First, can a good poem be created from mostly declarative sentences? I’m searching for examples.
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Second, I’m enjoying this poem. To read the entire piece, click (or cluck) on the words below:
Almost I rushed from home to tell you this:
that melancholia, the word, when broken
down to its roots, its ancient Greek particulars,
means black hole. How perfect. How yes,
I’ve been reading the dictionary again.
How ready I am to adopt this codified cosmos,
where at the center of all things we see…
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Wislawa Szymborska’s poem “Discovery” is mostly declarative sentences. It is one of my favorite poems. Here are the first three stanzas:
I believe in the great discovery.
I believe in the man who will make the discovery.
I believe in the terror of the man who will make the discovery.
I believe in the pallor of his face, the nausea, the cold sweat on his lip.
I belive in the burning of the notes,
the burning of them to ashes,
the burning of every last one.
The rest of the poem can be found as part of an online lecture at http://www.naropa.edu/notenoughnight/fall06/Mullen.html
cheers,
Bernadette
Deborah,
About the declarative sentences question.
I think you have hit on an interesting question, one I have been working on for quite some time. My opinion is yes. I am in the middle of an entire book of poems based on this exact principle, without asking about it as you have here. The risk is that a poem can get to sound didactic, which can ruin many things in a poem for readers. However, as the art of language progresses the basis is declarative because I think advanced writing wants to get at the heart of any matter quickly. Everyone is in a hurry now and there is no turning back. Brevity without the hoopla.
Most interesting question, thanks for bringing it up.
Tom
thomasjardine.blogspot.com is my blog
Bernadette, Thank you for the poem example.
Tom, Ah, I had not thought of the declarative as being useful for people in a hurry. That opens up a can of worms.