[Tip: in this case, of course, the quotation comes from "The Philosophy of Composition," which proposes to explain how "The Raven" was written, so you are invited to also comment on how well Poe practices his own theory]
"In subjects so handled, however skilfully, or with however vivid an array of incident, there is always a certain hardness or [ nakedness, which repels the artistical eye. Two things are invariably required — first, some amount of complexity, or more properly, adaptation; and, secondly, some amount of suggestiveness — some undercurrent, however indefinite of meaning. It is this latter, in especial, which imparts to a work of art so much of that richness (to borrow from colloquy a forcible term) which we are too fond of confounding with the ideal. It is the excess of the suggested meaning — it is the rendering this the upper instead of the under-current of the theme — which turns into prose (and that of the very flattest kind) the so called poetry of the so called transcendentalists."
Edgar Allan Poe, "The Philosophy of Composition"; 1846
(imagem de Filipe Abranches)
12 comments:
This excerpt contains two ideas. The first one is that a written work must have some amount of complexity and suggestiveness in order to avoid a certain hardness which repels the sensitive eye. The second one is that the meaning must be suggested and not excessively visible because a very visible meaning turns the poetry prose, flat and poor. I agree with Poe.
Poe does this brilliantly. But he forgets to mention another thing, which it is implied: the entertainment part, which is dependent on the handling of the subjects. He writes for everyone, not only for the sensitive soul. The reader gets by really well without the suggested meaning. This is also the case of Irving and Hawthorne.
That doesn’t happen with Marianne Moore’s poems, she writes for historians, the upper-current is almost absent. This favors her poems, there’s no hardness. The reader does not need to fit himself into a new and strange reality.
Even though Poe was not probably thinking about Emerson, I think that Emerson is an example of Poe’s words. Emerson is not doing poetry, he is opening a new way, and he creates new ideas, a new ideology. The Emerson texts that we’ve read are essays, they are theoretical but they are beautiful. Their beauty comes from his honesty of feelings, his believe in this new way, and from his passion. His texts are not hollow because of his way to deliver his thoughts, because of his true passion. What he feels about what he says is in his words and his passion is the under-current of his texts. He doesn’t need to create a suggested meaning, the suggested meaning is his believe in what he says. His prose turns to poetry and becomes emblematic.
On the other hand, Thoreau believes more in Emerson than in his own writings. Emerson didn’t need to go anywhere and he didn’t need any of the examples that fill Thoreau’s pages. Thoreau’s speech seems frail and there’s no real passion in his words. They seemed forced and they are lacking the energy that fills Emerson’s texts and his doings, because we can see through Emerson’s words his energy at work, and in his everyday life. There’s no under-current in Thoreau texts but also there’s no great treatment of his text, which is simple and that favors his text. His text is flat but its simplicity and careful observations make up for his lack of depth. He would have gained if he had freed himself from transcendentalism. Then we would have seen him (and we sense an immense beauty) and not a pale image of Emerson.
The “Declaration of Independence”, the work of Apess and Douglass follow different rules. But we can say that the meaning is visible (although handled) and the under-current is given by its authors, like in the case of Emerson. Their presence, their intelligence, their rhetoric uses is the under-current and it is important for these features to be transferred to the text or to be completed with the author’s biography and the circumstances of the speech.
I believe that every written text has an under-current. It’s unavoidable. But when a writer like Poe uses it consciously to compose his work, this will enrich his work, turning it, with time, into a classic. The suggested meanings is what confers richness to the text, what allows several interpretations in a specific moment or during a long period of time. The meaning may change through time, adapting to each society, to each time and still pleasing the general reader because of its well-constructed upper-current. To be able to do this, like Poe did (and is still doing), both the upper-current and the under-current must have been well thought of and not just thrown into the text. Like Poe said, the text’s complexity and suggestiveness is necessary to avoid repel the artistical eye and this is true because a text that is constructed the way he describes conveys a universal truth which speaks directly to the reader’s soul.
Neste excerto, Poe expõe dois aspetos. O primeiro, de que há em certos textos uma dureza intolerável para o olhar artístico, que só pode ser evitada através da complexidade na composição e poder de sugestão, prende-se com o segundo, de que os transcendentalistas não escrevem poesia pois exageram na expressão do significado que deveria ficar escondido.
Discordo do que Poe diz sobre os transcendentalistas, tendo em mente Emerson. Emerson não escreve poesia, porém os seus escritos ensaísticos são elaborados com tal beleza que podem competir com os mais belos poemas. Quando leio “Nature”, sinto que atravessa o texto uma sensação de tranquilidade, sinto Emerson em total comunhão com a natureza, de uma forma mais profunda do que o que é transmitido pelas palavras escritas. Não só a complexidade está presente, como também a “undercurrent” fundamental para Poe. No entanto, não tenho a certeza que esta “undercurrent” de Emerson seja totalmente consciente. Parece-me que o que ele sente é de tal forma forte que extravasa para além daquilo que escreve.
Assim sendo, concordo com Poe no que toca à “suggestiveness”, ou poder de sugestão. Porém, considero que esta possa ser tanto consciente como inconsciente da parte do autor. Um autor escreve a partir daquilo que conhece, do meio onde se insere e das experiências que teve. Um leitor que pega num livro, seja ele de que tipo for, nunca se pode colocar no mesmo lugar do autor. Sendo assim, há sempre significados que podem parecer óbvios para o autor que são apenas sugeridos ao leitor. Por vezes, é até mesmo necessário ler várias vezes uma obra para lhe descobrir todos os significados que o autor introduziu, quer consciente como inconscientemente. Parece-me que Poe, embora tenha razão na forma como defende que a escrita é um processo que não surge espontaneamente e requer planeamento, exagera quando a define como um processo com a precisão e rigidez de um problema matemático.
