How a Poem Works

[Hayseed Huck]

Following my pronuncement that 'things' are
the stuff of poetry, not ideas; and that a poem
has only feeble effect if attempting to cram emo-
tion down a reader's throat; and how the reader
gives to a poem its necessary emotion,

I offer the following in dear hope my position is
made clear.

**
Let me have that gumdrop
after you bite down and chew.

I wanna taste the licorice,
the lime, the cherry of you.

You left your sweet, sweet
spit upon that peppermint stick.

Let you ride my bike
if I can have a lick.

**

What does the reader know that was not
said in the poem, what emotion not
expressed?

First we know the speaker is a kid.

Second we know he has a precocious
appreciation for the biology of girls.

Third, we easily guess this lad will
grow up to be the kind of man women
will love.

Fourth, we feel the joy and the inno-
cence of being young and uninfluenced
by ignorant advice about human contact.

None of this is said in the poem.

The reader gets to 'play' in it and
bring forth the emotion in an involved
way. In this sense the poem is the read-
er's to do with what he wants.

Of course, the reader may react in a
different way-- "Yuck! swapping spit!
The perverts at such an early age."

But this response is outside the little
drama played out, perhaps on a curb out-
side a candy store, the kids stopping for
a treat before riding on home.

The evident unconditional acceptance of
another person is the central theme, one
that begs for connection with the reader
without forcing it.

It is all 'things' and objects. No express-
ion of emotion.

The poem is not presented as an example
of a good poem, only as a mechanic for
clarifying how emotion is hidden in po-
etry.

Thanks for your time,

HH

[Revolte]

I want to ask you something though Huck, I won't question your knowledge but if what your saying is true wouldnt it make work like this http://www.angelfire.com/tn/plath/better.html something other then poetry, making Plath something other then a poet?

[Hayseed Huck]

Excellent counter.

Yes, the woman poet in question writes
poems chuck full of emotion.

... and she is famous.

What can I say?

Only to fall back to my position that my ideas
are reinforced by many literary personages...

and all is only probable.

One must always accept exceptions if the work
possesses other qualities-- as in Plath's work.

Thank you.

HH

[lallison]

Hang on, Plath's poems are full of imagery. Poems like Daddy and The Moon and the Yew Tree are overflowing in concrete images. I'd say the above poem is, of course, a poem, it's written using rhyme and meter, it does make the use of a number of images: stone, eyes, hills, falling leaf and uses figurative language. On the other hand, personally, I don't think that poem is as high of a quality as Plath is capable of writing. Not that it's bad, but at her best she's absolutely incredible.

[Bar22do]

HH! your position is made clear in this post indeed.

Now:

"The poem is not presented as an example
of a good poem, only as a mechanic for
clarifying how emotion is hidden in po-
etry."

Your poem is a cute one, actually, if I may express myself so. And pretty clear. I'm only astonished you felt you needed to explain what it contained and/or illustrated! For the message looked self-evident to me.

If, as you said, it wasn't an example of a good poem, then how could it serve your didactic purpose? or how could it efficiently hide any emotion? (which it did...)

A margin remark: previously you told us your sonnet was junk, today you're urged to stress your poem isn't good... on the other hand, you write with much authority and even a tiny bit of condescendence... ah, are not poets the masters of contradictions!

However arguable, your comments and posts shake our habits, which can but prompt us all to renewal and improvements! Thanks a lot, then! really!

Looking forward to reading you more - Bar

[Revolte]

Hang on, Plath's poems are full of imagery. Poems like Daddy and The Moon and the Yew Tree are overflowing in concrete images. I'd say the above poem is, of course, a poem, it's written using rhyme and meter, it does make the use of a number of images: stone, eyes, hills, falling leaf and uses figurative language. On the other hand, personally, I don't think that poem is as high of a quality as Plath is capable of writing. Not that it's bad, but at her best she's absolutely incredible.

I know, but that wouldn't have helped my case lol :ihih:

[shortstoryfan]

Honestly, I do think we are at a point in time where there is a certain lenience with images. But Hayseed does bring up a good point. The most solid way to make a good poem is through images. And we are not all Sylvia Plath. There has to be some kind of balance between extreme emotion and the image, because extreme emotion on a page is not artful, and poetry is art. So, I think it would be best for most people (all people) to start with image based poems, and when they grow comfortable with that, then begin to test the boundaries. If we start without care to the image, we have nothing to anchor the poem in but ideas.