Poetry Selections -- Jerz: EL150 (Intro to Literary Study)
"I think it clever of the turtle
In such a fix to be so fertile."
All of these poems were so cute, but this might be the cutest one of all. In two sentences it sets up exposition and then delivers the punch line. Shakespeare was right when he said brevity is the soul of wit, because these poems are all very short and manage to make you smile sometimes in under two seconds flat. You definitely have to have a certain kind of skill in order to economize you poem down to only what is absolutely necessary.
Comments (3)
It's neat that we picked two completely different poems to express the same idea of brevity. When I saw your post on my blog I thought I should come and see your interpretation, and I was happy to see a completely different poem from mine.
Now, since I answered the question you posted on my blog, I'm going to pose one for you; Do you think this poem could be interpreted to have a deeper meaning beneath the funny, whimsical intent we see at first glance? (No is an applicable answer to this one. I'm not sure I could find a deeper meaning, but I figured I'd ask anyway. Maybe you'll come up with something good.)
Posted by HallieGeary | February 22, 2007 4:10 PM
Posted on February 22, 2007 16:10
It is amazing how something so short can be so effective. And I agree, it would take quite a bit of skill in order to master this. It's hard at times to know what is absolutely necessary.
Posted by JenniferPrex | February 22, 2007 9:32 PM
Posted on February 22, 2007 21:32
I looked at the poem again, and I'm having trouble coming up with anything more than what it seems to be on the surface. Overall, you could say the poem is about sexual repression and how sometimes the people who seem to be the most sexually restrained end up having the most kids. Something like that.
Posted by Matt Henderson | February 23, 2007 2:45 PM
Posted on February 23, 2007 14:45