MWolfe+Reflection+3+Poetry+in+America

MWolfe Reflection 3 Poetry in America Through the years, poetry has changed. On my wall I chose a selection including 2-3 poems from the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s. By using these different time periods, I wanted to show that poetry does change. It is because it changes that we can see how the title of “American” has changed as well.  I wanted to show how poetry today, though very different from the poetry of the past, still fulfills the same functions—to help us make sense of our world and to elevate us to a greater understanding of ourselves. The poetry of today differs dramatically in tone from the poetry of earlier times, because it serves as a representation of our generation and our society. Though today’s poetry is an indication of how much our society has changed, it still fulfills the same use today as it did years in the past. We read and write poetry because it helps us make sense of the world around us. Though the styles of poetry differ from generation to generation, the topics appear timeless as we see reoccurring themes of self and society. These reoccurrences show that these themes play important roles in American society and in helping us identify who we are. Poetry today quite often takes the form of slam poetry or rap. This is another indication of the changes in what it means to be American today. Instead of only the traditional spoken word poetry we have also added music to our poetry. We’ve strayed from the norms of the past to create our own sort of future that involves new ideas and new aspects to involve (such as music). We aren’t stuck in the past but instead we are constantly moving forward, changing things as we find necessary to our growth.