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The Value of Poetry

In rhapsodizing about the RV dump in Quartzsite recently, I finally decided that it affected me so strongly because the metaphor of a shadowy netherworld symbolized the importance of how much truth is omitted or hidden, in the normal day-to-day world. I doubt that the internet has changed this fact of human existence all that much.

Reading Addison & Steele again, I found this quote from Dryden:
Errors, like Straws, upon the Surface flow;
He who would search for Pearls must dive below.
Shame on the readers of the post for not disinterring this for me.

This is an example of the real value of poetry. It lies not in prettiness or entertainment, but in poets' skill as metaphor-smithies.

Comments

XXXXX said…
Right and it's not just poetry. Any language is limited and human emotion and feeling goes well beyond our ability to express it easily and clearly with words so we turn to metaphor (which at least opens the door and describes the edges leaving the rest more exposed at least intuitively), visual art, and other forms of creative expression. It's also the power of a novel which, through a simple story, the author hopes to speak to cultural mores or something so deeply embedded we're not consciously aware of it, and, thus, bring a greater awareness to it.

I personally remember an "aha" moment for myself as a young adult when I came across the expression "don't throw pearls before swine." It was a moment when this metaphor caused me to "get it".....I benefited from someone else's hard-learned experience to protect one's heart, one's vulnerability, from an asshole for an asshole can only do what an asshole does and the best one can do is walk on by.

It was the power of metaphor that did it.

I like your quote from Dryden. Reminds me of this from "The Little Prince:"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye."
And this one from Helen Keller: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched-they must be felt with the heart."


XXXXX said…
This is interesting. This guy just died....Umberto Eco and here is a quote from an article about him.
"I am a philosopher; I write novels only on the weekends," Eco told Britain's Guardian newspaper last year. "As a philosopher I am interested in truth. Since it is very difficult to decide what's true or not I discovered that it's easier to arrive at truth through the analysis of fakes."
He taught semiology.
Anonymous said…
Thanks for your comment, George. I learned what semiology is. I don't recall ever seeing or hearing that word before.

Chris
Ed said…
I read Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" not very long ago and that novel did not do much for me. All the 'deep thinkers' thought it was GREAT. Perhaps it was written in signs and symbols that I am simply too dense, versus deep, to understand.
XXXXX said…
But I think that's the interesting thing about "signs and symbols". They don't all click with all of us. It's a very personal thing. We all wouldn't have the same appreciation that KB expresses over this or that which he posts here. I have Eco's book on order from my local library and I might give you a hoot and a holler over at your website when I get to see the book. Thanks for your comment.
Perhaps you are putting a different spin on Dryden's quote than me. You might be interpreting "above/below" to refer to rational versus emotional, or conscious versus subconscious.

I interpreted it to mean conventional versus unconventional, polite versus brutally true.
XXXXX said…
I believe "the pearl" can take many forms. (And it is the beauty of metaphor to simply open the door of the many possibilities in the reader. If the author had a more specific "pearl" in mind, he would most likely stick to prose.) Your response suggests that one form of the pearl is finding the courage to break with the conventions of our early teachings, and find the courage to strike out on one's own, trusting one's intuitions, and being delighted with the results. It requires a person to stop living by the rules of polite conversation and speaking the truth no matter the consequences and finding a greater happiness....that is indeed a pearl.
Here is another example of what I call a pearl which I personally hear in the Dryden quote. This, by MLK: There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies."
This also comes to mind for me with your Dryden quote because we tend to vilify our enemies and elevate our own selves. Black and white thinking instead of shades of grey. It takes some courage to look in the mirror and see the worst in oneself. Many things can come to mind for the pearls are indeed under the surface and finding (or stumbling upon them) is a true joy.