Sri Aurobindo

Letters on Poetry and Art

SABCL - Volume 27

Part 2. On His Own and Others’ Poetry
Section 3. Practical Guidance for Aspiring Writers
Guidance in Writing Poetry

Sri Aurobindo’s Critical Comments on Poetry Written in the Ashram [5]

The word “fine” means not, of course, “full of flaws” but there is something, somehow, somewhere wrong — for the following reason. “Good” means some imperfection, some flaw. Now, when I asked you whether the terms“very good”, “very fine”, “very beautiful” indicated different levels of excellence or merely different kinds on the same level, you said different kinds rather than levels. This means, analogically, that “good” and “fine” indicate also the same level. Ergo, “fine” means, too, some imperfection, some flaw.

What an extraordinarily sinuous and fantastic knowledge! My language would indeed be peculiar if the words I use mean just their opposites — i.e. good = bad, fine = flawed, beautiful = ugly. A poem may be good poetry without being a complete success, but if it is very good then it is a complete success. Fine cannot possibly mean something that is not fine, as it always implies a high excellence. Naturally the kind of fineness may vary and the degree also. There is no new unprecedented superior shade or transvaluation of values. I mean just the same thing as when I speak of fine lines — i.e. lines reaching a high level of excellence. These words are only summary words giving the general impression.

11 October 1934