Fiesta Fan Forums

Fiesta Fan Forums (http://www.fiestafan.com/forums/index.php)
-   The Literature Corner (http://www.fiestafan.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=54)
-   -   What are the ways to make your poems spread to the audience? (http://www.fiestafan.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13878)

christensenoum 10-06-2008 11:37 AM

What are the ways to make your poems spread to the audience?
 
Hi and my regards to everyone, poem is a way to express yourself and the surroundings that influence you in many ways. There have been poets that have touched either of us and on which I believe that we get inspired to write poetry. One of my favorites is Sir William Wordsworth of whose Daffodils was a great work. I have too some of written poems which I believe will be a pleasure to hear. What are the different ways that one can use to spread their works to the audience?

hongsem 10-07-2008 05:36 AM

Re:
 
That was indeed a nice poem by Williams and would recommend everyone to have a look at that if they are unknown to it. My cousin has a poetic side too other than his student routine and recently he had mentioned about poetry visualized where the members review the poems posted by other members, either in text or audio and give a touch of their own in terms of graphics, video, paintings and lots of other creative things that suits the poem. It is a splendid way to see your work in a visualized manner as there is belief that people remember the visual scenes more than the audio ones and I believe that this will make your poem more noticed.

Belaslav 10-07-2008 05:50 AM

BOOOOOOOOOTS!!!

*lobs a frag and fires rifle rapidly*

Hraesvelg 10-07-2008 06:22 AM

They're...evolving.

Ralath 10-07-2008 08:33 AM

:zomg:

I KNOW RIGHT?

These bots are like... talking to each other..... :sigh:

Instead of just spamming a post with a whole bunch of links... they talk to each to seem more legit...

GG spammers.

Hraesvelg 10-07-2008 08:38 AM

Their grammar is absolutely atrocious...which makes them seem like real posters. Really quite a marvel of adaptation and camouflage. I also think its amusing that the second "poster" said "Williams" instead of "Wordsworth." I do like the poem referenced, though. One of the few that I have memorized. Great imagery.

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Vasu 10-07-2008 09:05 AM

I'm not a fan of poetry myself. Seems a bit roundabout way to express yourself if you ask me. But :zomg: at these new bots.

@Bela: I read your post as "Boots" and didn't really get it. Oh well.

Hraesvelg 10-07-2008 01:50 PM

The descriptiveness of poetry is kinda the point of the mode of expression. The most direct way to relay the above poem is "Flowers are pretty." We could chant in monotone, but jazz is a much more exciting, descriptive way to use the medium.

Vasu 10-07-2008 02:04 PM

It's poetry and modern art that get me down actually, because most poems and paintings are judged by the poet/artist rather than by the poem/painting. For example, if it wasn't Wordsworth and say, me who posted that poem saying it was my creation, would it be appreciated as much as it is now?

Ralath 10-07-2008 03:34 PM

All writers and artists had to start from obscurity at one point.

Belaslav 10-07-2008 03:35 PM

I meant "Bots".

Vasu 10-07-2008 04:06 PM

@ Bela, yeah I know that. It's just that I first read it as Boots.

@Ralath Yes, they do. But the thing is, they just need to have one burst of genius to be acknowledged as a great poet/painter/whatever and then after that, it's enough if they just submit a work, because that is automatically treated as "so and so's work". Take the Mona Lisa for example. It's a nice painting. But it's painted by Leonardo Da Vinci! It's got to be a great painting! That's the general attitude that runs about. It's not "Oh look he got the details of the face just right" or "He structured the face and the background well". It's just "Leonardo Da Vinci painted it, so it has to be great. Shakespeare wrote it so it's got to be awesome." My point is, if you gave a five year old a paintbox and a canvas, and if he drew his squiggles on it, and you managed to pass it off as a Picasso or a Van Gogh, people would pay millions for it.

