Too Practical for Poetry

I watched the movie Bright Star with my sister this week. The movie tells the story of the poet John Keats who falls in love with his neighbor’s daughter, Fanny Brawne. In case you haven't seen the film this involves a few awkward conversations and several shots of them walking around, looking at each other, then eventually holding hands, cuddling, and kissing in a way that reminds me of the obnoxious PDA I so often saw (and possibly participated in) at BYU. After making their engagement public he moves to Italy for health reasons, dies, and leaves his fiancé to wander among their old stomping grounds alone quoting poetry for the rest of her life still wearing his engagement ring.


Seriously?

I found myself constantly rolling my eyes at the dramatics of Keats and the immaturity of Fanny. Every half hour or so I would blurt out, "The pacing of this movie is so weird!" I don't know if the director was intentionally trying to achieve a feel of poetry throughout the film--i.e. short scenes packed with visual images and emotion. I generally prefer a story based on at least some dialogue and scenes that clearly fit within context and relate to one another (you know the stuff that conveys character development).


Intentional or not I was having a hard time swallowing it all. However, the only other film Netflicks sent to her mailbox that week was a kid’s film. Reluctantly we decided to finish the movie.

As the credits rolled I turned to Jana and over the voice of Keats reading one of his poems I said, "I think I'm too practical for poetry."

She laughed and said, "I was thinking that EXACT same thing!"

We must be sisters.

While there are some poets/poems that do (and I quote) "speak to me." I'm glad I'm not completely alone in the sentiment about my relationship with poetry. Thanks sis.