ars poetica

Ars Poetica
by Archibald MacLeish (p1041)

A poem should be palpable and mute As a globed fruit, Dumb As old medallions to the thumb, Silent as the sleeve-worn stone Of casement ledges where the moss has grown-- A poem should be wordless As the flight of birds. A poem should be motionless in time As the moon climbs, Leaving, as the moon releases Twig by twig the night-entangled trees,

Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves, Memory by memory the mind-- A poem should be motionless in time As the moon climbs. A poem should be equal to: Not true. For all the history of grief An empty doorway and a maple leaf. For love The leaning grasses and two lights above the sea-- A poem should not mean But be

Translated to “The Art of Poetry”, Ars Poetica is a poem that expresses its meaning implicitly. In the initial lines of the poem, MacLeish bluntly states that a poem is like a “globed fruit” and “dumb”. He voices to the reader how poems should be taken: in a simplistic manner. Also, he says “a poem should be wordless” which further reinforces the idea of simplicity, as if nothing is there.

In the next stanzas, MacLeish compares poems to the moon, being “motionless in time”. The moon appears every night, something we pay little attention to. Same concept applies to poems, they simply exist to be read. Also, he emphasizes that a poem may be difficult to understand, “behind winter leaves”, but it doesn’t matter. He repeats the lines “motionless in time” to show that being confused by a poem is natural and normal.

Finally, the last stanzas reflect the theme of the poem once more. The ideas of simplicity and stillness allow a poem to “not mean but be”. Instead of having profound meaning, every poem simply exists to be read. A poem is a poem.