In Rhythm with the Heartbeat
Where is that subtle line drawn between poetry and prose? Can one define what the words, so simple, yet so enchanting, make? Even in the world of literature, certain laws help at least differentiate between the genres.
Considering Keats’s poem La Belle Dame Sans Merci, one can claim with certainty that there are certain features that only a poem can possess. What strikes most about La Belle Dame Sans Merci is the enchanting rhythm that keeps the reader astir and makes him/her feel the pulse of the poem. Indeed, one of the most important aspects of any poem, this is the key to the author’s interaction with the reader; thus, diving deeper into the La Belle Dame Sans Merci, I felt as if the author took me by the hand and led right into the Old England. Indeed, Aviram was completely right as he claimed that “rhythm pervades every aspect of the poem” (62)!
Listening and Hearing: The Magic of the Authors Voice
No matter where the reader’s imagination might take him/her, there is nothing like the author’s voice when (s)he is reciting the poem. Although most people are used to resort to their vision of the poem, it is important to hear the author reading it, to conceive the essence of the rhymed lines. As Timpane wisely remarked, “poetry is meant to be read aloud” (51).
As Gwendolyn and Roethke read their poems, the rhymed lines obtain the specific sense that they did not have as one could see them printed on the book page. Perhaps, it is the rhythm of the author’s voice that helps to reveal the new ideas. Marking the special words with the power of their voices, the two authors managed to reveal the shades of meaning that no one could see before in the poems. Like magicians, they took rabbits out of the hat that seemed already emptied by hundreds of readers. That is the magic of poetry.
Reference List
Aviram, A. F. (1994) Telling Rhythm: Body and Meaning in Poetry. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
Timpane, J., & Watts, M. (2001) Poetry for Dummies. New York City, NY: John Wiley and Sons.