Ars Poetica & My Craft or Sullen Art

Of the readings for class this Tuesday, there were two poems that stood out for me in particular. I found Archibald MacLeish’s ‘Ars Poetica’ quite interesting for several reasons. First, it was intriguing how ironic the messages are in the poem. For example, it reads ‘A poem should be wordless’ but clearly there are words in this poem. Another interesting point is how the poet believes poetry should be more implicit than explicit. Another way of saying this could be that a poem should be like a mystery for the reader to figure out, rather than an explanation or description of a certain object or thing. I agree with this idea because it makes for a more engaging read, as well as, opportunity for several opinions and interpretations depending on who the reader is.

The other poem which caught my eye was Dylan Thomas’ In ‘My Craft or Sullen Art’. I thought it was great how he expressed his feelings about who he is writing his poetry for, and who is actually reading his poetry. Although his purpose is to reach the eyes and hearts of lovers, this isn’t necessarily what happens. This brings up an interesting question that all poets think about at some point, which is “Who am I writing for?” In order to write an effective poem, it must first be aimed at a certain audience. But also, part of a poet’s work must please his or herself or the poet won’t get satisfaction out of the piece either. There is a balance between these two that is right for each poem, and is often difficult to find.