In the last column, we looked at the massive presence of poetry as a literary genre in the Bible, and the fact that the goal of all that poetry is not simply the presentation of theological truth, but is the expression of the inspired author’s experience of that truth as an invitation to the reader to share the writer’s experience and make it the experience of the reader, as well.  We also discussed the fact that, since Truth is a Person, not just a concept, as John 14:6 makes clear, more than just a mental knowledge of Him would be expected, and poetry, by its presentation of Truth as both content and experience, would have its natural goal a total-person engagement with that Truth.

We turn now to a discussion of the linguistic devices, the language, that allows poets to invite readers or hearers into their experience.  The language used in poetry is dense; it requires the reader to engage it and meditate on it, to think about what is being said and, frequently, unravel it as you would riddle.  It is frequently not easy to understand, and, consequently, focuses the reader’s attention on a single image or thought, slowing down speedy movement away from that image or a thought, so that the absorption by the reader of the impact of that image or thought is made much greater by a maximum focus on it.  The very complexity of the image arrests the reader’s attention, forcing him to think of that image in all its facets and nuances before he is able to move on to the next concentrated image in the poetic sequence.  This retards the flow of ideas until all the nuances of what the idea or image means can be comprehended, before the reader can move on slowly to grasp the following image until, at the end of the poem or poetic sequence, the reader can assemble them together to understand the total impact of the poem. The slowed process forces the reader to enter into the poetic presentation himself, to identify with the details of it, and absorb it into his own experience.  This heightened speech process is made even more effective in the frequent employment of parallelism, wherein the same basic image or idea is repeated twice from a slightly different perspective, which forces the reader to consider the same truth from different angles (for the various types of parallelism in Scripture, see Psalm 2:4; 1:5-6; 46:1; 29:1; etc.).

“Very well,” you say, “but what is it that causes the reader to be motivated to concentrate his attention on a poem for the extended period of time necessary to really understand and enter into it?”  Good question.  This is where the true skill of a poet (or lyricist) is tested.  

Poetry requires thinking in images (both to read and write it).  What do I mean by “images”?  I mean words that present a sensory engagement of experience in the imagination of the reader.  Poetry is not abstract; it seeks to deflect the abstract by the expedient of using concrete images from our experience (things like water, trees, grass, sheep, swords, etc.).  The poet strives to use images that are affective (that which is concerned with or arousing feelings or emotions), that evoke vivid sensory experience in the reader, so that, as the reader imagines the images, they draw him into the experience of them through the vivid engagement of the reader’s senses in his own memory of the experience of concrete images (e.g., the reader has smelled grass, touched trees, etc., and thus has capacity to be drawn into and share the experience of the poet).  

The language of poetry is that of images that seek to engage the reader to experience those images as imagined sensory experiences of his own.  Remember that imagination is only the image-making ability that we have as part of the Image of God, the Great Creator of images, within us, as we’ve seen in past articles.  The more visual and sense-oriented we can become, the better we can write, understand, and experience poetry (Biblical or otherwise).

To engage the reader’s attention, the images must be striking and permeable to the reader, e.g., he must be taken by the image and able to enter into it: this is what will compel his attention long enough to focus on deciphering what the series of images that comprise any poem mean.

The functions and method of poetry, which to a greater or lesser degree all artistic expression shares, drive home to us the truth that the message of the Bible, and the experience of Christ’s Reality and Lordship, are to be shared and pursued on every level of human existence, not only the mental, but the physical, emotional, and sensory aspects of our lives as well.  This is a quest that the varied forms of Art are Providentially well-suited to do.  What else would we expect, when the Ultimate Author of Scripture Himself not only created the world of the senses, but assumed into Himself the very experience of mankind in His Incarnation.  But what devices serve to engage and present the striking poetic images necessary to good poetry?  To that question we will, God Willing, next turn.