Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"Stage Fright" by Wis?awa Szymborska explores the tension between the act of writing and the act of performing, particularly as it relates to the categories of "poets" and "writers." The poem begins with a casual dissection of the distinction between the two, noting that "poets are poetry, writers are prose," implying an essential difference in their forms and perhaps their functions. This sets the stage for a self-reflective journey that delves into the complexities of being a poet, especially one who must read her work aloud.

The poem humorously contrasts the grandiose expectations often associated with the art of poetry against the reality of its making. There's a whimsy in the notion that one should "fly" in, consonant with the "fin-de-siecle flourish" of poetry's "giant P framed in a winged lyre's strings," against the actuality of "cut-rate sneakers" and a "clumsy ersatz angel." Here, the poet is wrestling with the mythos surrounding poetry-the perception that it should be ethereal, almost divine, and certainly out of the ordinary. This mythos is compounded by the expectation that the poet's appearance and demeanor should be equally sublime.

Szymborska also raises an intriguing point about the limitations of form. She notes that "prose can hold anything including poetry, but in poetry there's only room for poetry." This echoes the distinction made at the beginning, emphasizing that while prose is capacious, poetry's nature demands a certain purity or exclusivity. And yet, the poem itself is a mix of introspective thought and self-conscious critique, blurring the boundaries between prose-like rumination and poetic form.

The setting for the reading-complete with a little table, candlestick, and the "crimson curtain's purple fringe"-contrasts starkly with the mundane circumstances in which the poem was written, "by light of an ordinary bulb to the typewriter's tap tap tap." This contrast raises questions about authenticity and the transformation that occurs when a poem is moved from the privacy of creation to the public act of performance.

Finally, the poem questions the importance of these categorizations and expectations. Does the type of lighting under which a poem was written or will be read alter its nature? Does the medium-spoken or written-change its essential qualities? Szymborska seems to suggest that these questions, while interesting, are perhaps not essential. What matters is the poem itself, existing in that elusive space between prose and poetry, between the ordinary and the sublime. "And what's the difference," she asks, questioning not just the categorization but the entire act of categorizing. It's a liberating inquiry, unshackling the poem-and by extension, the poet-from the limitations of preconceived notions, leaving us to consider what truly defines poetry and artistry.

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