Week 5 Learning Team Discussion Summary

Deloris Bassett, Jamie Helmin, and Luigina Madison

April 28, 2014

ENG/306

Charles Zeitvogel

Several poems from this period comment on contemporary concerns such as anorexia and football. What does making the focus so specific to this culture do for these poems?

Throughout the centuries, society has gone through many changes. From generation to generation, there are more and more evolvements which have caused society to think, feel, and react in a much different manner than their ancestors from previous centuries. This is clearly evident when you look at society from the 16th century all the way up to the 20th and 21st centuries. The poems from this period concentrate or comment on contemporary concerns to help show what society is now, or was at the time, dealing with on a day to day basis. They show how much of a difference there has become from concerns of earlier centuries to the concerns of today. Focusing on contemporary concerns such as anorexia and football in poems today gives the reader a more personal connection to them. People are able to relate to these issues because they are current problems that affect everyone in society today. . In earlier poems, the writers didn’t write about things such as child abuse, dishonoring their mother and father, anorexia, and/or football. It seems like, throughout the generations, people have become more and more brave about what they want to talk about, even if what they have to say may not be especially nice or kind. It is almost as if they have become more honest in their feelings and thoughts with less worry of repercussion for expressing their true feelings. The poems themselves seem to become more truthful and understanding as well. When writers write poems that deal with everyday issues that happen in our society, it will give the readers a sense of feeling that the writers understand and are aware of what is going on around them, which makes the readers able to relate and understand what the poems are saying. It makes sense that poets would write about what is currently afflicting people. This has been true throughout history and will continue to be the case for poets in the future.