Publication Date
1-1-1972
Abstract
It seems to me as I read much of contemporary poetry that there is in it less and less of any appeal to a sophisticated ear for the nuances of sound. To all intents and purposes the poet apparently assumes that his reader is tone deaf. In fact, to all intents and purposes the poet seems to be tone deaf too. The rhetorical effects involve only the sense of sight; they are imagery in the most restricted sense of the word. (Both in poetry and in life man, of course, has always neglected any development of or appeal to the other three senses. Only very rarely does a poet like John Keats make us smell, taste, and touch, as well as hear and see.)
Recommended Citation
Smith, C. (1972). Lend an Ear to Poetry. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 12 (2). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/reading_horizons/vol12/iss2/2
