Well, it's obvious that the term "greatest" is undefined in this context, it's an open-ended question in that sense. And certainly, if this started an argument over this poem's or that poem's ranking, so to speak, that would be silly.
But as a simple, even naive, little exercise, it seems to me to have virtue. Already I am seeing some interesting responses.
Incidentally, I said "Extended metaphor polished to perfection." In her reply, Alicia says "And there are some favorite poems, that seem to me "perfect", by which I do not mean without flaw, (again, I would argue, a sterile virtue.) But by which I mean complete, filled full, realized."
That's exactly what I meant. I didn't mean to imply that my exemplar was flawless (and if it were, it would indeed be sterile, most likely), but that the "extended metaphor" itself is polished to perfection.
(music)
AH! I see where that came from. In my second post to this thread, I referred to what is "flawless and enduring". I cast that off without thinking it through. A thing need not be flawless to endure, and flawlessness in and of itself is no poetic virtue. Alicia is quite correct.
[This message has been edited by bear_music (edited January 19, 2002).]
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