on poetry

[ianbui@ix.netcom.com (nghia bui)]

Ti`nh co*` ddo.c ddu*o*.c ddo.an va<n hay, bie^n le^n dda^y cho
ma^'y ba'c ddo.c ke'. Ru't tu*` 1 ba`i essay cu?a Robert Frost
tu*.a dde^` -- "The Constant Symbol":

    "... And there are many other things I have found myself 
    saying about poetry, but the chiefest of these is that it
    is metaphor, saying one thing and meaning another, saying
    one thing in terms of another, the pleasure of ulteriority.
    Poetry is simply made of metaphor. So also is philosophy--
    and science, too, for that matter, if it will take the soft
    impeachment from a friend. Every poem is a new metaphor inside
    or it is nothing. And there is a sense in which all poems are
    the same old metaphor always.
        
        Every single poem written regular is a symbol small or 
    great of the way the will has to pitch into commitments deeper
    and deeper to a rounded conclusion and then be judged for 
    whether any original intention it had has been strongly spent
    or weakly lost; be it in art, politics, school, church, business,
    love, or marriage--in a piece of work or in a career. Strongly
    spent is synonymous with kept."  (Atlantic Monthly--Oct, 1947)
    
La`m tho* dda~ kho', lua^.n ve^` tho* la.i ca`ng kho' ho*n. Xem ra 
mie^.ng lu*o*~i ca'i nha` ba'c Frost na`y cu~ng ghe^ nhi?  :))
Nha^n ba`n chuye^.n thi ca, nay bo? gia`y ddi de'p che'p ta<.ng 
ca'c ba'c ba`i tho* nga<'n tha'ng ba:

    Que^ Ru*`ng Nha~n No^.i

    Qua so^ng la.i nho*' lu.c bi`nh
    Cha^n kho^ng lo^.i si`nh cha<?ng nho*' gia`y da

    Leo Co^`n Ca't ta<'m phu` sa
    Chie^`u le^n theo, nu*o*'c no^?i hoa ti'm bo*`
    Ma<.t tro*`i la<.n. Mo^.t ru*`ng tho*#...

    3'97
    
Ian

ps. hope there's a metaphor in there somewhere :)))