Re: Kafka and rilke and Perplexity State University

Jim,

You write:

"The difference is in the arrangement of the words, and the effects that the
arrangement produces.  This, I think, is the primary distinction between
poetry and prose: that the arrangement of the words contributes to the effect and
meaning in poetry, and that it does not to nearly the same extent in most
prose."

Then what about heard words? How does one then determine whether they are
poetry or prose; whether it's the Ferlinghetti pieces I cited earlier (offering
them from listed web pages) or the Melville (typed twice in my last post)?
The Ferlinghetti -- "See, it was like this..." -- reads quite prosaically out
loud, although it is deliberately laid out on the page as a poem. And it was a
piece meant to be read aloud and the author did so numerous times. The
Melville sounds like poetry when read out loud, although it was originally laid out
in prose. So, what to do?

What is it the poet said?

"Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
       Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but more endear'd,
       Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone."

Of course, he also said,

"And no birds sing."

But then again, so did Ferlinghetti, in a "poem" of his "own," didn't he?

Still doing an Aztec two-step,

--John

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Received on Mon Jun 30 23:49:29 2003