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Graves and uncertainty
In Discussion 1 (the Sylvia Plath in Performance thread) Katfriend has posted a Hirshfield quote which I take as a riff on Keats's notion of negative capability. It brought to mind a Robert Graves poem.
In Broken Images
He is quick, thinking in clear images;
I am slow, thinking in broken images.
He becomes dull, trusting to his clear images;
I become sharp, mistrusting my broken images.
Trusting his images, he assumes their relevance;
Mistrusting my images, I question their relevance.
Assuming their relevance, he assumes the fact;
Questioning their relevance, I question the fact.
When the fact fails him, he questions his senses;
When the fact fails me, I approve my senses.
He continues quick and dull in his clear images;
I continue slow and sharp in my broken images.
He in a new confusion of his understanding;
I in a new understanding of my confusion.
(poem by Robert Graves)
Tere
Last edited by Terreson, Nov/12/2009, 9:26 pm
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Nov/12/2009, 9:20 pm
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Re: Graves and uncertainty
I will respond with my favorite Graves poem:
Conjunction
What happens afterwards, none need enquire:
They are poised there in conjunction, beyond time,
At an oak-tree top level with Paradise:
It’s leafy tester unshaken where they stand
Palm to palm, mouth to mouth, beyond desire,
Perpetuating lark song, perfume, colour,
And tremulous gasp of watchful winds,
Past all unbelief, we know them held
By peace and light and irrefragable love—
Twin paragons, our final selves, resistant
To the dull pull of earth dappled with shade:
Myself the forester, never known to abandon
His vigilant coursing of the greenwood’s floor,
And you, dryad of dryads, never before
Yielding her whole heart to the enemy, man.
~Robert Graves~
--- "Don't you worry--I ain't evil, I'm just bad".
~Chris Smither~
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Nov/13/2009, 12:35 am
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Re: Graves and uncertainty
It is true, Pat. And a damn fine lyric poem as well. Good riposte. Auden called Graves the best lyric poet of the 20th C. For long I thought the assesment a bit overblown. But isn't this the kind of sensibility many of us up-from-under poets acutely respond to? And I get the dryad telling her man he is the enemy. I actually have a poem touching on the same dynamic. So did I get the slant from Graves? Likely.
Oh and one more thing. By your own account you're not supposed to know anything about poetry. Be careful not to blow your cover.
Tere
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Nov/13/2009, 8:48 pm
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Re: Graves and uncertainty
quote: Terreson wrote:
Oh and one more thing. By your own account you're not supposed to know anything about poetry. Be careful not to blow your cover.
Tere
LOL...not to worry. I'm no student or critic but know what I love when I read it.
Conjunction is one my favorites for sure.
Last edited by Patricia Jones, Nov/14/2009, 3:19 am
--- "Don't you worry--I ain't evil, I'm just bad".
~Chris Smither~
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Nov/14/2009, 3:17 am
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Re: Graves and uncertainty
Dear Tere,
Sorry I didn't see this message earlier. I copied the Graves poem you posted. I think it's got some stealable things in it...which I rarely find.
Best,
Diana
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Nov/17/2009, 2:20 pm
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Re: Graves and uncertainty
Good, Diana. I am glad the poem comes through for you. For me the resonance of the poem has to do with a bit of biography. After four years in the war, much of which time spent in the trenches, they say Graves suffered from what we now call PTSD for thirty years or so. To me this is how he took reality's sh*t and turned it into alchemical gold.
Tere
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Nov/17/2009, 4:37 pm
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Re: Graves and uncertainty
Tere and Pat,
Thanks for posting these poems by Graves. They are two of my favorites from his work.
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Dec/3/2009, 9:37 pm
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