What is the message in Ars Poetica?

MacLeish begins ‘Ars Poetica’ by stating that a poem should be palpable, something we feel we can touch. Of course, he’s speaking figuratively here, but the point is that poetry should physically leave its mark, and should affect us.

What might the speaker mean by saying that a poem should not mean and should not be true?

The point the speaker seems to be making is that a poem shouldn’t be about “truths” per se. A person shouldn’t read it and think, “that’s true!” Instead it should be beyond all of the truths we think we know in the physical world.

What does Globed fruit mean?

Globed Fruit (symbol) MacLeish uses the simile “globed fruit” to express his feeling that a poem should be tangible and concrete, but not make any noise. A poem that is “mute” is presumably one that deals in sensation as opposed to words or rhetoric.

What does a poem should be wordless As the flight of birds mean?

“A poem should be wordless as the flight of birds” -This presents the idea of a beautiful sight without the corruption of hearing the sound of it.

What does Archibald MacLeish mean when he says a poem should not mean but be explain in your own words?

His final line has been described as a “classic statement of the modernist aesthetic”-“A poem should not mean/but be.” He means that the worth of a poem does not lie in its paraphrasable content, but in its structure with its interlocking words, metaphors, associations, rhythm, rhyme (if used), its line lengths.

Which poem argues that a poem should not mean but be?

Ars Poetica
Archibald MacLeish’s famous “Ars Poetica” sums up the argument: “A poem should not mean / But be.” See also Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism,” William Wordsworth’s Prelude, and Wallace Stevens’s “Of Modern Poetry.”

What are some of the ways that Archibald MacLeish claims in his Ars Poetica a poem should be?

Ars Poetica

• A poem should be palpable and mute. As a globed fruit,
• Dumb. As old medallions to the thumb,
• Silent as the sleeve-worn stone.
• A poem should be wordless.
• A poem should be motionless in time.
• Leaving, as the moon releases.
• Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves,
• A poem should be motionless in time.

What does motionless in time mean?

Time, as we know, is a big part of our physical/earthly lives, or temporal lives, if you will. So to be “motionless in time” gives us the impression of being above and beyond all the physical stuff. We’re not slaves to the clock anymore in “Ars Poetica.”

What does a poem should not mean but be mean?

How can a poem be wordless How can it be motionless in time?

How can a poem be “wordless”? Going by what we’ve already seen, we understand the speaker’s idea of a poem being silent in the sense of never shouting truths and meanings into our ears. In that way too, it should be “wordless” without making us feel tied to concrete ideas.

What does Archibald macleish mean when he says a poem should not mean but be explain in your own words?

What is the meaning of dumb poetry?

The poem is something that can be taken, carried away, and enjoyed but is unable to truly speak for itself. The second couple states that poetry should be “Dumb / As old medallions to the thumb.” It should be recognizable and familiar. One’s hand should recognize its ridges, such as one would on an old medallion.

What does Ars Poetica by Archibald MacLeish mean?

‘Ars Poetica’ by Archibald MacLeish adopts the title of Horace’s work, “Ars Poetica” of 19 BC. So, one of the first elements of this poem that is important to understand is the title. “Ars Poetica” comes from the Latin meaning, “Art of Poetry.” It can also refer instead to an area of study, in this case, poetry.

What are the elements of a successful poem according to MacLeish?

‘ Ars Poetica ’ by Archibald MacLeish describes what the speaker believes to be the elements of a successful poem. The speaker begins by stating that a poem should be like “a globed fruit,” “old medallion” and a ledge on which “moss has grown.”

What does the poet mean by “silent as the sleeve-worn stone?

In the third couplet of this first section, the poet states that poetry should also be “Silent as the sleeve-worn stone.” He is emphasizing the fact that poems do not speak for themselves. They remain silent while a reader delves into their depths. Good poetry will be like a ledge that has “moss” growing on it.