Rhetoric in the Illiterate Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Gregerson's article "Rhetorical Contract in the Lyric Poem" lays out the purpose of lyric poetry. She postulates that there is a relationship between the reader and the speaker that goes beyond utilitarian or superficial purposes, arguing that a contract is formed between these two parties. Throughout the article, Gregerson applies the notions of subtext and hidden meaning to various lyric poems. He states that a lyric poem tells a story, but indirectly. Instead of perfectly delineating a plot, the reader must delve into the space between words and decipher the true meaning of the poem. In particular, Gregerson's thoughts on Meredith's The Illiterate add complexity to his superficial reading. He claims that Meredith constructs a conception of himself in a way that uses the actual words of the poem rather than just the basic meanings they possess. Choices in syntax, grammar, and content provide clues to the poem's deeper personality. The reader must carefully examine Meredith's syntax and question his every choice of words and punctuation. The reader attempts to enter into Meredith's thought process, forming a unique and close bond between the poet and the reader. As small details gain meaning, the meaning of the poem transforms. An important thing to note is that this poem is a conceit. The speaker is not illiterate, but rather uses this simile to represent his state of mind. His inability to understand is not about words but rather about love. He uses the image of the illiterate to convey his inexperience with this situation regarding the “goodness” of the nameless “you.” In the poem, Meredith states that it is not because there is an unknown handwriting on the letter that the man cannot read it. Rather, the experience of receiving a letter itself is unfamiliar (“And you might think that was because the hand/Was not familiar but, the truth is, the man/Never received a letter from anyone ”). This parallels the experience of the speaker in the poem. He is not perplexed because he is starting a relationship with a new person but has never actually had a relationship, or at least not a relationship of this kind. This raises the question of what kind of relationship this is. AND. It describes a state of virginity, of embarking on a new experience with no idea what to expect. Gregerson moves the reader away from the idea of ​​heteronormative and youthful virginity towards the concept of virginity in homoerotic encounters. He states that “the dark girl may also be a delicate allusion to Shakespeare's dark lady, and thus a code key to the primary passion—the homoerotic passion—on which the poem is founded” (Gregerson 175). These sonnets contain explicit professions of homoerotic love. Seen through this lens, the speaker hopes that the man who has scorned his homoerotic desire will change his mind and become the object of his affection. This is a point that Gregerson absolutely fails to prove, but he nevertheless calls attention to an alternative interpretation of the poem: that of homoerotic desire. Being a homosexual man himself, Meredith may have written the speaker in a position of unrequited homosexual love. The reader has exerted energy to find out where the poet is coming from, and at this point the poet turns to the reader and conveys a message. The self within the poem becomes a vehicle for the message, a tool for the poet to relate some truth or emotion to the audience. One of the characteristics of poetryGregerson's lyric is the symbiosis between love and some obstacle to that love. He claims that the sonnets are necessarily dichotomous in their content, because they are written about this paradoxical existence. He states: “The impediment was as fundamental to the sonnet as was love. The impediment produced the lyrical voice. Without impediment, the lover would have no need to resort to poetry” (Gregerson 167). If man had been literate or love had been reciprocated, there would be no need for poetry. These obstacles provide a reason to write the poem in the first place and create tension in its content. However, the meaning of the poem extends beyond the practicality of the physical poem or the meaning of its words. One of the most intriguing aspects of this poem is the rhyme scheme. It's incredibly simple, both directly rhyming, monosyllabic words with the same word (means, means), and polysyllabic rhyming words with the same ending (whoever, someone). As Gregerson points out, this almost juvenile way of rhyming seems to suggest a lack of creativity on the poet's part. (Gregerson 176) Because Meredith, as the winner of major poetry prizes including the Pulitzer, is a poet hardly lacking in talent or vocabulary, the reader concludes that Meredith intentionally simplifies his rhyme scheme to represent the poor command of language that the illiterate shows. . These words are the kinds of things that children first encounter when learning to read, yet even these are incomprehensible to the illiterate. He has no reference to start from, and he has no way of finding out the contents of the letter except by asking someone. Another reason for Meredith's method is that the rhyming repetition adds to the other repetitive aspects of the poem. The illiterate turns the letter over in his hands, without opening it, nor putting it down and removing it from his mind. The whole