Ambiguity

     One of the aspects of poetry that my classmates mentioned that they disliked was its indirectness. Why don't [poets] just say what they mean?" they ask.

    In this blog post, I hope to explain why this viewpoint is utterly inane, nonsensical, and foolish.

    …

    What? I said what I meant. What's the issue here?

    But that's clearly not what's meant by "say what you mean," right? Or is it?

    Think about it. Are people always direct? Do they say exactly what they mean, all the time? Obviously not. Maybe it could be argued that society would be better off if we were all completely honest, but that's besides the point. We have to look beyond just the words in our conversations. We must consider tone, context, relationships, and personality when thinking about what someone is saying. Kind of like analyzing a poem, or literature in general.

    But putting real life aside, losing ambiguity in art would be nothing short of a tragedy. Have you ever felt like a story is constantly hitting you over the head with its morals, like you're too clueless to figure it out yourself? Or that the story is merely being summarized instead of putting you in the moment?

    There's a reason "show, don't tell" is such a common refrain among writers. It's because just telling the reader something creates no emotional impact. Paraphrasing something I read from the internet "If you want me to know, tell. If you want me to feel, show."

    Not to mention that ambiguity also creates room for different interpretations. Two people can read a book and draw completely different conclusions. That wouldn't be possible if the author said exactly what they meant, because there would be no doubt about the correct interpretation. Do you really want art to become like math, where there is (for the most part) only one correct answer?

    There's value in being direct and honest, but that can't be all there is. The idea that poetry, which tries to capture ideas that, by their nature, cannot be easily described, should be direct and honest? Well, that's completely stupid a flawed idea.