Essay on Jeffers and the discarded metre in poetry (1 Viewer)

Johannes

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My brain works against the language used here at times, but there are some points. We all know, that Jeffers was one of B.'s big Idols and Jeffers big hairy middle finger to metre in poetry and his use of "rolling stresses" may have very much inspired B. in his ways to do the same.
Other qualities I noticed recurrent in great poetry are strong start lines & end lines. You always wanna hook a reader with that 1st image or phrase, & leave them with a reverberating gong of an image at end. Rare is the poem of any real worth that cannot be judged by the mnemonic quality of it start & end lines. And scattered amid those antipodes will be other memorable words, phrases, metaphors to draw a reader along. Ask yourself- how often will you recall a poem not by its title but its main metaphor, phrase, or image: "That Frost poem- "miles to go....'?", "That poem on a girl in a dentist's office?", "That poem on a jar?".... These are the things that go into greatness, like velcro hooks they cranny into the mind & annoy, delight, puzzle, & soothe. But why?

Whatcha think? Interesting or plain academic brainwank?
 
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There's a phrase I heard a no-nonsense Aberdonian use a couple of years ago. Bullshit baffles brains. Is that mnemonic enough?

It seems Jeffers was so learned and academic he felt the need to explain the bleeding obvious here.
 

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