Teaching Children to Love Poetry, Part I: Night of Spring
The first poem in this series is a sweet and simple favorite of mine: ‘Night of Spring’ by Thomas Westwood.
Every time I teach a poem, I follow the same four-part process: First, I read the poem aloud to my class from start to finish, not expecting any of them to understand any of it. Next, I lead the students through the poem, carefully explaining it line-by-line, and asking them to help me “translate” the poem into our own words. Then, I read the poem aloud again from start to finish, and enjoy watching their faces light up when they understand completely something they couldn’t remotely discern a mere forty minutes ago. Finally, we discuss the meaning of the poem as a whole. More on that below.
Without further ado, here is ‘Night of Spring’ by Thomas Westwood:
Slow, horses, slow
As through the woods we go
We would count the stars in heaven
Hear the grasses grow.
Watch the cloudlets few
Dappling the deep blue
In our open palms outspread
Catch the blessed dew.
Slow, horses, slow
As through the woods we go
All the beauty of the night
We would learn and know.
And, here is the line-by-line “translation” of the poem that I wrote with last year’s third grade class:
Slow down, horses
As we ride through the woods
So we can count every star in the sky
And hear the grass grow.
We can watch the tiny clouds
That are spotted across the sky
We can stretch out our hands
To catch the beautiful dewdrops.
Slow down, horses
As we ride through the woods
Every beautiful thing in the nighttime,
I want to experience and remember.
You’ll notice that the translation doesn’t rhyme or sound nearly as pretty as the original, and that is okay. The focus of the translation phase is comprehension—rephrasing everything in language that is easy to understand.
Once we translate the poem and hear it again, we move into a discussion of the poem’s meaning as a whole. I will often ask, “If you had to state what this poem was about in one short sentence, what would you say?” I might also ask them if it relates to the book we are currently reading, or if it makes them think of something they have seen or done. During this phase, and especially while teaching this poem, I like to show photos or paintings that I feel capture the poem’s spirit and/or imagery. I also like to share my own personal connection(s) to the poem as a model for them of how they can relate to poetry. I will dedicate a future post in this series to the subject of this stage of class, and how I go about conducting discussion with my students.
For now, here is what I would hope for a student to have a basic understanding of after learning the poem with me: This little poem is about slowing down to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us every day. The poet is asking the horses that pull him along through the woods at nighttime to slow down so he can more fully appreciate the beauty of the night. The things he mentions, such as the innumerable stars in the sky, the dew gathering, and the grass growing, are things he might easily miss if he were to ride through the woods too quickly just to get home and go to sleep. To put it briefly, this poem is about slowing down in order to drink in the beauty of the world.
You might not have even needed me to explain this poem. I teach it to young children in my classes for that reason, and it is well-loved by all of us, in part because of that simplicity. There is something important we can all glean from it, regardless of age or feelings about poetry, and that is the real-life application of this little poem. “Slow, horses, slow” has become an internal little catchphrase I use, and I’d like to share the reasons for that, as I do with my students every year.
This poem makes me think about the things I want to slow down and notice more, like the things my children do that they didn’t do yesterday, and the way my husband laughs. Sometimes when I find myself in a particularly beautiful moment with my family, I will say “Slow, horses, slow” to myself as a reminder to really see that moment clearly and to be there with them fully.
Saying “slow, horses, slow” also helps me with anxious feelings. Like many people, I get caught up in the stresses of the day, and I can become wrapped up in worrisome thoughts. For those of you who get stuck in these kinds of thoughts too, you know how hard it can be to break out of that cycle of negativity. So, if I catch myself going down a spiral of worry, I will try to snap myself out of it by saying, “Slow, horses, slow.” Saying this little catchphrase to myself always reminds me of all the beauty that surrounds me, and how I have to slow down in order to see it. If I’m all caught up in stress and worry, how will I hear the grasses grow, count the stars, or appreciate my beautiful children? I don’t want to miss any of that, and Thomas Westwood has given me the perfect shorthand to help me remember that in times of trouble.
Children naturally move at a slower pace than most adults, as many of us are keenly (and possibly painfully) aware. This poem speaks to the benefit of moving at a slower pace, and stopping to smell the flowers. It will resonate with young children for that reason, but also because children are not without their own anxieties, as I am confident you remember from your own childhood. Breaking that negative cycle is important for children as well. Teach them this poem, and encourage the use of the “slow horses, slow” catchphrase in your home or classroom. And also, take this poem as an example of one that isn’t explicitly geared toward children, and yet is entirely accessible and valuable to them.
I hope you enjoyed the first installment of my poetry series, and that you find a reason to slow your horses down today and every day. Come back to read the next installments, in which I will cover topics such as determining the appropriateness of poetry, motivating children to memorize poetry, and more.