THE

SCIENCE / ART /
MYSTERY
OF POETRY

From a students low-stakes

writing assignment:
I have always felt that
although it may sound nice to
have something rhyme, saying
what you really mena, in full
paragraphs and true
sentences, is much easier to
understand than trying to read
through the various lines and
stanzas of poetry. What can we say
about this comment?

A TYPICAL VIEW OF POETRY:

The bitter flame of hebetude,
Surrounded under brief extremes,
Came close, without particular success,
To quantuming. With soulless noise.
No such impediments to
me?

A TYPICAL VIEW OF POETRY:

Anyone who can read this poem
The bitter flame of hebetude,
Will save 25% off regular
Surrounded under brief
prices
extremes,
At the Snooty Poets Bookstore
Came close, without particular
If you get there by Friday
success,
evening.
To quantuming. With soulless noise.
Aint
I cute?
Its
an
irritating
No such impediments to me?

When your days are rough and tumble,

Another
view
poetry:
And you think you
want of
to cry;
Dont just stand around and grumble:
Look your troubles in the eye,
And tell the whole world, I can fly!
Its wholesome, and it
rhymes.

Thats not poetry!

Poetry is a form of literature that
uses rhythmic language and
other techniques to express
emotions and ideas in ways that
produce various types of
aesthetic satisfaction.

Among twenty snowy

mountains
The only moving thing
Was the eye of the blackbird.
Wallace Stevens
(1879-1955)

IN A STATION OF THE METRO

The apparition of these faces in the
crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Ezra Pound
(1885 1972)

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Paraphrase: [I am struck by] the
sight of the many faces in the crowd
[here in the metro station; they
remind me of] blossoming petals on
the dark, wet bough of a tree.

It may not seem like much of a

message, but . . . .

IN A STATION OF THE METRO

A very ordinary place; nothing

special, nothing magical,
nothing mysterious about it. A
place for commuters, for coming
and going but not stopping.

apparition: n. 1. A ghostly
figure; specter. 2. A sudden
or unusual sight. 3. An
appearance

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet,
black
bough.metro station;
Were
in the humdrum
we dont expect ghosts, or sudden and
unusual sights.
The poem reminds us that even in the
most ordinary of places, we
occasionally experience something
extraordinary.

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening

In a Station of the
Metro

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

Ghosts:
pale, dead, out of the
ordinary, perhaps
frightening
Is there anything to
be frightened of?

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
near rhymenot entirely
satisfying

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
The only long vowels in the
poem

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

And theyre in two stressed and

adjacent syllables.

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.

And they have s

consonance.

The apparition of these faces in the

crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough.
Tension between life and death,
renewal and dissolution, beauty and
horror
Reminder that the lovely and the
marvelous can appear in the most
mundane settings
Sense of mystery in all these things .
..

Upon Julias Clothes

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,
Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering
taketh
me!
Robert Herrick
(1591-1674)

Upon Julias Clothes

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,
Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction n.
of1.
her
clothes.
The
process of
liquefying. 2. The
beingand see
Next, when I caststate
mineofeyes
liquefied.

That brave vibration each way free,

Liquefy v. to
liquid.
Oh,become
how that
glittering taketh me!

When I hear that Julia is wearing silk

clothing, then I think that the liquid
sound of her dresses is very sweet.
Then when I look at her and see that
splendid shimmering, I am struck
with delight.

Prose Paraphrase

When Julia walks across the room,

She makes my beating heart go
boom!
And clears away a lot of gloom.
And when I turn and see her face,
Im glad to have her in the place,
To which she brings a saving grace.

Lumpish version

Whenas in silk my Julia walks,

Then, then methinks how sweetly
moves
The liquefaction of her dress.
Next, when I cast mine eyes to spy
That brave vibration each way shoot,
Oh! how that glittering taketh me.
No Rhyme

Whenas in wool my Arlene goes,

Then, then I like how real swell flows
That fluid nature of her clothes.
Next, when I look around and see
That super beauty breaking free,
Oh! how that rare beauty grabbeth
me.

Word Sounds

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

I think how well flows
That exceptional beauty of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That vibration thats free,
Oh, it takes me.
Change line length

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Liquid and flowing sounds

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Meter

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly
flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!
Rhyme, assonance,
consonance, and
alliteration

Vowel Sound Frequencies

15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

boo bone book bought boy bough bar

bay bee

bud

bird

bat

bet

bit

buy

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

11-10

12 12

13

1-8

69

Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows

11

11

15-12

15 -15

87

That liquefaction of her clothes.

10

12-11-10-8

70

Next, when I cast mine eyes and see

11

11 13 10

13

13

10 15

96

That brave vibration each way free,

10

14

13-14-8

15

14

15

103

Oh, how that glittering taketh me!

2

10

12-9-12

14-11 15

91

- / -

That brave vibration each way

free,
10

14 13-14-8 15

14 15
meter
frequency
internal rhyme
alliteration
consonance

Upon Julias Clothes

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,
Then, then, methinks, how sweetly flows
That liquefaction of her clothes.
Next, when I cast mine eyes and see
That brave vibration each way free,
Oh, how that glittering taketh me!