Sri Aurobindo

Letters on Poetry and Art

SABCL - Volume 27

Part 2. On His Own and Others’ Poetry
Section 3. Practical Guidance for Aspiring Writers
Guidance in Writing Poetry

Lyric, Narrative, Epic [11]

Please tell me why I often jump back to the sonnet source instead of steadily keeping to the epic source. The more I try to be “fine” the more I lose the epic source.

It is a matter of habit. Also the attempt to be “fine” is not good for epic writing. None of the great epic poets wrote “finely” — nobility or power or a clear and great strength of style and substance and spirit is their characteristic.

What shall I do in order to get access to the inspiration of overhead poetry? And more especially, “to be quite open to the flow of that consciousness” [see letter of 21 May 1937, p. 618]? What is this over-consciousness? Will it come to me so early? Or were you speaking only with regard to the future?

I spoke of the future. This is a thing that can only be done by growth of consciousness through sadhana.

Why did Milton wait so long? To prepare himself?

If he had written it when he first conceived the idea, he would have written a beautiful and noble romance, but not an epic. He felt he was not ready. For a long time afterwards he was engaged in politics and wrote only a few sonnets.

27 May 1937