Imperfect Means of Communicating Thoughts, Ideas, and

¶ … imperfect means of communicating thoughts, ideas, and feelings. With words, a limited scope of communication can occur. As Gioia (2001) points out in the poem, "Words," language can often do a disservice to the subject being discussed. Moreover, naming objects help people to classify and categorize but not necessarily to understand or pierce the souls of things. More important than words is point-of-view, which conveys the speaker's stance, biases, or expectations. Knowing where the speaker is coming from, the listener has a better chance of developing empathy.

Empathy and emotion are more direct links to reality than words. Although it is ironic that Gioia (2001) uses the medium of words to discuss the limitations of words, the poet ultimately succeeds by encouraging the reader to contemplate alternative means of communication and understanding. Gioia (2001) calls words "airy," because they are light, fluffy, and ephemeral. When words are used to describe sublime things like a beautiful sunrise or sunset, the words cannot begin to convey the underlying emotion that accompanies the fleeting event.

Words are not only airy; they are imperfect and completely limited in their scope. As the poet points out, "one word transforms it into something less or other." This is why, as Gioia (2001) states in the opening line of the poem, "The world does not need words." By keeping the poem short and comprised of only four stanzas of five lines each, Gioia (2001) accomplishes the task of proving the central argument while still relying on words to do so.

The irony embedded in the poet's endeavor is palpable, thereby helping to prove the case that words signify nothing important. What the poet is trying to show is that while human beings will always need to use words to relate to one another, that there are ultimately better and more effective methods of forging relationships and learning about the world. When the poet describes the limitations of words to describe a kiss, for example, the reader completely understands that words do a disservice to strong emotional states such as love.

"Even calling it a kiss betrays the fluster of hands / glancing the skin or gripping a shoulder, the slow / arching of neck or knee, the silent touching of tongues." The words the poet selects are powerful and strong, but no words can begin to truly capture the visceral feeling of the romantic kiss. Gioia's (2001) poem begs the question of whether a picture might truly tell a thousand words, as the adage claims.

Using Gioia's (2001) central argument about the "the dialect of pure being," it can be surmised that the poet believes that a picture might also be limited, just as words are. A picture captures only one angle of one single moment in time, colored and shaped by the biases, perspective, and expectations of the photographer or painter. Just as words mainly suggest the point-of-view of the speaker and.