Inner Structure and Poetry Education: An Analysis on Poems by Malaysian ESL Pre-Service Teachers

Abstract

Poets write poem as a way to articulate their emotions, ideas and perspectives, which allow distinction from other literary work. This qualitative study explores the structural patterns in terms of theme, tone, feeling, and mandate and educational values in war-themed poems composed by 26 ESL pre-service teachers at a public university in Malaysia. It also explores other elements to enable in-depth understanding of human experiences, differences in society and the intricacy of human emotions, eliciting empathy, insight and critical thinking. The participants who were pre-service teachers were purposively chosen based on their elective course which was literature. The data collection procedures also included an analysis on war-themed poems, followed by structured interviews. Content analysis was used to categorise and interpret the data. The results showed that in general the poems produced by these pre-service teachers did not only adhere to the literal meaning of war but focused on diverged interpretations of war. Categorising the poems using their inner structure allows readers to relate to the poems better, thus addressing the gap in understanding the structural patterns in terms of theme, tone, feeling, and mandate and educational values in war-themed poems among ESL pre-service teachers, particularly at a public university in Malaysia by examining the correlation between thematic elements. This study helps in developing effective pedagogical strategies aimed at enhancing ESL students’ creative writing skills. The study sought to ascertain how these ESL PSTs structure their poems concerning theme, tone, feeling, and mandate, and the educational values conveyed in these poems.