Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

“Statement with Rhymes” is a poem by American poet and painter, Weldon Kees. The poem was published in 1943 as part of his collection, “The Fall of the Magicians”. The poem is a reflection on the relationship between art and life.

Explanation:

The poem is structured as a series of short, rhyming statements, each exploring a different idea. The speaker of the poem is questioning the nature of existence, the role of art in society, and the relationship between the two.

The first stanza of the poem establishes the speaker's position as an artist who is aware of the limitations of his own medium. He states, "I cannot understand the state / Of being art or life, the fate / Of human effort, human skill."

The second stanza suggests that the speaker sees art as an attempt to capture something that is otherwise fleeting: "Art is a way of keeping hold / Of things that can't be grasped or told."

The third stanza returns to the theme of the limitations of art, but this time in a more personal way. The speaker states that he himself is "trapped in art", unable to escape the confines of his own creativity.

The fourth stanza is a brief meditation on the nature of beauty, with the speaker suggesting that beauty can be found even in the darkest moments of life: "Beauty is the one deep gladness / In a world of tortured sadness."

The final stanza of the poem is an acknowledgement of the limitations of language, and the ultimate futility of trying to express the ineffable. The speaker concludes, "My rhymes are flawed; the song is wrong. / The rest is silence, which belongs / To what is gone, to what endures."

Poetic Elements:

• Form: The poem is composed of five short stanzas, each containing three rhyming couplets.
• Rhyme: The poem is written in rhyming couplets, with a simple AABBCC rhyme scheme.
• Imagery: The poem contains several metaphors and images related to art and creativity, such as "trapped in art", "keeping hold / of things that can't be grasped or told", and "beauty is the one deep gladness".

Conclusion:

“Statement with Rhymes” by Weldon Kees is a contemplative poem that reflects on the limitations of art and language. The poem suggests that while art can capture something of the ineffable, it can never fully express it. The poem's rhyming structure and use of imagery create a meditative mood that encourages the reader to reflect on the themes of the poem.

Poem Snippet:

"Art is a way of keeping hold

Of things that can't be grasped or told.

The trapped-in art are those who see

Their own capacities as scenery."

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