What is the meaning of Ars Poetica by Archibald MacLeish?
“Ars Poetica” comes from the Latin meaning, “Art of Poetry.” It can also refer instead to an area of study, in this case, poetry. Throughout this piece, the poet will define what it is that makes a successful and meaningful poem.
What was the quote stated by Archibald MacLeish?
“If God is God He is not good, if God is good He is not God; take the even, take the odd.”
What are some of the ways that Archibald MacLeish claims in his Ars Poetica a poem should be?
Ars Poetica
- A poem should be palpable and mute. As a globed fruit,
- Dumb. As old medallions to the thumb,
- Silent as the sleeve-worn stone.
- A poem should be wordless.
- A poem should be motionless in time.
- Leaving, as the moon releases.
- Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
- A poem should be motionless in time.
What does a poem should not mean but be mean?
His final line has been described as a “classic statement of the modernist aesthetic”-“A poem should not mean/but be.” He means that the worth of a poem does not lie in its paraphrasable content, but in its structure with its interlocking words, metaphors, associations, rhythm, rhyme (if used), its line lengths.
What is the one of the main tools MacLeish uses in Ars Poetica?
In lines 1-8, MacLeish uses similes (comparing a poem via like or as to globed fruit, medallions, etc) to construct his idea of an ideal poem. But similes are not the only figures of speech used.
When did MacLeish write Ars Poetica?
“Ars Poetica” (Latin for “The Art of Poetry”) is a lyric poem of twenty-four lines. It describes the qualities a poem should have if it is to stand as a work of art. MacLeish wrote it in 1925 and published it in 1926.
What is one of the things a poem should be according to the speaker of Ars Poetica?
A poem should be palpable (able to be felt), but it should also be “mute,” meaning it shouldn’t shout ideas and truths at us.
What is the literal meaning of the poem?
The literal meaning is to give the general idea discussed in the poem. The Figurative meaning is the deeper analysis of the poem that is: any kind of “metaphor” is taken into consideration.
What is meant by Dumb As old medallions to the thumb?
In the second paragraph, he talks about how poetry should be “dumb as old medallions to the thumb”(lines 3 and 4). In this line, the word “dumb” refers to silence, which again means that poetry should be silent, yet be able to communicate with readers.
What specific type of imagery does MacLeish rely on in the poem?
Use specific imagery, the way MacLeish uses “globed fruit” and “an empty doorway and a maple leaf,” to get your point across. Many people have said that poetry should express the writer’s feelings.
What theme is expressed in the poem my little dreams?
This poem is telling you to always follow your dreams because if not you’ll regret them later on in life. She had big dreams to do things but never got to achieve them now it’s eating her up on the inside.