Poetry Isn't Binding
April 19, 2018I understand where Rene Char is coming from, he means to say that poetry is always with someone or apart of them. However, that is not the case. Marriage is a commitment that is meant to last a life time, whereas poetry is just how someone feels at a given time, something funny, or something that will make a person think. Furthermore, some poems are less than twenty words (who would marry that?). At any given time, someone could simply lose interest in a poem, "divorcing" it and moving on from. However, it would be simpler to just date a poem instead.
Dating a poem would be the more sensible than marrying it. Dating isn't permanent, although its still a commitment in where you have to fully understand each other inside and out to get any enjoyment out of each other, like in a marriage. However, dating is less serious, you can just stop seeing each other if you don't see eye to with each other. You aren't bound by a ring and some laws to "love" someone forever even if you lost interest. You and the poem would simply just drift apart, perhaps meeting every now and then to go over the good old times of the green eggs and ham you shared in a boat, in a box, and with a fox...
To me poetry should be free flowing and not a commitment. If you are in love with a poem, you are simply dating it, because the love for the words you've written on a page aren't necessarily going to stay (although they very well could). Poetry is a dance, something sporadic and sudden, or possibly slow and flowing. In order for a person and poetry to truly be happy, they must seek out other people and share what they have to offer. They must not be tied down to one, but experience others.
10 comments
I loved your comparisons here! I found it funny yet accurate in that poetry depends on your mood. A sad poem can be beautiful but if your happy then you probably want something that is encouraging, not necessarily beautiful. Similar to how poetry isn't tied down to a specific meaning, it isn't tied down to a specific person.
ReplyDeleteAwww, I really like this. I would also consider dating like a trial-run for a more serious relationship, too. Usually dating is more light-hearted whereas "being together" is more like a serious relationship (perhaps one which would lead to an engagement), you feel? Thus, I think that your relationship with a poem can grow into something more meaningful than just dating. Nonetheless, I completely agree with your points about poetry needing to not be tied down by the poet or, as Nina said, interpretation, but rather needs to be felt by many. Great post!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting and creative post! The reference you made to Dr. Seuss was brilliant, clever, and very tastefully woven into your claim. I especially liked how you discussed poetry through lenses of varying degrees of a relationship and would agree with your argument in that a poem is not an art form that one marries. Perhaps it can be loved and even adored, but not tied down. As a whole, great job!
ReplyDeleteI really like this viewpoint on the topic of marrying a poem. I agree that a connection with a poem is more like dating then marriage as your emotions can shift at any time and totally change how you feel about a given poem. There are plenty of poems out there that I don't like nearly as much as I used to. So, I do think that poems are more meant to be casually enjoyed and adored rather than fully committed to forever.
ReplyDeleteI really like this post. Much like dating and breaking up, a connection to poetry is formed when experiences are shared. Yet experiences, like people, are usually left somewhere in the past. I never thought of it as dating, but it is an excellent comparison!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post because it created a nice comparison between poetry and dating that kept me engaged in the writing (see what I did there?). Starting off I wasn't sure where you would go with the comparison, but you created a lot of parallels that I had not thought of before, good job!
ReplyDeleteI think you make a great argument, here. As much as I love many poems, I wouldn't want to commit to one for my whole life. Dating poems is a better idea. (But maybe Rene Char meant that the poem is married to the poet? Though even there, I think that it's more like a parent-child relationship.)
ReplyDeleteVery nice argument. I agree. Marrying someone takes a lot of permanent commitment. However, if you date someone, there is still that level of commitment that isn't permanent. This was a very creative approach to the prompt, and I really enjoyed it. Great post.
ReplyDeleteYou make a great argument here and I totally agree with it. Permanent commitment means giving up a lot in life whereas something like dating lacks the permanent aspect of commitment. The parallels presented in this post were great. Nice Job!
ReplyDeleteI love this post and all of the good points you bring up! I can tell you definitely thought this through because of the way that you fully explained yourself. I might have agreed with Char, but this post definitely makes me agree with you instead. Marriage is too binding while poetry is free, and you need to be able to experience as much poetry as you can, not just the one you're married to.
ReplyDeleteEmma Hummel