The Poetic Image and the Emotional Through-Line

These are 2 vitally important ideas I took from the Theatre of the Absurd book that I don't think were mentioned in the last post. They seem to apply to the larger world of poetic story:

1 - By the end of the play the viewer has enough information to assemble the poetic image.
The poetic image is not visual—it's the sum total of the situations and ideas of the piece. When taken as a whole they reveal the central theme or themes of the work.

This isn't quoted directly, just paraphrased as well as I can remember it. So, this is what you get from poetry, as opposed to narrative's storyline, plot, drama etc. When it's over you ponder it for a while and try to get the feel for what it all means, and certain themes and ideas will emerge, and then maybe a few that were more subtle. This is more like contemplating a picture than watching a movie.​

2 - You don't need a story as long as there's an emotional through-line.
This one blew me away when I understood it. Actually I think an emotional through-line is a sort of story, though not in the traditional sense. Just a series of emotions and responses that, taken together, seem to end satisfyingly–not necessarily for the characters, but it completes something like an arc for the reader/viewer or what-have-you.​