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POETS AND POETRY

Module II: Poetry and the World Around You

Describing a Poem

Poems, if they're really wonderful poems, have used the best possible words and in the best possible order and anything you can say about them seems like a desecration . . . A good poem is like a bouillon cube. It's concentrated, you carry it around with you, and it nourishes you when you need it.

Rita Dove
Former Poet Laureate of the United States.

Rita Dove uses a poetic simile to describe a good poem. She says a good poem is like a bouillion cube. In your small group discuss why she chose this comparison to describe the qualities of a good poem. Work through the following discussion questions and then try writing your own similes.

• What is a bouillion cube? What is in it? How is it put together? What do people make with bouillion cubes?
• Why is it important that a bouillion cube is concentrated? How is a poem concentrated?
• How does a bouillion cube provide nourishment? How does a poem provide nourishment?

Fill out the following simile chart. Compare as many things as possible to poetry in order to define what it means to everyone in your group. What about a food comparison? A good poem is like spicy soup because the taste stays with you for a long time.

A good poem is like ...
A good poem is like ...
A good poem is like ...
A good poem is like ...
A good poem is like ...