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POETRY
year measures exactly the fiftyyears since that firstissueof October
I9I2. I cannot thinkofmany thingsthatwould make me happy not to
be in Italy, but thework of planning thiscelebration, for the sake of
both I9I2 and I962, is theperfectwelcome home.
HENRY
"THE PRINCIPLE
RAGO
OF COMPOSITION"
ThePhilosophy
Forourpointofdeparture
here,let'susePoe'sessay,
oj
of thepoem "is
tobelievehim)no pointin thecomposition
inclined
todemon
Andhisessay
toaccdentor intuition".
was designed
referable
workproceeded,
withthe
strate
"thatthe
stepbystep,to itscompletion
of amathematical
precision
andrigidconsequence
problem".
I.A. Richards
has referred
toPoe's explanation
as "an ostentatious
of selected
meansto fullyfore
paradeof allegedly
perfect
adjustment
seen ends". (Cf. "Poetic Process and LiteraryAnalysis", inStyle andLan
guage,
edited
byThomasA. Sebeok.)Further:
"Poe,soeager-inHarry
no
Levin'sphrase-'toconvincetheworldof his self-mastery',
spares
Andheconcludes:
"However'TheRaven'may
clear."
painstomakethis
in facthave been written,we know thatmost poems are not composed
so; theauthor'smanuscripts,where firstdraftsare available, at leastshow
us that."
It'snotunlikely
that
Poe couldat least
havecomeclosertothelogical
lydeductive
he retailsthan
be thecase.
procedures
would ordinarily
no
Afterall,hewas theauthor
ofworkslikeTheCold-Bug.
And there's
a kindof
reasontodenythatsuch"stories
of ratiocination"
do require
planning
notunliketheseries
of logical
bywhich,according
deductions
toPoe,he decideduponthelength
of thepoem,itssubject-matter,
its
contrasts,
itstone,itsrefrain,
etc.,etc.
stories
of thissort,
When planning
"It isonlywith thedlnouement
constantlyinview thatwe can give a plot
airof consequence,
itsindispensable
or causation,
bymakingtheinci
andespecially
of
dents,
thetoneat allpoints,tendto thedevelopment
Authorandreader
herereverse
with
theintention."
things.
Beginning
46
KENNETH
that
would re
out thekindof situation
theauthorfigures
thesolution,
intheother
direction,
But thereader
by
proceeds
quiresucha solution.
andgradually
towards
thesolu
progressing
beginning
withtheproblem
insuchstories,
at
is involved
planning
tion.So a kindof "deductive"
toboth"thebird"and"the
AndPoe himself
(ina letter
referring
least.
bug" in the same breath) spontaneously indicates that The Raven and
inthesamebin.
wereforhimclassifiable
TheGold-Bug
pillartopost,
from
bewritten
handtomouth,from
mightconceivably
wherehe isgoinguntilhe getsthere.
notsureexactly
writer
himself
the
of ratiocination
likeTheGold
thata story
But it'salmostinconceivable
ofaHoudini.
Houdini
Here theartislikethat
thus.
Bugcouldbewritten
from
whichhe shouldescape.
didn'tletthepublicsettheconditions
himtoescape,
wouldpermit
he
having
hituponthedevicethat
Rather,
whichwouldmake
ofconfinement
outtheexactconditions
nextfigured
such a means of escape possible. In brief,fromhis ideaof thed6nouement
his ideas
of thepriorcomplications.
hededuced
my concern
witha possible
similarity
ofmotivesbetween
However,
thepoem of thebird and the storyof thebug does not requireme to be
ourpresent
ofhowhewrotethepoem.As regards
lievePoe'saccount
truth
Poewas telling
theliteral
matter
whether
itdoesn't
speculations,
fromthewholecloth-andthatitwas
was a fabrication
Poe'saccount
or (asHarryLevin'se?fective
below
doneeither
bywayofshowmanship
to supplya formal,
publicdenialof the
seemsto suggest)
thebeltism
For thepresent,
we'll passup
notorious
weaknesses.
author's
personal
the personalmotives thatmay have figured in the rationalizingof his
project
when,havingdecidedthattheidealtopicof hispoemmust
forth
hiscrucialfor
he brought
combine
deathandbeauty,
somehow
the
women is,unquestionably,
of a beautiful
mula: "Thedeath,then,
on
maybeourspeculations
Whatever
world."
mostpoeticaltopicinthe
tendencies
(as
necrophile
thispointwith regardto Poe's poetically
who losthis license
hewereprovedtohavebeenanundertaker
though
neednotdetainushere.Our question
for
morbidreasons)
thequestion
is:What could be said in favorof Poe's procedure in his essay on The
Raven, even if (tomake our case as clear as possible)we flatlyassume that
false?
ofhowhewrotethepoemiscompletely
hisaccount
47
BURKE
POETRY
production.
Oftentheinspection
of such
material
doesgiveusnew in
weremade,of theauthor's
andpersonal
revisions
dreams
dur
quandaries
ingthe
ofhisborrowings
writing,
from
otherauthors
or from
situations
inlifeitself
that
(unrelated
tooccurat thetime
incidents
happened
when
thework was being produced and that the author foundways of trans
forming for the particular purposes of his poem)-even ifwe had a
mountain of such data,we should have but a fractionof the information
neededtochart
the
ifa poemisworth
fully
work'sgenesis.