Hraesvelg 10-07-2008 04:27 PM

I think enjoyment of art is more of a subjective matter. If you enjoy the squiggles, then by all means...enjoy the squiggles. What does it matter if someone else shares your view of said fine art?

Vasu 10-07-2008 04:35 PM

It's alright if they like the squiggles. But they judge the squiggles, not by the way the squiggles are drawn, but by who has drawn it. If the aforementioned 5 year old goes to a connoisseur and shows him the painting, he'll be like "Aww that's cute son, here take this buck and buy yourself some sweets." But if Vincent Van Gogh showed him the squiggles he'll be like "The diverse imagination used in the creation of this masterpiece shows a mature understanding of...blah blah blah". That's why I detest abstract and sometimes normal art.

Hraesvelg 10-07-2008 05:38 PM

What I'm saying is...eschew the nebulous "they" you refer to. Form your own opinions and their feelings be damned. If you're lamenting the lack of commercial success, there are very, very few artists that find it in their lifetime. And those that do, like Thomas Kinkade, are oft times complete hacks. Create art not for the sake of fame and success, but because it calls out to you "I must be made."

Ralath 10-07-2008 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239284)
@Ralath Yes, they do. But the thing is, they just need to have one burst of genius to be acknowledged as a great poet/painter/whatever and then after that, it's enough if they just submit a work, because that is automatically treated as "so and so's work".

I don't think that's true. If it were true, we wouldn't have a term such as "one-hit wonder" which basically describes someone who has only produced one work of great value. And I think the phenomenon you're describing is part of the general masses that take things at face value. But even then, I think there are more discerning eyes out there. I mean, that's why there is criticism. If everything that was "so and so's work" was good, then the critic would have no job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239295)
It's alright if they like the squiggles. But they judge the squiggles, not by the way the squiggles are drawn, but by who has drawn it. If the aforementioned 5 year old goes to a connoisseur and shows him the painting, he'll be like "Aww that's cute son, here take this buck and buy yourself some sweets." But if Vincent Van Gogh showed him the squiggles he'll be like "The diverse imagination used in the creation of this masterpiece shows a mature understanding of...blah blah blah". That's why I detest abstract and sometimes normal art.

But people don't look at art of any sort just for the art alone. They look at the story behind the art and the context of the art itself. Otherwise, it'd just be a competition to see who could draw the most realistically. Usually, the most famous paintings are those with interesting context and complex themes and people like being challenged with these things.

Vasu 10-08-2008 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hraesvelg (Post 239301)
What I'm saying is...eschew the nebulous "they" you refer to. Form your own opinions and their feelings be damned. If you're lamenting the lack of commercial success, there are very, very few artists that find it in their lifetime. And those that do, like Thomas Kinkade, are oft times complete hacks. Create art not for the sake of fame and success, but because it calls out to you "I must be made."

That kinda makes sense, except I've never really felt like it. If I'm sad, I'll say, "I'm sad." I won't say, "I weep like the springs of the evergreen glade" or something like that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralath (Post 239367)
I don't think that's true. If it were true, we wouldn't have a term such as "one-hit wonder" which basically describes someone who has only produced one work of great value. And I think the phenomenon you're describing is part of the general masses that take things at face value. But even then, I think there are more discerning eyes out there. I mean, that's why there is criticism. If everything that was "so and so's work" was good, then the critic would have no job.

The critic would have a job because he's gushing out with pleasure at the work of art.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralath (Post 239367)
But people don't look at art of any sort just for the art alone. They look at the story behind the art and the context of the art itself. Otherwise, it'd just be a competition to see who could draw the most realistically. Usually, the most famous paintings are those with interesting context and complex themes and people like being challenged with these things.

When I run in a 100m dash, the winner is judged by who came first i.e who ran fastest. It's not judged by the fact that 1 of the sprinters lost a relative that morning and is therefore under emotional duress or by the fact that another of the sprinters ran more "elegantly". Similarly, art should also be judged by art alone.

