Imitation
Please read the excerpt on imitation from Mary Oliver’s A Poetry Handbook. Post a comment or question on the class discussion page.
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I was interested that Mary Oliver wrote about how it is crucial that a poet, or student, be well versed in metrical verse poetry. Metrical verse has a greater structure and often a more distinct rhythm than free verse poetry, and free verse came from metrical verse. I wonder, at what point should poets write what they are comfortable with, and when do they write something different?
ReplyDeleteI like the way she thinks about poetry. I agree that imitating emotion will help writers improve their writing. I would like to hear more of her advice.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how poems in rhyme are not understood as well but only 50 years ago or less they seems normal.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that she emphasized the difference between copying and imitating. She wrote that copying something is not helping you learn because you are putting none of your personality or effort into the work you are creating. But imitating can help you because you let your ideas be guided by someone else's work, which leads to you learning valuable lessons.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! Before I read this passage, I didn't have a clear distinction in my head between copying and imitating, whereas now I completely understand. I agree with what Mary Oliver said, as I think it can be helpful to have a guide when you are doing something by yourself for the first time. It makes it easier when you aren't completely alone and can elaborate on what others said instead of coming up with ideas completely alone.
DeleteI agree with the idea that even if one won't write with form, one should learn the forms of poetry so as to be acquainted with them to write better.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that a good writer uses imitation but a great writer is able to take that a step further and add what they’ve learned through imitation to their own personal style to create original work.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's a very interesting writing because people can learn so much, and become so inspired from just watching another person.
ReplyDeleteI found her take on imitation to be quite refreshing and interesting. I feel like there's a certain stigma towards imitation, but really I agree that it's a great way to learn and build up your skills and find your own style.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how she made imitation almost seem unavoidable, as she brings up that all the people who think that rhythm and rhyme are natural are just imitating the first poems they've heard. This makes people who haven't been influenced with poetry feel as though rhythm is very unnatural.
ReplyDeleteI was really interested by Mary Oliver's take on imitation, especially because nowadays people are so quick to jump to the conclusion that something is "plagiarism". Imitation can teach writers about using different voices, and through experimentation, they might even find a style that they resonate with.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting how Mary Oliver says you must imitate in order to become better at what you do. And I agree with that.
ReplyDeleteI think Mary Oliver’s view on imitating is very interesting and I agree with her. Imitating is a good way to find your strengths and what you like best.
ReplyDeleteJust the first sentence was something that was important. "You would learn very little in this world if you were not allowed to imitate". We would never really get anywhere as kids if we were not allowed to imitate because it is the way we learn in some cases.
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ReplyDeleteI think her view on imitation is that it’s meant to teach not act as a crutch to students who are doing poorly, because imitation is pretty close to copying someone else’s work. Her words should probably be taken with a grain of salt.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that it's an interesting writing. People can learn so much, and become inspired from just watching other people and their actions.
ReplyDelete-Angelica
An example of imitation is a set of pieces by Béla Kovács written for the clarinet. He visits the styles of famous composers and creates a piece based off of those styles.
ReplyDeleteGreat connection! I think we can find lessons in imitation in so many places. From music, to dancing, to athletics, to poetry, to learning a language. As playwright George Bernard Shaw said, “Imitation is not just the sincerest form of flattery – it's the sincerest form of learning.”
DeleteI found it interesting how she says that people imitate others at first but eventually they develop it further and make their own.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting how she showed the difference between being inspired by someone’s work versus copying someone’s work. Inspiration and imitation help develop ideas and branch off until that improved idea essentially becomes your own. It is creating something new out of an already used thought or piece. On the other hand, copying doesn’t have you think about what you’re doing or why you’re doing something.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that imitation can be used to improve and help a writer gain their own style is one that I like. Usually in school we are told never to imitate or “seal”, but her take on imitation seems more logical.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how Mary Oliver compared the use of imitation to when we are little and learning how to grow, and how artists study and copy other painters’ works to know their ways and learn more in the nature of their craft. I never really thought before of how valuable imitation can be. I think it is actually simpler, easier, and more helpful to one’s writing process than just by starting off with coming up with some new creative style all on your own. Also, I found it intriguing how she says to put putting your own spin on it, aka your “emotional freedom, integrity, and special quality of one’s own work” on the back burner because you must learn other’s people’s ways of the past before making something new in the present.
ReplyDeleteI like the way she brought up imitation in the beginning, because it really is the only to truly become good at a certain skill. I think imitation is one of the founding reasons why we are able to learn, and how your able to learn languages, instruments, and other skills.
ReplyDeleteI agree! I think that this makes a lot of sense, because a very easy way to learn is to do something like someone else. I feel like this is less common the older you get, though, because as a little kid you are completely reliant on others, but as you get older, you start trying things your own way, and figuring out how you want to learn/get stuff done.
DeleteI think it’s interesting how poems in written with rhyme and in a metrical pattern are difficult for us to understand and don’t come naturally but our grandparent are able to understand them.
ReplyDeleteI think her opinion on imitation shows us that it’s not a bad thing to do and it can teach us and allow us to write better poetry.
ReplyDeleteI was confused as to how Mary oliver views imitation, in the beginning she was saying how she thought writers would benefit from allowing themselves to use Imitation to develop a style. But later in the article she says that Painters copying Paintings, gain nothing.
