I had an English professor circa. 1986 trying to teach this idea, and I was so far in the poetry-makes-nothing-happen camp (being primarily a musician myself where that seems more self-evident), we had to take the discussion to his office. I was never convinced but made it through the class. I think if he could have somehow had me read this post, he would have done much better.
Thanks for the excellent essay. I'm still not sure what I think, but now I see the best part of the argument.
Indeed, Shelley makes many fine points in his essay. I've read the essay many times and still find new insights.
There definitely is and has always been a battle over the imagination, whether we're talking about ancient Babylonian Priesthoods, Feudal Europe, or "Cold War" Anglo-American propaganda. The imagination is essentially ground zero for all these things. In past times, the main medium was drama, myth, and poetry, but in modern times film and radio essentially became the main venues for the same kind of function. However, I think we see these things starting to collapse under the weight of their own rot and decadence. There is a total lack of creativity among the "established" outlets.
The good news is that increasingly more people are finding themselves disenchanted with the whole thing, which means there is an opportunity and hunger for new compelling works, great stories, and genuine culture. As a result, people are turning to new places and independent outlets for just that kind of thing.
People smell the rot. So I think Shelley's acute observations concerning the role of the imagination are crucial. The change starts there. It starts with stories, and movies, and culture generally. The effects and changes aren't necessarily noticeable in immediate terms, but if we zoom out and start to look at changes from a generational standpoint, these things become immediate.
Before we had any of the current political debates and culture wars, we had twentieth century Modernism, Post-Modernism, Deconstructionism etc. The trajectory for the current state of things started much earlier than many people recognize.
The saying seems to ring true, politics really is downstream from culture.
Auden said 'poetry makes nothing happen'. But I prefer to slightly rephrase that as: 'Poetry makes Nothing happen' . And that 'Nothing' is not nothing. Indeed it is *everything*! It is the very void from which everything sprang.
And don't we all long for Nothing to happen once in a while? For a complete rest from things. This poetry gives us. An assured return to that nothingness from which everything else sprang, and still delightfully springs.
This is informative, well balanced and such a superior essay.
I appreciated the addition of, Albert Einstein famously said:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
And Shakespeare’s ability to empathize with others, to feel their pains and joys, and to think as they thought. This became obvious to me, yet something that previously hadn’t entered my mind. I’ve never come across the word 'didacticism' before, but it sits perfectly in the context of this essay. I’m sure this will become a benchmark for students studying 'The Defence Of Poetry.'
Being visually dyslexic makes reading difficult, though reading this was such a pleasure. Thank you,
I do so greatly enjoy your writing about all matters, David. Keep up the fantastic work.
I had an English professor circa. 1986 trying to teach this idea, and I was so far in the poetry-makes-nothing-happen camp (being primarily a musician myself where that seems more self-evident), we had to take the discussion to his office. I was never convinced but made it through the class. I think if he could have somehow had me read this post, he would have done much better.
Thanks for the excellent essay. I'm still not sure what I think, but now I see the best part of the argument.
Indeed, Shelley makes many fine points in his essay. I've read the essay many times and still find new insights.
There definitely is and has always been a battle over the imagination, whether we're talking about ancient Babylonian Priesthoods, Feudal Europe, or "Cold War" Anglo-American propaganda. The imagination is essentially ground zero for all these things. In past times, the main medium was drama, myth, and poetry, but in modern times film and radio essentially became the main venues for the same kind of function. However, I think we see these things starting to collapse under the weight of their own rot and decadence. There is a total lack of creativity among the "established" outlets.
The good news is that increasingly more people are finding themselves disenchanted with the whole thing, which means there is an opportunity and hunger for new compelling works, great stories, and genuine culture. As a result, people are turning to new places and independent outlets for just that kind of thing.
People smell the rot. So I think Shelley's acute observations concerning the role of the imagination are crucial. The change starts there. It starts with stories, and movies, and culture generally. The effects and changes aren't necessarily noticeable in immediate terms, but if we zoom out and start to look at changes from a generational standpoint, these things become immediate.
Before we had any of the current political debates and culture wars, we had twentieth century Modernism, Post-Modernism, Deconstructionism etc. The trajectory for the current state of things started much earlier than many people recognize.
The saying seems to ring true, politics really is downstream from culture.
Auden said 'poetry makes nothing happen'. But I prefer to slightly rephrase that as: 'Poetry makes Nothing happen' . And that 'Nothing' is not nothing. Indeed it is *everything*! It is the very void from which everything sprang.
And don't we all long for Nothing to happen once in a while? For a complete rest from things. This poetry gives us. An assured return to that nothingness from which everything else sprang, and still delightfully springs.
Making sense of the world around us has always been a vexing task. Poetry is a refuge from the madness of it all.
This is informative, well balanced and such a superior essay.
I appreciated the addition of, Albert Einstein famously said:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”
And Shakespeare’s ability to empathize with others, to feel their pains and joys, and to think as they thought. This became obvious to me, yet something that previously hadn’t entered my mind. I’ve never come across the word 'didacticism' before, but it sits perfectly in the context of this essay. I’m sure this will become a benchmark for students studying 'The Defence Of Poetry.'
Being visually dyslexic makes reading difficult, though reading this was such a pleasure. Thank you,
Rowland.