Poetry tends to have a reputation for being elusive, but I have to disagree based on my experience in my English class this trimester. We have been studying the English romantic poets and instead of making poetry even more elusive than it is intended to be, my class sums up each poem into one thesis-like statement. Comparably, when studying a novel or play, we usually conclude with an analytical essay, a summary of the work. Instead of extrapolating poetry through the process of over analysis and then writing a lengthy paper on the work, we abridge the poem in a way similar to an essay, although on the smaller scale, on a 500-page novel. Even though we aren’t writing page upon page about short verses, there is still plenty to discuss about the poetry, from figurative language to iambic pentameter. For example, we spent a full class period talking about just one of Keats’ many genre-revolutionizing poems. Now, we are transitioning to writing our own poetry in class, taking with us the catch-all message of letting poetry breathe and keeping it simple, even when it’s about Keats.