Future Students Beware for I Now Hold the Ace in the Hole!
From "Irony as a Principle of Structure: by Cleanth Brooks in Keesey's Contexts for Criticism:
"The poet wants to 'say' something. Why, then, doesn't he say it directly and forthrightly? What is he willing to say it only through his metaphors? Through his metaphors, he risks saying it partially and obscurely, and risks not saying it at all. But the risk must be taken, for direct statement leads to abstraction and threatens to take us out of poetry altogether" (85).
This is a very interesting statement. I really like it as a person who is going to be a teacher. I can just see it now, "Miss Palumbo, why do we have to read this crap? He could have just said that in one sentence?" Now I have a good comeback (since I'm not good at creating them on my own).
I wrote this short poem "Object"
red
smooth
scintillating
reflective
resplendent
shapely
symmetrical
juicy
It would take the fun out of the poem if I came right out and said exacly what it was. I'm sure the reader has a good idea of what it could be but there is a hint of ambiguity in there for there are a number of objects that could fit that description (hint: the answer is within the text). That is the point of poetry. It allows your mind to actively engage with the text. If the answer was right there, it would be pointless. Maybe that's why English never seems to give answers.
What do you think my object is and why?
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Erica Gearhart on Future Students Beware for I Now Hold the Ace in the Hole!: I know I really did not like
Katie Vann on Future Students Beware for I Now Hold the Ace in the Hole!: An apple because you have the
An apple because you have the letters slanted in the poem. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me I was wrong though. Good point with the example of the poem and how we can expect these kinds of questions from future students. I would also add that sometimes saying something in a not so simple way can also make it more powerful and meaningful. Maybe with your explanation and mine combined, we actually might have a chance at convincing students that this is important. Maybe.
I know I really did not like poetry in high school one bit, and although I was not one of the students who openly complained about it, I would also much rather have had someone tell me what they were trying to say explicitly. Now, however, I value poetry and even enjoy it much of the time, just because some of my teacher were able to show me why it was important. I'm convinced by your explanations, so I think both of you are going to make great English teachers!
Haha, Angela, very clever, I enjoyed your blog. As another future English teacher, I think you make a really good point. What’s the fun in just saying something outright? Like Katie pointed out, things you have to work for are that much more worthwhile. After all, if everyone was just handed a college degree, it would no longer be respected as much, and because we have to work hard to earn it, it means that much more to us. A poem in some ways is the same type of thing. When the poet makes the meaning veiled we have to think more about it, so that when we realize what it does mean, we remember it that much longer and it means that much more to us.