For better or for verse
As I have hinted earlier, poetry and I have had an interesting association. In high school, my English teacher laid much emphasis on 'hidden meaning' in poems. This left me exasperated, and I was forever left muttering to myself 'Why can't this fellow say whatever he wants to clearly, and save us all this detective work?! '.It was only years later that I came across a quote that answered this question - 'Poetry is the art of saying what you mean, but disguising it'. Meanwhile, I was left suffering in silence ( occasionally interrupted by a pj or two:-), lamenting the acute shortage of plain-speaking poets (yes, I know thats an oxymoron:-) on this perplexing planet. Indeed, I had decided that far too many people merely broke well established rules of grammar under the pretext of exercising poetic license.
For those who choose to trod this dangerous path, I have a tip to offer. In the unlikely event ( as you might have already discovered, anything can happen in life, so it pays to be prepared ) of a potty poet accosting you, and demanding that you summarise to him your views on a poem, what should you do ? Here is the secret - With an expression of grave concern and absolute seriousness, tell him that 'Its very symbolic' !
This always works, and the poet will shower you with several compliments on your fine literary tastes. However, you must flee the scene as soon as its convenient to do so , lest the poet delve into the details, and discover that you have extinguised your repertoire of poetry-interpretation-skills with that all powerful phrase. 'Its very symbolic', as you might have guessed, is analogous to that other saviour -'It all depends'. Both are most effective when one makes oneself unavailable immediately after.
On a more serious note, I have much respect for those who understand and appreciate serious poetry. I am somewhat literal minded in that respect, and enjoy abstraction in music instead.On a parting note, I am re-posting a verse of mine:-)
Po-yum or Po-yuck?
" Should I write one (poem ) or should I not ?
Will the intended audience tolerate this rot ?"
I wondered , pondered , and thought very hard ,
and then I realized - 'me ain't no bard !'
"Why at all am I reading this stuff ? "
"I can't take it anymore , I've had enough "
I can hear you say to yourself , my friend ,
Congrats ! for you've made it to this poem's very end !
6 comments:
How very oxymoronic (and symbolic?:)) your poem is ;). I love poetry but don't particularly appreciate 'symbolism' or excuses to abuse the rules of grammar.
There is PLENTY of truly amazing poetry out there- Ogden Nash, Vikram Seth, Carl Dennis, Pablo Neruda. If Lady Gaga and Mozart can co-exist in the musical world.. guess it isn't surprising that there's a range of poets too :)
SecondSight - ya, i guess there are all kinds when it comes to poets too:-) Actually, I've tried a bit of Nash and Vikram Seth, and enjoyed them too! I've been wanting to try Neruda for a while now, and I have to confess I haven't heard of Carl Dennis:-) Thanks for the recos !
Haha, that was a witty poem right there! :). I actually like the fact that I have to decode the deeper meanings in a verse...it makes me appreciate the imagination, creativity and depth of the poet's thoughts. But too much of it, and using symbolism when not required, makes my head hurt! It's also common to start converting bits of literal prose into random verses. It's a delicate balance, and the good poets are the ones who can pull it off :)
Neeraja - Thanks:-) My threshold for head-hurting is lower than yours:-) I think I didn't expose myself to poetry in a graded way; maybe tried too dense stuff too early!
Nice post. But not all poetry is "symbolic". Also, there is this continuous argument I have with myself about which is better poetry or descriptive prose. The energy that goes into writing either is high. I used to read a lot of "symbolic" poetry till I started enjoying descriptive prose. I must say some of the "symbolic" poetry is plain irritating at times. :)
Your poem made me smile. Good one.
Rafiki - Thanks :-) Yes, not all poetry is symbolic; I was exaggerating, and it was meant to be farcical humour! I enjoy poetry and descriptive writing as long as they are not too convoluted:-)
Post a Comment