1. In both “Tonight, I Can Write the Saddest Lines” and “Ars Poetica,” Pablo Neruda directly addresses the idea of poetry in his poetry—how it can shape, disfigure, inform, reflect and/or refract our lives. Compare, contrast, and synthesize these poems in order to try to explain how Neruda views the relationship between poetry and his life. Is the latter a positive or negative influence on the former? Or a mixture of both? Provide specific examples from each poem to support your ideas.
2. Part of our program this semester has been to determine what the function of art is. This, of course, is a subject that the poets and fiction writers we’ve read have been supremely concerned with as well. Given our readings, what do you think the function of art in society is?
source: Ars Poetica – attachment
https://allpoetry.com/Tonight-I-Can-Write-(The-Saddest-Lines)
