Sunday, December 25, 2011
Brother Wolf - Original Poem by Donovan Baldwin
Ears lift in greeting to the voice of his companion, the wind,
The lean and silver beast turns now to black as day's fire dies.
He stands his watch alone, testing the air for the elusive scents,
Which tell as much to him, as a written page can tell a man.
So silent and so still, and completely part of the land on which he stands.
A king he is.
More a king than any king of man might be.
He guards the wisdom passed in his blood from countless ancestors,
Living as he must always live...wild and free.
The lean and silver beast turns now to black as day's fire dies.
He stands his watch alone, testing the air for the elusive scents,
Which tell as much to him, as a written page can tell a man.
So silent and so still, and completely part of the land on which he stands.
A king he is.
More a king than any king of man might be.
He guards the wisdom passed in his blood from countless ancestors,
Living as he must always live...wild and free.
Labels: donovan baldwin, original poetry, poem, wolf
Friday, December 23, 2011
Become A Poet In Ten Minutes
By Steven Gillman
Have you ever sat there staring at the paper, ready to write, but unsure where to begin? Want a solution that will overcome even the worst writer's block? Anyone can start writing poetry today using a few simple techniques.
One, two, ...?
Did you say or think three when you saw the above? If not, you certainly would when I asked you to fill in the blank. Your mind is a powerful machine that recognises or creates patterns. To make this work for you as a poet, you simply have to lay out the materials in an implied pattern, and let your mind do its thing.
The "materials", in this case, of course, are words or ideas. So let's round up some materials for an example. If you want to write a poem about thunderstorms, you might start by writing down relevant words, and then choose the more evocative ones: flash, blowing, rumble, night, deadly and rain, perhaps.
Now you set the pattern. In this case, we'll write a four-line poem, using one of our words in each line. We'll only decide if we want a ryming poem after we start. This is what I came up with after five minutes:
Rain stands still in the sky
Trees dance as in a painting
In a flash it is here and gone
And night grumbles at being revealed
It doesn't matter if most aren't good poems. You just have to write a lot of them, and then work on re-writing the ones with potential. With a little practice, you can write a dozen poems in an hour, then pick out the gems. My wife has had poetry published using Deal-a-Poem, a game we created based on this technique, so we know that it works, and it's fun as well.
More Tips For Fast Poetry
The technique above works because when your mind focuses on a word with the intent to use it in a line, it is stimulated into action. It wants to find the pattern - or create it. To make this work even better, try the following:
1. Start with words that are evocative and metaphorically rich. You'll be more inspired and probably write a richer poem with "howled," "torn open," and "festering," than with "said," "broken," and "rotten."
2. Use this or any other technique as a starting point only. If you have a great line already in mind, don't force one of the words from your list into it. If a poem starts to write itself, and becomes ten six-line verses, forget about the technique. Treat it as a tool to be used when you need it.
3. Don't sit there waiting for inspiration. Write anything NOW. Start with any topic, or even random words. The surest way to get inspired in your poetry is to start writing a poem.
Steve Gillman has been playing with poetry for thirty years. He and his wife Ana created the game "Deal-A-Poem," which can be accessed for free at: http://www.dealapoem.com
Article Source: Become A Poet In Ten Minutes
==============
ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Have you ever sat there staring at the paper, ready to write, but unsure where to begin? Want a solution that will overcome even the worst writer's block? Anyone can start writing poetry today using a few simple techniques.
One, two, ...?
Did you say or think three when you saw the above? If not, you certainly would when I asked you to fill in the blank. Your mind is a powerful machine that recognises or creates patterns. To make this work for you as a poet, you simply have to lay out the materials in an implied pattern, and let your mind do its thing.
The "materials", in this case, of course, are words or ideas. So let's round up some materials for an example. If you want to write a poem about thunderstorms, you might start by writing down relevant words, and then choose the more evocative ones: flash, blowing, rumble, night, deadly and rain, perhaps.
