The argument of this poem by Robert Hass is that words can't always do what images can. Hass offers some rather pleasant descriptions of trees, but is unsatisfied with them. He says this explicitly: "There are limits to saying, in language, what the tree did," as well as implicitly, "And the tree danced. No. The tree capitalized. No." Here, the speaker of the poem is showing his struggles with finding the correct word to match the image he is trying to describe. However, he does not seem to think this is a bad thing. Though he struggles and ultimately fails to adequately describe the tree in question, he proposes that "it is good sometimes for poetry to disenchant us." Hass means that the failure of language to be adequate in description can in itself serve as an illustration, and remind us that not everything can be put into words- whether it's too beautiful or too horrible or simply indescribable.
"Dance with me, dancer. Oh, I will."
In this line, Hass meant to make an aside to the reader- a sort of wink and nudge to "play along." This relationship is usually implied in a poem- the poet makes a description in flowery language, and the reader nods her head and pretends to see exactly in her mind's eye what the poet is describing. Here, instead, Hass addresses his reader, imploring, "work with me here!" He can't describe the trees in quite the way he wants to, so he abandons the middle man of the language and just asks the reader for her understanding, anyway.
Thank you for posting such a thoughtful, intelligent post. Have you ever thought that the tree might be speaking to Hass and the reader. This can have so many possibilities. This would be interesting because it puts a tree in an interesting position to both the reader and Hass. He is more of an encourager, telling Hass and the reader sometimes you just have to feel. Or you can go a completely different direction if you feel something different.
ReplyDeleteYour theory is quite possible as well.