Introduction to "Induced"
If this concrete poem had to be compared stylistically to any other poet, it would probably be e. e. cummings. Though the shape is not definitive, there is a specific order in which the poem needs to be read. The proximity of the words to each other is also a stylistic choice, meant to emphasize certain emotions and certain words. The repetition is also a tool for this. If we were to take a page from Scott McCloud's theories about negative space being just as important as the content, it is important to read this poem for what is there as well as what is not there. It is intentionally vague in one sense, because the content is difficult to discuss, but I hoped to evoke at least a part of the feelings associated with what this poem is about. The short words, the repetition, and the capitalization are there for emphasis of time as well as experience, if that makes sense.
McCloud writes in his third chapter about the "gutter" -- the space between the panels in which nothing is shown but where "human imagination takes two separate images and forms them into a single idea," (McCloud, 66). The experience of nothingness next to strong words like "blood" and "OUT" is meant to convey how difficult it can be to communicate pain when a person is experiencing so much of it. He talks about the idea that the reader is as much of a participant in the work as the artist, and in those spaces left blank the reader can use his or her imagination. As he writes, "participation is a powerful force," (69).
What I hope to achieve with this poem is a chronological experience of pain and rage, from its "conception" (pun intended) to the very end, in which the speaker finally comes to terms with their anger and experiences an urge to seek revenge. The color, spacing, and timing of the words are meant to emphasize the experience of this anger in a step-by-step process.
If this concrete poem had to be compared stylistically to any other poet, it would probably be e. e. cummings. Though the shape is not definitive, there is a specific order in which the poem needs to be read. The proximity of the words to each other is also a stylistic choice, meant to emphasize certain emotions and certain words. The repetition is also a tool for this. If we were to take a page from Scott McCloud's theories about negative space being just as important as the content, it is important to read this poem for what is there as well as what is not there. It is intentionally vague in one sense, because the content is difficult to discuss, but I hoped to evoke at least a part of the feelings associated with what this poem is about. The short words, the repetition, and the capitalization are there for emphasis of time as well as experience, if that makes sense.
McCloud writes in his third chapter about the "gutter" -- the space between the panels in which nothing is shown but where "human imagination takes two separate images and forms them into a single idea," (McCloud, 66). The experience of nothingness next to strong words like "blood" and "OUT" is meant to convey how difficult it can be to communicate pain when a person is experiencing so much of it. He talks about the idea that the reader is as much of a participant in the work as the artist, and in those spaces left blank the reader can use his or her imagination. As he writes, "participation is a powerful force," (69).
What I hope to achieve with this poem is a chronological experience of pain and rage, from its "conception" (pun intended) to the very end, in which the speaker finally comes to terms with their anger and experiences an urge to seek revenge. The color, spacing, and timing of the words are meant to emphasize the experience of this anger in a step-by-step process.
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