Hey, it's Francis Lamb, host of the splendid table.

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Talk to you soon. I'm Major Jackson and this is the slowdown.

I'm Major Jackson and this is the slowdown.

You spoke and we listened. Today's episode is about poetic craft.

The phrase form follows function is ubiquitous.

From biology to software design to aviation, it's a concept that finds application in many aspects of modern life.

One is likely to encounter this well-known phrase early in poetry school.

Yet, form and function is not as neatly perceived as the platonic ideal would suggest.

Furthermore, we are not engineers of language,

although how neat it is to think so.

First, the form of a poem is neither a superhero, Batman, nor a sidekick, Robin.

Both roles are essential to protect Gotham, getting the bad guys off the street.

So too, Form and its function share equal attention,

and their interdependence heightens our sense of safety.

Next, function is not as fixed as we'd like.

Multiple functions emerge at different moments in time.

The basic function of an airplane, for example, is to rapidly

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