Final answer:
Prof. Rearick describes the most basic appeal of poems as the ability to create an immersive and sensory experience through the use of language that engages the reader's senses and emotions, establishing a profound connection between the speaker and the reader.
Step-by-step explanation:
Prof. Rearick emphasizes in his lecture that the most basic appeal of poems is their ability to create an experience through words that engage the senses, emotions, and intellect of the reader.
Poetry relies on literary elements such as tone, pace, rhythm, and sound, along with images and ideas, to evoke sensations and construct an experience that is almost physical in its immediacy.
It is a craft that demands the reader's full concentration, engaging them on multiple levels and often necessitating multiple readings and out-loud recitations to fully appreciate the nuances.
The vivid imagery and sensory details are the poem's muscles and heart, imbuing it with life and enabling a deep connection between the speaker and the audience.
Poetry operates on the principle of making the invisible visible, with poets utilizing fresh language and original arrangements of words to affect the reader.
The musicality and the thoughtfulness behind the word choices contribute to the reader's reception of the poem. Beyond grammar, it is the sound and arrangement that capture the reader's imagination and convey the depth of human experience, from our deepest feelings to joys, sorrows, and existential queries.
Every poem has a speaker and seeks to establish a connection with a listener. To replace the physical gestures unavailable to the written form, the poem employs rhythm, stresses, pauses, and different speeds to engage the reader's body and spirit.
The act of reading poetry involves embodying the speaker's words, entering their perspective, and allowing the text's music and meaning to envelop one's being.
This immersive experience cannot be replicated by any other medium and obliges the reader to approach the poem with a degree of 'negative capability', ready to absorb and reflect on the layers of emotion and thought.