The Joy of Reading
Literature, in any form, prose or verse, has the power to be and mean a lot. Anybody who reads, for pleasure rather than just a means to an end, would agree that the way some authors and poets pen their thoughts feels as if the words are flowing on paper, like sublime beings in themselves. Flowing through the fabric of time, leaving their impression on anyone who was fortunate enough to stumble across their pages.
A true bibliophile would be delighted to chance upon a new book in hopes of discovering a new book in hopes of discovering a new book in hopes of discovering a new world in between the pages and slowly and leisurely peel off the many layers of the meanings hidden between the lines.
A poem is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as 'a piece of imaginative writing in verse', and literature is defined as 'books, plays, etc., valued as works of art'. These definitions sound cold and unattached and not at all inviting, when in reality, the words that they describe express and signify so much more. Poetry and short stories especially, are parts of literature in which few words mean a lot and those few words are interpreted differently by every individual who reads them and that is the beauty of it all.
For example, the poem 'Porphyria's Lover' by Robert Browning is one that has the most varied of reactions that I have witnessed. Some label the narrator as a murderer while others deem him insane and are shocked by his actions and words. I, however, belong to another category, one who believe that he loved her with all his heart and thus, in taking her life, freed her from the miseries of her life, with her last moment alive spent contentedly in the company of her lover, ie. the narrator. Some people might disagree with me while some might be inclined to be of the same mind as me, lending further support to my earlier statement.
Literature can be described as a living entity that grows constantly, being fed by the contributions of myriad people. Some write for love, some in anger and frustation while still others write in sadness, as it may be cathartic, and they hope to calm their thoughts.
The point that I wish to put across this day is that readers should be envied and not mocked, as they are the ones who live innumerable lives in their lifetime, experiencing a plethora of situations along with emotions while reading which prepares them to face almost any challenge life throws at them due to the wisdom learnt through experiences of others, who might be just characters between printed pages.
-DV
YOU ARE READING
Poetry and Thoughts
Poezja'Sometimes poetry is emotion recollected in a highly emotional state.' -Wendy Cope poetry and quotations are literature in which a few words say a lot and those few words mean something quite different to each individual who reads them and that is t...
