Poetry in Song

I've never been much for creative writing. I'm not really artistic or musical, besides singing, so I don't really know that much about poetry. I don't think I've ever written any besides what was required in school. So, when I found out we were doing a poetry unit, I was kind of scared. But I noticed on the list of poetry to read were several songs we had sung in choir, and that made me kind of hopeful. Here is one of my favorite songs written from poetry and the arrangement we sang.

Stopping By Woods On  A Snowy Evening - Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound’s the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDH5R_BgheI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnmpKiort2g

 

Now, maybe it's just because we sang it for so long, but I feel like I understand this poetry more from listening to the song than any poetry I've seen in just plain words. The music makes it more interesting and way more emotional than any other poetry I've read. I think I might try looking up arrangements of other poems we read to try to get more of a feel for them. Either way, this made me a little bit more excited about our poetry unit coming up.