Both of the poems tie back to the idea that was mentioned in the Bruffee piece; writing is a conversation and thoughts aren't really thoughts until they are externalized. It gives the image of throwing something out there and allowing the reader to make something of it, like the rum was thrown into the ocean and came back oh so sweet. Or in the poem by Hass when it seems he agonizes over how to describe the tree move in the wind. He finds it hard, because he realizes there is a difference in each word he uses. But he leaves it open to the reader when he ends the poem with "he did something in the wind."
How is language a slippery vehicle?
Language is present as a slippery vehicle in both poems because of the choice of words. In Hass' poem, he fights with himself as presented in the poem, about which word would be appropriate to describe the tree's motion in the wind. It proves that there is an heavy importance on the words in which a writer chooses because it effects the meaning that the reader will perceive and the message he or she will walk away with. The idea that what a writer create will be thrown into the ocean of the readers and the idea will come back to you slightly different, as in the Jones' poem.
I think that language is also a slippery vehicle because the reader may come up with an interpretation that the author didn't consider. Espcially with poetry, it's possible for two people to read everything careful and find completely different meanings.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matt's comment. It is sometimes hard to express what you are thinking in your mind onto a piece of paper. When the reader reads it, he/she may not interpret your writing the way it was meant to be interpreted.
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