...ARS POETICA

I really enjoyed reading the ars poetica assigned for class today. I really enjoyed the Dylan Thomas like everyone else however my favorite was the Archibald MacLeish. To me the poem was total magic. Every turn of phrase worked so well and really got his message across in a way that I know I never would have been able to achieve. His ars poetica really embodied him as a writer, which really has inspired me as I start to write mine. I went from his ars poetica and continued to look for some of his work. While his others don’t really reach the level of “masterpiece” that I would consider his ars poetica, the poems mean more to me after having reading this first because you really can find examples of what he describes within his other poetry. While I’ve taken many other English classes that taught a lot of poetry I’ve never really come across Archibald MacLeish and so I’m really glad that I have. The best part of this poem is the last phrase:

A poem should not mean
But be.

I absolutely love this. I think this alone could be an ars poetica. Perhaps this ending is so strong because of the build up to it but I really feel like I benefitted from this as a young poet. A poem should not mean/ But be. I can’t get over how well put that is. Maybe my struggles to articulate what poetry should be are what leave me so amazed at just how eloquent and succinct this is but regardless I think that these seven words are certainly a poetic achievement and I hope that they will continue to inspire me not just as I write my ars poetica but also as I continue to revise my work.