Dancing The Critique

[wasellajam]

I’m someone who writes poems that really benefit from getting and using critique so it’s on me to give back as much as I possibly can. I’ve read the many threads on critiquing repeatedly but when I’ve read and reread and reread a poem but still can’t get a handle on it I come back to this post which has been hanging around the Pigpen for years:

it is not hard, but like anything worth doing, it takes time. Here are some useful tips.

1. Read through a poem around 10 times before rushing to hit the "reply" button.
2. On the first pass, try to enjoy the reading. Note lines, expression, word choices, etc. that you like.
3. On the second and third reads, try to pick out things that detract from your enjoyment (awkwardness, poor scansion, line breaks etc) weird grammar or syntax, poor spelling, cliches.
4. On your fourth and fifth reads, try to analyze why the writer picked /specific/ words. Are there double meaning? Symbolism? If the writer picked orchids at a funeral instead of irises, why?
5. Use google. There may be some words or concepts you are not familiar with.
6. What is the central metaphor? Does the word choice the author used complement it? Does it contrast it?
7. See #6 and consider if the writer was trying to use thesis/antithesis, perhaps for allegorical or satirical intent. (note - all Shakespearean sonnets should use thesis/antithesis in the final couplet>
8. Read once more to enjoy the poem. Feel the rhythm, say the words out loud.
9. Make a recording of the poem and listen back to it. Note areas that give you problems in the reading.
10. Comment “I liked this" and rush to post another poem of your own.

I suspect we each have some version of a routine that when successful allows us to really take the poem on a spin around the room, to know it better than before we decided to really engage.

How many of the steps listed above do you use, which ones? Is there something identifiable in your method that leads you into a useful critique when you feel unsure? How much of it is in your head before you start and how much is spontaneous?

I’m hoping at least one comment on this thread will connect with someone who is hesitating to the point of inaction.
Please, tell me what you do.

[CRNDLSM]

I like to write down all my first impressions, and then go back and mark which of those change

[wasellajam]

I like to write down all my first impressions, and then go back and mark which of those change

That’s smart! I usually don”t even start to form crit in my head until maybe the 3rd or 5th read. Good thing I have time on my hands.

[wasellajam]

it is not hard, but like anything worth doing, it takes time. Here are some useful tips.

1. Read through a poem around 10 times before rushing to hit the "reply" button.
It usually lands about there for me, give or take a few.
2. On the first pass, try to enjoy the reading. Note lines, expression, word choices, etc. that you like.
3. On the second and third reads, try to pick out things that detract from your enjoyment (awkwardness, poor scansion, line breaks etc) weird grammar or syntax, poor spelling, cliches.
I tend to read the poem until 2 and 3 rise to the surface on their own while I try to absorb, sometimes riddle, the poem.
4. On your fourth and fifth reads, try to analyze why the writer picked /specific/ words. Are there double meaning? Symbolism? If the writer picked orchids at a funeral instead of irises, why?
This is a process I'll never finish learning, sometimes I analyze this much but not always.
5. Use google. There may be some words or concepts you are not familiar with.
On board with this.
6. What is the central metaphor? Does the word choice the author used complement it? Does it contrast it?
My weak point, I know it's what poetry is supposed to be about but I don't pick at it much, it rises or doesn't. I'm sure my own work would improve if I paid more attention to this. Note to self: Don't skip step 6!
7. See #6 and consider if the writer was trying to use thesis/antithesis, perhaps for allegorical or satirical intent. (note - all Shakespearean sonnets should use thesis/antithesis in the final couplet>
This I try to do but am often unsuccessful.
8. Read once more to enjoy the poem. Feel the rhythm, say the words out loud.
Sometimes I read out loud but not often, I usually read in a noisy environment.
9. Make a recording of the poem and listen back to it. Note areas that give you problems in the reading.
The one time I did this it helped but never got in the habit.
10. Comment “I liked this" and rush to post another poem of your own.
Always good to end on a giggle.

[Deor Ana Log]

I find it ironic that you a critique the method of critique, but I do agree

[wasellajam]

I find it ironic that you a critique the method of critique, but I do agree

Oh we can critique the critique of the critique and sometimes do, just not in the Workshops, those threads are specifically about the individual poem. Everywhere else anything is fair game.