¶ … Lower East Side Poem" by Pinero

I agree that when teaching a poetry class, it is necessary to include instruction about the poet's historical and social context for a student to fully appreciate the poet's output. Of course, there is value in simply responding to a poem in an instinctual fashion. However, it is important that students realize that their gut response is not the only way to understand the poem, and that poems have multiple interpretations. These interpretations will change and shift over time, but it is vital to comprehend what the first likely inspiration was for the poetry. I love the metaphor of the poet 'ingesting' the larger world, and then using this 'food' to create the poem.

Poetry has also changed in terms of its significance over the eras. In the early age of epic poetry, poems were supposed to speak about the myths shared by an entire populace. In today's more individualistic climate, poems are seen as vehicles of personal self-expression. However, even in contemporary society, poems show evidence of the poet's desire to connect personal expressions to a larger consciousness. "A Lower East Side Poem" by Pinero contains personal reflections by the poet, but it is clearly located in a specific place and time and the reader can gain a greater appreciation of Pinero's project as a poet by analyzing the context that inspired the work.

I believe that a great poem is both of its time and timeless. Great poetry is specific and does not dwell on vague, trite cliches. It forces the reader to look at the world in an entirely different way. It uses clear details and forms of expression that will inevitably be 'of its time.' However, the timelessness is rooted in the fact that these forms of expression are so powerful the reader can be transported to another world and see the connections between that world and his or her own.