The Poet and the Art of Poetry
A translation of the essay Kabi Amasoong Kabya by Khwairakpam Chaoba, from the book of prose Wareng Akhomba, compiled and published by the Manipuri Sahitya Parishad; First edition 1965; Second edition 1973; Price: ₹3.75/- (Lupa ahoom soopna peisa hoomdhramanga!)
This essay reflects on the essence of poetry and the role of the poet in capturing emotions and fleeting impressions. It explores the intricate process of crafting verse, where rhythm and sound merge to evoke resonance and emotion. True poetry, it argues, transcends mere words to touch the soul.
What defines a poet? In moments when we feel hope or joy, we often reach for a pen, driven by an emotional urge to express ourselves. Yet, from a poet’s perspective, the true depth of this expression can often elude us. It is difficult to comprehend how much we can write or how precisely we can capture the intangible feelings and fleeting impressions that swirl within us.
As poets, we focus on crafting the perfect sound and rhythm. We carefully shape our words, adding, subtracting, and adjusting them until they flow effortlessly, pleasing both our own ears and those of our readers. Success lies in our ability to create a harmony that resonates with the reader’s soul.
The ear, undeniably, is the ultimate measure of a poet’s craft—both the quality and originality of the work are judged by its sound and rhythm. A poet sings a melody that delights, not just the mind, but the very soul of the reader. The words dance and weave their way into the hearts of those who read them. However, the first encounter with a new melody is often met with resistance. Just as a song may initially fail to strike a chord with our emotions, poetry, too, requires time to capture our hearts fully.
Poetry, in its purest form, carries an undeniable power. But can it reach the heavens, or is it merely a reflection of the wonder it seeks to convey? True beauty in poetry lies not necessarily in reaching the divine, but in uncovering the potential of what is possible. A scentless flower cannot hold our attention for long, just as a piece of poetry that lacks life and emotion cannot truly captivate. This is why those who understand and appreciate poetry must stand on a figurative pedestal, able to taste the delicacy and complexity of the art form.
A true connoisseur of poetry pays close attention to the smallest details, evaluating the power of carefully chosen words to stir the heart and inspire a new sense of beauty. Words must resonate deeply, igniting a fresh perception of the world. If they fail to do so, the work cannot be considered true poetry. It must possess the ability to generate new melodies within the heart, to capture both beauty and emotion in a way that transforms the mundane into the extraordinary.
The Poet’s Vision
To understand the poet, we must first understand what poetry is. Some may argue that the poet’s role is to make the universe more beautiful—someone who sees beauty in the world and helps others to see it too. Kalidasa, the renowned poet of ancient India, serves as an example of this ideal. But what made Kalidasa different from other poets?
Translator’s note: Kalidasa (flourished 5th century ce, India) was a Sanskrit poet and dramatist, probably the greatest Indian writer of any epoch. The six works identified as genuine are the dramas Abhijnanashakuntala (“The Recognition of Shakuntala”), Vikramorvashi (“Urvashi Won by Valour”), and Malavikagnimitra (“Malavika and Agnimitra”); the epic poems Raghuvamsha (“Dynasty of Raghu”) and Kumarasambhava (“Birth of the War God”); and the lyric Meghaduta (“Cloud Messenger”). Information from Encyclopædia Britannica.
Kalidasa, through his works, did not simply describe beauty; he saw beauty everywhere and conveyed it to us with unmatched clarity and depth. He took the vast beauty of the universe, as created by the divine, and presented it in a way that was both boundless and accessible. His poems allow us to see beauty in all things, from the simplest flower to the grandeur of nature itself.
However, beauty is a subjective experience. Our perception of the world depends heavily on our aspiration, and the universe itself is colourless, a blank canvas onto which we project our own views and emotions. We view the world through lenses shaped by our individual tastes, and this influences our perceptions of beauty and ugliness. While some may see beauty in one thing, others may perceive it differently, highlighting the deeply personal nature of artistic expression.
In this sense, we are all like bees gathering nectar from flowers. We each bring our own predilections and perceptions to the world, shaping it in ways that reflect our internal landscapes. Poets like Kalidasa are the bees who, through their unique perspective, can transform the world into something beautifully vivid. But just as a bee’s actions are subject to the natural world, so too is the poet shaped by his or her own experiences and perceptions. It is through this lens that true beauty emerges, and it is through this lens that poets can show us a world we may never have noticed.
Beauty and Perception
Like Kalidasa, we may observe the world every day, but we often fail to see the beauty that he so effortlessly captured. He could find beauty in the most unexpected places, seeing the intricate patterns in the world around him, even in things others would discard without a second thought. Poets who can see and express such beauty are rare. Kalidasa’s gift was his ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary, showing us the universe in a way that made it appear infinitely more beautiful. His unique perception of beauty allowed him to present a world that was at once timeless and fresh, a world we could only understand through his eyes.
