Revolt is Revolting

“There again,” said Syme irritably, “what is there poetical about being in revolt ? You might as well say that it is poetical to be sea-sick. Being sick is a revolt. Both being sick and being rebellious may be the wholesome thing on certain desperate occasions; but I’m hanged if I can see why they are poetical. Revolt in the abstract is—revolting. It’s mere vomiting.”

Quite possibly my favorite quote from the entire book. Allow me to explain it. This comes in at the very beginning of the book where Syme is talking to Gregory, the first (and honestly, only) real anarchist in the novel. Gregory was just explaining that as a poet he will always find fault in things and write about it. The new becomes the same and the same isn't as good as the new. Gregory flings this in Syme's face, trying to get him to admit that poetry is complaint.

However, in grand prose, Syme explains (apparently quite loudly) that being rebellious is the most unpoetic thing that one can do. He compares it to vomiting and being sick. He explains that while they both have their places in the world, they should be used sparingly, for as no one wants to see vomiting, no one wants a rebellious poet.

When said like that, I would say that he has the entire thing wrong. However, I thought of this example. If every poet is truely in revolt, finding the faults in life, and even in praising them, he becomes like every other poet, and other wise stagnant. Nothing new came come from writing about problems with no solutions. Like vomiting, it's been done once, and seeing it again is just unpleasant. Find something new for us to chew on. Whether or not we chew it or spit it out, at least it's not vomit in the same way of everyone else.