Now you set the pattern. In this case, we'll write a four-line poem, using one of our words in each line. We'll only decide if we want a ryming poem after we start. This is what I came up with after five minutes:
Rain stands still in the sky
Trees dance as in a painting
In a flash it is here and gone
And night grumbles at being revealed
It doesn't matter if most aren't good poems. You just have to write a lot of them, and then work on re-writing the ones with potential. With a little practice, you can write a dozen poems in an hour, then pick out the gems. My wife has had poetry published using Deal-a-Poem, a game we created based on this technique, so we know that it works, and it's fun as well.
More Tips For Fast Poetry
The technique above works because when your mind focuses on a word with the intent to use it in a line, it is stimulated into action. It wants to find the pattern - or create it. To make this work even better, try the following:
1. Start with words that are evocative and metaphorically rich. You'll be more inspired and probably write a richer poem with "howled," "torn open," and "festering," than with "said," "broken," and "rotten."
2. Use this or any other technique as a starting point only. If you have a great line already in mind, don't force one of the words from your list into it. If a poem starts to write itself, and becomes ten six-line verses, forget about the technique. Treat it as a tool to be used when you need it.
3. Don't sit there waiting for inspiration. Write anything NOW. Start with any topic, or even random words. The surest way to get inspired in your poetry is to start writing a poem.
Steve Gillman has been playing with poetry for thirty years. He and his wife Ana created the game "Deal-A-Poem," which can be accessed for free at: http://www.dealapoem.com
Article Source: Become A Poet In Ten Minutes
==============
ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Labels: poem, poetry, writing a poem
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Passion and Poetry, and Life
By Laurent Grenier
Ironically, the passion that can neutralize the repulsion for difficulties depends on the effort to overcome these difficulties. The irony resides in the circularity of this principle - which applies to all areas of activity, including poetry: One must make the effort to overcome difficulties to achieve success and feel capable, and one needs this achievement and feeling to have a passion for making this effort.
How can one enter this circle without this passion? In other words, how does one resolve the quasi-contradiction according to which one cannot passionately start the effort to overcome difficulties before it has ended successfully?
If difficulties are deemed insurmountable, mistakenly or not, the repulsion for them is absolute. In that case, nothing will motivate the effort to succeed, except an outside authority that can dictate this effort, or an outside influence that can generate faith and stimulate courage. In every other case where the seriousness of the difficulties is open to doubt, one may try one's luck with mixed feelings.
Assuming one tries, the result of this effort will constitute additional self-knowledge that will inform one's future choices. A positive outcome will act as a positive reinforcement that emboldens one to try again, with increased confidence and reduced hesitation; a negative outcome will do the opposite.
Should one refuse to try one's luck, this would slow one's progress, but not necessarily stop it. Confidence can be increased and hesitation reduced by degrees, through a series of baby steps that can eventually lead to triumph. All in all, people have more than one trick up their sleeve to succeed in life, though they cannot escape the necessity of achieving success to develop a passion for the difficult task of living.
As regards poetry, success may be achieved in a roundabout and gradual way. Take a young educated man who has a sense of imagery and a desire to express himself. While his education has prepared him for the written expression of his feelings and thoughts, this sense and this desire together drive him to write poetically, though he has no pretensions to composing a poem.
This first step is a manner of kickoff that gets the ball rolling. He becomes aware of his poetic ability within the limits of his poetic writing. What is more, he catches a glimpse of the poetry that is a blur in this writing and could emerge from the prose like a landscape from the fog. His potential as a future poet is thus faintly discernible. It assumes the form of an inkling whose haziness will progressively dissipate as further poetic efforts are made successfully. In the end the young man sees himself as a young poet. He is eager to grapple with the difficulties of writing poetry because he is confident that he will overcome them and delight in this achievement.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laurent Grenier's writing career spans over twenty years. During this time he has broadened and deepened his worldview, by dint of much reflection and study, and in the end has crafted "A Reason for Living", his best work to date.
Official web site: http://laurentgrenier.com/ARFL.html
Article Source: Passion and Poetry, and Life
================
ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Ironically, the passion that can neutralize the repulsion for difficulties depends on the effort to overcome these difficulties. The irony resides in the circularity of this principle - which applies to all areas of activity, including poetry: One must make the effort to overcome difficulties to achieve success and feel capable, and one needs this achievement and feeling to have a passion for making this effort.
