The Simplest Things Are Often The Truest

(Now, before you compliment me on the clever title, I'll let you know it's a quote of Richard Bach.)

Many times, in writing of any kind, we see the creation of a piece of writing as an elaborate symphony.  The setting (time, place, even the weather) has some meaning which the author is trying to convey.  Then we have the character(s) who act within the setting, fully evolved and complex individuals (in good books anyways) who react to the conflict which drives the plot, ascending in a crescendo all the way to the story's climax...then once again descending, calming to a state of rest.  And if you think prose can be elaborate, consider having to do the same thing within the constraints of meter and rhyme.  However, that's not always the case.  Sometimes, writers can take a broad topic and concentrate it into something small, yet powerful.

There was a time when I somewhat fancied myself a poet.  Fortunately for the readers in the world, I realized finally that poetry wasn't really my style, though I have a great deal of respect for poets, especially the so called "greats."  One of my absolute favorite poets, a master (or rather mistress) of simplicity, is Emily Dickenson.

I have a good friend of mine who I can hear groaning already.  She read Dickenson in high school, which is when just about everyone reads her.  She's arguably the most anthologized female poet (or female writer in general).  A big part of this has to do with her her poetic style.  For one, all of her poems are very short (rarely more than twenty-five lines).  Secondly, as with all great poets, her work touches all facets of life, positive and negative.  Life and death.  Love and loss.  Beauty and pain.  Finally, and the main crux of this post, is her simplicity. 

I can imagine Dickenson as the premier slogan writer (or even songwriter) of the century if she were alive today.  All of her poetry flows easily off the tongue and with a rhythm that can easily be described as "catchy".  Lets look at one of her poems (by the way, Dickenson never titled any of her poems, so they're often identified by the first line of the poem.) 

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

Put some soulful starlet in front of a microphone and someone at the piano and you've got a hit refrain.

And, while Dickenson is known for using metaphor just as readily as other poets, it isn't so abstract as to make them unapproachable even for your average person.  Take the often anthologized poem "My life had stood a loaded gun" as an example.

My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun -
In Corners - till a Day
The Owner passed - identified -
And carried Me away - 

And now We roam in Sovereign Woods -
And now We hunt the Doe -
And every time I speak for Him -
The Mountains straight reply -

And do I smile, such cordial light
Upon the Valley glow -
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let its pleasure through -

And when at Night - Our good Day done -
I guard My Master's Head -
'Tis better than the Eider-Duck's
Deep Pillow - to have shared -

To foe of His - I'm deadly foe -
None stir the second time -
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye -
Or an emphatic Thumb -

Though I than He - may longer live
He longer must - than I -
For I have but the power to kill,
Without--the power to die--


In the imagery of this poem, even someone who isn't practiced at identifying meaning in metaphors can understand the thought of one's life being a "loaded gun".  Everyone knows that a loaded gun, unlike an unloaded gun, is full of potential (for good or for bad).  Thus, a person's life has the potential to do great good or great harm.

My personal favorite of Dickenson's poems is "Success is countest sweetest"

Success is counted sweetest
By those who ne'er succeed.
To comprehend a nector
Requires sorest need.


Not one of all the purple host
Who took the flag today
Can tell the definition
So clear, of victory


As he, defeated, dying
On whose forbidden ear
The distant strains of triumph
Break, agonized and clear.

This poem embodies the insightful simplicity of Dickenson's poetry.  The message seems so obvious, yet it's not something we usually consider in our day-to-day thoughts.  Is victory sweeter to the one who obtains it?  Or to the one who doesn't?  The most obvious parallel is to look at sports.  Who do you think enjoys victory more?  A five time national champion, or a team with a losing season?  Anyone who watches sports on television has seen the celebration when a supposed "underdog" wins.  So, if the person who rarely wins cherishes victory more than someone who wins often, then how appealing must victory appear to one who never wins?

There's definitely a lot to be said about simplicity in writing.  Is this condemning those who choose a more complex writing style?  Of course not.  Just as there's a purpose for simplicity, there is a purpose for complexity.  Without it, things like in-depth, abstract thought would be meaningless.  We need one just as much as we need the other.