Volume 43, Number 8 · May 9, 1996
Worth a Thousand Words?
By Helen Vendler
The Gazer's Spirit: Poems Speaking to Silent Works of Art
by John Hollander
University of Chicago Press, 380 pp., $39.95
On the Laws of the Poetic Art (The A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts, 1992) Bollingen Series XXXV: 41
by Anthony Hecht
Princeton University Press, 204 pp., $24.95
When John Ashbery entitles a poem of his about the Muse 'And Ut Pictura Poesis is Her Name,' he is quoting a phrase from Horace that means 'as painting is, so is poetry.' But the reality is not quite so straightforward, and the relations among the arts—visual, musical, linguistic—are both vexing and fascinating. Does all art aspire to the condition of music, as Walter Pater said? Can a bas-relief tell a tale 'more sweetly' than rhyme, as Keats feared? Is it helpful, in discussing a work of art, to use crossover language—the 'rhythm' of a painting, the 'legato' of a poet's line, the 'narrative' of a sonata—or are these metaphorical borrowings merely distractions? Does it make sense to take a term originating in art history, such as 'Baroque,' and apply it to Milton? Such questions continue to preoccupy both artists and critics: artists because they are eager to poach on any fertile territory for their material, and critics not only because they are obliged to find new ways to talk about aesthetic ventures, but also because they have firm, indeed almost religious, convictions about the nature of the art they discuss.
Review, 4592 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |