Should poetry be reflective or instructional?

Su Dongpo was forty two years old when he had his first trial and exile from court in 1079 resulted from the Wutai Poem Incident. When his good friend Wang Shu resigned and left the capital city, the poet wrote a poem to express his resentment to the incident, along with his principle of poetry.

仁义大捷径，诗书一旅亭。

相夸绶若若，犹诵麦青青。

腐鼠何老吓，高鸿本自冥。

颠狂不用唤，酒尽渐须醒。 Read the rest of this entry »