Here's the thing: I hate abstract poetry. But it's deeper than that-- I (temporarily) hate the poet.
I came to this conclusion a while back. Whenever reading poetry that seems to be deliberately obtuse, I get frustrated. If I can't figure out the general meaning on second reading, I start to feel alienated. Like I'm standing among a group of girls who are all giggling at me because of some secret gossip they've just spread about me. Like I've just tried to sit down at a cafeteria table and they've all spread out so I can't sit there.
In other words, I feel like the poet is purposefully excluding me. Trying to show off his or her cleverness, trying to make me feel stupid because I can't understand the "genius" of the poem.
Then I get even more frustrated when other people begin dissecting the poem and talking about its themes and how brilliant it is. Part of me thinks they're full of BS and just saying things to make it sound like they "get it" (so they're in the "in-crowd" of clever people), and the other part of me thinks, "Well, they all get it... I must be an idiot. I hate that poet."
It may be argued that I read too much into things like this. But I still much prefer poetry that's straightforward in its meaning.
I came to this conclusion a while back. Whenever reading poetry that seems to be deliberately obtuse, I get frustrated. If I can't figure out the general meaning on second reading, I start to feel alienated. Like I'm standing among a group of girls who are all giggling at me because of some secret gossip they've just spread about me. Like I've just tried to sit down at a cafeteria table and they've all spread out so I can't sit there.
In other words, I feel like the poet is purposefully excluding me. Trying to show off his or her cleverness, trying to make me feel stupid because I can't understand the "genius" of the poem.
Then I get even more frustrated when other people begin dissecting the poem and talking about its themes and how brilliant it is. Part of me thinks they're full of BS and just saying things to make it sound like they "get it" (so they're in the "in-crowd" of clever people), and the other part of me thinks, "Well, they all get it... I must be an idiot. I hate that poet."
It may be argued that I read too much into things like this. But I still much prefer poetry that's straightforward in its meaning.