Reasoning For Poetry

"Reasons for Poetry" by William Meredith

     William Meredith believes that because every poet writes for a different reason and every poem is created for a different reason, "the reason for a new poem is, in some essential, a new reason."  He says that poems generally fall under one of three categories -- poems written with the poet as dissident, poet as apologist, or poet as solitary.  These categories describe the nature of the poem but not the reason behind it, which varies with each and every poem.  The reason a poem is written plays a huge role in the way the poem turns out.  As Meredith states, "the reason behind a poem shapes its growth and determines the way it is delivered."  The way a poem is delivered is a way to classify it under one of Meredith's three categories of poems, but the actual reason for each poem's creation is unique.

     While William Meredith believes that each poem has a unique reason for its creation, he also feels that the ultimate reason for poetry is to astonish.  He calls astonishment the "larger force of poetry," and says, "it is part of the purpose of every poem to surprise us with our own capacity for change, for a totally new response."  He also stresses the roles that taste and judgment play in the reasoning for poetry.  According to this selection there are five possible reactions to a poem, each involving a like/dislike of the poem and an evaluation of the poem as good/bad.  Meredith says that liking a poem "should of course be our primary objective and motive," but he believes a person should be able to judge a poem for its quality, aside from personal tastes and preferences.  As he says, "we owe it to ourselves and the poem to try to say, I can see this is good, and though at present I don't like it, I believe that with perseverance I shall come to like it."  Meredith's belief that all poems are created for unique reasons, with the goals to astonish and be liked, call for poetry to be given a fair chance by readers in order to be fully appreciated.

"Poetry & Commitment" by Adrienne Rich

     This selection by Adrienne Rich emphasizes the emotions that accompany reading and interpreting poetry.  She takes some time to describe a lot of what poetry is not -- "Poetry is not a healing lotion...Neither is it a blueprint, nor an instruction manual, nor a billboard."  Rich also addresses the claim that poetry "aestheticizes," stating that the definition of aesthetic is, "not a privileged and sequestered rendering of human suffering, but news of an awareness, a resistance...art reaching into us for what's still passionate, still unintimidated, still unquenched."  In this way, the author feels that part of the reasoning for poetry is its ability to communicate, inform, and evoke emotion in the reader.

     Adrienne Rich finds that poetry's strongest ability is its evoking of emotions.  As she says, "transfusions of poetic language can and do quite literally keep bodies and souls together - and more."  She also states that, "when poetry lays its hand on our shoulder we are, to an almost physical degree, touched and moved.  The imagination's roads open before us."  Based on these excerpts, it is clear that the author has a great deal of faith in poetry's ability not only to grab the attention of readers, but to open their minds and allow them to experience thoughts and ideas they had not imagined previously.  

     Shelley's claim that "poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world" that we discussed in class is included in Adrienne Rich's piece as well.  She takes this to mean that, "poets exert some exemplary moral power -- in a vague unthreatening way."  This also contributes to the idea that poetry has the ability to evoke feelings and open readers' minds.  Therefore, "Poetry & Commitment" describes the power poetry has over our thoughts, emotions, and imaginations.