In every valley heard,
Floating from tree to tree,
Less beautiful to me,
The music of the radiant bird,
Than artless accents such as thine
Whose echoes never flee!
Ah! how for thy sweet voice I pine:-
For uttered in thy tones benign
(Entrantress!) this rude name of mine
Doth seem a melody!
Edgar Allan Poe
Poe is saying that even the most artful song bird
cannot compare with his ” benign entrantress’s”
casual, “artless accents”, and he longs for her
utterance of “Edgar/Allan”–so “this rude name of
mine” can be turned into a song.
Aha!just one comparision out of trillions
but the power of that metaphor is infinitely
intensified through Poe’s genius in
versification–which according to him,is one-tenth
ethic and nine- tenth mathematics.
The poetic metaphors of Edgar Allan Poe and the
painterly metaphors of Knox Martin drink from the same
fountain–of supreme mathematical relationship–(as
you know, the code words for beauty.)
That fact can ONLY be seen by he/she who is
truly,utterly enlightened.
Once you are on that level,contemplate on my previous
statement–BEAUTY IS ALL ONE.
This lecture is especially designed for my daughter
Izzy before she is completely confused by her
professors–