The shear volume of classic / canonical poetry on the internet is awe-inspiring. I would like to use T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" as a starting point for poetic analysis on the internet.
I've already done a Google search for the poem, and I would like you to read these three versions of the same poem. Note that before the URL, I've named these web pages in the same manner as their authors have. Hopefully this will allow us to begin to distinguish them.
- The Hollow Men - http://www.blight.com/~sparkle/poems/hollow.html
- "The Hollow Men" - http://www.columbia.edu/itc/tc/scfu4016/hollow.html
- A Hypertext Version of T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" - http://www.aduni.org/~heather/occs/honors/Poem.htm
- Read the identical poems in this order.
- Read each version before you move to the next one.
- Do not scan them, take note of their differences and similarities.
- Make notes as you read to help you understand the meaning of the poem.
- Look up, and then write down all the words you do not understand. I suggest the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, but since you are already online, go to www.m-w.com (The Merriam - Webster Online Dictionary).
- Ask yourself, are the poems different from one another?
- Is one version harder to read than another? Why (Consider colour and layout)?
- Does the reader's understanding of the theme of the poem change from any particular version?
- How can a reader be sure of the authenticity of a poem on the internet?
- What are the benefits and disadvantages to having poetry on the internet?
- Are there historical or editorial reasons for changes in these poems?
