Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Ars Poetica

    Uploaded by

    aekulak
    263 views1 page
    A poem should be simple and straightforward like a fruit, with meaning that is felt but not said, like old medallions that can be understood through touch alone. A poem conveys its message wordlessly, like birds in flight, and remains still over time, releasing its memories from the mind as the moon releases trees from night's grasp. Ultimately, a poem's meaning should exist within itself through suggestion rather than direct statement, allowing readers to find their own understanding.

    Original Description:

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    A poem should be simple and straightforward like a fruit, with meaning that is felt but not said, like old medallions that can be understood through touch alone. A poem conveys its message wordlessly, like birds in flight, and remains still over time, releasing its memories from the mind as the moon releases trees from night's grasp. Ultimately, a poem's meaning should exist within itself through suggestion rather than direct statement, allowing readers to find their own understanding.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    263 views1 page

    Ars Poetica

    Uploaded by

    aekulak
    A poem should be simple and straightforward like a fruit, with meaning that is felt but not said, like old medallions that can be understood through touch alone. A poem conveys its message wordlessly, like birds in flight, and remains still over time, releasing its memories from the mind as the moon releases trees from night's grasp. Ultimately, a poem's meaning should exist within itself through suggestion rather than direct statement, allowing readers to find their own understanding.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 1

    “Ars Poetica”

    Archibald MacLeish
    A poem should be palpable and mute
    As a globed fruit,
    Dumb
    As old medallions to the thumb,
    Silent as the sleeve-worn stone
    Of casement ledges where the moss has grown –
    A poem should be wordless
    As the flight of birds.
    **
    A poem should be motionless in time
    As the moon climbs,
    Leaving, as the moon releases
    Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,
    Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
    Memory by memory the mind –
    A poem should be motionless in time
    As the moon climbs.
    **
    A poem should be equal to:
    Not true.
    For all the history of grief
    An empty doorway and a maple leaf.
    For love
    The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea –
    A poem should not mean
    But be.

    1926

    You might also like