THE SCIENCE / ART / MYSTERY OF POETRY
A TYPICAL VIEW OF POETRY: The bitter flame of hebetude, Surrounded under brief extremes, Came close, without particular success, To quantuming. With soulless noise. No such impediments to me?
A TYPICAL VIEW OF POETRY: Anyone who can read this poem Will save 25% off regular prices At the Snooty Poet’s Bookstore If you get there by Friday evening. Ain’t I cute? The bitter flame of hebetude, Surrounded under brief extremes, Came close, without particular success, To quantuming. With soulless noise. No such impediments to me? It’s an irritating code.
Another view of poetry: When your days are rough and tumble, And you think you want to cry; Don’t just stand around and grumble: Look your troubles in the eye, And tell the whole world, “I can fly!” It’s wholesome, and it rhymes.
That’s not poetry! Poetry is a form of literature that uses rhythmic language and other techniques to express emotions and ideas in ways that produce various types of aesthetic satisfaction.
Among twenty snowy mountains The only moving thing Was the eye of the blackbird. Wallace Stevens (1879-1955)
IN A STATION OF THE METRO The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ezra Pound (1885 –1972)
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Paraphrase: [I am struck by] the sight of the many faces in the crowd [here in the metro station; they remind me of] blossoming petals on the dark, wet bough of a tree. It may not seem like much of a message, but . . . .
IN A STATION OF THE METRO A very ordinary place; nothing special, nothing magical, nothing mysterious about it. A place for commuters, for coming and going but not stopping.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; apparition: n. 1. A ghostly figure; specter. 2. A sudden or unusual sight. 3. An appearance The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. We’re in the humdrum metro station; we don’t expect ghosts, or sudden and unusual sights. The poem reminds us that even in the most ordinary of places, we occasionally experience something extraordinary.
Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ghosts: pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening
Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ghosts: pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening
Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ghosts: pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening
Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ghosts: pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening In a Station of the Metro
Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Ghosts: pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening Is there anything to be frightened of?
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. near rhyme—not entirely satisfying
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. The only long vowels in the poem
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. And they’re in two stressed and adjacent syllables.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. And they have “s” consonance.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough. Tension between life and death, renewal and dissolution, beauty and horror Reminder that the lovely and the marvelous can appear in the most mundane settings Sense of mystery in all these things . . .
Upon Julia’s Clothes Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Robert Herrick (1591-1674)
Upon Julia’s Clothes Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! n. 1. The process of liquefying. 2. The state of being liquefied. Liquefy v. to become liquid.
When I hear that Julia is wearing silk clothing, then I think that the liquid sound of her dresses is very sweet. Then when I look at her and see that splendid shimmering, I am struck with delight. Prose Paraphrase
When Julia walks across the room, She makes my beating heart go “boom!” And clears away a lot of gloom. And when I turn and see her face, I’m glad to have her in the place, To which she brings a saving grace. Lumpish version
Whenas in silk my Julia walks, Then, then methinks how sweetly moves The liquefaction of her dress. Next, when I cast mine eyes to spy That brave vibration each way shoot, Oh! how that glittering taketh me. No Rhyme
Whenas in wool my Arlene goes, Then, then I like how real swell flows That fluid nature of her clothes. Next, when I look around and see That super beauty breaking free, Oh! how that rare beauty grabbeth me. Word Sounds
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, I think how well flows That exceptional beauty of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That vibration that’s free, Oh, it takes me. Change line length
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Liquid and flowing sounds
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Meter
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me! Rhyme, assonance, consonance, and alliteration
boo bone book bought boy bough bar bud bird bat bet bit buy bay bee
Whenas in silks my Julia goes, 11-10 12 12 13 1-8 2 69 Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows 11 11 15-12 6 15 -15 2 87 That liquefaction of her clothes. 10 12-11-10-8 8 9 2 70 Next, when I cast mine eyes and see 11 11 13 10 13 13 10 15 96 That brave vibration each way free, 10 14 13-14-8 15 14 15 103 Oh, how that glittering taketh me! 2 6 10 12-9-12 14-11 15 91
That brave vibration each way free, 10 14 13-14-8 15 14 15 - / - / - / / / That brave vibration each way free, 10 14 13-14-8 15 14 15 meter frequency internal rhyme alliteration consonance
Upon Julia’s Clothes Whenas in silks my Julia goes, Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows That liquefaction of her clothes. Next, when I cast mine eyes and see That brave vibration each way free, Oh, how that glittering taketh me!