Week 12 Entry - Poem titled 'Why do we all need to be the same?'

[georginaf]

I stumbled across the poem 'Much Madness is Divinest Sense’ by Emily Dickinson (pg 669-70 in Schwiebert) and paralleled similar themes it had with the themes in the ‘Hairy Ape’ by Eugene O'Neill. They both explored the issue of conformity and the theme of what really means to belong. Dickinson reflected in her poem that being different is divine

Comments

[michaelgriffith]

Hi Georgina- awesome comments on the poem and play. Loved the way you were able to link these and bring your own sense of what is really important about them into focus. And the poem expresses some great ideas... but: can you try to sense how poetry needs a form in which the words carry the meaning along with a kind of music that is different from prose? How to try to explain this? Not easy.But if I take one of your stanzas and recast it to try and make it more musical, this might be the effect (hope this helps):

Why do we
all
need to be
the same,

cant we just
be ourselves,
think for ourselves,

is this
really hard
to ask for?

Society is one big game
and we
we are the players

Dodging,
conforming,
fighting,
hiding -

What would you do?

[georginaf]

Thank you MG yea i see what you mean about adopting a more musical/ poetic rhythm with my writing, thats what i had trouble with but thought to take another shot at poetry I guess it is just going to take time and practice to get it right lol but thank you for your delightful criticism will use in the future

Georgina