Week 3 Assignment

What is a poem good for? 

I think poems are good for communicating truth and abstract ideas in a figurative way, and for being specific and ambiguous at the same time. Poems can be powerfully immersive, or sometimes entertaining and humorous. 

Poems can be interpreted in many different ways (and symbolism is a part of this), and that's a wonderful way to discuss complex issues. Often, those issues are at the core of what it means to be human.

What was the hardest thing to you about writing a symbolist poem? How do you think you did?

The hardest thing was making sure the symbol was suitable for the emotion I was writing about. I'm not sure if the symbol I used for solitude (a lighthouse) was an appropriate one; I only thought of it because when I think of a lighthouse, it looks very lonely. 

As I extended the symbol, I found other aspects of the lighthouse that match with the idea of solitude -- the purpose of the lighthouse in many cases is to warn people to stay away, and solitary people often push people away. The final metaphor of the spiral staircase, likened to a coiling snake conveys that loneliness can be painful and restricting. In addition, spirals are chaotic, and the sense of descent and constriction is another facet of solitude.

It was only when reading the poem aloud during peer review that I noticed some slant rhymes, particularly present in the last couple of stanzas (I should have read the poem aloud while writing it, of course. My mistake). This was a pleasant coincidence, though I'm not sure if it added or took away from the meaning of the poem. Rhymes can sometimes come off as childish or playful, other times they may create a sense of finality and closure. I'm not sure if I want to have closure at the end of this poem; I think the descent of solitude in this poem should be one that continues beyond the end of the poem. So if I were to rewrite this poem, I might change "python" to "snake" or "serpent", just to get rid of the rhyme.

All in all, I'm not sure how successful this poem was, especially as a symbolist poem. It's not obvious that the lighthouse is a symbol for solitude. But I tried to make use of what I most like to see in poetry: strong imagery and vivid language. Hopefully that is enough to make it a passable poem -- and with some rewrites and editing, maybe even a good one.