How can one enter this circle without this passion? In other words, how does one resolve the quasi-contradiction according to which one cannot passionately start the effort to overcome difficulties before it has ended successfully?
If difficulties are deemed insurmountable, mistakenly or not, the repulsion for them is absolute. In that case, nothing will motivate the effort to succeed, except an outside authority that can dictate this effort, or an outside influence that can generate faith and stimulate courage. In every other case where the seriousness of the difficulties is open to doubt, one may try one's luck with mixed feelings.
Assuming one tries, the result of this effort will constitute additional self-knowledge that will inform one's future choices. A positive outcome will act as a positive reinforcement that emboldens one to try again, with increased confidence and reduced hesitation; a negative outcome will do the opposite.
Should one refuse to try one's luck, this would slow one's progress, but not necessarily stop it. Confidence can be increased and hesitation reduced by degrees, through a series of baby steps that can eventually lead to triumph. All in all, people have more than one trick up their sleeve to succeed in life, though they cannot escape the necessity of achieving success to develop a passion for the difficult task of living.
As regards poetry, success may be achieved in a roundabout and gradual way. Take a young educated man who has a sense of imagery and a desire to express himself. While his education has prepared him for the written expression of his feelings and thoughts, this sense and this desire together drive him to write poetically, though he has no pretensions to composing a poem.
This first step is a manner of kickoff that gets the ball rolling. He becomes aware of his poetic ability within the limits of his poetic writing. What is more, he catches a glimpse of the poetry that is a blur in this writing and could emerge from the prose like a landscape from the fog. His potential as a future poet is thus faintly discernible. It assumes the form of an inkling whose haziness will progressively dissipate as further poetic efforts are made successfully. In the end the young man sees himself as a young poet. He is eager to grapple with the difficulties of writing poetry because he is confident that he will overcome them and delight in this achievement.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laurent Grenier's writing career spans over twenty years. During this time he has broadened and deepened his worldview, by dint of much reflection and study, and in the end has crafted "A Reason for Living", his best work to date.
Official web site: http://laurentgrenier.com/ARFL.html
Article Source: Passion and Poetry, and Life
================
ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Labels: achievement, confidence, courage, difficulties, passion, poetry, self-knowledge, success
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
5 Poetry Writing Tips For Beginners
By K. Paul Mallasch
Writing poetry to some is a science while to others it's an art. Once you know the difference between the two methods of approaching poetry, you can choose which of the two is the best way for you to get into poetry. Of course, you might also choose both methods - paying attention to mechanics as well as meaning and the overall artistic message of your poems. Ah, but this is a short piece on writing tips for poetry beginners, so I'll stop there and continue with what you are after - how to write better poetry.
5 Poetry Writing Tips For Beginners
Here are five rules or suggestions for writing poetry.
To Rhyme or Not - Many beginners to poetry think you have to rhyme - all the time - on a dime - with a pine - well, you get the idea. This is not always the case. Some of the best poetry ever written doesn't rhyme - at all. That said, you don't want to try to consciously avoid rhymes either.
Tennis With or Without Nets - If you write sonnets and other structured poetry, it's like you're playing tennis with a net and rules. There's a lot you can do, but some poets like "free verse" or poetry without too much form. This will vary from poet to poet of course.
Where to Publish - While it's great to get your poetry published in a print magazine, sometimes it's just about getting other people to read your poetry. If that's the case, there are many great poetry communities online that you can become a part of without too much hassle. Find one and write your poetry!
When to Give Up - If you really are a poet, you're probably never going to stop playing with words. This is true even if you stop writing them down. A true poet will have the words going through their mind at all times whether they like it or not. Well, most of the time. I don't want to scare you. Although some good poetry is downright scary.
Ignore the Rules - You can read all the books and stories about how to write poetry that you want, but if you never sit down and write poetry, you will never know if poetry is something you're meant to do or not. There comes a time when you have to ignore the rules. You should know the rules before you toss them aside, but they shouldn't always be followed.
