Depending on the choice of a particular style of writing, the same elements can be gained or lost, such as the understanding of a text or a poem. For example I quote Stevens and James on the same idea of experiencing life: "One likes to practice the thing" (Waving Adieu, Adieu, Adieu) and "I live, to be sure, by the practical faith that we must go on experiencing and thinking over our experience, for only thus can our opinions grow more true" (The Will to Believe). Stevens' line is concise with the main idea, while James can develop more the idea by explaining it. That is a difference between poetry and a lecture.
A second element is the seduction effect that we talked so much about. At first sight, a poem can appear more seductive than a lecture. But it is not necessarily the case, and sometimes a long sentence or a short paragraph that readers easily understand can seduce more than a line or a verse that is not clear at all. Think James and Stein for example.
A third element which can be gained or lost is the fact of making readers think about an idea or a question. For instance I think that people will reflect more upon Stein's poetry to try to get a meaning of it, than upon James' lectures.
The choice of a particular style of writing is therefore a key element in catching readers' interest. Depending on people, they will be more attracted by a lecture than a poem, or the opposite, even though the idea expressed is the same. Think of the example I gave about Stevens and James.
The choice of a particular style of writing can provoke strong feelings. For example with Stein' s writings or poems. I quote Composition as Explanation: "And after that what changes what changes after that, after that what changes and what changes after that and after that and what changes and after that and what changes after that" (519). After reading such a sentence, it is either you love it and you want to read more or you hate it and you want to throw the book out of the window because it drives you crazy. But at least you have a reaction. And I think that is the point she wants to make: reaction to what you are reading. Nonetheless, such a style of writing can foreclose possibilities of expressing meaning, as well as to keep readers' attention. And it is a shame.
Though it's true that the elements that make up a writer's style aren't always a matter of choice, let's imagine, for a moment, that they are. What is gained, and what is lost in the choice of a particular style of writing?
ReplyDeleteThe idea that the content of a piece of writing can be altered or affected through the writer’s ‘choice’ of style is, to me, greatly what this course is about. After all, we have been trying to bridge the gap (or, at least locate the bridge.) between poetry and philosophy. However in some sense, I feel like what we’ve uncovered is the fact that poetry and philosophy often try to do the same thing; have the same goals, just through different styles, which have unquestionably affected their audience. (Or lack thereof.) It is undeniable that a writers’ style influences the readers connection to that writer’s work. For example, in Sein’s Tender Buttons, the author begins naming seemingly arbitrary items and divides the items into three categories; Objects, Rooms, and Food.
A PAPER.
A courteous occasion makes a paper show no such occasion and this makes readiness and eyesight and likeness and a stool.
A DRAWING.
The meaning of this is entirely and best to say the mark, best to say it best to show sudden places, best to make bitter, best to make the length tall and nothing broader, anything between the half.
WATER RAINING.
Water astonishing and difficult altogether makes a meadow and a stroke.
COLD CLIMATE.
A season in yellow sold extra strings makes lying places.
MALACHITE.
The sudden spoon is the same in no size. The sudden spoon is the wound in the decision.
Immediately the reader begins reading this list of items, and tries to make sense of it. It is almost as though Stein set up the poem as a recipe; each item holds importance and needs to be used to create something larger, and it is up to the reader to discover what they can make with the given objects. IF this poem was set up in more of a traditional style, like we saw in Steven, the words would seem somewhat less urgent and mysterious. Less of a puzzle for the reader to solve.