Hraesvelg 10-08-2008 02:15 AM

A race, as in your example, is an objective measurement. Art is a subjective measurement. Some people try to quantify it, but art is a very intangible thing. I rarely express myself in poetry, but I enjoy reading poetic passages. It helps to expand the imagination and pushes the boundaries of how language is used. Certain poetic devices can create amazingly vivid imagery and can stir great emotion.

Vasu 10-08-2008 02:31 AM

I'm just pointing out that I've never really felt this surge of emotion...except maybe in a few songs.

Hraesvelg 10-08-2008 02:35 AM

Just out of curiosity...how have you been exposed to poetry? Mostly in written form or listening to it being read? I've found listening to poetry with the proper metre is really essential to an appreciation for the art form.

Ralath 10-08-2008 03:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239483)
The critic would have a job because he's gushing out with pleasure at the work of art.

That's not a critic. That's a fan.

crit·ic
–noun
1. a person who judges, evaluates, or criticizes
2. One who forms and expresses judgments of the merits, faults, value, or truth of a matter.

Quote:

When I run in a 100m dash, the winner is judged by who came first i.e who ran fastest. It's not judged by the fact that 1 of the sprinters lost a relative that morning and is therefore under emotional duress or by the fact that another of the sprinters ran more "elegantly". Similarly, art should also be judged by art alone.
What Hrae said.

But also, art isn't measured by how many lines a poem has. Or how many brush strokes it took to create the art.

And as for your sports analogy, I think if you look at the Olympics and news coverage, stories are interesting because of the context and themes. Remember Derek Redmond?


His story is interesting and remember not because he finished first, but because of the context that he finished in.

Similarly, Kerri Strug.

Vasu 10-08-2008 04:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralath (Post 239531)
That's not a critic. That's a fan.

crit·ic
–noun
1. a person who judges, evaluates, or criticizes
2. One who forms and expresses judgments of the merits, faults, value, or truth of a matter.

I point out those bold words because they include appreciating a matter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralath (Post 239531)
What Hrae said.

But also, art isn't measured by how many lines a poem has. Or how many brush strokes it took to create the art.

And as for your sports analogy, I think if you look at the Olympics and news coverage, stories are interesting because of the context and themes. Remember Derek Redmond?

Derek Redmond

His story is interesting and remember not because he finished first, but because of the context that he finished in.

Similarly, Kerri Strug.

Stories are interesting and sportspersons are remembered, but that doesn't put the trophy in their cabinet. It's the guy who ran fastest who wins it in the end. Similarly, the painter who paints best should be decided objectively by some benchmark.

Hraesvelg 10-08-2008 04:28 AM

Trying to objectify art totally misses the point of art. There are no "winners" and "losers" in art...art exists for the sake of art. It uplifts the human spirit, if only in the one who creates it.

Vasu 10-08-2008 04:44 AM

Then why bother with public displays of art?

Hraesvelg 10-08-2008 05:05 AM

I didn't say that it only uplifed the spirit of the creator. Public displays allow others to share in the expression of creativity.

Vasu 10-08-2008 05:11 AM

I can't argue with you on that point. I guess I'm just not the art type, because i never really feel great when I see such displays.

Ralath 10-08-2008 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239551)
I point out those bold words because they include appreciating a matter.

But you can't just bold those words and say that's what a critic does. That's unfair. You can't be selective and only choose the words that suit your purposes. Yes, a critic does find the merit in art. But that is only a part of their job. That's like saying what a principal does is bad because all he does is discipline students.

..hrm... Hegel abstraction. :cutielove:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239562)
Then why bother with public displays of art?

Just because there is a public display doesn't mean there is necessarily a "winner" and a "loser." Speeches--public displays of speech. But comparing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech with Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"--which is the winner and which is the loser? Or documents? Which is the winner--the Declaration of Independence or the Magna Carta?

Vasu 10-08-2008 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralath (Post 239583)
But you can't just bold those words and say that's what a critic does. That's unfair. You can't be selective and only choose the words that suit your purposes. Yes, a critic does find the merit in art. But that is only a part of their job. That's like saying what a principal does is bad because all he does is discipline students.

