Erica Gamester - Language and Poetry

For our optional homework assignment, we brought in poems to share with the class and reflect accordingly. I brought in an untitled poem by rupi kaur from her book, Milk and Honey…. (note: she prefers her name lowercased)

"i want to apologize to all the women 

i have called pretty.

before i've called them intelligent or brave.

i am sorry i made it sound as though 

something as simple as what you're born with

is the most you have to be proud of

when your spirit has crushed mountains

from now on i will say things like, you are resilient

or, you are extraordinary

not because i don't think you're pretty.

but because you are much more than that

- rupi kaur"

The first notable aspect of this poem is the informality of grammar. The lyrics within the poem are seemingly sentences that separate over lines and random periods. However, this informal style is reflective rupi kaur's poetic style and cultural upbringing, as Punjabi language does not incorporate uppercase letters and only utilizes periods as punctuations. 

In class, we discussed the correlation between language, nature, and art. Nature is inherent and evolving, while language is socially constructed through mutual agreement. However, this language can be poetically transformed as it utilizes literary devices, often breaking the conventional rules and sentence structure. The poetic manipulation of language creates room for interpretation(s). Ultimately, language acquisition is an innate capability from nature, which becomes a powerful tool in which art emerges. 

The overall message of the poem addresses the visible aesthetic of women, and shines a light on their dynamic power and beauty that is often unaddressed. Through human nature, we commonly make initial assumptions based on outer appearance. kaur apologizes for deducing women to their simplest form, their ascribed status based in nature. She conveys that beauty arises through the dynamic understanding of identity, incorporating the complexity of art through language. 

If language ceased to exist, would art become obsolete?