There you have it - some basic poetry tips for beginners. If you are really serious about poetry and using words to express yourself, you need to find a good poetry community so that you can grow as a poet. It's a long, difficult process, but for many people there's no other way of life that's worth living. Long live poetry - even poetry from beginners.
K. Paul Mallasch is the publisher of Ergo Poetry, a small community of poetry lovers who share and collaborate. Stop by to read, leave comments, or share your own poetry with the world. He also offers content creation services for really good rates.
Article Source: 5 Poetry Writing Tips For Beginners
===================
ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Writing poetry to some is a science while to others it's an art. Once you know the difference between the two methods of approaching poetry, you can choose which of the two is the best way for you to get into poetry. Of course, you might also choose both methods - paying attention to mechanics as well as meaning and the overall artistic message of your poems. Ah, but this is a short piece on writing tips for poetry beginners, so I'll stop there and continue with what you are after - how to write better poetry.
5 Poetry Writing Tips For Beginners
Here are five rules or suggestions for writing poetry.
To Rhyme or Not - Many beginners to poetry think you have to rhyme - all the time - on a dime - with a pine - well, you get the idea. This is not always the case. Some of the best poetry ever written doesn't rhyme - at all. That said, you don't want to try to consciously avoid rhymes either.
Tennis With or Without Nets - If you write sonnets and other structured poetry, it's like you're playing tennis with a net and rules. There's a lot you can do, but some poets like "free verse" or poetry without too much form. This will vary from poet to poet of course.
Where to Publish - While it's great to get your poetry published in a print magazine, sometimes it's just about getting other people to read your poetry. If that's the case, there are many great poetry communities online that you can become a part of without too much hassle. Find one and write your poetry!
When to Give Up - If you really are a poet, you're probably never going to stop playing with words. This is true even if you stop writing them down. A true poet will have the words going through their mind at all times whether they like it or not. Well, most of the time. I don't want to scare you. Although some good poetry is downright scary.
Ignore the Rules - You can read all the books and stories about how to write poetry that you want, but if you never sit down and write poetry, you will never know if poetry is something you're meant to do or not. There comes a time when you have to ignore the rules. You should know the rules before you toss them aside, but they shouldn't always be followed.
There you have it - some basic poetry tips for beginners. If you are really serious about poetry and using words to express yourself, you need to find a good poetry community so that you can grow as a poet. It's a long, difficult process, but for many people there's no other way of life that's worth living. Long live poetry - even poetry from beginners.
K. Paul Mallasch is the publisher of Ergo Poetry, a small community of poetry lovers who share and collaborate. Stop by to read, leave comments, or share your own poetry with the world. He also offers content creation services for really good rates.
Article Source: 5 Poetry Writing Tips For Beginners
===================
ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Labels: poetry tips, writing poetry
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Top 20 Poetry Quotations
By Danielle Hollister
Explore the meaning of poetry and the motivation of poets with this special collection of evocative quotations...
"A poet is someone who is astonished by everything."
-- Anonymous
"Reality only reveals itself when it is illuminated by a ray of poetry."
-- Georges Brague
"The poet doesn't invent. He listens. "
--Jean Cocteau
" In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite."
-- Paul Dirac
" Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood."
-- T. S. Eliot
"The adventitious beauty of poetry may be felt in the greater delight with a verse given in a happy quotation than in the poem."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
" There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it."
-- Gustave Flaubert
"A poem begins with a lump in the throat. "
--Robert Frost
" Poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement."
-- Christopher Fry
" There's no money in poetry, but there's no poetry in money, either."
-- Robert Ranke Graves
" Poetry is to hold judgment on your soul."
-- Henrik Ibsen
" When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses."
-- John F. Kennedy
"Perhaps no person can be a poet, or can even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind."
--Thomas Babington Macaulay
"The poem is the point at which our strength gave out. "
--Richard Rosen
" Science is for those who learn; poetry, for those who know."
-- Joseph Roux
"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. "
--Percy Byshe Shelley
"Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket. "
--Charles Simic
"A poem is never finished, only abandoned. "
--Paul Valéry
" Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls."
