Virginia Credle
English 12/Bl. 2
January 6, 2003
Ars Poetica- Archibald MacLeish
In the poem "Ars Poetica" by Archibald MacLeish, the poet creates a paradox through the use of metaphor and irony to explain the proper means of creating a poem even though the poem cannot fulfill the very constraints it has set.
Archibald MacLeish utilizes the philosophies of imagists in his poem written in 1926 to explain the truths behind poetry. Three principles of imagism are to be brief, be direct, and use free verse. These principles are not used fully, but the reader can understand the connection between "Ars Poetica" and the most basic of imagist poetry. Within the poem, metaphors are used to briefly explain the chief message of the poem even though the metaphors do become contradictory. The opening lines state that "a poem should be palpable and mute/As a globed fruit/Dumb/As old medallions to the thumb," and so on. These metaphors are meant to convey the silent existence with which a proper poem extends throughout time. Poems should carry a timeless message that is recognizable and conceivable as early as the times of Jesus to far beyond the Apocalypse. The same idea is conveyed through the stanza in which the poem is compared to a winter moon seen through the branches of a tree. MacLeish says that a poem should be motionless as the moon which remains locked in the memory of the onlooker. MacLeish also bestows the advice that "a poem should be wordless/As the flight of birds." The paradox is evident in this statement because the poem contains words which MacLeish says a proper poem should not have.
English 12/Bl. 2
January 6, 2003
Ars Poetica- Archibald MacLeish
In the poem "Ars Poetica" by Archibald MacLeish, the poet creates a paradox through the use of metaphor and irony to explain the proper means of creating a poem even though the poem cannot fulfill the very constraints it has set.
Archibald MacLeish utilizes the philosophies of imagists in his poem written in 1926 to explain the truths behind poetry. Three principles of imagism are to be brief, be direct, and use free verse. These principles are not used fully, but the reader can understand the connection between "Ars Poetica" and the most basic of imagist poetry. Within the poem, metaphors are used to briefly explain the chief message of the poem even though the metaphors do become contradictory. The opening lines state that "a poem should be palpable and mute/As a globed fruit/Dumb/As old medallions to the thumb," and so on. These metaphors are meant to convey the silent existence with which a proper poem extends throughout time. Poems should carry a timeless message that is recognizable and conceivable as early as the times of Jesus to far beyond the Apocalypse. The same idea is conveyed through the stanza in which the poem is compared to a winter moon seen through the branches of a tree. MacLeish says that a poem should be motionless as the moon which remains locked in the memory of the onlooker. MacLeish also bestows the advice that "a poem should be wordless/As the flight of birds." The paradox is evident in this statement because the poem contains words which MacLeish says a proper poem should not have.
