Poetry:
Redefinied and Understood
Part II
Imagery
Jane Flanders
(1940- )
Cloud Painter
Suggested by the life and art of John Constable
5
10
15
20 At first, as you know, the sky is incidental--
a drape, a backdrop for the trees and steeples.
Here an oak clutches a rock (already he works outdoors),
a wall buckles but does not break,
water pearls through a lock, a haywain trembles.
The pleasures of landscape are endless. What we see
around us should be enough.
Horizons are typically high and far away.
Still, clouds let us drift and remember. He is, after all,
a miller's son, used to trying
to read the future in the sky, seeing instead
ships, horses, instruments of flight.
Is that his mother's wash flapping on the line?
His schoolbook, smudged, illegible?
In this period, the sky becomes significant.
Cloud forms are technically correct--mares' tails
sheep-in-the-meadow, thunderheads.
You can almost tell which scenes have been interrupted
by summer showers.
How his young wife dies.
His landscapes achieve belated success.
He is invited to join the Academy. I forget
whether he accepts or not.
Because poetry—and, for that matter, all literature – is concerned with expanding the perception of readers, poets devote a good deal of attention to appealing to the senses. In “Cloud Painter,” for example, Flanders uses small details, such as the mother’s wash on the line and the smudged schoolbook, to enable readers to visualize a particular scene in John Constable’s early work. Clouds are described so readers can easily picture them— “mares” tails, / sheep in the meadow thunderheads.” “Cloud painter” is not just about the work of John Constable; it is also about the poet’s ability to call up images in the minds of readers. To achieve her end, the poet uses imagery, language that evokes a physical sensation produced by one of the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell. Although the effect can be quite complex, the way images work is simple. When you read the word red, your memory of the various red things that you have seen or heard about determines your visualization of the image. In addition, the word red may have emotional associations, or connotations, that define your response. A red sunset, for example, can have a positive connotation or a negative one depending on whether it is associated with a pleasurable experience or with air pollution. By choosing an image carefully, poets can not only help to create pictures in a reader’s mind, but also suggest a great number of imaginative associations These associations help poets to establish the atmosphere or mood of the poem. The falling snow in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, for example, creates a quiet, almost mystical mood.
Readers come to a poem with their own individual sets of experiences so an image in a poem will not always suggest the same thing to all readers. In “Cloud Painter,” for example, the poet presents the image of an oak clutching a rock in a painting. Although most readers will probably see a picture that is consistent with the one the poet sees, no two images will be identical. Every reader will have his or her own mental image of a particular tree clinging to a rock; some will be remembered experiences, while others will be imaginative creations. Some readers may even be familiar enough with the work of the painter John Constable to visualize a particular tree clinging to a particular rock in one of his paintings.
By conveying what the poet sees and experiences, images enable readers to participate in the poet’s mental processes. Through this interaction between reader and poet, readers’ minds are opened and enriched by perceptions and associations different from—and possibly more profound than—their own.
One advantage of images is their extreme economy. Just a few words enable poets to evoke specific emotions in readers and to approximate the experience the poet wishes to create. Consider in the following poem how just a few visual images create a picture.
Ezra Pound
(1885-1972)
In a Station of a Metro
(1916)
The apparition of these faces in the crowd;
Petals on a wet, black bough
What is the prose equivalent of this poem? It is almost impossible to paraphrase the poem because the facts it communicates are less important than the feelings associated with these facts. The poem’s title indicates that the first line is meant to suggest a group of people standing in a station of the Paris subway. The scene, however, is identified not as a clear picture but as an apparition, suggesting that it is somehow unexpected or dreamlike. In contrast with the image of the subway platform is the association of the people’s faces with petals on the dark limb of a tree. The subway platform—dark, cold, wet, subterranean (associated with baseness, death, and hell)—is juxtaposed with white flowers—delicate, pale, radiant, lovely (associated with the ideal, life, and heaven). The effect of this contrast is startling. Notice, however, that the poet does not state the poem’s main idea explicitly. The images, presented without comment, bear the entire weight of the poem.
