Here's a question to mull over: For much of poetic history, didacticism was
accepted if not, outright encouraged. Then came the Romantic era along
with the 'show, don't say' aphorism. Didacticism fell out of favour.
However, poets now are looking to medieval and baroque forms to provide
structure to their poetry. Some, Lisa Robertson being a prime example, have
gone back to the ancient Greeks and Romans - Virgil, in Robertson's case -
to 'make it new'. In doing so, are they reviving didacticism as an
acceptable form for, let's face it, Robertson's poetry is extremely
didactic?
John Herbert Cunningham
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