ReplyDeleteNot quite. She remarks that we may have seen "a young painter in a museum intently copying a Vermeer, or a van Gogh, and believing himself on the way to learning something valuable." In other words, through imitating a master painter, this young painter learns something.
DeleteI too thought imitation was in other words placerÃamos but interestingly she used a comparison to an artist copying another artists work in order to gain some sort of understanding in there own artistic style. I also thought was important that she emphasized every writer has there own literal finger print, a style recognizable to them! It’s not plagiarism it’s another form of practice and growth, which settles any unsettling feelings for future imitations well do.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that imitation is really a necessary step to eventually reach independence. It is through imitation that ideas and specialties develop, and without it, there would be nothing to help beginners improve.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by what she said about imitation being useful because the opposite is so often taight to us.
ReplyDeletetaught*
DeleteI was very intrigued at the fact regarding Mary Oliver’s ideas on imitating characters. That is what makes people inspired when they are writing their own poems. She brings up the main idea of second nature as well, and that is our brains ability to master something so we can do it with no hesitation. That idea is applied when people write various poems.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting in the beginning that she says we would learn very little if we couldn't imitate and makes it seem like a foundation of ideas and knowledge to branch off of and make your own ideas
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting that she viewed imitation as a way to improve your skills. I do agree with her because if you don’t practice a skill you have, you will never get better at it.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s very interesting how the text says that imitation can be something that inspires, even though we’ve always been told that originality is essential to the arts, including writing. I agree with that, because I believe that you do need to gain more experience before being able to create something in your own style. Used correctly, imitation is a tool for learning, instead of a pit to fall into.
ReplyDelete- Anya C.
Also, when imitating, you can take something great from somewhere else, and add onto it, improving it to make it something new and even better (something your own).
DeleteI found it interesting that even though imitation is discouraged in favor of originality in literature, the author is right- it is occasionally learned by accident. I find sometimes I am just writing for the fun of it and I find some of my writing to look similar to things I have read. Therefore imitation should just be accepted- it isn’t preventable, everyone is going to do something similar to someone else at some point.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how she talked about how things such as emotional freedom, and originality come as what she calls "final things". When I start writing, I tend to try to find something original right off the bat, and I think the way she uses imitation to help one write is a clever and interesting approach.
ReplyDeleteShe brings up a good point that imitation is often discouraged in writing, however it is a great way to practice and learn how to do something. Writing is a skill like any other that you have to practice to get better at. Imitation is a good way to practice and understand writing becuase you don’t learn just by reading, you learn by also doing.
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea that imitation is part of learning and becoming better. I hadn't considered the fact that imitating can show how different poems are. It shows how imitating takes analysis and thought, which then develops into one's personal style.
ReplyDeleteI find her ideas that subtleties are better grasped when you try to write and think like how the poet thought rather than simply reading and analyzing the poem very interesting- it seems obvious after having typed it out, but it’s not something I’d thought of before.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how the author chose to depict imitation as a technique for learning and that when your own emotions and writing come into play you really learn.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how she talks about how imitation is part of improved nag but throughout life we are discouraged to imitate others and are told to be unique a lot of the time
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting how it talks about how we imitate the things we have seen before and I think it might be unconscious sometimes, but we make thinks I’m the way that we know them to be and have seen them done before.
ReplyDeleteI like how the author talks about aspiring artists going to museums and trying to imitate professional paintings. Sometimes I'm amazed at how intricate the drawings these people make at museums are. By trying to imitate professionals, we learn skills that we can eventually make unique. But, the skills have to come first- through emulating others.
ReplyDeleteI like how she views imitation as a way of learning, and how without some form of imitation, you can't improve.
ReplyDeleteI found her views on imitation and looking towards the past techniques and people to move forward in writing to be a life lesson taught in every subject and reiterated all through life.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s interesting how she looks as imitation as a learning skill and I think she means that if information and skills were never repeated then they won’t reach and educate many people. Or maybe repeating things you learn in ur life can make you a better person. I’m not really sure
ReplyDeleteThe way imitation was talked about in the excerpt reminded me of jazz music, where imitation is a common idea, there are many, many jazz tunes that are just an interpretation (or you could say imitation) of some other tune, and it is considered normal and is generally seen in a good light by the imitater and the imitatee.
ReplyDeleteI agree with her point that using imitation to learn how to be a better writer shouldn't be discouraged, but I don't necessarily agree that students should only be taught to imitate modern poets at first. I think the structure of older poems can be a good jumping off point for writing one's own poems, and students shouldn't be limited to starting with modern poets.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting how she viewed imitation as a way for people to improve on what they love, like a writer taking inspiration from one of the greats, or a painter using Van Gogh's style, but how this imitation can often lead to new ideas, as with poetry, where things are gradually shifting and becoming more and more different.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that imitation is a way of learning new things and improving ones work. I never really realized that I imitated others often, but now that I’m aware of imitation, I realized that when I learn a new piece of music on the French horn, I always start off listening to professionals and imitating them, so I get a gist of the piece. From there, I focus on making it my own.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed her take on imitation. I think imitation has such a stigma to it when really it should be embraced in order better ourselves. Being influenced by others in inevitable so we should use it as an opertunity to learn and grow.
ReplyDeleteI find that imitation poems are easier to write, you become inspired by other people’s writings.
ReplyDelete-Angelica