View Single Post
  #17  
Unread 07-18-2022, 01:57 PM
Jonathan James Henderson Jonathan James Henderson is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Oklahoma City
Posts: 293
Default

Nice thought, Ralph. I think of Pound's statement that poetry withers the farther it gets from music; though I'm less sold on his corollary statement that music withers the further it gets from dance. The music of meter (and sound and rhyme) and its variations is something that was unique to poetry, and I've never been convinced that the freedom gained by eliminating them was worth the cost. Plenty have disagreed, of course, and the best free verse has its own music and rhythm, and even arhythmic poetry (like most of Ashbery that I'm reading now) has its virtues and pleasures; but I don't find most of them a fully worthy replacement for meter (and rhyme) personally.
Reply With Quote