Breaking the Mold

e.e. cummings is my favorite poet because he doesn't conform to the rules that traditional poets do-- capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure... none of it matters to e.e. cummings. Because of his refusal to fit into the mold, he broke through a lot of walls and that is why he became unique and loved by so many. 

Horace tells us that poetry, because it is an art, should abide by certain rules, or decorum. A few of these rules are: 

• the characters must act according to their ages and places in life (pp. 125-126)
• be inspired by life and keep your writing as close to life as possible (p. 129)
• don't let everything be obvious; leave a little mystery so that your work will be compelling and the audience will have to analyze the plot/characters (p. 126)

Although Horace seems very dedicated to his idea of the decorum, he does give the writer room to wiggle around and create something singularly his or her own. Horace's decorum, I think, is more of a suggestion, and that is what I like about him. I do agree with most of what he says, especially the three points I've listed above. 

Audrey Hepburn in a modest dress for the Oscars

Lady Gaga in a meatdress at the VMAs

However, while I, personally, like to have a guide to follow when I'm doing... well, pretty much anything, I think self-expression is more important than following a rubric. I think too much structure restrains the writer, and, if all writers followed Horace's decorum, we'd have thousands upon thousands of years of poetry that is just the same old same old. As much as I don't like Lady Gaga and her painfully strange costumes, I must applaud her for being "original" in a way that I don't believe anyone else has. On a larger level, breaking rules does a lot for society. If MLK hadn't broken the societal rules in the 1960s, we'd probably still be segregated. If the American revolutionaries hadn't fought back against British oppression in the 1700s, we'd speak with British accents. So, while I'm personally glad to have rules by which to go, I'm also glad that there exist rebels who are willing to break out of that quaint little box and do something totally ridiculous. What are rules if they aren't broken once in a while?