Shakespeare gives his villains the best speeches—not because Shakespeare is villainous, but because he’s a good teacher.
Philosophy is the best teacher, and teaching sometimes features bad examples—in order to be good.
A good speech is always good.
Even when Iago is giving it.
No.
Because Iago is giving it.
If you are not a good philosopher, you are no poet.
In this final Scarriet Poetry March Madness First Round contest (our 32nd essay) we have two lines of an arresting philosophical nature.
Here is the first by Susan Wood:
The simple fact is very plain. They want the bitterness to remain.
How can a line be better than a poem?
Quite easily. We sometimes see too little. But we always see too much. And for the most part, “say” can substitute for “see.”
The tantalizing aspect of this line is that yes, people do hold onto bitterness unnecessarily, so that it destroys themselves and others.
And yet, it may be a good thing for the “bitterness” to remain, for it may inspire—in those who remember it—all sorts of good—if the bitterness does not infect them.
The “simple fact” alluded to is that in either case, it is obvious to others when you “want” the bitterness to remain.
People are not as involuntary as they seem.
And yet, sometimes we can be blind for a time, and not see the obvious. Lawrence Raab:
nothing truly seen until later
But isn’t it amazing how often we do truly see at the very first moment? And all the later complications are wrong?
But let us not argue with this line.
It will either win, or lose.
Now all of the lines in this, the 2016 Scarriet Poetry March Madness First Round, have been seen.
The final line sinks into abyss.
And we will see you later.