poem has a static feel. We don't see the man who receives the letter, his initial reaction to it, nor do we know how he decides to deal with it. Do you consult someone else or try to manage on your own? The reader is unaware of this information and instead only sees the man's meandering thoughts, of all the possibilities that could be contained in the letter. In this way, the predictable rhyme of this work reinforces the idea of ​​knowing what comes next. The illiterate goes over the same possibilities in his mind, and similarly the rhyme is very predictable and devoid of new developments. The only way for the illiterate to find out what the letter contains is to ask someone. It might be embarrassing to admit that you can't read and invite someone else into your private life. He is vulnerable in his ignorance of what the letter contains. In fact, if it is a letter containing bad news from her parents, or a profession of love from the dark-haired girl, she will undoubtedly have a very strong and personal reaction. Inviting someone else to share it with him by reading the letter (and therefore knowing the information before he does) is an unpleasant feeling. Likewise, asking for relationship advice also puts the speaker in this vulnerable position. Finding yourself in a foreign situation, the only way to proceed is to seek advice from someone who has experience. Again, this is a highly personal sphere into which it is difficult to invite anyone else. The poem is read slowly, giving the reader a feeling of anticipation. Meredith's frequent use of commas in the poem delays the already slow reading of the poem. The commas add a feeling of disarticulation. The reader must pause frequently and approach the poem hesitantly. This parallels the speaker's story. Both the illiterate and the speaker himself embodya hesitation that is the hallmark of their inexperience. The poem is not about a reckless abandonment of inhibitions and immersion in the unknown. Instead, it has a conservative and conservative nature. The illiterate is not yet ready to narrow down the myriad possibilities the letter might contain and find out for sure. He “turns a letter over in his hand” and wonders what is inside. Whether the news is good or bad, it “preserves the possibility” (Gregerson 176). The poem has a slightly pessimistic flavor, because if the letter contains good news he would certainly want to know its contents immediately. But if it is bad news, he will immediately wish to be ignorant once again. Out of fear, he chooses to remain in the dark. He cannot bear to abandon the illusion that perhaps he has obtained a large inheritance or that the “dark girl” may have changed her mind and decided to be his lover. The possibility that his parents are dead and that this may be a letter alerting him to this fact makes him reticent to abandon his current state of oblivion. Likewise, the speaker cannot yet truly engage in the relationship with the “you”. in poetry. The new relationship may contain wonderful, loving joy. He may have found his partner with whom he will spend the rest of his life. Yet he might also invest himself in this relationship only to have his heart broken. Again, from a pessimistic point of view, being in the early stage of attraction is preferable to developing and then losing a deep connection with someone, even if this choice also means giving up the potential of a great relationship. To the speaker, the seduction of possibility is more alluring than the romantic drama of real life. Despite the overall lack of progress in the poem, there is certainly a shift between the first and second stanzas. In the first there is a sense of shame and embarrassment at not being able to tell what the letter says. Yet, in the second stanza, it is precisely this ignorance that allows the man to feel the bittersweetness of possibilities. At the same time he wants to know what the letter says but is also afraid of what it might contain. On the speaker's part, the former contains an embarrassment at his inexperience and a feeling of being overwhelmed. In the second verse, this very innocence allows him to maintain the illusion of what the meeting will be like. The last two lines of the poem ask an impossible question: "What would you call his feeling for the words / That keep him rich and orphaned and loved?" Can the feeling be described as hopeful? The degree of anxiety present in anticipation of bad news complicates this notion. This volatile and impermanent state is difficult to put into words, perhaps why Meredith chooses to use the conceit of the illiterate man in the first place, rather than simply attempting to overtly describe the speaker's condition. In these last two lines, Meredith highlights the age-old question of whether or not ignorance is bliss. Is it better to be in a state of hope, of anticipation of something? The answer depends on the outcome. If the end state is happiness, then surely it would be better to reach that point. However, if the end result is nothing but disappointment, the state of the unknown may be preferable. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay This brings us back to Gregerson's article. What exactly is The Illiterate's rhetoric achieving? Gregerson assumes that lyric poetry seeks to persuade the reader of something, but in this case there is no real ambition on the part of the speaker. Its purpose is instead to make us.