The distinction between Kalidasa and the rest of us lies not in the world itself, but in how he saw and interpreted it. His ability to transform the mundane into something sublime sets him apart. But it is not enough to say that every writer is a poet, nor that every form of writing constitutes poetry. In today’s world, it is easy to find countless imitations and duplicates of poets, just as we might find knock-offs of any other product. However, not all who write are poets. To truly capture the essence of poetry, a writer must possess more than just the desire to write; they must have the intelligence, insight, and natural ability to create something that resonates deeply with others.
Writing may seem simple—after all, anyone can describe a full moon or the beauty of nature. Yet how many writers can truly evoke the emotion and beauty of the moment in a way that stirs the soul? A poet’s task is not simply to describe the world but to capture its deepest truths and convey them with emotional depth and artistic precision. In a sense, writing is easy — the full moon is smiling in the sky; however, it is hard to describe how many hearts would laugh heartily on seeing the beauty of the full moon and the wonder of the nature when these are put together. Waves dance in a river; it is true but how many hearts have the waves of the river dance onto? It does not depend merely on our desire to become a poet and polish the art of poetry. Our desire might guide us, it might encourage us, yet it does not tantamount to intelligence and natural ability.
The Role of the Poet’s Imagination
At the heart of true poetry lies imagination. While everyone can appreciate beauty, the poet’s gift is in seeing the world not just as it is, but as it could be. Kalidasa did not merely observe nature; he immersed himself in it, allowing his imagination to transcend the physical world and create something more profound. For the poet, imagination is not a mere tool but a gateway to a deeper understanding of the universe.
Indeed, when we witness beauty or are drowned in an ocean of beauty—when the sun sets in the striking spring sky; when the mountains slowly swallow the sun in the west; when we see the brownish heaven in the eventide light and the vast verdant paddy fields that are spread far and wide; and when the breeze from the south sweeps across the landscape and drags us across the boundless spheres of inexplicable beauty—often, we feel a stir within us. In these moments, we become poets, expressing in words what cannot always be fully captured by thought alone. Our emotions become the art, and our words carry the melody of our hearts. On such an occasion, each of us, at certain moments, steps into the role of a poet.
It is such a wonder!
However, being a true poet requires more than these intermittent bursts of inspiration. The poet is someone who can consistently see and express beauty, someone who immerses themselves in the world’s smallest details, finding joy and sorrow in every living thing, whether animate or inanimate. The poet lives and breathes the world in all its complexities, capturing its essence in ways that are both unique and universal.
The Poet’s Language and Freedom
Unfortunately, there are no words or languages that are fully developed in this world. If there were adequate words and the great works of the poets thereof, the world would have been a living paradise. This is the age of science and technology; and we are living in a progressive era. However, if there were cameras that can develop the ideas of a poet like it does for an image, this world would have been a peaceful and advanced planet. Most of the time, the joys and sorrows are tangled in a mare’s nest, alas all the beauty becomes the first casualty. This is why we have been what we are, and the world is what it has been.
Still the art of poetry is not bound by the rules of grammar. Our words depend on our thought. People who follow Sanskrit poetry would rebut this idea; yet we feel poets are freer than a hornbill that soars above the clouds. They never confine themselves by the chains of grammar. We would make the rules and restrictions of using the language; however, this might not appeal to the emotion of the readers.
While language is a tool, the poet is not confined to its limitations. True poets do not follow the established conventions of language; rather, they create their own rules. In this sense, the poet is freer than the most majestic hornbills soaring through the sky albeit this might be paradoxical for those who are into Sanskrit poetry. The poet, in fact, frames the very structure of their art, pushing the boundaries of language to express the inexpressible.
Poetry transcends the mechanical use of words; it touches upon the very essence of human experience. While the realist poet may seek to capture the world as it is, the true poet uses imagination to recreate the world in its most elemental form. Through this creative vision, the poet helps us see the world in ways we might never have imagined.
The poet’s role is to present a unique perspective of the world, to filter the raw reality of existence through the lens of imagination, and to create something new and beautiful in the process. While language may limit us, it is through the poet’s artistry that we can glimpse a deeper truth, a world that exists not just in reality but in the imagination, where beauty is not just seen but felt.
Footnote
Howling for a Radical Literary Landscape We are what when nobody is watching. We become more genuine, not when we are alone, but when we see ourselves in literature in our private moments. The works of art offer a space to turn around and sideways to watch and see ourselves. Our actual vanity and arrogance, and the raw reality are absent in the literally, fictitious world. We are a self-conceited animal even when we are alone; we hardly know our own faults. However, a figment of imagination in black and white can uncover the falsities, which hopefully allows us to become more humane. >>> Read the full article
Words: Action and Perception A word is but its meaning. There are words we have to do an action to perceive their meaning, though how we do an action and how perceive the meaning are quite another thing. It is also an entirely different issue with a complex psychoneurological process, plus other lingual and sematic perspectives on how we are/become aware of the meaning. >>> Read the full article
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