What made me abandon philosophy for English literature was, I confess, the logic. Now what would one make of the function of verb?: "And it is clearly the meaning of what we call the verb, which is nothing more than a word whose main function is to signify affirmation, that is to say, to signify that the statement in which this word is used, is the statement of a person who not only conceives of things, but who also judges them and affirms them.("La Logique ou l' Art de Penser", by Arnaud et Nicole, published by Flammarion. Paris, 1970, 154). It concludes: "the verb signifies two affirmations, of which one is about the person who speaks and the other the person spoken of, even though the two may be the same...."(ibid p.154). On the other hand, I found our philosophy of "Discourse" (al-Bayane), although a small part of the logic, more useful. A few years back, I reviewed the poetic collection of a young Urdu poet, whom I knew. I had thought my approach had been both objective and appreciative. But, apparently, I had made the mistake of saying that the poet's expression was influenced by Faiz. And that there was nothing surprising in it as, since the appearance of "Dast-e-Saba", Urdu poetry's diction was under Faiz's sway. (Hum nay jo tarz-e-fughan ki hai qafas mein eejad, Faiz gulshan mein wahee tarz-e-bayan thahri hai). There was no acknowledgement of my effort from the young poet. But I learnt from common friends that he had been so outraged at my comment that it appeared that it could be washed only in blood. Then an older and established poet asked me to review his works. I worked hard on them but his note of thanks only said: "Thank you for reviewing my works." I realized that it was a matter of the inadequacy of the language for communicating the intensity of the storm raging in the poet's breast. He had invested his outpouring with what he felt so intensely. But the reader could only get what the word formally contained. The greatness of a poet lay in making a word carry more load than it was created to. (e.g. Aa gaee aap ko masihaee. Daagh). I later found the explanation for this alienation in Abid Ali Abid. He says "Now it can be said with certainty that, in the process of creation, it is very difficult for the author or the creative writer to fill the chasm or the void that exists between the expression and the possibility of its communication. Anyway, he uses appropriate terminology and letters and their sounds to free the statement of his experience from the limitations of the possibility of expression and carry it, even if only partially, into the sphere of communication."(al-Bayane, Majlis Tarraqi-e-Adab, Lahore, 1989, p.207). He adds that the extent to which the reader is able to appreciate the writer's or the poet's effort also depends on his interest, education, background, level of culture etc. One supposes that the gap between the artist and the reader will narrow as the population's level of culture rises but will probably never be filled. If it does disappear, the poet will cease to be a poet.