Language is a slippery vehicle being both descriptive and ambiguous. In the poem "The Problem of Describing Trees" by Robert Haas, language is not fully able to describe the magical way in which the trees sway in the wind. He is not able to create an image for the reader by just using words. Language is not able to bewitch us in the same way that the trees did at that exact moment in time. Robert Haas states the idea that there are limits and boundaries to writing. The nature of making meaning is an arduous process filled with complications. Rodney Jones sees writing in a different perspective.
Rodney Jones affirms in his poem "Hubris at Zunzal" that "No image like the image of language." Language gives the writer power to retell an experience and relive that moment using words as your guide. Jones is able to charm his reader with the event he depicts in his poem with "Language its tracer." Words help to compose the past. A moment can be given birth to once more for all to behold. Previous occurrences do not have to become lost and forgotten. They can be retold. Peoples have succeeded in this tradition for generations by passing down stories and extraordinary events through word of mouth and writing. Rodney Jones proves the power of language.
Language propels ideas and thoughts. It is a vehicle through which humans communicate. Without language humans would be stuck in park never moving forward in knowledge. The writing process is a slippery one. If not properly defined, one's thoughts can be meaningless and unclear to another. Robert Haas shows the difficulty of using words when trying to sketch the enchanted moment of the the trees swaying in the wind. Rodney Jones tells us of his story with ease using words. The nature of making meaning will never be easy, but language is the only way in which humans can move together. Language keeps us in the driver's seat with the car in drive.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Language is a slippery vehicle because it can lead you in so many directions. Like you've mentioned, language is our way of communicating with one another. Without it we would only have body language and that could be very difficult to explain everything on your mind. However, sometimes it is still difficult to explain your thoughts using words; Haas has showed us this as well. Thats what makes language so slippery. It has the power, like Jones shows, to explain in detail but it also has the power to confuse us. Sometimes your mind is the only thing that knows exactly what you want to say and words are not enough.
ReplyDeleteIn the poem about describing a tree, I enjoyed the way you explained how he felt about how the tree made him feel. It is described here about how it "bewitched" him and that the words he was trying to choose just couldn't accomplish the same effect. It is as if the tree did something words could never do, which is true when trying to describe something so great and amazing as nature in comparison to man made words. Like krystal said your mind knows what it wants to say- because it was there, and it saw the phenomenon, however words can't do the job.
ReplyDeleteLanguage is a difficult thing to grasp when you want to convey something precisely as you are thinking it. I think it's easier to write down than actually say what you are thinking, hence the name of my blog, but then again; when you want to write something down; it's not the same as you would say it. There is only so much you can write. Language, either written or verbal, is used to convey ideas and that is what I think is most important.
ReplyDeleteI argree that words can have dual meanings. I think language is a very difficult thing to comprehend because the writers can have different meanings in their head than what the reader is understanding.
ReplyDelete