I watched this about 5 times before I could really begin to understand it. This is one of my favourite "poems" because I feel that Williams is not just rhyming about a random topic or idea, but is telling a story using his own feelings and perceptions to recreate his thoughts into something he can share with others. Watching him didn't feel like I was witnessing something scripted...it flowed from him in a very natural and inviting way. I really liked one of the first lines when he says "...and let my life poem flow over its sacred beats...". To me at least, it portrays what he desires of life/the reading, and is hoping to get everyone to realize and understand. What stood out for me from the beginning was the way that he incorporated movements into verses and was able to visually show what he meant and to an extent how strongly he felt about that specific part. I also noticed how he was able to take a strong central idea, expand on it, and then mesh it together with humor. It took an edge off the seriousness of what he was saying. Overall, I think that this IS a poem because not only does it sound like there's improper grammar/infrequent punctuation, but he also sometimes makes the lines rhyme. When he doesn't, Williams uses words in clever context so that he is able to change from one thought or idea to another. This also means he is repetitive, which we found as a class to be a characteristic of poetry. Lastly, "Indigo On" is a poem because it has one meaning to the author, but can be perceived as many different things by others.
I watched this about 5 times before I could really begin to understand it. This is one of my favourite "poems" because I feel that Williams is not just rhyming about a random topic or idea, but is telling a story using his own feelings and perceptions to recreate his thoughts into something he can share with others. Watching him didn't feel like I was witnessing something scripted...it flowed from him in a very natural and inviting way. I really liked one of the first lines when he says "...and let my life poem flow over its sacred beats...". To me at least, it portrays what he desires of life/the reading, and is hoping to get everyone to realize and understand. What stood out for me from the beginning was the way that he incorporated movements into verses and was able to visually show what he meant and to an extent how strongly he felt about that specific part. I also noticed how he was able to take a strong central idea, expand on it, and then mesh it together with humor. It took an edge off the seriousness of what he was saying. Overall, I think that this IS a poem because not only does it sound like there's improper grammar/infrequent punctuation, but he also sometimes makes the lines rhyme. When he doesn't, Williams uses words in clever context so that he is able to change from one thought or idea to another. This also means he is repetitive, which we found as a class to be a characteristic of poetry. Lastly, "Indigo On" is a poem because it has one meaning to the author, but can be perceived as many different things by others.
ReplyDelete@Emily: "When he doesn't, Williams uses words in clever context so that he is able to change from one thought or idea to another."
ReplyDeleteThat stood out to me too, the way he makes puns (i.e. plays with the word 'indigo') as segues / transitions.