..hrm... Hegel abstraction. :cutielove:

Yes, but what I feel is that a majority of the critics will be gushing out in pleasure because of the social standing of the artist in question. they'll be pretty much "flamed" in a manner of speaking, if they differ. At the very least, they aren't taken seriously.


Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralath (Post 239583)
Just because there is a public display doesn't mean there is necessarily a "winner" and a "loser." Speeches--public displays of speech. But comparing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech with Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address"--which is the winner and which is the loser? Or documents? Which is the winner--the Declaration of Independence or the Magna Carta?

You really want to know my answer on this one? I think the speech that instigated a greater percentage of people towards the cause it was supporting was the better speech. I don't know which one it was in this case.

Ralath 10-08-2008 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239611)
Yes, but what I feel is that a majority of the critics will be gushing out in pleasure because of the social standing of the artist in question. they'll be pretty much "flamed" in a manner of speaking, if they differ. At the very least, they aren't taken seriously.

Critics usually don't care about the "social standing" of the artist. Or they shouldn't, at any rate.

And they wouldn't get flamed, they would just have people who strongly disagree with them.

Quote:

You really want to know my answer on this one? I think the speech that instigated a greater percentage of people towards the cause it was supporting was the better speech. I don't know which one it was in this case.
But that's not measurable. And even if it were measurable, it wouldn't stand the test of time because you can't measure how many people were swayed by the Gettysburg Address today.

And you definitely can't measure documents that way.

Vasu 10-08-2008 06:11 AM

Then I'd go with whichever cause seemed more worthy of appreciation.

And documents aren't art. They're simple statements of facts. You can't ask - Which facts are truer?

Hraesvelg 10-08-2008 06:36 AM

If you can't read the US Declaration of Independence and see that it is also a work of art, then I'm sorry for you. You have this almost obsessive desire to quantify and label subjective experiences. Which is "better"? (Note, I'm not asking which you prefer. I'm asking which is, objectively, as you want to label everything, better). A sunrise or a sunset? A daisy or an orchid? Michelangelo's Pieta or Jackson Pollock's One: Number 31, 1950? How can one even begin to quantify such things? It is impossible and misses the point completely.

Even you say "Then I'd go with whichever cause seemed more worthy of appreciation." This raises the question...seems to whom? To you? To me? To Ralath? It is an unquantifiable term, "seems."

Ralath 10-08-2008 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239654)
Then I'd go with whichever cause seemed more worthy of appreciation.

Aha. You would say the better one is "more worthy of appreciation." That's a vague term if I ever heard one. How do you measure which is more worthy of appreciation? I would say you would have to measure it subjectively. I think that's a definition of art--subjectively measuring the worth of appreciation.


Quote:

And documents aren't art. They're simple statements of facts. You can't ask - Which facts are truer?
I would definitely say the Declaration of Independence is art. It's not just a simple statement of fact. It's pretty subjective in itself. Other documents might be a little drier and might lay down law, but... law might be an art form as well.

But that's not really relevant.


On a different tact, I would say visual art is just an amalgamation of facts, viewed subjectively.

Vasu 10-08-2008 06:58 AM

It is partly because they are not quantifiable that I do not like them. I suppose it is impossible to objectively name any single work of art as "better" or "best", as the vagaries of individual opinions always play a role, as you say, it misses the point. But what then, is the point? How does expressing yourself in poetry or prose uplift your spirit? How does drawing a picture of a human body circumscribed by a circle provide you with great ecstasy? How does it matter whether what you said is direct or described with a great variety of metaphors, allusions or anything? If it was a contest of literary expertise, it would seem alright (Is this spelling right? For some reason my spellcheck is underlining "alright"). But it's not. It's rather a means of "enriching humanity", "uplifting the soul" and other such vague terms.