Poetry:Redefinied and UnderstoodPart IIImagery Jane Flanders(1940- )Cloud PainterSuggested by the life and art of John Constable 5101520 At first, as you know, the sky is incidental--a drape, a backdrop for the trees and steeples.Here an oak clutches a rock (already he works outdoors),a wall buckles but does not break,water pearls through a lock, a haywain trembles.The pleasures of landscape are endless. What we seearound us should be enough.Horizons are typically high and far away.Still, clouds let us drift and remember. He is, after all,a miller's son, used to tryingto read the future in the sky, seeing insteadships, horses, instruments of flight.Is that his mother's wash flapping on the line?His schoolbook, smudged, illegible?In this period, the sky becomes significant.Cloud forms are technically correct--mares' tailssheep-in-the-meadow, thunderheads.You can almost tell which scenes have been interruptedby summer showers.How his young wife dies.His landscapes achieve belated success.He is invited to join the Academy. I forgetwhether he accepts or not. Because poetry—and, for that matter, all literature – is concerned with expanding the perception of readers, poets devote a good deal of attention to appealing to the senses. In “Cloud Painter,” for example, Flanders uses small details, such as the mother’s wash on the line and the smudged schoolbook, to enable readers to visualize a particular scene in John Constable’s early work. Clouds are described so readers can easily picture them— “mares” tails, / sheep in the meadow thunderheads.” “Cloud painter” is not just about the work of John Constable; it is also about the poet’s ability to call up images in the minds of readers. To achieve her end, the poet uses imagery, language that evokes a physical sensation produced by one of the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell. Although the effect can be quite complex, the way images work is simple. When you read the word red, your memory of the various red things that you have seen or heard about determines your visualization of the image. In addition, the word red may have emotional associations, or connotations, that define your response. A red sunset, for example, can have a positive connotation or a negative one depending on whether it is associated with a pleasurable experience or with air pollution. By choosing an image carefully, poets can not only help to create pictures in a reader’s mind, but also suggest a great number of imaginative associations These associations help poets to establish the atmosphere or mood of the poem. The falling snow in “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”, for example, creates a quiet, almost mystical mood.Readers come to a poem with their own individual sets of experiences so an image in a poem will not always suggest the same thing to all readers. In “Cloud Painter,” for example, the poet presents the image of an oak clutching a rock in a painting. Although most readers will probably see a picture that is consistent with the one the poet sees, no two images will be identical. Every reader will have his or her own mental image of a particular tree clinging to a rock; some will be remembered experiences, while others will be imaginative creations. Some readers may even be familiar enough with the work of the painter John Constable to visualize a particular tree clinging to a particular rock in one of his paintings.By conveying what the poet sees and experiences, images enable readers to participate in the poet’s mental processes. Through this interaction between reader and poet, readers’ minds are opened and enriched by perceptions and associations different from—and possibly more profound than—their own.One advantage of images is their extreme economy. Just a few words enable poets to evoke specific emotions in readers and to approximate the experience the poet wishes to create. Consider in the following poem how just a few visual images create a picture. Ezra Pound(1885-1972)In a Station of a Metro(1916)The apparition of these faces in the crowd;Petals on a wet, black bough
What is the prose equivalent of this poem? It is almost impossible to paraphrase the poem because the facts it communicates are less important than the feelings associated with these facts. The poem’s title indicates that the first line is meant to suggest a group of people standing in a station of the Paris subway. The scene, however, is identified not as a clear picture but as an apparition, suggesting that it is somehow unexpected or dreamlike. In contrast with the image of the subway platform is the association of the people’s faces with petals on the dark limb of a tree. The subway platform—dark, cold, wet, subterranean (associated with baseness, death, and hell)—is juxtaposed with white flowers—delicate, pale, radiant, lovely (associated with the ideal, life, and heaven). The effect of this contrast is startling. Notice, however, that the poet does not state the poem’s main idea explicitly. The images, presented without comment, bear the entire weight of the poem.
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