Do the pictures in poetry come before or after the words?

Question

This is a yoink from a question by another poster:

I saw the pictures

but the words would not come.

Where have the colors gone?

Answer 1

I see as I write and I see as I read.

My pictures usually move forward; a constant progression.

Answer 2

I think, perhaps they come out in unison from our mind to the paper. However, on second and third thought...

Some of us see something which inspires us to propegate and grow our own set of words to complement the picture.

And others of us see the words and formulate the picture on our minds slate full of color and Life.

Answer 3

I will answer this - from the viewpoint - of the reader. The pictures seem to form - as the words are being read. Vague, foggy images - taking action - as the words dictate. Accompanied emotions start to filter in - giving the pictures a movie like quality and a virtual depth. A second or third pass - at reading the poem - will usually define or alter image ♥

Answer 4

For me they are often inseparable, the order changes. Mostly though I get a picture and then hear the words, as if spoken in a hall or a smoky roundhouse by an old bard. (I spend a lot of time at a place called Flag Fen where I live, a Bronze Age settlement which has just the most amazing atmosphere.)

http://www.flagfen.com

Answer 5

For me personally poems are often inspired by things I've seen or experienced, so as the writer the picture is often first. (Even a visual image created in your imagination.)

As the reader I think the picture develops along with the words.

Yoinks are very thought provoking...I'm off to scrub the sink and ponder this further.

Answer 6

I create and paint as I go along....one careful stroke at a time.

Answer 7

Hmm, very interesting - uniting colors and words.  In poetry, the pictures form during the words.  

Answer 8

I work more to try to capture a feeling rather than a picture.

The feeling can have several "thought" presentation.

The presentation setting is more of the artistic flourish than the primary driver.

Thanks for allowing me to think about that process

Answer 9

I am mystified by the workings of the brain....how come I can type like I do, how do my fingers know what to do.  I don't have to 'think' about typing, I don't have to think about the words I am creating, I don't actually think I think at all.....it all happens - just like that.  I'm sure it isn't words in my head, but then it's not pictures either. Amazing isn't it?

This is a yoink....what the heck is a yoink? I thought that was the sound a pig made...I've learned two bits of Americanese to-day - going commando (meaning having no underwear) and now this.

Answer 10

Images come first; words are promoted later, to express the images.  

Answer 11

It depends.  If the work is "gestual" the words would go down first and become the picture.   If the author is attempting to resolve an issue, words are written and pictures evolve.

I have a medium-sized headache, so it's not easy to explain.  

Here's my point:  A painter who titles his work vs. a painter who titles no work.  Untitled paintings are most often "gestuale" meaning some magical inspiration is travelling from their mind to brush to color to canvas.  The artist just moves and paints... like spontaneously. (contemp art)

Titled works are "problems" the artist is attempting to resolve.... usually.  (abstract art)

Well.. I could explain all this better in Italian, but anyway.....

Answer 12

Poetry was B&W for centuries. It was up to the poet to add hue. Yours is a nice poetic statement.

Answer 13

If you have a thought, how can it be if it is not in words? If you see a beautiful picture how can you record it if you do not label it with words? Words lead to pictures.  That was a yoink of the highest degree!

Answer 14

In answer to the question: We are inspired by both pictures and words. It really could be either.  Sometimes in searching for the right words I get a picture as I try to fit them into the poem. Other times I have a memory or I see a thing and I am inspired to write of it.

In comment to your poem: It is thought provoking. It is a loss of muse kind of thing. Most of the mental pictures I have are fuzzy but they are typically in color. I liked this poem very much.

Answer 15

this is the chicken or the egg trick question, isnt it..? lol

words are a picture.

as picture words.

picture this.

http://www.omgwhatever.com/mars/picturep...