1. THE
SCIENCE / ART / MYSTERY
OF POETRY

2. 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?

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Among twenty snowy mountains The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird.
Wallace Stevens
( )

7. IN A STATION OF THE METRO The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ezra Pound
(1885 –1972)

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening

12. Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening

13. Ghosts: The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the ordinary, perhaps frightening

14. 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

15. 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?

16. The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
near rhyme—not entirely satisfying

17. The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
The only long vowels in the poem

18. The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
And they’re in two stressed and adjacent syllables.

19. The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
And they have “s” consonance.

20. 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 . . .

21. 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 ( )

22. 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.

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. boo bone book bought boy bough bar bud bird bat bet bit buy bay bee

40. 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!

41. That brave vibration each way free, 10 14 13-14-8 15 14 15
- / / / / /
That brave vibration each way free,
meter frequency internal rhyme alliteration consonance

42. 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!