17 pages • 34 minutes read
Czesław MiłoszArs Poetica?
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1968A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Background
Literary Context
Miłosz’s literary style and influences can be understood through the lens of his early career. While a student in Poland (in an area that is now Lithuania), Miłosz helped found a brief but influential poetry group known as Żagary. Miłosz cofounded the group with fellow students who would go on to become notable Polish poets: Teodor Bujnicki and Jerzy Zagórski.
While Żagary lasted only a few years, its commitments illuminate some of Miłosz’s central poetic precepts. The poets of Żagary considered themselves “catastrophists.” For these young poets living in the European era between two World Wars, catastrophism meant a commitment to engaging with the cultural and political devastation they witnessed around them. The poets of catastrophism were determined to move away from a direct lineage of influence, declaring themselves independent from other literary movements. Additionally, they were committed to Marxist ideas and engagement with the social chaos with which they were surrounded. The catastrophists did not define themselves by any particular literary device, style, or tone. This formal freedom and social engagement set the tone for Miłosz’s literary career.
Formal Context
By titling his poem “Ars Poetica?”, Miłosz enters into a Western formal tradition extending back to Latin poetry. An ars poetica—a poem which acts as a treatise on the art of poetry—is a modal form. Most poetic forms, such as sonnets, villanelles, and sestinas, define themselves by formal elements like rhyme scheme or meter. In contrast, modal forms define themselves by their subject matter. Odes, elegies, and pastorals are all modal forms. They are defined by their focus on a topic, setting, or dedication to a particular event or person. While not as common, an ars poetica is a mode of poetic investigation into the art poetry itself, a tradition in Western literature.
In 19 BC the Roman poet Horace wrote a long poem entitled “Ars Poetica,” or “The Art of Poetry,” in his native tongue of Latin. The poem, which was read and studied throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance and is part of literary education today, is a long collection of poetic maxims and advice for young poets. Unlike Miłosz’s “Ars Poetica?”, Horace’s poem is less a reflection on the essence of poetic art and more a collection of practical and craft-based advice for young writers. As poets continued to write their own ars poeticas, the form became defined more by its reflection on the nature of poetry than craft-level tips. When Miłosz wrote “Ars Poetica?”, he consciously entered into a long tradition. Other famous poets that wrote their own ars poetica include W.B. Yeats, George Oppen, Paul Verlaine, Wallace Stevens, and more.
