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
The bitter flame of hebetude,
Will save 25% off regular prices
Surrounded under brief extremes,
At the Snooty Poet’s Bookstore
Came close, without particular success,
If you get there by Friday evening.
To quantuming. With soulless noise.
Ain’t I cute?
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.
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.
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening
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
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.
n. 1. The process of
liquefying.
2. The
state
Next, when I cast mine
eyes and
see
of being liquefied.
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, Liquefy
how that
v. to
glittering taketh me!
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
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!