Of the widow's countless death-duties there is really just one that matters: on the first anniversary of her husband's death the widow should think I kept myself alive.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
Prose-it might be speculated-is discourse; poetry ellipsis. Prose is spoken aloud; poetry overheard. The one is presumably articulate and social, a shared language, the voice of "communication"; the other is private, allusive, teasing, sly, idiosyncratic as the spider's delicate web, a kind of witchcraft unfathomable to ordinary minds.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Prose and poetry serve different purposes in communication, with prose being more social and structured, while poetry is more personal and abstract.
In her exploration of prose and poetry, Joyce Carol Oates suggests that prose is a clear and straightforward means of communication, one that engages a collective audience in a shared language. In contrast, poetry is described as a more enigmatic and personal form of expression, akin to the complexity of a spider's web, which can evoke deeper emotions and thoughts but may also be elusive and challenging to grasp for those seeking straightforward understanding.
Themes
ProsePoetryCommunicationExpressionArt
In practice
Example use cases
In a literary discussion about the differences between genres.
More from Joyce Carol Oates
All quotes →I never really knew I wanted to 'be' a writer, but I was always writing from a very young age. It became more conscious as an ideal when I was in my twenties.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
I'm drawn to write about upstate New York in the way in which a dreamer might have recurring dreams. My childhood and girlhood were spent in upstate New York, in the country north of Buffalo and West of Rochester. So this part of New York state is very familiar to me and, with its economic difficulties, has become emblematic of much of American life.
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My writing is often a way of 'bearing witness' for others who lack the education and the opportunity to tell their own stories, so I hope that my writing won't be affected too much by my personal life.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
The worst cynicism: a belief in luck.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
. . . there is a wish in the heart of mankind to be distracted and confused. Truth is but one attraction, and not always the most powerful.
Joyce Carol OatesRead
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