-- Voltaire
"Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge."
-- William Wordsworth
Resource Box - Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp
Article Source: Top 20 Poetry Quotations
===================
Original Poetry by Donovan Baldwin
Explore the meaning of poetry and the motivation of poets with this special collection of evocative quotations...
"A poet is someone who is astonished by everything."
-- Anonymous
"Reality only reveals itself when it is illuminated by a ray of poetry."
-- Georges Brague
"The poet doesn't invent. He listens. "
--Jean Cocteau
" In science one tries to tell people, in such a way as to be understood by everyone, something that no one ever knew before. But in poetry, it's the exact opposite."
-- Paul Dirac
" Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood."
-- T. S. Eliot
"The adventitious beauty of poetry may be felt in the greater delight with a verse given in a happy quotation than in the poem."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
" There is not a particle of life which does not bear poetry within it."
-- Gustave Flaubert
"A poem begins with a lump in the throat. "
--Robert Frost
" Poetry is the language in which man explores his own amazement."
-- Christopher Fry
" There's no money in poetry, but there's no poetry in money, either."
-- Robert Ranke Graves
" Poetry is to hold judgment on your soul."
-- Henrik Ibsen
" When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses."
-- John F. Kennedy
"Perhaps no person can be a poet, or can even enjoy poetry, without a certain unsoundness of mind."
--Thomas Babington Macaulay
"The poem is the point at which our strength gave out. "
--Richard Rosen
" Science is for those who learn; poetry, for those who know."
-- Joseph Roux
"Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world. "
--Percy Byshe Shelley
"Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket. "
--Charles Simic
"A poem is never finished, only abandoned. "
--Paul Valéry
" Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls."
-- Voltaire
"Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge."
-- William Wordsworth
Resource Box - Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp
Article Source: Top 20 Poetry Quotations
===================
Original Poetry by Donovan Baldwin
Labels: poetry, quotations
Monday, December 19, 2011
Discussion: Dryden's Definition of Drama
By Ali Oyo Asghar J
John Dryden is a great literary figure of his age. He saw the great plague of 1665; it drove him to Charlton in Wilt-shire where he lived for eighteen months and wrote dramatic poesy. The work is in dialogue form, consisting of four characters, discussing about drama. It was proved a popular literary form and reigned supreme in England during the next seventy-five years. It is an Aristotelian form because several persons with different wits and faculties participate in the discussion and contribute to it by giving or adding their views and ideas. In this dramatic poesy, the center of discussion is drama. Dryden's definition of drama really covers a wide range. It can be applied to heroic poems, epics and romance or dramas. He treats drama as a form of imaginative literature that appeals to poetry.
According to him, drama is a just and lively image of human nature, representing its passions and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind. He insists on the words 'Just' and 'lively' image of human nature. In support of the words, it must be admitted that material of all topics is drawn from a society. The society is made of mankind or living things, and without them, society is nothing. Dryden implies word 'Image' as an imitation or appearance of human nature must be just. Just means exact or as it is. It means an exact copy of reality. Dryden is different; he does not like only the slavish or exact copy of reality, but it must be lively. David Diaches expresses that the image of human nature is implied for drama as well as imaginative literature, which shows the acting of people in such a way as to reveal what they are like. He further says that Dryden has used the word 'Image' for the appearance of human actions. The human actions must be just and lively. Plato described the imitation of imitation or copy of the copy. He is not different, but he adds the word 'lively'.
In poetic imitation, the word 'Just' is not sufficient, but the word 'Lively' must be added. 'Lively' means interesting. David Diaches interprets it as interesting. R.A Scott James agrees and interprets it as beautiful and so delightful. Such interpretation admits that the poet is a maker or a creator. He finds material, works on and makes it beautiful by heightening its quality. John Dryden gives value to labour. If one reveals it as rough as it was, it must be a rough work with a trivial value. If it is represented lively, the work would be lively, and the poet would be valued.
