The best known poem by Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982) took its title and subject from Horace’s work. His poem “Ars Poetica” contains the line “A poem should not mean/but be”, which was a classic statement of the modernist aesthetic. The original manuscript of the poem resides in the Library of Congress. (Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ars_Poetica)
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
Of casement ledges where the moss has grown–
A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds.
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A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon doth climbs,
Leaving, as the moon releases
Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,
Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves.
Memory by memory the mind–
A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs.
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A poem should be equal to:
Not true.
For all the history of grief
An empty doorway and a maple leaf.
For love
The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea–
A poem should not mean
But be.
Filed under: Daily Musings | Tagged: Archibald MacLeish, Ars Poetica, Poem, Poetica, Poetry
