Abstract
This article investigates the uniqueness of poetry. Special attention is given to the ars poetica of the poetry of Cas Vos. Other poems are also discussed. The binding force of metaphors in poetry is considered. The essence and expressiveness of poetry are explained through several different poems. The end of the journey of poetry is concluded with a sonnet by Robert Pinsky.
Highlights
PREPARE FOR THE JOURNEYWhat makes poetry so different? So unique? Is it the breath? The landscape? The streaming images? Is it because through poetry, the reader or audience enters heaven through the ear of a raindrop (Heaney 1996:1)? These never-ending questions are like rolling waves.Poiesis means making and, as the ancient Greeks recognised, the poet is first and foremost a maker
The Greeks saw no contradiction in the truth that poetry is somehow or other inspired, and simultaneously an art; a craft requiring a merging of talent, training and many years of practice
The wonder of a metaphor is that it allows people to put together things that they otherwise would not have
Summary
Affiliation: 1Department of Practical Theology, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Postal address: Faculty of Theology, University of Pretoria, Lynnwood Road, Hatfield 0083, Pretoria, South Africa. How to cite this article: Vos, C.J.A., 2009, ‘On poetry – entering heaven through the ear of a raindrop: An ars poetical reading’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 65(1), Art.
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