Article: Students learning from writers and poets

Students learning from writers and poets

It is a truth universally acknowledged that novels give away a part of the writer’s reality, or at least her perception of it. Jane Austen wrote extensively about extravagant balls, pompous men clad in suits looking down upon the adversity of their lesser privileged acquaintances, chirpy, interfering mothers discussing tales of engagements, young women eyeing hunks for wooing, along with frivolous parlor talks and leisurely activities. Her novels are great, without a doubt, but they reveal the kind of environment she was exposed to and how it affected her. Her mockery of trivial, superfluous romantic demeanor in her era shows that she didn’t approve of superficialities in the society, and was a strong, subversive woman with a sense of social commentary and humor. Her colorful family life provided her enough muse to write about everything in an animated fashion.

Students shouldn’t learn only from the work they read, but also from the person behind it. It goes beyond understanding the story better. Once students realize the kind of writer behind a written work, and the motives of the writer creating the work, it draws everything into perspective. Students really get to explore human emotions and their influence on one’s life. They also learn to curb intense emotions that can adversely affect their lives. For instance, striking, engulfing words of the famous poetess Sylvia Plath in all her poems display her brilliancy and her tryst with words, although, along with it they show the profound multifaceted intricacies of her psyche, which led her to putting her head in the oven and committing suicide. In her poem ‘Mirror’, it can be seen that she sees her freckles and imperfections in the reflection on the mirror that never lies. However, this self-loathing and somewhat blunt perception of beauty resulted from her insecurities developed when her husband divorced her and left her for a younger woman. Alternatively, in her poem ‘The Moon and the Yew tree’, Plath describes a view of the surroundings from her mindscape, and the view is desolated and gloomy. She refers to her mother as the ‘moon’ that makes her cold and her father as the ‘yew tree’ that gives her support. The poem is a direct reflection of her strained relationship with her mother and the absence of a fatherly figure in her life, which led to her isolation from others. It is hence a discernment of the writer’s works and an insight into their life that paints a vivid portrait of their world.

Looking at writers and poets also teaches students to persevere through the hard knocks of life, no matter how persistent. The lady who gave us the Harry Potter universe, J K Rowling, was a broke single mother living on charity when she sat down to write. When she sent her manuscripts to different publishers, they were rejected one after the other. She had spent most of her money on submitting manuscripts, her story was called ‘too imaginative’, but she didn’t give up, and soon enough, we got to see the enchanting magical world of Harry and his friends. If she can do it, and produce something so beautiful, then anyone can do their thing if they keep their eyes on their journey.

Some writers face adversities in their childhood but they don’t let those scar them forever. The race, ethnicity, religion and gender are all those barriers that writers have to transcend. The first African-American woman in history who was a successful poet, writer, producer, actor and activist, Maya Angelou, was born at a time of intense oppression of the black community and the black women were the weakest and the most vulnerable section of the society. Maya Angelou was raped at the age of 7 years by her mother’s boyfriend, and when she complained about it, he was killed. She vowed not to open her mouth for 5 years, for she believed it could spur a calamity. She did not grow bitter towards life’s struggles, instead, she used it as a tool to educate herself, and use her voice for all those who were oppressed. Even after she passed away at 84, the entire world remembers her as a powerful leader. It can be learnt from her struggle that she used her weakness as her strength, and hoped to change the world, to make it a place for everyone.

Even when works are rejected by mass audiences, or there are many physical, social, political and psychological hurdles to be crossed, writers and posts don’t fail to find a muse for their written work, which gives an outlet for creative expression and helps in liberating themselves from their physical reality. It’s not about one’s area of work, knowledge, power, status, circumstances or their age, gender, or nationality. It is about the principles a person has, that they acquire by learning through the mistakes of other people. It means putting everything at stake to stand by something you vouch for. It is about finding inspiration in desperation, in finding hope in defeat. It is about never giving up, and about always believing that you can transform the world. Hence, writers are exceptional beings who can be a source of some worthy life lessons!

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