Not to conclude against a wall of stone" (Wilbur 3-4). This comparison evokes the image of a bat attempting to navigate in the dark, but the use of the word wit, also allows the subject to be interpreted as human thought. The essence of the metaphor is that they are both able to guide themselves safely without direction. In the second stanza needs of the bat and the mind are compared: "It has no need to falter or explore;/ Darkly it knows what obstacles are there,/ And so may weave and flitter, dip and soar/ In perfect courses" (Wilbur 5-8). Both having an innate nature of their surroundings. The bat can find obstacles while the mind can identify problems or lack of understanding. In the third stanza, this comparison is shown to be flawed: "Save/ That in the very happiest of intellection/ A graceful error may correct the cave" (Wilbur 10-12). The mind can think and change it's self, while the bat's cave reamins static. Ultimately this poem is interesting because it shows a possible failing of metaphors in simplifying an idea.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
Sound and Sense #5
In the poem "Mind" by Richard Wilbur, the human mind is compared to a bat in a cave through the use of an extended simile which is supported by a series of secondary comparisons. After the initial metaphor of that bat in a cave is introduced, it reads "Contriving by a kind of senseless wit/
Not to conclude against a wall of stone" (Wilbur 3-4). This comparison evokes the image of a bat attempting to navigate in the dark, but the use of the word wit, also allows the subject to be interpreted as human thought. The essence of the metaphor is that they are both able to guide themselves safely without direction. In the second stanza needs of the bat and the mind are compared: "It has no need to falter or explore;/ Darkly it knows what obstacles are there,/ And so may weave and flitter, dip and soar/ In perfect courses" (Wilbur 5-8). Both having an innate nature of their surroundings. The bat can find obstacles while the mind can identify problems or lack of understanding. In the third stanza, this comparison is shown to be flawed: "Save/ That in the very happiest of intellection/ A graceful error may correct the cave" (Wilbur 10-12). The mind can think and change it's self, while the bat's cave reamins static. Ultimately this poem is interesting because it shows a possible failing of metaphors in simplifying an idea.
Not to conclude against a wall of stone" (Wilbur 3-4). This comparison evokes the image of a bat attempting to navigate in the dark, but the use of the word wit, also allows the subject to be interpreted as human thought. The essence of the metaphor is that they are both able to guide themselves safely without direction. In the second stanza needs of the bat and the mind are compared: "It has no need to falter or explore;/ Darkly it knows what obstacles are there,/ And so may weave and flitter, dip and soar/ In perfect courses" (Wilbur 5-8). Both having an innate nature of their surroundings. The bat can find obstacles while the mind can identify problems or lack of understanding. In the third stanza, this comparison is shown to be flawed: "Save/ That in the very happiest of intellection/ A graceful error may correct the cave" (Wilbur 10-12). The mind can think and change it's self, while the bat's cave reamins static. Ultimately this poem is interesting because it shows a possible failing of metaphors in simplifying an idea.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment