Concrete poetry presents its readers with a unique and often confounding situation. In addition to using language or parts of language in non-traditional ways, concrete poetry also uses elements that are more commonly associated with visual art. However, concrete poetry is not visual art. It is still concerned, primarily, with the use of language, generally to communicate some meaning to the reader in a way that is undeniably linguistic in nature. Concrete poetry is therefore an especially unique genre that draws upon and incorporates many different concepts from a variety of disciplines in order to fill in the gaps left when traditional grammar and syntax are eschewed.
One particularly useful cross-disciplinary element employed in concrete poetry is the use of space. The poetry of Emmett Williams, Seiichi Nikuni, and Ilse and Pierre Garnier in particular, make use of spatial relationships in their poetry. The use of space can be employed in place of traditional grammar and syntax to convey meaning in concrete poetry, particularly when the spatial position of one element is taken into consideration with other elements of the poem. Another element that may arise from these spatial relationships is a temporal aspect that all poetry employs, but which becomes uniquely meaningful in the context of the concrete poetry of the twentieth century. Without these relationships concrete poems may appear as crude distortions of words on a page, with no significant sense or meaning to communicate. Therefore, the temporal/spatial relationships between poetic elements become necessary tools which the reader needs in order to fully understand the linguistically driven meaning behind many concrete poems.
Traditional poetry does make ...
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Garnier, Ilse and Pierre Garnier. “Extension 2: Soleil.” Rothenberg and Joris, eds. 309.
Hawking, Stephen. The Universe in a Nutshell. New York: Bantam Books, 2001.
Nikuni, Seiichi. “Rain.” Rothenberg and Joris, eds. 308.
Rothenberg, Jerome and Pierre Joris, eds. Poems for the Millennium: The University of California Book of Modern and Postmodern Poetry, Vol. 2. Berkeley: University of California, 1998.
Solt, Mary Ellen. “France.” Concrete Poetry: A World View. N.p.: Indiana University Press, 1968. Accessed 7 April 2009 < http://www.ubu.com/papers/solt/france.html>.
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Williams, Emmett. “Like Attracts Like.” Rothenberg and Joris, eds. 307.
Poetry’s role is evaluated according to what extent it mirrors, shapes and is reshaped by historical events. In the mid-19th century, some critics viewed poetry as “an expression of the poet’s personality, a manifestation of the poet’s intuition and of the social and historical context which shaped him” ( Preminger, Warnke, Hardison 511). Analysis of the historical, social, political and cultural events at a certain time helps the reader fully grasp a given work. The historical approach is necessary in order for given allusions to be situated in their social, political and cultural background. In order to escape intentional fallacy, a poet should relate his work to universal
Everett, Nicholas From The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-century Poetry in English. Ed. Ian Hamiltong. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Copyright 1994 by Oxford University Press.
Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. The Web. The Web. 03 Feb. 2014. 2.
Strand, Mark and Evan Boland. The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms. New
Meinke, Peter. “Untitled” Poetry: An Introduction. Ed. Michael Meyer. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s 2010. 89. Print
Poems, Poets, Poetry: An Introduction and Anthology. 3rd ed. Ed. Helen Vendler. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s,
Poetry Criticism. Ed. V. Young, Robyn. A. & J. New York: The New York Times. Gale Research Company, 1991. Vol.
To show writers’ ability to highlight the sense of the work with word’s visual appearance the author mentioned Steven Hall and his The Raw Shark Texts. Such works were the basis for the “liberature” genre that represents the combination of image and text. Poets used concrete poetry to show both visual and verbal features of the text. This idea was developed on page 72 and further with the description of Piet Zwart, Kurt Schwitters or Steve McCaffery writings. McCarthy used these examples to show that authors can deepen into own works or even to create a new sense for other writers’ texts with the aid of the design.
The language in “The Last Night of the Earth Poems” by American poet Charles Bukowski does not contain strong metaphors nor deep structured rhymes, therefore his poetic stories, which are instant pictures from Bukowski’s perspective, can be understood easily since the reader knows what people are going through in their life. As a result of this, the author could express his ideas smoothly. The enjambments, unnatural line break that is used by poets to excite the readers, through Bukowski’s poetry makes the reader wonder how the next line in a poem is going to be. He also makes the readers read the rest of the poem as well as the book. The poet prefers to use unexpected line breaks because he wants to draw the images better with his stories than focusing on the other temperaments of poetry.
Ramazani, Jahan, Richard Ellmann, and Robert O 'Clair. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003. Print.
In any discussion of poetry vs. prose worth it's stanzas, questions regarding such tools as meter, rhyme, and format must come into play. These are, after all, the most obvious distinguishing features of poetry, and they must certainly be key in determining the definition, and in fact nature, of poetry.
It is imperative for us, especially all poets and writers of prose that use language to express figurative meaning, to critique this theory because it only decreases creativity and denies that artist say anything beyond the literal with their words and metaphors. Davidson's ideas violently affront to the purpose of our craft. If we become completely dependent upon objective, literal meaning and learn to reject subjective, figurative meaning in words, we will consequently become less human and more detached from the world, from our natural surroundings, from our fellow human beings, and from the spontaneous, creative voices deep in our guts that often speak of truths literal expression cannot capture.
Mar. 1972: 86-100. pp. 86-100. Major, Clarence. American Poetry Review.
... since it deals with the growth of the mind. Therefore, the poet uses syntax and form to emphasize on the important matters that occurred in each stanza.
This essay will closely analyse three different poems to highlight how the genre of a poem can shape the poets voice. Each poem has a different story behind it therefore this paper will analyse why the genre of each poem fits the story being told. Genre refers to the style and category of the poem, a structure with which the poet builds their work. Different genres can be used to reflect different emotions, ideas or thoughts. It can be used to emphasis certain aspects of a poem which are important to emphasis. Poets will pick genres which intensify their feelings or make their words more emotive. Elegy, epic, narrative, dramatic and lyric poetry are all classified as a genre. Subgenres inclue sonnets, ode and villanelle. Poetry is a very technical and difficult art to master. A true poet will know which genre to use to emphasis their voice and make it be heard. Genre gives the poet a structure, an outline to build upon. It allows the poet to work within a frame whilst challenging their minds. It gets the best out of the poet. It is technique, tone and content in one. Most of all, it gives the reader an idea of what the poem is.