aside from the inescapable timebound (faddish) criteria, these two seem to be permanent:
1. "yugen", or mysterious beauty; i.e. resonance with the
subconscious. (in the 18c.--often called the least poetical
time for english-- this was not expected nor sought.)
2. "calliditas", or concise aptness. some--a very few--good
poets lack this (Whitman, Jeffers) but there will always be
those who refuse them the first rank for this reason.
i would also add: "melopoeia" or phonetic coherence (for some time now, in eclipse); "phanopoeia" or visual imagery;
& "logopoeia" or conceptual originality (these are Pound's
coinages).
"poignancy" belongs in here somewhere, but since
every age draws the line between pathos & bathos differently, i can only suggest that poetry must be
about the human feelings & situations which are thought
to be worth exploring at that time. nowadays bad childhoods
& famous artists appear frequently, while epics on the founding of political dynasties would be a very hard sell.
having one of these excellences is sufficient; but having
many of them is still better.
|