But there's a difference between "craft" and strict adherence to invariable and inviolable rules. It's not an abandonment of craft if a skilled poet uses an off-rhyme or allows himself an extra beat in a given line, etc. Done properly, it's a mark of craft. Everything should be done well (obviously), and I would argue that nothing done well lacks craft. The essay makes it sound as if there's a trade-off you sometimes make, allowing yourself to be sloppy because you're compensating for the sloppiness by adding something else that more than makes up for it. But that's not an accurate way of putting it. We don't tolerate imperfection because there's a pay-off. If there's a pay-off, there's no imperfection.
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