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Essay 2: The Role of Poetry
Poet W.H. Auden believed there was an important distinction between poetic
language and generic language: “To be useful to an artist a general idea must
be capable of including the most contradictory experiences, and of the most
subtle variation and ironic interpretations.” The use of poetic language, with its
non-literal meanings and ambiguity, distinguishes poetry from mainstream use of
language. Official language often express absolute certainty, not doubt.