Poetry has the power to lower the readers guard through the seduction effect. The prior experiences with poetry that gives the reader the expectation of finding meaning with the capability of making them feel or understand something other is part of the seduction. I'm afraid I did not make that clear, we are used to reading poetry with the purpose of finding a deeper meaning that is supposed to make us learn, see from a different perspective, understand ideas, use our imagination, and/ or inspire. These experiences cause us to treasure the words written when we realize what we are reading is poetry.
In an essay called “The Noble Rider and the Sound of Words” by Wallace Stevens, the author of “The Snowman,” states
The deepening need for words to express our thoughts and feelings which, we are sure, are all the truth that we shall ever experience, having no illusions, makes us listen to words when we hear them, loving them and feeling them, makes us search the sound of them, for finality, a perfection, an unalterable vibration, which it is only within the power of the acutest poet to give them. (32)
One of the reasons I love that passage is because it is poetry. Wallace Stevens is first and foremost a poet who also writes philosophical essays on Reality and Imagination. When we talked in our joint session about Lysis, we said that the narrative structure served as a type of seduction to the reader. The easing into the banter between Socrates and the others “soothed” the reader. If we entered during the banter we wouldn’t have a heart to figure out the meanings or continue the discussions ourselves. Personally, I would just find it absurd that Socrates is trying to intellectualize matters of the heart- whereas the narrative beginning allows me to at least listen, even if I find myself seeing Socrates as a sneaky snake at times. When reading this passage, instead of a narrative structure to calm the reader, Stevens uses cues that we are already used to: rhythm and repetition, among other features of the passage. It’s not a straight up statement, he doesn’t say things the most simplest of ways because if he did then we wouldn’t get lost in the feeling the sentence creates or in our love for words.
What's wrong with trying to intellectualize matters of the heart? To watch, to try to understand how it moves?
ReplyDeleteClarification: I'm not against studying the ways of the heart, to figure out why people do the things they do and to find the route of our passions and such. What I meant (and it wasn't really all that important to what I was saying. Just a throw away statement explaining that I needed the Narrative set up to even keep reading because I wanted to see what would happen with the boys) was that I don't appreciate the way Socrates argues in Lysis. Half the time he isn't even straight out saying what it is that he means, he keeps comparing friends to sicknesses and doctors instead of actually talking about what it means to be a friend. It's such a bad example in so many ways it becomes a waste of hot air. Sicknesses aren't friends of doctors, they don't even have a positive relationship. I don't know. It all seems too much like trickery.
ReplyDeleteIntellectualizing the ways of the heart. Not really what I meant. Ugghhh.... I'm having a hard time saying what I meant. Okay. If I know that I'm friends with someone because of x, y, and z weaknesses or "accidents," that doesn't mean I can just decide that I'm not really friends with them. If someone tells me that I can only be friends with someone who is like me enough to get along with, but not too much like me because we don't have any way of growing from the friendship or having some kind of outward gain then I'd be annoyed- facts don't make people friends. You can't analyze a friendship to conclude that it's not a friendship. Maybe I just don't get Plato. That's completely possible. No... It's certain.
Cassie, I like what you say about "These experiences cause us to treasure the words written when we realize what we are reading is poetry."
ReplyDeleteIt is true. I think poetry is a nice way of communicating messeages to the readers, as well as images in their minds, precisely thanks to the words themselves: by the sounds of the words and by the way the poem is structured, there is that seducing effect attracting the readers's attention so that they can be more "receptive" to the message the poet wants to convey.