Forobviously,
the troubleof a second look, thegerm of itsbeginningshad been planted
theeffort.
My pointisnot thatsuchpursuits
shouldbe neglected,
but
simply that theydo not replace the "principle" involved in Poe's essay.
And our problem is to seewhat can be said for thatprinciple.
We comecloser
a secondkindofderivation,
whenwe consider
the
object",theformal
commodity
forwhichyoupayyourgoodmoney.
Regardless
ofwherethepoetstarted,
ofhowmanyrevisions
hemade,of
whathe addedor leftout,etc.,etc.,hereisa self-consistent
symbol
system,a structurewith beginning,middle, and end, a whole with in
And thecritic's
related
ternally
parts.
job istoappreciate
this
production.
The problem
of derivation
hereprimarily
a closestep-by
involves
step analysisof the particular text,with the attempt to show how the
48
KENNETH
BURKE
ingandguiding
theexpectations
andexploiting
of thereader.
as
bookreview)tosuchconcerns
withtheprinciples
ofa literary
species
areembodiedinAristotle's
treatise
onGreektragedy.
But thisreference
to"theprinciples
ofa literary
us to
species"
brings
notes,
whichconcerns
thecruxofthese
thefollowing
paradox:
Onceyou
guideforcritics.
Thereisa third
kindof "derivation",
thus:
thefinished
publicproduct.
Inexamining
it,he seesthat
commodity",
a great
init.That is,regardless
manyprinciples
areimplicit
ofjudgment
of whether the author of thework explicitly asked himselfwhy he
formedthework as he did, thework embodies a seriesof decisionswhich
implyanswers to such questions. For instance,if thework is a playwith
a blood-and-thunderending, implicitin itssheernature there is, firstof
all, a principle thatamounts to saying: "Resolved: That thiskind ofwork
should be a playwith a blood-and-thunderending." Similarly, if theau
in
thoradoptscertain
forleadingto thisending,implicit
procedures
these
areprinciples
thatamounttosaying:
procedures
there
"Resolved:
That such-and-such
insuch-and-such
kindsof characters
kindsof situa
tions
aretheproper
andundergoing
transformations
pro
such-and-such
cedures for a work of thissort." Etc. In brief, insofaras a work isde
veloped in accordancewith theauthor's senseof propriety (insofaras he
constructsit inways that"feel right" tohim), thenno matter how spon
taneousand purely "intuitive" his approach to hismaterialmay be, im
setof "principles".
pliedinallhischoicesthereisa corresponding
How
49
POETRY
neverstatethese
principles.
ciplesbywhichtheyareguided,or thinkthemselves
That is,
guided.
to such"statements
make fragmentary
ofpolicy"as
they'll
approaches
orWordsworth's
inSidney's
aretobe found
grandly
Apologiefor
Poetrie,
or Shelley's
preface
to theLyrical
Ballads,
Defence
But usually
ofPoetry.
their
pronouncements
alongtheselinesaremuch lessthorough-going
or shouldavoidrhyme,
or should
rather
thanstatuesque,
conversational
or shouldavoidinversions,
neverbewithoutrhyme,
etc.).
But forourpresent
purposes,
thepointtobe stressed
is:Whetheror
inthechoicesthey
arenecessarily
guided,suchprinciples
implicit
make.
ofprinciples
can thework
onlyby suchan internal
consistency
Indeed,
possesstheconsistency
anddevelopment
itself
neededtogiveitintegrity
as an artisticform.
Even ifthepoetdoesformulate
suchprinciples,
however,
he doesso
theprinciples
of composition
thathe finds(or
systematically
specifying
thinkshe finds) embodied in the given poem. And insofaras the poet
himself
makessuchpronouncements,
abouteitherhisownwork or
notpoetry
butcriticism.
Andwhether
ornotthepoetwantsto
writing
concern
withsuch
himself
todemand
matters,
he iscertainly
entitled
that
thecriticdo so.He isentitled to demandthatthecriticaim at a conceptual
to translate
architectonic
whichwill somehow
contrive
thepoet'sintui
tionsintotheterms
of their
corresponding
critical
principles.
But insofar
as thecritic
proveshimself
equalto thistask,thewhole
issuecannowbe turned
For "principles"
around.
are"firsts".
As such,
were"therefromtheverystart".
In thesense
they
ofpurelylogical
pri
of composition"
ority,"principles
in a givenliterary
implicit
species
(such as a lyric like The Raven) "were thereeven before"theybecame
embodiedin theparticular
work thatexemplifies
them.
