I've regularly taught the MacLeish in tandem with/contrast to William Stafford's "Notice What This Poem Is Not Doing." Opens good discussion and deepened understanding.
The idea that a poem should "delight and instruct" reminds me of something I heard Jericho Brown say recently: "every good poem is at heart a love poem." Seemed like overreach at the time, but somehow I still find myself thinking about it.
Have you read Archibald MacLeish's poem of this same title? A true gem ...
Yes—I used to have that poem on my office door!
I've regularly taught the MacLeish in tandem with/contrast to William Stafford's "Notice What This Poem Is Not Doing." Opens good discussion and deepened understanding.
That’s a good idea. I may borrow it in my literary criticism course this fall.
Lovely. If you do, I’d love to hear any results.
"No switching genres halfway through."
I think Horace would have difficulty with postmodern playfulness.
“He who combines the useful with the agreeable,” Horace writes, “wins every vote, charming by his delight and instructing by his usefulness.”
And might abhor most meta fiction.
For sure! He would not be a Pynchon enthusiast.
The idea that a poem should "delight and instruct" reminds me of something I heard Jericho Brown say recently: "every good poem is at heart a love poem." Seemed like overreach at the time, but somehow I still find myself thinking about it.