In “Dis Poetry”,
Benjamin Zephaniah gives his perspective on how his poetry is composed. Throughout
the entire piece, I can tell that Zephaniah does not care to obtain praise or
criticism for his poetry. He writes in a way that readers can understand what
he feels, something that I very much admire. “Dis Poetry” is written in its own
unique language with each line carrying its own powerful meaning.
Zephaniah mentions in
the first stanza that the speaker explains how his poetry is different and isn’t
really meant to be analyzed. This is evident when the poem states, “Dis poetry
is not Party Political / Not designed fe dose who are critical.” (8-9). I like
the thought of poetry not being categorized and not having to over think what
some lines mean, even though I’m doing that now.
In the second stanza, I
enjoy how the speaker talks about who poetry is written for. The poem explains,
“Dis poetry is quick an childish / Dis poetry is fe de wise an foolish, /
Anybody can do it fe free, / Dis poetry is fe yu an me, / DonÕt
stretch yu imagination / Dis poetry is fe de good of de Nation,” (29-34).
Basically the speaker is saying poetry can be and should be understood by
everyone.
Obviously, Zephaniah is
very creative in his writing style. The colloquialism used in this poem makes
the statements in the lines a little more familiar. The familiarity and
combination of the words give the perspective Zephaniah was shooting for. “Dis
Poetry” inspires me to become a little more creative in the way I write.
I agree with what you said about not overanalyzing some poetry. I think that was very insightful!
ReplyDeleteSonya Williams
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