Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In "Opposite of Ornate and Rhetorical Poetry," Jose Marti dispels the idea that poetry should be ornate or overly rhetorical. Instead, he calls for a more natural, raw verse that mirrors the multifaceted experiences of life. This meta-poetic exploration dissects the essence of what poetry should be-akin to the world in its complexity, its ugliness, its beauty, and its transformative power.

Marti opens with a clear mandate: "Not rhetoric or ornament / But a natural verse." He doesn't advocate for the superficial embellishments that often dominate traditional forms of poetry. Rather, he wants a poetry that can encompass a "torrent" as well as a "dry stone," a "gilded bird" and the "fetid, viscous trace / Of a slug." This is a demand for inclusivity, an insistence that the poetic should capture the full range of experience-from the sublime to the sordid.

The poem transitions to symbolize human life as a flame: intense, dangerous, and ephemeral. Marti describes the flame with "eye-like sockets, arm-like tongues," a fire with human attributes, a life force that "begins in flame and finishes in flight." This dual nature of humanity-both as an elemental force and as a fleeting presence-captures the essence of existence in stark terms.

But life's journey, symbolized by the flame's upward ascent, is not without obstacles. The flame faces resistance from the "dirty / The vile, the cowardly, the defeated," entities that try to "howl and toss him, / Bite at his foot." These could be seen as the societal norms, dogmas, or personal doubts that attempt to quash individuality and aspiration. Yet, the man-or the flame-rises, and with "one beat of his wing he sweeps the world aside / And rises through the burnt atmosphere." The transformation is complete, the journey from flame to flight encapsulating the totality of human experience.

Marti concludes with a resounding definition of what "noble poetry" must be. It should represent "star and lap dog," both the celestial and the terrestrial. It should encapsulate the complexity of existence, the dualities of life and death, beauty and ugliness, courage and cowardice. Just like the "cave with teeth of flame" and the "pine in whose fragrant branches / A nest sings by the moon's light," poetry should be a sanctuary for all of life's contrasts.

In his own way, Marti is providing a manifesto for a new kind of poetic expression-one that honors the complexities of human life without retreating into the artificial beautifications of language. In essence, he argues that the richest ornamentation a poem can have is its fidelity to the multi-textured fabric of life itself. The poem is a clarion call to poets and readers alike to embrace a more holistic, authentic form of poetic expression-one as complex, as challenging, and as beautiful as life itself.

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