You deliver a speech. Why? Because you feel strongly about an issue, and wish to let others know that and also to let them know why you feel strongly about the issue. It was not done with an intention of personal pleasure.

And you're right. I don't like the Declaration of Independence, but that's because of the frequent references it makes to "the Creator" or "God", which are not definable objectively, but that's a different matter.


EDIT: (Ralath posted before I could finish)

I intend to say more worthy of impression to me. Not to others, as I cannot speak for others. Therefore it is subjective, but only to me. And the moment it is subjective to only a single person, it ceases to be subjective.


Law is meant to be objective. The moment it becomes subjective and open to interpretation, you get loopholes, "ways-out" and other such things.

Hraesvelg 10-08-2008 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239724)
I intend to say more worthy of impression to me. Not to others, as I cannot speak for others. Therefore it is subjective, but only to me. And the moment it is subjective to only a single person, it ceases to be subjective.

That is the very definition of subjectivity. I don't understand what point you're trying to make there.

Have you never read a poem, heard a song, or even watched a movie and felt your emotions soar? Felt the creators joy or sorrow? Been stirred to strive for something better for yourself or others? Do you derive no benefit from any artistic endeavor? I genuinely hope this is not the case.

Vasu 10-08-2008 07:31 AM

I'm saying that a simple text of prose can my make my emotions soar as well as any poem.

Leesa 10-08-2008 10:23 AM

Heres a poem:

I like stupid things
omg look! waffle kings!

I see dead things
ah!! each one of them sings!

I've never liked mustard
its color is a retard!!

Goodbye and Farewell
I will go hide back in my shell.

Yay me XD

Ralath 10-08-2008 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 239724)
How does expressing yourself in poetry or prose uplift your spirit? How does drawing a picture of a human body circumscribed by a circle provide you with great ecstasy? How does it matter whether what you said is direct or described with a great variety of metaphors, allusions or anything?

Here's the difference:
  • I am sad.
  • My sadness is as deep as an ocean.

Because you like to quantify so much, I think that's as quantifiable as it's going to get. There is an inherent difference in direct speech and the world of metaphor and lyrical language. How do people understand emotion better if all you say is, "I am sad." or "I am very sad." I can't tell you what the exact differences are between the two above quotes because they aren't quantifiable. But there is an inherently different, and deeper meaning in the second one.

I think the part of the problem lies in the examples you give. You ask how a da Vinci's Vitruvian Man is supposed to get great ecstasy.

Well.

It doesn't.

Vitriuvian Man isn't famous because it conjures some amazing emotion in people. Rather, it was a study in human proportions.

However, I think if you look at other paintings, then there is (hopefully) something within them that causes emotion within you.

Can I suggest Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son? The painting is a LOT
more revolting than me just saying, "Saturn devouring his son."

Quote:

And you're right. I don't like the Declaration of Independence, but that's because of the frequent references it makes to "the Creator" or "God", which are not definable objectively, but that's a different matter.
I think it's irrelevant whether you like the DoI or not. Disliking something doesn't mean it doesn't qualify as art. Or not "worthy of appreciation."

Quote:

Law is meant to be objective. The moment it becomes subjective and open to interpretation, you get loopholes, "ways-out" and other such things.
I would agree that law is meant to be objective. But I would also say that it is always subjective. A lawyer's entire job is to argue about what a law "means." That's why there's a Supreme Court in the United States that tells people what the law means.

The language of the law is interpreted subjectively because it is not precise enough to be objective (and that's an inherent flaw that isn't so easy to change). For instance:

A law states that people cannot build 2-story houses anymore.

That seems like a fairly straightforward law. But does that mean that people can't build 3-story houses anymore because to build a 3-story house, you have to build a 2-story house first? What about 1-story houses that are as tall or taller than 2-story houses? What about 1-story houses with an attic? Do attics count as a story? What about one-and-a-half level houses?

So a law that appears to be objective, is challenged in court and it's in court where it's decided according to how the judge interprets the law (subjectivity).

