En Lin Wei writes:
>...But if poetry contains a play of ideas, then is it not
> incumbent upon us to discover what these ideas are,
>and what they mean?

> Gods float on azure air
> Bright Gods and Tuscan before dew was shed.

ok, i'll bite
.... so,  what do they mean?



----- Original Message -----
From: En Lin Wei <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2000 9:14 PM
Subject: Language and Meaning


> If we look closely at these lines:
>
> Hawds fro tawn asher rare
> Bite hods an' tusk  anbag vee foor doo wuh shchade.
>
> (or depending on how your browser works, the accented  version)
>
> Hawds fró tawn ásher rare
> Bíte hóds an' túsk  anbág vee fóor dóo wuh shcháde.
>
> We might draw the following conclusion:
>
> These lines, from a purely formal view are virtually identical with
>
> Gods float on azure air
> Bright Gods and Tuscan before dew was shed.
>
>
> (Only the phonemes have been changed to protect the innocent).
>
> Judged purely by the sound, I doubt if one version is superior to the
other.
>
> What distinguishes them is that Pound's version contains meaning, and
> without the meaning there is very little to be said in favor of the
poetry.
> BOTH the meaning and the aesthetic effect of the words are essential
> aspects.  As regards Sidney's "The poet affirmeth nothing", Pound himself
> would not have agreed.  He believed his poems had meaning (for instance,
you
> may recall he said in a letter to Mussolini that the China Cantos were a
> "testament to his fascist faith . . ."  I say this not to go back to the
> issue of Pound's politics; but to illustrate the fact that Pound himself
> believed his poetry had meaning).
>
> As regards the "play of ideas,"  of course poetry contains a play of
ideas.
> I do not doubt this.  But if poetry contains a play of ideas, then is it
not
> incumbent upon us to discover what these ideas are, and what they mean?
>
>
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