How to learn to understand a poetry? Part 2

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Let's take another situation biographical code in poem "Storm at sea". That catches the reader's eye in the first place? Unusual rhythm, exactly matching the rhythm of the sea pitching. To fully understand this text you must know that it described a real storm on the Adriatic sea, into which he once fell and did not expect to come out alive. Thus, this poem reflects the real emotions and feelings experienced by the author.

Very different biographical fact refracted in brilliant poem "a magic moment I remember", dedicated to Anna Kern. Ironic attitude to Anna Kern, about which we know from correspondence, was not reflected in this text. Love to her in the poem, the idealized, and the image of the beloved exalted and spiritualized.

Biographical code is very important when the text is created as some imprint of the real situation, but we should always remember that this is a very dangerous and slippery road use the lyrical text for biographical reconstruction.

Another strategy to understanding the poetic text the discovery of the underlying archetypal basis. From the famous book of Carl Jung about the archetypes we know what archetypes is deep in the subconscious, formed at the dawn of humanity, the frames that define our picture of the world: anima-animus (female and male), persona (social role), shadow (the unconscious is the other "I" people) etc. When we read Pasternak's hamlet (or Shakespeare), we understand that the source of the image of hamlet is the archetype of the shadow.

The mirror/reflection is a variation on the theme of shadows "Narcisse", very common in poetry (remember line "to be removed from the mirrors"). In this poem refers to the shadow in the archetypal sense of the word. We begin to understand the mythological significance of this image, due to this we get a more complete understanding of the meaning of the poem.

The following strategy "binary opposition". Binary opposition is called the opposition of two members: right-left, male-female. It's not linguistic, and structural phenomenon. The researchers found that our consciousness is formed as a set of binary oppositions. For example, archaeologists, digging graves, drew attention to the fact that the right side of the body is always marked as female and the left like the male. This view still lives in the modern Registrar at the solemnization of this order is preserved. Our consciousness is organized skeletal as a set of binary oppositions.

In this poetry, none of the text is not written without the influence of another text States the main thesis of the intertextual approach. Lyrics always citation.

Binary oppositions prevalent in fiction. Take the famous "sermon on law and grace" Metropolitan Hilarion in this text, nothing is clear, if you do not know about binary oppositions. The whole text is built on the opposition between "Law" and "Grace", the word "and" in this context connects two concepts, but rather shares them.

As soon as you open the principle of binaries, binary text scan, it becomes easier to understand folklore, mythological, literary texts.

In the mental horizons of poets is dominated by different positions, organize the fabric of the texts.

Another powerful strategy is the strategy of intertextuality. The text in the text. In this poetry, none of the text is not written without the influence of another text States the main thesis of the intertextual approach. Lyrics always citation. "But, maybe, poetry itself is one great quote". Real poetry always starts from other texts.

Analyzing this text, we must remember that Brodsky is a poet, which is always a lot of allusions, hidden quotations.

Why holds this parallel? It is possible to show that the lot of any commander when a despotic power is always the same as well as Hannibal lifted when it was needed, and similarly, both the General fell into disgrace in time of peace.

Intertextual relations give us the key to understanding the author's point of view, the relationship to this historical figure.

Thus, these four strategies can help in the interpretation of some poetic texts and to simplify the understanding of other author's techniques.

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