Timeless Reader (2): Poetry

Movies are a Higher Art Form than Books

Tragedy has everything that the Epic has, together with a not inconsiderable addition in the shape of the Music (a very real factor in the pleasure of the drama) and the Spectacle.
Tragedy is superior in these respects, and also besides these, in its poetic effect, it is clear that, as attaining the poetic effect better than the Epic, it will be the higher form of art.

Aristotle concludes Poetics by attempting to determine which is the highest for of art: Tragedy or Epic (in modern parlance, a Movie or a Novel). He concludes that a Tragedy play is the highest potential form of art, because in addition to the story, it also includes music and visual elements. He does mention that these can be done badly, and so a good Epic is superior to a badly acted play, but if all the elements come together correctly, the play is the most powerful.

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Metaphors are Genius

the greatest thing by far is to be a master of metaphor. It is the one thing that cannot be learnt from others; and it is also a sign of genius, since a good metaphor implies an intuitive perception of the similarities in dissimilars.

It is also the sign of a highly associative brain. As Aristotle hints at, it showcases the ability of the mind to find the connection in things that we might normally think of as unrelated. Is he right, though, that it cannot be learned? My own intuition (to use his language) tells me that there might be exercises that one could do to improve his or her capacity in metaphorical thinking.

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You Have to be Crazy to Write Good Fiction

he who feels the emotions to be described will be the most convincing; distress and anger, for instance, are portrayed most truthfully by one who is feeling them in the moment. Hence it is that poetry demands a man with a special gift for it, or else one with a touch of madness in him; the former can easily assume the required mood, and the latter may be actually beside himself with emotion.

What immediately came to mind when reading this was bi-polar disorder. There are some theories in modern evolutionary psychology that bi-polar "disorder" is a trait that has has been preserved in humanity because it contributes to creativity, and there is evidence that many of the most creative minds throughout history have "suffered" from it. If bi-polar disorder allows one to more freely experience the full range of human emotions - from the highest highs to the lowest lows - they will be able to more honestly express these emotions in their art - be it painting, music, or writing.

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Your Hero Must be Virtuous

As Tragedy is an imitation of personages better than the ordinary man...

If the hero of your story is going to befall a tragedy, he had better be a better person than your audience, or they will not pity or sympathize with him.

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Whenever the tragic deed, however, is done within the family - when murder or the like is done or meditated by brother on brother, by son on father, by mother on son, or son on mother - these are the situations the poet should seek after.

Aristotle notes that the most compelling stories, the ones that have lasted, are those in which there is familial conflict. These are the most emotionally gripping stories.

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Fiction is More Important than History

The distinction between historian and poet is not in the one writing prose and the other verse - you might put the work of Herodotus into verse, and it would still be a species of history; it really consists in this, that the one describes the thing that has been, and the other a kind of thing that might be. Hence poetry is something more philosophic and of graver import than history, since its statements are of the nature rather of universals, whereas those of history are singulars. By a universal statement I mean one as to what such or such a kind of man will probably or necessarily say or do - which is the aim of poetry, though it affixes proper names to the characters.

This got me thinking about about the bible and biblical myths as poetry (remember Aristotle means poetry in the sense of "maker of stories"). They are stories of a universal nature upon which we have affixed names. Perhaps if we mix these stories in with history, they become even more compelling. They are of a universal nature, but we say that they are historical, they actually did occur. Then we use archetypal symbolism - again, the universal nature.

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Random Timeless Ideas

Timeless Ideas by Topic

Saturday

Movies are a Higher Art Form than Books

Metaphors are Genius

You Have to be Crazy to Write Good Fiction

Your Hero Must be Virtuous

Keep it in the Family

Fiction is More Important than History