By analyzing “Ars Poetica” by Archibald MacLeish, I will obtain a definition of a poem that can be used to analyze other pieces of poetry. I start by looking at the layout of the poem. This poem is divided into three parts of four stanzas each. This tells me that these sections could be read independently and interpreted separately from each other. The first section uses words related to “quiet” such as mute, mute, silent, and wordless. The next part of these stanzas is about something that only makes sense when we impose one on it. For example, “like the old thumb medallions,” a medallion alone is worthless. It's just a piece of metal that has been engraved, that is, until it "sticks our thumb" or gives it meaning. I conclude that the reader must find their own meaning in a poem and that the poem should not tell you directly what it means. In the second section, the line “a poem must be still in time” is repeated in the beginning and end of the section. Since this line is repeated, I think the author of the poem was trying to emphasize this section. The word “still” means not moving or standing still, while “in time” implies that “time” is changing. From here, stillness in this poem can also be taken to mean remaining the same, or remaining consistent across time. Rather than a single meaning remaining consistent across time, I believe that one meaning can be interpreted about the poem by readers across time. Simply put, a reader should be able to infer meaning from a poem, regardless of the time of reading. In the last section, the first stanza is “a poem must be equal to: but not true”. A poem should not have an "absolute" meaning, but equal... middle of paper ...... a consistency that is reality, then suffer through the sound of my dreams crushed under the debilitating weight of the adulthood and responsibility. But still, bursts my imagination, a single solitary shoot of desire through the salty earth, its life and its life and long and blooms and blooms in a breathtaking way to be seen and worshiped by all. The anonymous poet of the poem "Lord Randal" had the greatest influence on my style. I liked how it seemed serious at first, but then, while remaining serious, it takes a humorous turn towards the end. I took that and wrote my poem to initially sound like what one would expect a poem to look like, but then become more humorous as the story progresses. I also used free verse, because not being limited to the structural rules of a certain type of poem gives me more freedom to write the poem closer to how I want it to be..