Dryden is really a great critic and supporter of imagination. In his age, he is rather different from all the poets. He calls imagination as a special faculty of a creative artist without rules and regulations. It enables the artist to create the work of beauty that makes him distinctive. Indeed, imagination is like a polisher that makes the material elegant. Such labour uplifts its value more and more. In other words, it is more needed to say that imagination is a shaping power. Through it, the poet selects, orders, rearranges and heightens his material. In result, the more distinctive and more beautiful material is achieved. Through imaginative creation, the just images of human nature become lively.
The writers or creative artists don't hold the imagination of same power. Each has his own, and it brings something different and peculiar in his work. Indeed, it forms the personality of a writer. According to Dryden, it is an inherent element that is found different in Shakespeare, Jonson and Fletcher. Each poet has his own qualities, and through such qualities, their work is analyzed and valued. Dryden admits that Shakespeare writes better between man and man; Fletcher betwixt man and woman. The one describes friendship better and the other love. He is of the opinion that imaginative work gives birth to qualities and peculiarities of a writer; by which he is known in the world of literature. So, such qualities or peculiarities make him more distinctive writer. Actually, he talks about the individual qualities of the creative artists which are named and contrasted. By pursuing such qualities, he accepts Shakespeare as the Homer, or the father of dramatic poets, and Jonson is accepted as the Virgil, or the pattern of elaborate writing. He concludes that he admires Jonson, but loves Shakespeare. All depends on the faculty of imagination. The rich faculty forms rich work and makes the writer eminent.
In the definition of drama, John Dryden gives primary importance to delight, and the secondary to instruction. The function of poetry is delight, and to instruct is the function of prose. It is he who combines the both. It is examined that the instruction comes out of the delight. A bare imitation gives birth to bare instruction that is quite ineffective, but when the bare imitation is selected, ordered and shaped by the poet's imagination, the work becomes beautiful and lively. David Diaches expresses that the function of poetry is to inform the reader in a lively and agreeable way, or the way that human nature likes.
Scott James stresses on aesthetic pleasure or delight. Aesthetic delight is concerned to poetry which springs from a beautiful thought. Shamasuddin Bulbul, the great poet of Mehar city, also emphasized on aesthetic pleasure as the chief function of poetry. Scott James says that the pleasure which a work of art produces is of a certain kind; it is that which comes up from a sense of the lively creativity. For Dryden, speaking of poetry is speaking of beauty. If one speaks the pleasure of poetry, it means a pleasure that comes out of the beautiful art. The aesthetic pleasure has the power to move and to transport. According to Dryden, the power of aesthetic pleasure affects the soul and excites the passion, and above all, it moves admiration. The soul, thus, is moved by reading the beautiful work, and it compels the reader to value it.
The poetry instructs as it delights. A bare imitation of reality does not have such power. It lies on poet's imagination that makes beautiful works of art. John Dryden lives in the age of prose, but follows such concept that makes him distinguished from the others. His concept of poetic imitation is not mere imitation, but it is the work of a poet, a maker or a creator, whose endeavor is to produce some piece of art but beautiful. Such lively work gives pleasure or delight, and the delight gives birth to instruction that is very effective and resultant.
Email comments: ali_asghar_joyo2006@yahoo.com
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Article Source: Dryden's Definition of Drama
=============
ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
John Dryden is a great literary figure of his age. He saw the great plague of 1665; it drove him to Charlton in Wilt-shire where he lived for eighteen months and wrote dramatic poesy. The work is in dialogue form, consisting of four characters, discussing about drama. It was proved a popular literary form and reigned supreme in England during the next seventy-five years. It is an Aristotelian form because several persons with different wits and faculties participate in the discussion and contribute to it by giving or adding their views and ideas. In this dramatic poesy, the center of discussion is drama. Dryden's definition of drama really covers a wide range. It can be applied to heroic poems, epics and romance or dramas. He treats drama as a form of imaginative literature that appeals to poetry.
