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A Question of Cliche
Said with blind permission from humanity-
"Blood has little to do with consistency
And more, it seems, with viscosity-
These sanguine rivers that join man to man"
But to say the loving mother's touch
Can sometimes serve as wisdom's crutch
Sounds to most as inane blasphemy.
Will it ever come to more than one-
Sitting idly in the noonday Sun
That common sense has never won
The passion of an extraordinary mind?
And just as quickly as it's read
With much hope, all at once are led
To this now more truthful, acrid rhyme:
While goodly masses are all asleep
Safe from the summer's torrid heat,
A cold plow replaces their corn with wheat
And hence the blade becomes more keen.
Now we few with conviction say,
To the Evil come no Judgement day
And at last(Sigh!)A Question of Cliché
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| I agree with you about intelligence and common sense not being the same. Perhaps that is the extraordinary. I sincerely apologize if I offended you. I respect your country's literary greats definitely more than words can say. I would dare to say that I'm a bit envious of the literary heritage your nation represents. They have become constant companions and kindred spirits. Maybe I should be more open to constructive criticism. This poem was written from entirely a subjective point of view, and I am trying to incorporate more objectivity into my work. I appreciate your comments and take them into consideration for future poems. I am hopeful that poetry can be used to unite not tear humankind asunder. Since you took the opportunity to read my work I look forward to reciprocating,if you so desire. |
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Again, I apologise for responding to your poem - I believe this 'average reader' has offended you in some way, which was not my intention.
But I did indeed think before I wrote that 'the most extraordinary minds have often been the ones with common sense' - I would be more than a little concerned if our world and our lives were governed and enriched by people with no common sense!
Ordinary and extraordinary are polar opposites. A thing which is common to us doesn't necessarily make it ordinary. Faith is common to many but is not ordinary. Love is common to many of us but is not ordinary - so I'd say being extraordinary but displaying common sense are not mutually exclusive.
Common sense is not the same as intelligence - I know many intelligent people without a shred of common sense - quoting Voltaire 'Le sens commun n'est pas si commun' (Common sense is not so common).
I would not think to deny that Einstein had an extraordinary mind, yet despite his claims about common sense, I would also not denigrate him by supposing that he (nor Keats) did not show common sense either. |
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| Common Sense is obvious and boring. Cliches are used to pigeonhole the imagination because they, like common sense, are obvious. Why would someone be satisfied with something so mundane? Our Society heralds it as its patron saint. Those that acheive common sense are content to fade into oblivion with the masses. Shelley believed in the multi-dimensional aspect of poetry and saw beyond the need just to rally the Men of England to a common cause. If he didn't I believe the poem would have stopped at England's shores. A great poet is one that can read and write poems on many levels. Something that is not common by any stretch of the imagination. I don't believe you really thought about your statement "The most extraordinary minds, I reckon, have often been the ones with the greatest common sense." Extraordinary and common are polar opposites. Greatest Common? Keats wrote in his Ode to Indolence "That I may never know how change the moons, or hear the voice of busy common sense!". Notice the exclamation point. I believe Keats had an extraordinary mind and I will gladly challenge anyone that says otherwise. He looked for something beyond common sense. Albert Einstein stated "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.". I suppose next you'll be stating that Albert Einstein didn't have an extraordinary mind? The greatest minds presuppose common sense and look beyond it to achieve greatness. The word Extraordinary says it all! Or maybe we should call it extra common or something in addition to common; But certainly not a varying degree of common. After all isn't it still common then? I apologize if I didn't make the two clichés addressed in my poem more accessible to the average reader. A little bit of thought will allow one to extract at least one of them. The other reflects a science background and is "common" to those in a scientific field. I feel fortunate that I'm not satisfied with just scientific fact, which could be construed as common sense, I suppose. Even it can be ascertained with the most rudimentary scientific terminology. I agree with Keats when he said that an intelligence must be schooled to make it a soul. |
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Apologies, you weren't quoting Oscar Wilde - it was yourself who wrote 'cliches are common sense'. And isn't that the very point of 'common sense' - that they are universal truths common to all people.
Though Shelley's poem may address the destruction of individual freedom, it is directed not at the individual. It brings together the 'Men of England' as a group, as if to rouse them to a common cause. And what's to say Shelley's cause is the right one, any more than Cromwell's, or Hitler's for that matter?
Your conjecture regarding a society that has 'regressed because it has lost its ability to promote free thinkers' is, in my opinion, not necessarily the case. In a world where so many people are able to live in democracy, are financially secure and can travel the globe in safety, surely there is more scope for free-thought than ever. Charles Kettering said, 'Thinking is the one thing no one has ever been able to tax'.
Perhaps unwittingly I have adopted cliche as 'universal' common sense, but if it acts as a means by which I can better get a point across, I think I'd rather that than language be a barrier to interaction with society. The most extraordinary minds, I reckon, have often been the ones with the greatest common sense. |
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| "If everyone is thinking the same thing, then no one is thinking." Shelley's poem indicates a destruction of freedom. A freedom only found in individual thought (see Hymn to Intellectual Beauty by the same.) Clichés keep us in chains not because they don't allow the possibility for conjecture but because no one thinks that they can. I say that they do! I say we shouldn't just blindly accept things without question. I'll refer you to one of Keats's letters regarding the poet and speculation (Def: A conclusion reached by conjecture). It is something that is very much encouraged by another one of your nation's literary heroes. I haven't found any stereotypes in the poetry of Keats or Shelley. What I have found are vast amounts of conjecture and speculation. It's quite healthy and productive to poetry. It is poetry's fountain of youth, if you will. Your statements are indicative of a society that has regressed because it has lost its ability to promote free thinkers; A society that has adopted Cliché as its ??universal? common sense. I recommend Ayn Rand's "Anthem". Hope this helps. Also I don??t believe I stated that Wilde was quoted as saying anything directly about Cliché, just common sense. If it came across that way, I apologize. |
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