Teaching Poetry
No poem should ever be discussed or "analyzed"， until it has been read aloud by someone， teacher or student． Better still， perhaps， is the practice of reading it twice， once at the beginning of the discussion and once at the end， so the sound of the poem is the last thing one hears of it．
All discussions of poetry are， in fact， preparations for reading it aloud， and the reading of the poem is， finally， the most telling "interpretation" of it， suggesting tone， rhythm， and meaning all at once． Hearing a poet read the work in his or her own voice， on records or on film， is obviously a special reward． But even those aids to teaching can not replace the student and teacher reading it or， best of all， reciting it．
I have come to think， in fact， that time spent reading a poem aloud is much more important than "analyzing" it， if there isn't time for both． I think one of our goals as teachers of English is to have students love poetry． Poetry is "a criticism of life"， and "a heightening of lief"． It is "an approach to the truth of feeling"， and it "can save your life"． It also deserves a place in the teaching of language and literature more central than it presently occupies．
I am not saying that every English teacher must teach poetry． Those who don't like it should not be forced to communicate this to anyone else． But those who do teach poetry must keep in mind a few thins about its essential nature， about its sound as well as its sense， and they must make room in the classroom for hearing poetry as well as thinking about it．
【小题1】To have a better understanding of a poem， one should ．| A．analyze it by oneself |
| B．discuss it with others |
| C．practise reading it aloud |
| D．copy it down in a notebook |
| A．Extending your life |
| B．Saving your life |
| C．Criticizing life |
| D．Heightening life |
| A．The teaching of poetry is more important than any other subject． |
| B．More importance should be given to the teaching of poetry． |
| C．Poetry is the foundation of all language and literature courses． |
| D．One cannot enjoy life fully without an understanding of poetry． |
| A．provide equipment |
| B．build a school |
| C．set up a house |
| D．leave a certain amount of time |