According to him, drama is a just and lively image of human nature, representing its passions and humours, and the changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the delight and instruction of mankind. He insists on the words 'Just' and 'lively' image of human nature. In support of the words, it must be admitted that material of all topics is drawn from a society. The society is made of mankind or living things, and without them, society is nothing. Dryden implies word 'Image' as an imitation or appearance of human nature must be just. Just means exact or as it is. It means an exact copy of reality. Dryden is different; he does not like only the slavish or exact copy of reality, but it must be lively. David Diaches expresses that the image of human nature is implied for drama as well as imaginative literature, which shows the acting of people in such a way as to reveal what they are like. He further says that Dryden has used the word 'Image' for the appearance of human actions. The human actions must be just and lively. Plato described the imitation of imitation or copy of the copy. He is not different, but he adds the word 'lively'.
In poetic imitation, the word 'Just' is not sufficient, but the word 'Lively' must be added. 'Lively' means interesting. David Diaches interprets it as interesting. R.A Scott James agrees and interprets it as beautiful and so delightful. Such interpretation admits that the poet is a maker or a creator. He finds material, works on and makes it beautiful by heightening its quality. John Dryden gives value to labour. If one reveals it as rough as it was, it must be a rough work with a trivial value. If it is represented lively, the work would be lively, and the poet would be valued.
Dryden is really a great critic and supporter of imagination. In his age, he is rather different from all the poets. He calls imagination as a special faculty of a creative artist without rules and regulations. It enables the artist to create the work of beauty that makes him distinctive. Indeed, imagination is like a polisher that makes the material elegant. Such labour uplifts its value more and more. In other words, it is more needed to say that imagination is a shaping power. Through it, the poet selects, orders, rearranges and heightens his material. In result, the more distinctive and more beautiful material is achieved. Through imaginative creation, the just images of human nature become lively.
The writers or creative artists don't hold the imagination of same power. Each has his own, and it brings something different and peculiar in his work. Indeed, it forms the personality of a writer. According to Dryden, it is an inherent element that is found different in Shakespeare, Jonson and Fletcher. Each poet has his own qualities, and through such qualities, their work is analyzed and valued. Dryden admits that Shakespeare writes better between man and man; Fletcher betwixt man and woman. The one describes friendship better and the other love. He is of the opinion that imaginative work gives birth to qualities and peculiarities of a writer; by which he is known in the world of literature. So, such qualities or peculiarities make him more distinctive writer. Actually, he talks about the individual qualities of the creative artists which are named and contrasted. By pursuing such qualities, he accepts Shakespeare as the Homer, or the father of dramatic poets, and Jonson is accepted as the Virgil, or the pattern of elaborate writing. He concludes that he admires Jonson, but loves Shakespeare. All depends on the faculty of imagination. The rich faculty forms rich work and makes the writer eminent.
In the definition of drama, John Dryden gives primary importance to delight, and the secondary to instruction. The function of poetry is delight, and to instruct is the function of prose. It is he who combines the both. It is examined that the instruction comes out of the delight. A bare imitation gives birth to bare instruction that is quite ineffective, but when the bare imitation is selected, ordered and shaped by the poet's imagination, the work becomes beautiful and lively. David Diaches expresses that the function of poetry is to inform the reader in a lively and agreeable way, or the way that human nature likes.
Scott James stresses on aesthetic pleasure or delight. Aesthetic delight is concerned to poetry which springs from a beautiful thought. Shamasuddin Bulbul, the great poet of Mehar city, also emphasized on aesthetic pleasure as the chief function of poetry. Scott James says that the pleasure which a work of art produces is of a certain kind; it is that which comes up from a sense of the lively creativity. For Dryden, speaking of poetry is speaking of beauty. If one speaks the pleasure of poetry, it means a pleasure that comes out of the beautiful art. The aesthetic pleasure has the power to move and to transport. According to Dryden, the power of aesthetic pleasure affects the soul and excites the passion, and above all, it moves admiration. The soul, thus, is moved by reading the beautiful work, and it compels the reader to value it.
The poetry instructs as it delights. A bare imitation of reality does not have such power. It lies on poet's imagination that makes beautiful works of art. John Dryden lives in the age of prose, but follows such concept that makes him distinguished from the others. His concept of poetic imitation is not mere imitation, but it is the work of a poet, a maker or a creator, whose endeavor is to produce some piece of art but beautiful. Such lively work gives pleasure or delight, and the delight gives birth to instruction that is very effective and resultant.