They "were
I say,inthesenseof a purelylogical
there",
in
especially
priority-but,
SO
KENNETH
BURKE
ves
century
(and itstwentieth-century
nineteenth
thehistory-ridden
to interpret
all suchpurely
invitation
hasbeena constant
tiges),there
priority.
of temporal
priority
interms
logical
ofPoe's
forshowing
theessential
rightness
We nowhavethe
material
however
badlyhegotside
ofcomposition,
with"theprinciple"
concern
of poetic
theory
todevelopa truly"principled"
in theeffort
tracked
he found
whatprinciples
asa critic,
He really
didaskhimself,
derivation.
of TheRaven).
inhisactaspoet(author
he found)implicit
(orthought
a theory
principles
(including
theaesthetic
Ineffect,
he thusformulated
whichseemedtohim theconceptual
effects)
of beautyandof lyrical
had implicitly
guidedhiminthewrit
that
of theprinciples
equivalents
ingof thepoem. So far,so good.
interms
of a
suchprocedures
himself
intoexplaining
Thenhe tricked
kindof
series,
aswith thefirst
temporal)
purely"genetic"(narrative,
him
Andhereby
heopened
inthese
notes.
we considered
critical
analysis
self to thedistrustthathis essayhas aroused since theday of itspublica
tion.
approach
ofhispeculiar
that,
because
it'spossible
Asnotedpreviously,
to suchmatters,he did comemuch closer to such away ofworking than
purposes.
mainpoint,forourpresent
notthe
But that's
domostwriters.
The main point is thathe hit upon the ideal formforan "architectonic"
critic to aim at.
by the
ofhow anyworkarose(as tested
Inother
words,regardless
of
thegenetic
process
studying
gossipavailabletouswhennarratively
the
in time),thecriticshouldaim to formulate
thepoem'semergence
in it.Thenhe shouldtestthepower
of composition
implicit
principles
theprocess.
Thus,"prophesy
byreversing
andscopeofhisformulations
how,ifhisformula
byshowing
hewouldproceed
theevent",
ingafter
fromthe
deducible"
thepoemshouldbe "logically
tionsareadequate,
hehasformulated.
principles
in
anysuchtendencies
distrusts
Ironically
enough,thepoetusually
matter.
He should
on this
hisattitude
But thepoetshouldreverse
critics.
an
ofpoetry
byperforming
worthy
provethemselves
thatcritics
demand
equally creative taskof theirown. For if thepoet can prod the criticsto
will helprevealtheessentially
of thissort,thencriticism
performances
of theorigi
theproduction
underlying
nature
of thejudgments
principled
nalworks.
Si
POETRY
Thus,instead
of stopping
with theobviousfaults
inPoe'sessay,let's
recognize
whatanadmirably
soundcritical
procedure
was struggling
for
expression
The changes
instyle
ofpresentation
there.
wouldbe surpris
ingly slight (though theywould amount to thekind of deflectionat the
center thatshows up as quite a deflectionat thecircumference).Essenti
ally, the shiftwould amount to this:
Poe need simplyhave said: "Implicit inmy composition there are
certain
towritethiscomposi
principles.
ofhow I happened
Regardless
tion, itnecessarilyembodies theseprinciples.As a critic,I have sought to
formulate the principles.Then (just as people check multiplication by
I'llcheck
or addition
division,
by subtraction)
my critical
formulations
by reversing
and instead
ofderiving
things;
thecritical
principles
from
the examination of thework, I'll tryderiving thework from theprin
ciples."
52
KENNETH
gardlessof what he may have been as citizen and taxpayer). Such con
siderationswould also involve the belowthebeltism to which we re
inconnection
withHarryLevin'sobservation.
ferred
BURKE
relevantpassage in TheMeaning oj
Along theselines,thereis a beautifully
ourWorldofToday,byJ.W.Mackail.Here theauthorpointsup thenature
Virgilfor
of theAeneidby sayingnotwhat thepoem isbutwhat itoughttobe (as thoughthe
Yet he is"putting
poemwere stilltobewritten,inaccordwith hisspecifications).
inan order"forexactlythekindof poem thattheAeneidactuallyis.For instance,
themethod:
mostlyquicklyillustrate
topick a fewdetailsthat
The work must be a nationalpoem.... Itmust establishand vindicate
ofRome with Italy.... Itmust linkup Rome and
thevital interconnection
thenew nationto theGreek civilization.... Itmustbringwell intothefore
betweenRome andCarthage.... It
groundof thepicturethehistoricconflict
fortheromantic
mustcelebratethefeatsofheroes.... Itmust findexpression
spirit,in itstwoprincipalfieldsof loveand adventure.... Itmust exalt the
new regime,etc.
But a stillbetterexample is in
There are twelvesetsof such"specifications".
thesecondparagraphofWordsworth'sPrefaceto thesecondeditionof Lyrical
Ballads:
The principalobject, then,which I proposedtomyselfin thesePoems
and situations
throughout,
as faraswas possible,in a
was to chuse incidents
selectionof languagereallyused bymen, and, at thesame time,to throw
should
wherebyordinarythings
of imagination,
over thema certaincolouring
and above
be presentedto themind in an unusualway; and, furthermore,
by tracingin them,
and situationsinteresting
all, tomake theseincidents
theprimarylawsof our nature:chieflyas
trulythoughnot ostentatiously,
far as regards themanner
inwhich we associate
53
BURKE