Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

In Robert Pinsky's "Essay on Psychiatrists: 14. Their Speech, Compared With Wisdom," the poem delves into the language and taxonomy psychiatrists use to describe human conditions, contrasting it with the ineffable qualities of wisdom and poetry. The poem suggests that the specific jargon of psychiatry-"neurotic," "paranoid," "anal"-is both limiting and rich, offering a nuanced look at how language shapes our understanding of human nature and emotion.

The form of the poem, much like the other poems in the series, is free verse. This structure-or lack thereof-mimics the fluidity and complexity of human consciousness that psychiatrists try to categorize. Just as the language of psychiatry has limitations in capturing the essence of human experience, so too does poetic form. Free verse, devoid of a fixed structure, seems fitting for expressing the boundless realms of human emotions, thoughts, and mysteries.

The poem commences by suggesting that terms mellow over time, becoming "arbitrary and rich," much like old sayings. Pinsky juxtaposes the language of psychiatrists, full of clinical terms and labels, with poetic expressions and myths. The speaker notes that the lexicon of psychiatry might also eventually pass into the realm of old sayings, reflecting a certain historical and cultural evolution. Here, Pinsky opens a discussion about how language can be both arbitrary and meaningful, limited and expansive-a dialectic that psychiatrists, like poets, must grapple with in their work.

The poem then transitions into mythological imagery, bringing up "Two blind women and a blind little boy, running," representing the abstract ideas of Justice, Fortune, and Love. This section of the poem stands in sharp contrast to the clinical language mentioned earlier. While psychiatrists have a "science and few terms," these mythical figures are "blind, and blinding, too," a beautiful metaphor for the inexpressible and unpredictable nature of human experience. Even wisdom, says the poem, may lack science and fixed terms-it operates in the realm of the ineffable.

The poem concludes by acknowledging that psychiatrists, like poets, must engage in the "arts / Of knowing and naming," even though both might fall short of capturing the full complexity of human experience. The tireless pursuit of understanding is embodied by the blind figures "in pursuit and flight," serving as a vivid representation of the complexities psychiatrists and poets strive to name but might never fully grasp.

In sum, "Their Speech, Compared With Wisdom" delves into the limitations and possibilities of language in both psychiatry and poetry. While the poem acknowledges the importance of "knowing and naming," it also suggests that there are dimensions of human experience that elude classification. Through its form and thematic content, the poem invites the reader to consider the intricate relationship between language, science, and the ineffable facets of human life.

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