truly comes alive with Blake’s repeated use of personification. He uses this technique to give human qualities to the stars and sky. Interpret each case of personification (lines 4, 7, 8, 9) to gain a deeper appreciation of the poem. “Sacred dew” in line 14 suggests that the star is god-like because it spreads dew across the earth to protect life. Normally, the term “personification” is used to describe this technique. Here, the term “deification” seems more suitable because Blake takes the comparison beyond the human level: The star becomes a god. Symbolism Are the wolf, lion and sheep literally animals, or is he symbolically referring to types of people in society? Awareness of traditional literary symbols helps readers recognise the symbolic meaning of these animals. For example, do you think the wolf in line 11 suggests a friendly person, a dangerous person or a humorous person? Complete the chart below with your own interpretation of these symbols. Symbol Your interpretation wolf   lion   forest   fleeces of our flocks (sheep)   the evening star   The language of his time Obviously, Blake does not use words like “Internet,” “mobile phone” and “nuclear weapons.” Before getting frustrated with his use of old words, recognise that he is simply writing within the language of his time. Regularly reading poetry of this era will make this language more familiar to you. It’s not necessary to dig out the dictionary every time you meet unfamiliar words. It’s far more effective to guess the meaning of words from context. Complete the chart below and determine the most likely meaning of each word. Line Word Part of speech Likely meaning 1, 5, 11 thou pronoun You 3, 6, 8, 9 thy     5 drawest verb   11 dost     14 thine pronoun   The whole poem Once the poetic devices and language are clear to you, read the poem out loud as a complete work of art. Let the images, metaphors and symbols flow into your imagination effortlessly. Fill your mind with his scene and experience it as a real environment. Then, you truly “poetstand” the poem. Tom Radzienda is an instructor in poetry and culture at Srinakharinwirot University. Teachers can contact him to present poetry recitals and poetry writing workshops at their respective universities and schools. Visit the poet tree website at www.bangkokpost.com/education for more poetry reading and writing techniques. You can send your poem by email. Mark the subject line: Poet Tree and send to this address: learningpost@bangkokpost.co.th Visit Tom's poetry column at http://www.bangkokpost.com/poetry

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Last modified: November 3, 2003