Thinking about Cooper and the Poetic Tradition

I think that a good way to think about representation is to see characters as images or pictures. This is because authors, whether intentionally or not, create an idea of what a person or people group is like based on the traits of the character. Cooper writes, "they begin by telling you that all colored people look exactly alike and end by noting down every chance contortion or idiosyncrasy as a race characteristic" (382). In this case, Black characters are falsely represented, but the language describing them nevertheless builds an image (in this case a caricature) of the what 'real' black.

It's clear that this false representation takes place, but why does it take place? I think that the building of an image is inherent to the English literary tradition, particularly in poetry. Poets, especially Old English and Renaissance poets, would generally fall into the group that Cooper calls "the preachers". Sidney used a similar word, he said in his "Defense of Poesy" that poets were prophets and makers of worlds. The poet is supposed to be a teacher. Marlowe taught us not to reach too high (Faustus), Jonson taught us to seize the day, Donne's poetry constantly tried to convince someone of something, Milton wrote to "justify the ways of God to men" and explain the state of the world (Paradise Lost). I think it is important to understand that this is how many of these poets saw themselves because it begs the question, "how do poets/writers see themselves in our PoMo society?" because if we still see ourselves as teachers of an audience then it makes sense that writers try to characterizes things they have little understanding of. It's almost like they are building a curriculum.

Poetry isn't the primary form of entertainment anymore. Movies and music have taken over that role in many aspects. Do the directors and musicians still feel a teacher responsibility? I think they do, I think of John Lennon and the song "imagine". And I also think that's where false representation of certain people groups will be found now.