Vasu 10-09-2008 04:23 AM

Quote:

Can I suggest Goya's Saturn Devouring His Son? The painting is a LOT
more revolting than me just saying, "Saturn devouring his son."
Ah Ralath, I was comparing prose and poetry because both are written using text. A picture cannot be satisfactorily explained using words. However, if you started to describe "Saturn ripping his son's head off and causing blood to stream down to the floor", you would just about begin to describe the picture (And it doesn't matter if you said the blood was streaming down like a thousand rivers. It doesn't change things. Say it that way if you like it).

Quote:

Here's the difference:
I am sad.
My sadness is as deep as an ocean.

Because you like to quantify so much, I think that's as quantifiable as it's going to get. There is an inherent difference in direct speech and the world of metaphor and lyrical language. How do people understand emotion better if all you say is, "I am sad." or "I am very sad." I can't tell you what the exact differences are between the two above quotes because they aren't quantifiable. But there is an inherently different, and deeper meaning in the second one.
Now, I think "I am sad" says about the same thing as "My sadness is as deep as the ocean". Only thing is that the latter shows that you have verbal/literary skills. It doesn't cause the meaning of the sentence to change in any way. If the meaning is inherently different and deep, it should surely be noticeable, if not quantifiable.

Quote:

I think it's irrelevant whether you like the DoI or not. Disliking something doesn't mean it doesn't qualify as art. Or not "worthy of appreciation."
No, I was just explaining to Hraevelg why I disliked it. No, that doesn't discount it as a work of art. I just find it unfortunate, that something that needs to be as precise and doubtless as law, is written in such a roundabout fashion.

Quote:

I would agree that law is meant to be objective. But I would also say that it is always subjective. A lawyer's entire job is to argue about what a law "means." That's why there's a Supreme Court in the United States that tells people what the law means.

The language of the law is interpreted subjectively because it is not precise enough to be objective (and that's an inherent flaw that isn't so easy to change).
The reason that a lawyer's job changed from proving that someone was guilty/innocent according to law to arguing what the law meant was because law was written so subjectively. Law should mean the same thing to everyone. Only then can justice be delivered.

There is no "inherent" flaw in law. That's like saying "This guy is a human. But he has this inherent flaw which makes him not a human but something else." Similarly, lack of objectivity cannot be an "inherent" flaw of law, because law itself is a set of objective, legally enforceable rules.

Law
–noun
1. the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.

Quote:

A law states that people cannot build 2-story houses anymore.

That seems like a fairly straightforward law. But does that mean that people can't build 3-story houses anymore because to build a 3-story house, you have to build a 2-story house first? What about 1-story houses that are as tall or taller than 2-story houses? What about 1-story houses with an attic? Do attics count as a story? What about one-and-a-half level houses?
Obviously here the law is insufficient to explain the questions you posed. The next logical step to me would be to discuss and decide on a law to help explain these things. But instead, you are trying to bend the law to suit your means i.e arguing with what intention the law was written. The thing about law is, it should be unbendable. What shoulod be done here is further laws introduced such as "Nobody is permitted to build houses greater than 2 storeys, and the aforementioned house should not be taller than 20 feet (or whatever). Extensions to the house will not be treated as storeys." Let me give you an example.

"Nobody is allowed to murder others."

A direct statement? No. It does not cover instigating someone to suicide directly or indirectly. So we extend the law to cover all such scenarios. We do not sit in court and try to figure out what the "intention" of the writer was. The thing about writing law is, whatever the writer has intended, should come out onto that paper. That is true objectivity.

Ralath 10-09-2008 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vasu (Post 240076)
Ah Ralath, I was comparing prose and poetry because both are written using text. A picture cannot be satisfactorily explained using words. However, if you started to describe "Saturn ripping his son's head off and causing blood to stream down to the floor", you would just about begin to describe the picture.

