Surely poetry is both elitist and democratic; anything that intimate is bound to be. And what is more intimate than poetry?
In that peculiar respect every poem is a self-crucifixion. But crucifixion is necessary. Since it is the only possible path to resurrection . And we all need to be continually resurrected.
Isn't the cross itself both elitist and democratic?
Both elitist and democratic sounds about right. As always, discernment seems to be the key matter. In what respects is it elitist and in what respects is it democratic? That’s the question.
As mentioned in the discussion, I think what makes for good poetry in many ways makes for a good society. Poetry serves as the perfect metaphor. It needs rules, but it cannot be a slave to them. Form is necessary, but so is freedom. Beauty is essential, but so is Truth—and one without the other will always lead to problems. There must be a desire to reach one’s fellow man, to make truth and one’s conceits intelligible, while at the same time never losing sight of truth’s ineffable and mysterious nature. Here Beauty becomes invaluable. It helps to concretize the mysteries.
The upstroke of the cross is elitist. The horizontal stroke is democratic. The upstroke points towards God and the ideal. The horizontal reaches out to all mankind in its embrace.
Nothing is less intimate than sex without love. It removes all the poetry from lovemaking. Better by far to have love without sex. The heart-to-heart is so much more intimate than the genital-to-genital.
The essence of poetry is the dramatic and gestural. That is why mere description will never do.
The more highly individuated the poet the better he will be. Rilke says that the more necessary a work of art is the better it will be. Necessary presumably not just to the artist but the age and the nation. If your art isn't as necessary to you as breathing then you might as well give up. In fact it should be more necessary. Since you only breathe in order to make art.
Intimacy is always dramatic. It grabs you by the collar and says 'Listen I have important things to say.' He who has important things to say belongs to the only elite that matters. He says them for all mankind. The poem itself is a democracy of words. And yet within that democracy certain words stand out. That tension between democracy and elitism is what leads to poetry. Shakespeare is full of it. As he is also full of drama and intimacy. He is closer to you than you are to your own self. He constantly whispers within you.
Surely poetry is both elitist and democratic; anything that intimate is bound to be. And what is more intimate than poetry?
In that peculiar respect every poem is a self-crucifixion. But crucifixion is necessary. Since it is the only possible path to resurrection . And we all need to be continually resurrected.
Isn't the cross itself both elitist and democratic?
Both elitist and democratic sounds about right. As always, discernment seems to be the key matter. In what respects is it elitist and in what respects is it democratic? That’s the question.
As mentioned in the discussion, I think what makes for good poetry in many ways makes for a good society. Poetry serves as the perfect metaphor. It needs rules, but it cannot be a slave to them. Form is necessary, but so is freedom. Beauty is essential, but so is Truth—and one without the other will always lead to problems. There must be a desire to reach one’s fellow man, to make truth and one’s conceits intelligible, while at the same time never losing sight of truth’s ineffable and mysterious nature. Here Beauty becomes invaluable. It helps to concretize the mysteries.
In a word: a poem must dare to be wise.
The upstroke of the cross is elitist. The horizontal stroke is democratic. The upstroke points towards God and the ideal. The horizontal reaches out to all mankind in its embrace.
Nothing is less intimate than sex without love. It removes all the poetry from lovemaking. Better by far to have love without sex. The heart-to-heart is so much more intimate than the genital-to-genital.
The essence of poetry is the dramatic and gestural. That is why mere description will never do.
The more highly individuated the poet the better he will be. Rilke says that the more necessary a work of art is the better it will be. Necessary presumably not just to the artist but the age and the nation. If your art isn't as necessary to you as breathing then you might as well give up. In fact it should be more necessary. Since you only breathe in order to make art.
Intimacy is always dramatic. It grabs you by the collar and says 'Listen I have important things to say.' He who has important things to say belongs to the only elite that matters. He says them for all mankind. The poem itself is a democracy of words. And yet within that democracy certain words stand out. That tension between democracy and elitism is what leads to poetry. Shakespeare is full of it. As he is also full of drama and intimacy. He is closer to you than you are to your own self. He constantly whispers within you.