12-21-2011, 11:47 AM
Actually, I think physics and poetry have a lot in common. Physics, in order to be something more than mental fun, has to be connected to reality in some way, through some sort of testing. In physics, for a theory to be valid, it has to be testable. In poetry, for a metaphor to be valid, it must be describing something real, thus there must be a context created wherein the metaphor is in some way connected with something real and specific.
In the poem
restlessness = the tangled scent of red
That is "the tangled scent of red" is a metaphor for restlessness.
Leanne points out that red can be many things. "danger, destruction, anger, blood, passion, heat", but it can also represent life, love, excitement. Obviously you mean something specific since you use the definite article "the". The problem is that because there is nothing that clues the reader as to what you mean by "the tangled scent of red", it can mean hundreds of things. When a metaphor can have so many possible interpretations, it ceases to convey meaning. Sorry, but I cannot agree that a poem can be a Tabula Rasa. When something can mean anything, it ceases to have meaning. If that is all poetry is, we might as well just post ink blots, and then we should certainly do away with critiquing poetry, as there is no standard, it's all just what whoever gets from it. At that point we all become Shakespeare. Epicycles anyone?
Dale
In the poem
restlessness = the tangled scent of red
That is "the tangled scent of red" is a metaphor for restlessness.
Leanne points out that red can be many things. "danger, destruction, anger, blood, passion, heat", but it can also represent life, love, excitement. Obviously you mean something specific since you use the definite article "the". The problem is that because there is nothing that clues the reader as to what you mean by "the tangled scent of red", it can mean hundreds of things. When a metaphor can have so many possible interpretations, it ceases to convey meaning. Sorry, but I cannot agree that a poem can be a Tabula Rasa. When something can mean anything, it ceases to have meaning. If that is all poetry is, we might as well just post ink blots, and then we should certainly do away with critiquing poetry, as there is no standard, it's all just what whoever gets from it. At that point we all become Shakespeare. Epicycles anyone?
Dale
How long after picking up the brush, the first masterpiece?
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.
The goal is not to obfuscate that which is clear, but make clear that which isn't.