Begin being the keyword. BEGIN to describe the picture. But there's no way that can communicate the same thing as the picture itself. I am not revolted by those words the same way I am revolted by the picture.

Quote:

Now, I think "I am sad" says about the same thing as "My sadness is as deep as the ocean". Only thing is that the latter shows that you have verbal/literary skills. It doesn't cause the meaning of the sentence to change in any way. If the meaning is inherently different and deep, it should surely be noticeable, if not quantifiable.
But the meaning IS inherently different and deep. People experience different levels of happiness and sadness. But they most definitely do not quantify it. People don't go around say, "Oh, I'm twice as happy as I was yesterday." Or, "I'm sad plus two about the death of my dog as I was sad about the death of my cat." I mean, what the heck does that even mean?

The reason we have analogies and metaphors and figurative language (and prose and poetry) is because these things can communicate to use better and in a way that direct phrasing cannot. Heck, I bet if you looked through your own writing, I bet you would find a ton of instances where you use metaphor or simile where you could have been direct. Why didn't you? Because the metaphor and simile communicated something better.

Not everything of worth is quantifiable.

Quote:

The reason that a lawyer's job changed from proving that someone was guilty/innocent according to law to arguing what the law meant was because law was written so subjectively. Law should mean the same thing to everyone.
No one means to write law subjectively. No one goes to write a law and says, "I want this law to mean different things to different people so we can have lots of court battle over the meaning."

Quote:

There is no "inherent" flaw in law. That's like saying "This guy is a human. But he has this inherent flaw which makes him not a human but something else." Similarly, lack of objectivity cannot be an "inherent" flaw of law, because law itself is a set of objective, legally enforceable rules.
Terrible, terrible analogy. You don't specify what you mean by inherent flaw. If a "human" was flawed enough (say he was made out of a different material--metal and wiring), then that most definitely does not make him human.

And you are arguing in circles. You are basically stating:

"Law is objective because law cannot lack objectivity."

Circular argument. Not credible.

I'm not sure what you definition of law proves either since it doesn't mention anything about objectivity/subjectivity. But I do think there is an interesting part of the definition:

Quote:

Law
–noun
1. the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.
If law was truly objective, they wouldn't need to be enforced by a judicial decision

Once it is someone's decision, it is definitely not objective.

Quote:

But instead, you are trying to bend the law to suit your means i.e arguing with what intention the law was written. The thing about law is, it should be unbendable. What should be done here is further laws introduced such as "Nobody is permitted to build houses greater than 2 storeys, and the aforementioned house should not be taller than 20 feet (or whatever). Extensions to the house will not be treated as storeys."
I am not arguing about what the law should be or how the law should be interpreted. I'm talking about how the law is and how the law is interpreted.

Even in your modified law, we can splice it further. What is a house? Does someone have to be living in it to be considered a house? Is a trailer considered a house? What are extensions? What about basements? Do they count into the height of the house? Do they count as one of two stories?

Quote:

A direct statement? No. It does not cover instigating someone to suicide directly or indirectly. So we extend the law to cover all such scenarios. We do not sit in court and try to figure out what the "intention" of the writer was. The thing about writing law is, whatever the writer has intended, should come out onto that paper. That is true objectivity.
Wait. HOLD UP!

"whatever the writer has intended, should come out onto that paper."

Let's analyze this statement.

Whatever the writer has intended????? Really?? A writer's intent is objective now???

You even contradict yourself with this argument.

First you say that we shouldn't figure out what the intention of the writer was. And then you say that we should follow the intention of the writer.

:sigh: Really? Really?!

And that doesn't even count the fact that there is no possible way to write a law "that covers all scenarios." Believe it or not, the world is not made up of black or white.

Vasu 10-09-2008 05:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralath (Post 240088)
Begin being the keyword. BEGIN to describe the picture. But there's no way that can communicate the same thing as the picture itself. I am not revolted by those words the same way I am revolted by the picture.

Like I said, words cannot satisfactorily describe a picture. But simple direct words can definitely explain satisfactorily anything that was ever written in a poem.

