Society thrives because of structure. Everything that we experience as humans originates in structure, and functions because of some sort of it. The menus we order from at restaurants. The lines we stand in. The stores that we shop in. The songs that we listen to, the movies we watch. It all has some sort of structure, whether it’s alphabetical, by category, or verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus.
Structure is something that has come up a lot in class, and it is something that is involved in every aspect of life, from poetry to the way class lists are organized, and this course has opened my eyes to that truth. Studying Percival Everett’s collection of poetry, re:f (gesture), gave me exposure to a poet who knew how to toy with the concept of structure in a way that made me really reflect on what structure does to us as humans and the ways it interacts with how we perceive and experience the world.
In the collection, Everett’s poem Zulus distinguishes each section by beginning with each of the letters of the alphabet, in order. This structure is one that can be seen in many places in the everyday world, whether it be the way the books are organized in the library or a class roster. However, in this poem, it becomes a tool for Everett to critique structure. The alphabet is common knowledge, meaning that readers will be able to easily pick up on this structure at first glance of the piece, and comprehend the writer’s intentions. However, the language Everett utilizes throughout the poem juxtaposes this simplicity. It is complex, isolating and challenging. It becomes a critique of the way that society operates, and perhaps how desensitized we have all become to it.
I think that structure has become such a central aspect of the course because it is so involved in everything. It is ingrained in everything we do as humans. It has been interesting to develop my understanding of the function of structure through the study of literature, and it is something I am grateful to this course for teaching me. The structure of the course itself has enabled me to understand its purpose and to understand how I react to and sometimes desire more than anything to reject structure.