Philippine E-Journals

How to teach lyric poetry: Some preliminary explorations and a close reading of a difficult lyrical poem

Ralph Galán

Discipline: Literature

 

Abstract:

This essay provides “preliminary explorations” on the teaching of lyric poetry in the tertiary level, as well as a “close reading” of a difficult lyrical poem. It is made up of four parts: a short introduction on the difficulty of teaching poetry in general and lyric poetry in particular; a step-by-step guide on “how to read a poem” in the form of a poem and its exegesis; 12 clusters of comprehension questions that would aid teachers and students alike in better understanding and appreciating lyrical poems; and an explication of what might appear at first reading an extremely intricate piece of lyric poetry by Cesar Ruiz Aquino.