Robert Frost says that poems begin in delight and end in wisdom. It is also the same for love, because "no one can really hold that the ecstasy should be static and stand still in one place." Pretty much, Frost is talking about love poems and how they should be exciting, especially in the beginning. He also says that they should end in a certain clarification. I see this especially in T.S. Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." Prufrock is a semi-boring individual with sexual frustrations who just needs to profess his feelings to a woman. The opening line of the poem, "Let us go then, you and I" reminded me of a date that Prufrock is going on with a woman. The beginning of the poem is kind of happy, and Eliot uses descriptive language. Like Frost said, the poem starts out delightful, but then changes pace when Prufrock questions his motives, and asks, "do I dare disturb the universe?" I believe that Frost's ideas are emulated in the Prufrock poem.
Frost talks about the wildness of poetry. Poems should be fulfilling and not stick to one theme, but possibly go in different directions. For instance, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" could be interpreted in several ways. The line, "When the evening is spread out against the sky like a patient etherised upon a table," one could interpret that as the sky being grey and dull. Someone else could interpret the sky as Prufrock being in a dream like state. Poetry has literal and metaphorical meanings.
When I read this it makes me wonder what descriptive language Elliot uses when he makes the beginning happy. I agree that the patient etherized on a table could have a double meaning and can be interpreted differently. I think the different interpretations are what makes poems unique to each individual that reads them.
ReplyDeletePretty good here, but Frost and Eliot actually have divergent ideas about poetry. Eliot thinks poets should be removed from their eventual work while Frost wants poets to be personally engaged and recognizable.
ReplyDeleteI take your point about delight and wisdom, though.
I will say, I think your post would be even better if you'd ended on something specific about the poem or essay instead of this given about the metaphorical and literal meaning of poems.
Keep at it.