LESS IS MORE, MORE IS LESS

... A Poetic Tee Lecture Series

In poetry, just like in architecture, most especially well composed poems and well designed buildings, le Corbusier's "Less is more, more is less" is the secret key to lasting beauty - Tijjani Muhammad Musa

This is a philosophical concept only those capable of deep reflection can grasp.

Now, how do I explain it so you can easily understand it. Ok, let's consider a normal cup of tea 🍵 (not tee) 😁. If you add a cube of sugar, you're likely going to get the taste of all the ingredients in the brew. Such as ginger, tamarind, kanumfari, lemon, masoro etc or milk etc.

Now, if you add another cube of sugar, the taste may just be right. Add one more cube and the sweetness starts to take over, right?

Thereafter, the more sugar you add, the less the tea components register their presence on your taste buds, until the tea looses its taste and is no more worthy of being called a tea.

So 'More is less' in this case, even though it's sugar, which ordinarily is sweet and normally what is added as a sweetener.

Another important example goes thus:

Take a real beautiful woman. To appreciate her beauty best, she needs very little or even no make up, adornment, sparse jewellery, regalia, accessories, nothing artificial and so on.

But the moment you do heavy make up on her face, deck her with assorted jewelry, use strong colors in the clothes she is dressed with, spray her with multiple designer perfumes, multicolored shoes and handbag etc, her natural beauty will end up being buried by all these distractive items. In fact, many will not even notice she is beautiful.

So, the less she is covered or cladded by all the beautifying items, the more her true and natural endowments will be shown and she will be recognized as an enchanting, subtle, delightful flower.
Hope we all get it now... Less is more, more is less.

Same with a poem, the less words you use to craft the piece and aptly deliver your intended message, the better and more formidable a bard you will be regarded.

Though, where you find it fit and fewer words will not convey well the lessons embedded in your poem, you are at liberty to use more. After all, it's your prerogative.

But essentially, the less words you use to create beautiful, deep, enriching and meaningful piece of poetry, the more you are appreciated as one with mastery of dictions.

Less is indeed more and vice versa.

(c)2016 Tijjani M. M.
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