Over the past two weeks, the focus in our Astu class was on poetry, most of which related to trauma and history. I want to first focus on In Flanders Fields, as it is such a famous poem that I have never heard of, and made me realize how important the poem was in commemorating and remembering those who lost their lives in World War One. Though I was familiar with poppies being a symbol during remembrance day, I was intrigued at how In Flanders Fields was served as a war propaganda, yet gained so much attention even till this day. The positive and nationalistic portrayal of war in Flanders Fields was contrasted by The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner, as it illustrates war and death as more horrific, somber scene, and I enjoyed the class comparison between the idealistic and realistic war time poems. “You Throw a Stone” is one of the first poems I have read with a distinct structure and word choices, and it was definitely interesting to see how space in the lines can create symbols that help strengthen the poem’s meaning.

From the poetry we studied, comparing it to the graphic novels we read I think there are ways which the two genres are similar, such as expressing one’s view, and their purpose, however the differences arise due to their genre and structure. The structure of the two genres are clearly different, however they both attempt to tell a story from one’s perspective. From the texts we read in class, most of them are attempting to tell their own or someone else’s story. One difference, however is poems are usually more abstract, allowing for multiple interpretations of the same text, though the same could be said about graphic novels, major themes are usually more apparent and at a consensus, whereas poems sometimes are more subtle. The subtlety and concise method of telling a story through poetry is what in my opinion makes the genre special and different from graphic novels. From analyzing the poem, it is amazing how the briefness transfers stronger emotions and imagery, such as Death of the Ball Turret Gunner. To conclude, the poetry we read are similar to what I read in high school, but the comparison of major themes through different genres was a challenge, and some distinct features modern poetry peak my interest in how stories can be told through subtlety but still be emotional at the same time.