Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Meyer
Saying that a poem is about nothing more than the form used to write it is like saying a building is only about its underlying skeletal framework. Form is a means, not an end in itself.
Perhaps this is a poem:
____________A
____________B
____________A
____________B
Richard
|
I just kind of assumed, when I read Mary's post, that she didn't mean "nothing" absolutely literally, that there was an implied "in essence" or "at heart" lurking in there somewhere. There's nothing ridiculous about the idea that a poem can be about its form. Isn't every poem about its form to some extent? And anyway, that's not really the main point of her post, is it? I thought she was interested in hearing how different poets choose, or arrive at, forms for their poems. And since she's talking about "formal verse" I assume she means received forms rather than the more general "form" that all poems have (correct me if I'm wrong, M).