Being given the prompt to write about “the function of poetry, of fiction, of nonfiction, and of philosophy and which works for the sympathetic imagination extended to animals”, my mind goes to the explanation of poetics by Aristotle. Aristotle wrote in length about his beliefs on poetry and how to read, regard, and examine the meaning. He also wrote on the expression behind the poetry, and in the words of Dr. Gunn “Human experience is much more complicated and vast than our ability to communicate it! Your daily life experience is more rich and vast than can be captured in a sentence …Writing poetry is a way of expressing and explaining feelings or experiences.” Aristotle wrote at length in Poetics his definition of poetry. I have found a good summary of this definition through Spark notes of Poetics. “He defines poetry as the mimetic, or imitative, use of language, rhythm, and harmony, separately or in combination. Poetry is mimetic in that it creates a representation of objects and events in the world, unlike philosophy, for example, which presents ideas. Humans are naturally drawn to imitation, and so poetry has a strong pull on us. It can also be an excellent learning device, since we can coolly observe imitations of things like dead bodies and…animals when the real thing would disturb us.” (http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/aristotle/section11.rhtml)
I believe poetry to be an outlet of expression. There are ideas that one can create in poetry that would not be conveyed as abstractly as fiction or nonfiction writing. I feel that poetry is the closest way to express the thought process behind a thought or idea. When you are pondering a thought in your mind, do you think in terms of structured sentences? I cannot answer that question for you, but for me my thoughts flow freely or in short spurts that do not contain the full idea that I wish to express to another.
Drawing back to the prompt, I believe that it is possible to express ones sympathetic imagination through all four facets; poetry, fiction, nonfiction and philosophy. On the topic of sympathetic imagination extended to animals, each rhetoric avenue has its strengths and weaknesses. It is the author who decides which avenue is best to describe or express the image and emotion he wishes the reader to gain from the reading. In my opinion, poetry allows the author to separate himself from the subject of the prose, and allows for the reader to develop an individual image from that. When reading Rilke’s poem The Panther, the passage of the animals will stands out. “His supple gait, the smoothness of strong strides that gently turn in ever smaller circles perform a dance of strength, centered deep within a will, stunned, but untamed, indomitable.”(665) I read a quite strength from the animal in the passage. The panther knowing it is en-caged chooses to keep its untamed will, though he shows a drawn out submission through turning in smaller circles. As it is with poetry, you may have developed a different image from this same passage. My point is that poetry entices the reader to form a mental image, thus the poets purpose is fulfilled.
1. Jaguar staring out his cage
Ted Hughes writes about another caged animal in The Jaguar. There is a notable difference in the tone of this poem compared to The Panther. “He spins from the bars, but there’s no cage to him more than to the visionary his cell; His stride is wildernesses of freedom.” (668) The animal in this poem does not slow his stride within his cage. The panther, like the jaguar keeps his untamed mind. The difference being that the panther continues to keep freedom within his vision.
In Elizabeth Costello, the fictional character John Costello asks his mother, “but isn’t poetry just another kind of clever talk; admiring the muscles of the big cats in verse?”(103) I believe that Elizabeth had answered this question earlier in a lecture when discussing Hughes. “It is much like the mixture of shamanism and spirit possession and archetype psychology that he himself espouses. In other words, a primitive experience (being face to face with an animal), a primitivist poem, and a primitivist theory of poetry to justify it.” (98) Though this does not fit directly in with my overall theme, it does show that poetry inspires imagery, and thought upon the subject of the poem.
In the theme of imagery, Kafka captures this within his story of Red Peter. This fictional story brings the reader face to face with the speaker of the story being an Ape. Being a fictional story, the Ape has gained human insight and qualities of speech and character. This character is able to express his feelings of being caged and his thoughts on freedom. “As far as I am concerned, I did not demand freedom either then or today. Incidentally, among human beings people all too often are deceived by freedom. And since freedom is reckoned among the most sublime feelings, the corresponding disappointment is also among the most sublime.” (660)
Images
1.http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/07RF9ad00L5BC/610x.jpg
2. http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch:1&q=panther+cage&sa=N&start=54&ndsp=18
3.http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch:1&q=red+peter&sa=N&start=0&ndsp=18
