Reading Poetry for Pleasure

Develop habits that make poetry enjoyable rather than a puzzle to be solved.

Many readers associate poetry with tests, where every line hides a single correct meaning. Reading poetry for pleasure works differently. Start by reading a poem aloud, at least twice, because poems are built from sound: rhythm, repetition, rhyme, and silence. On the first read, let it wash over you without stopping. On the second, notice one line, image, or phrase that catches you, and ask why. You do not need to resolve every ambiguity; poets often leave space deliberately. Consider an original short poem: 'My father's hands / smelled of engine oil and oranges.

/ I still cannot decide / which one he was. ' A puzzle-solver might hunt for the 'meaning' of oil and oranges. A pleasure-reader notices the surprise of the pairing, the hint of a man who was both hard-working and sweet, and the final line's honest uncertainty. Read widely: short poems, long poems, poems in translation, and poems from different centuries. Keep the ones that stay with you.

• 1Read poems aloud, at least twice.
• 2Notice what catches you and ask why.
• 3Ambiguity is often deliberate; you need not resolve it.