🚀 go-pugleaf

George J. Dance wrote:

> On 2022-08-10 7:57 p.m., Michael Pendragon wrote:

>> On Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 7:00:08 PM UTC-4, Zod wrote:
>>>>> On Saturday, July 30, 2022 at 7:05:04 PM UTC, George Dance wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Today's poem on Penny's Poetry Blog:
>>>>>>>>>> A July Day, by Eben E. Rexford
>>>>>>>>>> [...]
>>>>>>>>>> A glory wraps the hills, and seems
>>>>>>>>>> To weave an atmosphere of dreams
>>>>>>>>>> [...]
>>>>>>>>>> https://gdancesbetty.blogspot.com/2022/07/a-july-day-eben-e-rexford.html
>>>>>>>>>>
>>> I found this poem to be quite cogent...
>>
>> FYI:
>>
>> Cogent
>> adjective
>> 1a : appealing forcibly to the mind or reason : convincing cogent evidence
>> b : pertinent, relevant a cogent analysis
>> 2 : having power to compel or constrain cogent forces
>>
>> If these definitions (courtesy of Merriam-Webster) don't sound like they're describing poems, it's because the word "cogent" doesn't apply to poetry.
>>
>> A criminal lawyer's argument can be cogent; a textbook can be cogent; a scientific paper can be cogent; a newspaper article can be cogent; a philosophical argument can be cogent; a political speech can be cogent... but a poem neither can, nor should, be.
>>
>> One does not use poetry to present and analysis or argument.  A poem captures an emotion, a mood, a tone.  Nor does poetry seek to appeal to reason.  Poetry employs symbolism and metaphors which are often difficult to understand and/or open to multiple interpretations.  There are often numerous layers (and meanings) to an individual poem.
>>
>> To call a poem "cogent" is to compare it to "The Federalist Papers" or "Origin of Species."
>>
>> There are only a handful of poems where "cogent" would be even remotely applicable: Lucretius' "On the Nature of Things," for example (although it includes the use of metaphor); but "A July Day," a whimsical idyll, is not one of them.
>>
>> Rexford's poem is easy to follow, and clearly expressed -- but that doesn't make it cogent.  There is no argument or analysis being set forth in "A July Day."  It's a poem, not a term paper, and you do it an unintentional disservice by describing in terms generally reserved for the latter.
>>

> I have to disagree. I definitely see a depth of emotion (something you
> saw a lack of in your review) being communicated, and a thought being
> argued for.

> The emotion being summoned up is serenity (pure happiness in the
> moment), and the correlative thought (because emotion leads to thought)
> is "Life is good."

> The poet argues for that by presenting all those different things that
> are wonderful to experience on a summer day. It's long, and without any
> drama or excitement -- but as you noted, that's meant to capture the
> peacefulness of this lazy summer day. Laziness is peacefulness or
> serenity (as in the song "Up a Lazy River"). Yes, it's dull, but it's
> meant to be dull or non-dramatic -- drama reflects tension and the
> interplay of positives and negatives. Not to dismiss it -- conflict is a
> necessary part of life -- but so are these moments of undiluted bliss.

> "Life is good" is a simple thought, but it's a necessary one to have;
> everyone has moments when they consider ending their own life, and it's
> good to have experiences like this to balance them off against -- to
> remember that killing oneself means losing not only the possibility of
> having more experiences like that, but even the possibility of
> remembering the past ones.

Well put, G.D.