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Paradox in Poetry
By Diana Rogers
Edward Arlington Robinson, a writer from Maine, was an American poet who won three Pulitzer Prizes for his work in 1922, 1925 and 1928. In 1896 he self-published his first book, "The Torrent and the Night Before". He paid one hundred dollars for five hundred copies. Can you imagine? His second volume of work, "The Children of the Night," had a somewhat wider circulation. Among its readers was President Theodore Roosevelt's son who recommended it to his father. Impressed by the poems, Roosevelt in 1905 secured the writer a job at the New York Customs Office. Robinson remained in the job until Roosevelt left office. Robinson was the first major American poet of the twentieth century, unique in that he devoted his life to poetry and willingly paid the price in poverty and obscurity. His life was indeed a sad one to me and yet he was successful in his poetry writing forms. The American poet Edward Arlington Robinson, defines poetry itself as a paradox: “Poetry is a language that tells us, through a more or less emotional reaction, something that cannot be said.” What is a paradox? A paradox is an apparent contradiction that is actually true. The phrase “alone in the crowd” is an example. Sometimes a paradox can be solved like a puzzle. Can you figure out and begin to explain, “The Child is father of the Man” by William Wordsworth, nineteenth-century English poet laureate? “My heart leaps up when I behold
A rainbow in the sky:
So was it when my life began;
So is it now I am a man;
So be it when I shall grow old,
Or let me die!
The Child is father of the Man;
I could wish my days to be
Bound each to each by natural piety.”
What about the paradox in the anonymous poem “In the Garden”? Can you identify who “she” is? “The first hour of her life
She was made a man’s wife.
And was buried before she was born.” Some people think Socrates or Plato wrote this poem. It doesn’t really matter who wrote it but understanding this example of a paradox makes life fascinating. “The more a man learns,
the more he realizes
how little he knows.” Anonymous
I love to read children's books, blog about children's books and post my reviews.
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Edwin Arlington Robinson
PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
LadyD Books
Mostly Childrens Books for Review
ladyd-books.blogspot.com
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I love paradoxes. They are like puzzles to me. I can understand the first and the last, but the garden one has me puzzled. Does it refer to Eve? If so, I understand the meaning.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Yes June, I believe it is Eve... well done!
I'm a fellow book lover. I love your website.
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Nora, thank you for your friendship.
The faster I go, the behinder I get, Diana. Thank you for sharing this intel on paradox in poetry.
Enjoy your intels!!
Keep up the good work.
Best to you.
Frederick
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thanks my friend!
The copyright for this content entitled "Paradox in Poetry" has been specified by the contributor as:
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If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
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This intel was contributed by LadyD
LadyD
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