Planting little seeds

[drwex]

I just printed out and gave to my younger son a copy of "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock", which just might be my favorite poem ever. Cliche, I know.

I had quoted the couplet "In the room the women come and go / Talking of Michaelangelo" in the car on the way home, just sort of randomly. Then I had to explain couplet (he has no curiosity yet for Michaelangelo) and explained about poems and that I liked it. I read a bit of it to him, but it's long so I offered to print him his own copy. Since it came from the computer it automatically gained cool points, you see.

I offered to explain things to him if he didn't understand, which is a very scary undertaking. I've read the poem hundreds of times since I first encountered it in 8th grade and I'm quite certain I don't fully understand it. Which may be part of why I like it, I dunno, but at age six he tends to want definitive explanations.

We shall see.

Comments

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

I don't know your boys well enough to know just *how* definitive an answer he'll want; he's always struck me as rather contemplative (I mean this in a complimentary way). Maybe you'll be able to explain to him the meta-issue of appreciating a poem, and finding new meaning in it every time, even as years go by?

It's a good plan

[drwex]

But given that this is a child who can't quite incorporate "maybe" into his conceptual models yet I'm dubious.

Re: It's a good plan

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

Fair enough - like I say, I don't know 'em well enough. Still, I definitely think that planting this particular seed, as you've done, is a great favor.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Fun story. And such wily parents you guys are; I especially liked "Since it came from the computer it automatically gained cool points."

Are there any books he's read more than once? Movies he's seen more than once? When I was 14, I saw the Michael York/Oliver Reed/Raquel Welch/Faye Dunaway version of The Three Muskateers and thought it was hilarious, so when some friends and I were looking for a funny movie to rent when I was 24, I suggested we rent that one. I was embarrassed. At 24, it seemed sophomoric and stupid to me, and I was astonished that I remembered very clearly thinking that it was great when I was 14.

If he's read a book or seen a movie or anything at both (given his long life so far :-) ) five and six, and if he's had a different reaction at different times, maybe that could help with the "something new each time" thing?

Comic books, Pokemon, Avatar

[drwex]

They read these things over and over. Obsessively. I think it's the sameness that appeals.

[davidfcooper.livejournal.com]

Did he figure out that the yellow fog in line 15 is a cat? He might enjoy that as an example of poetic language; he probably won't get the larger themes of the poem until he's in his mid teens.