Why The Modern Man Won’t Read Poetry
Choice comes from freedom. Modern man has the choice but not the freedom. He must choose. He is totally consumed with the professional and domestic chores. Not only that, but he has no time to respond to the yearnings of his soul.
Modern man has no myths, he takes pride in the choices he has — all given by capitalist consumerism. His mind is occupied with what’s going on in the media and what is merely circumstantial.
The modern man has no holistic world view, and he has no inner life. He is afraid of boredom, and he doesn’t know it. He is either responding to something trivial or consuming some media on his mobile device.
Cursed by profanity, modern man can explain a lot about many things without understanding anything deeply.
“The tragedy of modern man is not that he knows less and less about the meaning of his own life, but that it bothers him less and less”
Modern man likes productivity, he wants returns on his time and efforts. He doesn’t want to waste a single minute. If he has an hour to spare he has to use it. He is defined by the technology he uses.
Modern technology has made him a multitasking machine, and he is incomplete with his gadgets. He is struggling to find his identity in a society that is based on efficiency and predictability. He is in rush, no time to connect with his internal self. Furthermore, he has no time to find the truth of life, but he is well-read and proud of his argumentative skills on various intellectual topics
If Not Poetry Then What? ... oh yes, Internet Meme
In earlier days, man used to read poetry. Poems don’t answer to your questions, but it gets you to start thinking. It makes this absurd life livable. Today, We like to know more, more about everything. We are living in the world of information overload. We seek answers and solutions in all information — that make our lives predictable. Uncertainties scare us. Unknowns bring panic and poems do exactly opposite. So, we can’t face poetry.
Today’s modern man is always staring at the screen of his mobile device. Internet has connected him to almost everybody, and everything is available on-demand. Every age has its form of intellect sharing, could the internet meme be ours? The internet meme is the poetry that social media was waiting for.
Internet memes are quick, efficient and relatable. The best part of internet meme is that it comes with a visual. For sure, it gets our attention the moment we see it. However imperfect or unoriginal it may be, but it is relevant and memorable — until we find another internet meme on our screen just after one scroll or swipe.
Byte size, hyper-sharable, humorous, artistic, serious, philosophical- you will find endless screens of internet memes. These memes are quick, responsive, specific and self-replicating — perfect for the modern man’s autonomous life
Hey Siri, I want to know the meaning of life show me the top 10 Internet memes on this.
… and you might get a few one-liners that are very short and profound. In this era of short attention span internet memes are immediate relief.
Poems Vs. Internet Meme
Poems are not easily consumable, that way poems are not very effective. Poems don’t tell anything directly. But if you have patience and looking for truth — poems can take you to a different world. We don’t see that at all because we are constantly distracted.
Nobody has all the answers, but poetry helps make this search exciting
Poetry heals the wounds reason creates — Novalis
Myths and metaphors have immense power they need to survive.
To see life as a poem and yourself participating in that poem is what the myth does for you. — Joseph Campbel
The force of emotional and intellectual content of poems mirrors our intimate intangible sensations, but the modern man has no appetite for internal life.
Modern man is an artist of reasons. Modern man a creator of jargon. He finds internet memes creative and poetry dull.
Nostalgia for unity isn’t the pursuit he wants to take. He is always busy fixing his sufferings and looking ahead to new pleasures. Narrative matters more than truth.
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