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Article Source: Dryden's Definition of Drama
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ORIGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Labels: Aristotelian, John Dryden, poem
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Trying to Work It Out - Poetry in Villanelle Style
By Lesley A Daunt
About the Villanelle Style
Poets have used villanelles for a variety of subjects, but all good villanelles have two things in common. First, villanelles have strong opening tercets, with the first and third lines providing a two-barreled refrain.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
Sometimes it feels as if I am dying.
I am trying just to work it all out.
The sunlight is trying to peer through clouds.
With no avail it still keeps me crying.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
This life is painful when you live without
Love from the one for whom you are pining.
I am trying just to work it all out.
The shadows are filling my head with doubt;
Never again will I see the sun shining.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
"When will this be over?" I hear myself shout.
I can't seem to take all the lying.
I am trying just to work it all out.
Life becomes painful when you live without
Love from the one for whom you are pining.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
I am trying just to work it all out.
Being a songwriter my whole life, it never quite dawned on me that in essence I was a poet. My process of writing songs has always been an odd one. Most musicians/singers write their lyrics than put them to music. In my early days of being in a band, I was the one who wrote the music, while I would sing the poetry of my bandmate. When her poetry stopped coming, I was left to come up with the lyrics as well as the music.
For some reason, I never actually sat and wrote any type of words - I was convinced what I wrote would end up being stupid. So I would "wing" it - I would just sing words off the top of my head while I was playing. They became the songs. Sometimes I wouldn't even know what I was singing. Than something weird happened - people would start telling me how they related to my "lyrics" - lyrics that I had given not one ounce of thought, lyrics that I wasn't even sure made sense.
I no longer sing in a band due to health issues. Something I miss more than anything in the world. So, here I sit actually writing poetry. Here I sit realizing I have been a poet all along.
Lesley Daunt http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1160437/lesley_daunt.html
Article Source: Trying to Work It Out - Poetry in Villanelle Style
===========================
ORGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
About the Villanelle Style
Poets have used villanelles for a variety of subjects, but all good villanelles have two things in common. First, villanelles have strong opening tercets, with the first and third lines providing a two-barreled refrain.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
Sometimes it feels as if I am dying.
I am trying just to work it all out.
The sunlight is trying to peer through clouds.
With no avail it still keeps me crying.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
This life is painful when you live without
Love from the one for whom you are pining.
I am trying just to work it all out.
The shadows are filling my head with doubt;
Never again will I see the sun shining.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
"When will this be over?" I hear myself shout.
I can't seem to take all the lying.
I am trying just to work it all out.
Life becomes painful when you live without
Love from the one for whom you are pining.
Shadows around me are dancing about.
I am trying just to work it all out.
Being a songwriter my whole life, it never quite dawned on me that in essence I was a poet. My process of writing songs has always been an odd one. Most musicians/singers write their lyrics than put them to music. In my early days of being in a band, I was the one who wrote the music, while I would sing the poetry of my bandmate. When her poetry stopped coming, I was left to come up with the lyrics as well as the music.
For some reason, I never actually sat and wrote any type of words - I was convinced what I wrote would end up being stupid. So I would "wing" it - I would just sing words off the top of my head while I was playing. They became the songs. Sometimes I wouldn't even know what I was singing. Than something weird happened - people would start telling me how they related to my "lyrics" - lyrics that I had given not one ounce of thought, lyrics that I wasn't even sure made sense.
I no longer sing in a band due to health issues. Something I miss more than anything in the world. So, here I sit actually writing poetry. Here I sit realizing I have been a poet all along.
Lesley Daunt http://contributor.yahoo.com/user/1160437/lesley_daunt.html
Article Source: Trying to Work It Out - Poetry in Villanelle Style
===========================
ORGINAL POETRY BY DONOVAN BALDWIN
Labels: donovan baldwin, lesley daunt, poet, poetry, villanelle
