Robert Hass' argument is that there are limits in what words can show. Sometimes visuals are more effective than words. Words are abstract things, intangible. In fact, when we says a word like "tree," we are speaking of a representation of a tree. Unless you see the tree right in front of you, you will imagine it. Words are representative of a real object, and therefore are limited in how they can affect someone and what they can do.
A very interesting portion of the poem happens when Hass writes "dance with me, dancer. Oh I will." He introduces this by saying that "it is good sometimes for poetry to disenchant us," and that is exactly what happens. He specifically disenchants the reader to prove a rhetorical point.
Thank you for this intriguing and intellectual post. Based on your first paragraph, I was wondering if you were trying to establish how we need to use images to better describe an object, since words intangible. Do you think that he disenchants our ability to prove a rhetorical point, or do you think Hass makes the poem more thought-provoking?
ReplyDelete