THE POET'S WORLD
A lot of poetry is descriptive-of nature, of men, of the thoughts of the poet, etc. The poet will sometimes compare it to something similar as he tries to express a thought or describe an event that may be unfamiliar to his readers (or to describe something familiar in a different way). Such a comparison is called an analogy. But the more common word for it in poetry is an image because it's a short, simple, and colorful expression that allows the reader to "see" the mentioned object, and understand the essence of the poem. Here is a popular illustration of the shortness of man's life (from Shakespeare's Macbeth):
By replacing the image of an actor's "hour upon the stage" with "life," Shakespeare suggests a contrast between the relative brevity of life and the evanescence of success of the theatre. An implicit analogy like this is a metaphor. Poets may also render a specific analogy called a simile using "like" or "as" Here's a simile from Robert Graves ' poem (born 1895):
In general, poets use a number of images in a poem, either to express multiple feelings or to articulate a particular thought. For example, in his poem "To a Skylark," Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) conveys in a flood of images the beauty of the singing of the bird; he compares the lark to a cloud of rainbows, a star, a rose, a poet and the moon (among other things), as in this stanza:
This imaging can be much more accurate than a generic summary of abstracts. One of the reasons for its effectiveness is that the similarities are always odd and unexpected: they will surprise the reader to immediately think clearly and understand. Below are a few examples of such stunning imagery:
Another way a poem holds its meaning both brief and explicit is with the use of symbols. Some poets-like Paul Valéry of France (1871-1945) or W. B. Yeats of Ireland (1865-1939)-often used metaphors to express the full sense of their poetry. But other poets used it only rarely, to expand an emotional influence or in a small space to articulate a complicated argument.
A symbolic term holds a variety of interpretations that are not explicitly specified in the reader's mind-meanings. For illustration, the term "cross," literally means one particular geometric form. But it will lead the ordinary reader in Western culture to think about the Christian Faith, Christ's suffering, God's love, the Christian way of life, martyrdom, death, etc. In his poem "To Brooklyn Bridge," the American poet Hart Crane (1899-1932) gives the bridge something of a church's sacredness and majesty by using abstract words— like "altar"-in these lines:
With only one word, the poet will add all those extra meanings to his poem. So other words (like "serpent" or "crown") can be used in this manner, as long as the abstract associations associated with them are common.
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| Woodcut above portrays François Villon, 15th-century French poet famed for his forceful imagery, with lines from one of his ballads. |
A lot of poetry is descriptive-of nature, of men, of the thoughts of the poet, etc. The poet will sometimes compare it to something similar as he tries to express a thought or describe an event that may be unfamiliar to his readers (or to describe something familiar in a different way). Such a comparison is called an analogy. But the more common word for it in poetry is an image because it's a short, simple, and colorful expression that allows the reader to "see" the mentioned object, and understand the essence of the poem. Here is a popular illustration of the shortness of man's life (from Shakespeare's Macbeth):
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more;
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| William Blake (1757-1827) enrich " Infant Joy" by adding a a pictorial image that compares a body to a budding flower. |
By replacing the image of an actor's "hour upon the stage" with "life," Shakespeare suggests a contrast between the relative brevity of life and the evanescence of success of the theatre. An implicit analogy like this is a metaphor. Poets may also render a specific analogy called a simile using "like" or "as" Here's a simile from Robert Graves ' poem (born 1895):
Your tread like blossom drifting from a bough
In general, poets use a number of images in a poem, either to express multiple feelings or to articulate a particular thought. For example, in his poem "To a Skylark," Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) conveys in a flood of images the beauty of the singing of the bird; he compares the lark to a cloud of rainbows, a star, a rose, a poet and the moon (among other things), as in this stanza:
All the earth and air
With thy voice is loud,
As, when night is bare,
From one lonely cloud
The moon rains out her beams, and heaven is over-
flow'd
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| A woodcut by Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) illustrates a Japanese haiku, a limited to 17 syllables. Each haiku evokes a single image. This reads: "When the peony leaves are hidden, the peony flowers look forlorn. |
This imaging can be much more accurate than a generic summary of abstracts. One of the reasons for its effectiveness is that the similarities are always odd and unexpected: they will surprise the reader to immediately think clearly and understand. Below are a few examples of such stunning imagery:
Like a skein of loose silk blown against a wall
She walks by the railing of a path (Ezra Pound)
Wandering the cold streets tangled like old string
(W. H. Auden)
The burnt-out ends of smoky days (T. S. Eliot)
Like a long-legged fly upon the stream
His mind moves upon silence (W. B. Yeats)
Another way a poem holds its meaning both brief and explicit is with the use of symbols. Some poets-like Paul Valéry of France (1871-1945) or W. B. Yeats of Ireland (1865-1939)-often used metaphors to express the full sense of their poetry. But other poets used it only rarely, to expand an emotional influence or in a small space to articulate a complicated argument.
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| This portrait of William Wordsworth * by English artist Benjamin Haydon includesthe kind of solitary natural scene that the poet evoked in his work. Wordsworth drew hisinspiration direct from nature; by abandoning the formal poetic language of the 18th century, he revitalized English poetry. |
A symbolic term holds a variety of interpretations that are not explicitly specified in the reader's mind-meanings. For illustration, the term "cross," literally means one particular geometric form. But it will lead the ordinary reader in Western culture to think about the Christian Faith, Christ's suffering, God's love, the Christian way of life, martyrdom, death, etc. In his poem "To Brooklyn Bridge," the American poet Hart Crane (1899-1932) gives the bridge something of a church's sacredness and majesty by using abstract words— like "altar"-in these lines:
O harp and altar, of the fury fused,
(How could mere toil align thy choiring strings!)
 |
| The lithograph ọn the left (drawn in 1875 by French artist Édouard Manet,), illus- -trates "The Raven," a poem in which 19th- century American writer Edgar Allan Poe used the macabre bird as a symbol of despair. |
With only one word, the poet will add all those extra meanings to his poem. So other words (like "serpent" or "crown") can be used in this manner, as long as the abstract associations associated with them are common.
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