[quote}But the meaning IS inherently different and deep. People experience different levels of happiness and sadness. But they most definitely do not quantify it. People don't go around say, "Oh, I'm twice as happy as I was yesterday." Or, "I'm sad plus two about the death of my dog as I was sad about the death of my cat." I mean, what the heck does that even mean?[/quote]


Oh so do they say, "my sadness was as deep as the ocean yesterday, and it's a bit deeper now." Even what you did was quantification of the emotion, even if it was rather vaguely quantified. If the meaning IS inherebtly different as you put it, then WHAT is the difference?


Quote:

The reason we have analogies and metaphors and figurative language (and prose and poetry) is because these things can communicate to use better and in a way that direct phrasing cannot. Heck, I bet if you looked through your own writing, I bet you would find a ton of instances where you use metaphor or simile where you could have been direct. Why didn't you? Because the metaphor and simile communicated something better.
Yes they conveyed something more effectively to the reader than a direct statement. But they certainly didn't uplift anyone's spirit.

Quote:

No one means to write law subjectively. No one goes to write a law and says, "I want this law to mean different things to different people so we can have lots of court battle over the meaning."
So they mean to do something and end up doing something else? I'd call that inefficiency.

Quote:

Terrible, terrible analogy. You don't specify what you mean by inherent flaw. If a "human" was flawed enough (say he was made out of a different material--metal and wiring), then that most definitely does not make him human.
Yes that does not make him human. There fore you cannot state "This guy is human but he's flawed enough to not be a human." That's a contradiction.

Quote:

And you are arguing in circles. You are basically stating:

"Law is objective because law cannot lack objectivity."

Circular argument. Not credible.

I'm not sure what you definition of law proves either since it doesn't mention anything about objectivity/subjectivity. But I do think there is an interesting part of the definition:

Quote:

Law
–noun
1. the principles and regulations established in a community by some authority and applicable to its people, whether in the form of legislation or of custom and policies recognized and enforced by judicial decision.
If law was truly objective, they wouldn't need to be enforced by a judicial decision

Once it is someone's decision, it is definitely not objective.
Applicable to all it's people, regardless of their interpretation of it.

I think all that is "enforced" is the sentence. The law states that murder is not allowed. So what to do with the murderer? That is the judicial decision.


Quote:

I am not arguing about what the law should be or how the law should be interpreted. I'm talking about how the law is and how the law is interpreted.

Even in your modified law, we can splice it further. What is a house? Does someone have to be living in it to be considered a house? Is a trailer considered a house? What are extensions? What about basements? Do they count into the height of the house? Do they count as one of two stories?
Those are generally accepted definitions. What is a house? Come on. A house is a structure intended for inhabitation. But only "intended" for inhabitation. Even if no one is in it, it remains a structure intended for inhabitation. Basements go downwards not upwards, and since "height" and not "depth" were mentioned in the law, it is perfectly legal to have basements.

Quote:

Wait. HOLD UP!

"whatever the writer has intended, should come out onto that paper."

Let's analyze this statement.

Whatever the writer has intended????? Really?? A writer's intent is objective now???

You even contradict yourself with this argument.

First you say that we shouldn't figure out what the intention of the writer was. And then you say that we should follow the intention of the writer.

:sigh: Really? Really?!

And that doesn't even count the fact that there is no possible way to write a law "that covers all scenarios." Believe it or not, the world is not made up of black or white.
Law has to be written by someone. It doesn't pop out of the machine of objective fairness. If the law is written objectively, and the writer is a fair, objective thinker, then the everything the author intends is on the paper, and means the exact same thing to everyone.

What I'm saying is, we shouldn't have to sit in court and argue about what the law means, because it should mean the same thing to everyone. We shouldn't have to worry about the intention of the law writer, because he was being objective. If he wasn't being objective, then we discard those laws.


All times are GMT. The time now is 01:01 AM.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.6
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.