Ars Poetica: Responding to Poetry

"Ars Poetica" by Archibald MacLeish is an interesting piece. He attempts to define the real intent of poetry, and the irony is that he uses elements of poetry to do so. His idea of poetry is that it shouldn't be wordy and force the reader to interpret things a specific way. Poetry should only explain or describe what is going on and allowing free interpretation. I will analyze his use of the poetic elements of sound/rhythm and figures of speech.

Sound/Rhythm

Macleish does indeed use consonance and alliteration in his poem. He most expresses this in this line, "Silent as the sleeve-worn stone / Of casement ledges where the moss has grown--" (5-6). Here, the "s" sound is combined with the idea of silence. Stones and moss are quiet forms of being, which follows Macleish's idea of a poem. They have no need to explain themselves in existing, they just are. Also, it is up to the reader in how they view the stones and moss. They can see it as weapons of destruction, annoyance, or beauties of nature. His sounds influence the reader to feel the meaning. There is actually a rhyme scheme, although I did not notice until reading it for the second time. It was very natural, which is appropriate for the tone of the poem.

Figures of Speech

The poem uses a lot of similes throughout his poem to illustrate his meaning of "just being." He compares a poem to a "mute fruit," "motionless in time," and "wordless flight of birds." They contribute to the poem's meaning of what a poem is. They also fit his meaning because they are describing and not coercive phrases to force us how to think. One particular paradox in his poem can be found in line 7-8. "A poem should be wordless / As the flight of birds." At first, I wondered, how can a poem be wordless? In the present modern times, poems are not orally presented. With further analysis of this phrase, I think he means that a poem should be illustrations of meanings, not direct statements. His entire poem is summed in these words, "A poem should not mean / But be" (23-24).

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Status: Graded on November 10, 2007 11:19 PM (Attempt #1)
Grade: 10 out of 10

Most Recent Comment:
MacLeish's poem often gets overlooked as only having produced the famous aphorism "a poem should not mean but be" - but "ars Poetica" is a truly great poem for many reasons, which you so very eloquently show. Excellent work!