Por outro lado, quando considerando a escrita de discursos ou textos de cariz político, o caso muda de figura. Neste tipo de escrita não se quer sugestão, quer-se exposição clara de significado. Tanto Apess como Douglass procuram que os seus ouvintes percebam perfeitamente a mensagem que querem transmitir, sem que se percam numa teia de significados escondidos. A nudez, nestes casos, é algo que não se rejeita, pode até procurar-se. Porém, uma questão surge. Serão as figuras de retórica um aspeto da “undercurrent”? Utilizam-se as figuras retóricas para fazer as mensagens ficar mais facilmente dentro da cabeça das pessoas, mensagens que, na sua crueza, seriam ignoradas. Douglass é muito específico com a sua mensagem: a escravatura é terrível, os americanos desonram os pais-fundadores ao praticá-la e deveria ser criminalizada. Porém, se o seu discurso se baseasse nestas três frases, teria muito pouco sucesso. Douglass não começa, por exemplo, por descrever a situação dos pais fundadores por acaso. Fá-lo para que mais tarde os ouvintes façam a ligação entre os seus antepassados e os escravos, que buscam a mesma coisa que eles, liberdade, dignidade e felicidade.
Da mesma forma Jefferson enumera os crimes do rei inglês contra os colonos americanos e utiliza os deíticos para criar união nas colónias, para incitar à formação de uma identidade nacional. Ao sugerir que estão todos unidos no seu sofrimento, através de figuras retóricas, consegue que o espírito de união se instale entre os colonos.
Em suma, considero que a nudez que Poe abomina não é incompatível com a complexidade e poder de sugestão que tanto aprecia. Não discordo de que há diferentes graus de mestria, de talento, mas parece-me que dominar somente a técnica não é suficiente para a criação de uma obra de arte, da mesma forma que talento sem técnica também serve de pouco. Assim, havendo a combinação de talento e técnica, a dureza de que Poe fala pode andar a par com a complexidade e poder de sugestão, servindo estes elementos em conjunto para elevar a obra.
KANSU EKİN TANCA
In this excerpt, Poe comments on the idea of “complexity” and “suggestiveness” and he argues that the conclusion part of a work of art should have these two “invariably required” elements which will uncover the obvious meaning implicitly and thus convey the “undercurrent.” His use of the word “undercurrent” is especially worth considering since it is the element which distinguishes Poe’s poetry from “the poetry of the so called transcendentalist.” I agree with Poe’s suggestions about these two points and I can observe them (the use of the idea of “complexity” and “suggestiveness”) when I read the last two stanzas of “The Raven.”
In “The Philosophy of Composition”, Poe himself addresses the lines of his poem, “The Raven” where he introduces the undercurrent meaning. In “The Raven", he uses “nevermore” as a refrain and this same image gains a hidden meaning towards the end of the poem, thus the undercurrent meaning becomes visible to the reader. In this sense, I think that Poe applies his own proposal which is dealt in this excerpt. In addition to this, he refers to the secondary meaning implicitly. He does not give any additional information which guides the reader to combine the undercurrent meaning with the most repeated image. Therefore, he implies it in his last two stanzas, and thus achieves the two “invariably required” elements.
When I consider his comments in my reading of “The Minister's Black Veil”, I do believe that there are some similar intentions in this narrative as well. Hawthorne develops the symbolic meaning of the veil throughout the story but he still preserves the last words of the minister in the end. Towards the end of the story, the black veil reaches the idea of “complexity” as it embodies different meanings. Furthermore, the last words of the minister, also suggest a new perspective to the reader and they introduce a new understanding of the veil (“suggestiveness”). Thus, I think that the final paragraphs can also be an example for Poe, in terms of the ideas that are discussed in the aforementioned excerpt. And with the help of these two points, the narrative ends much more effectively and so does “The Raven”.
When I try to apply Poe’s comments on “Rip Van Winkle”, I realise that it is more complicated to pick these two elements from this short story. In Irving’s short story the complexity rises within the narrative, but it is still preserved almost until the end. The reader remains to be curious and s/he wants to uncover the mysterious “twenty years long” missing. As Poe has also suggested, Irving also creates his implicit meanings throughout the narrative, and he does not openly reveal these undercurrent meanings in the short story. In this sense, Irving also makes use of what Poe calls ”suggestiveness” in which he does not directly state his other images. Since he maintains the “complexity” and since he ends with “suggestiveness”, this short story becomes much more effective as well.
As it is seen, these three independent stories have the similar qualities which are discussed in the excerpt by Poe. I think that what Poe argues in this excerpt is applicable in these three texts. And in each of them, these two elements (complexity and suggestiveness) deliberately elaborate these three narratives and enable them to achieve what Poe calls “the unity of effect”.
Poe começa o excerto afirmando que acredita que a claridade excessiva num texto o torna desinteressante. Poe é um apologista da complexidade e da sugestibilidade possível de um texto, argumentando que é necessário haver um tom de undercurrent ao longo das obras, onde o que se é dito/escrito não é literal, mas tem várias "camadas" possíveis de revelar, aumentando assim a riqueza do texto. É ainda acrescentada uma apreciação da prosa como um texto enfadonho, porque lhe falta riqueza de composição, e uma avaliação dos textos transcendentalistas como excessivos em sugestibilidade.
Não consigo ver-me a partilhar a opinião de Poe de que um texto necessita de uma undercurrent of meaning para conseguir causar impacto em quem o lê. No entanto, é relevante mencionar que, por muito que as obras assumam uma linguagem clara, com poucas referências em contexto, nunca será possível ao leitor compreender a totalidade da mensagem, uma vez que o narrador tem uma bagagem de experiências de vida diferentes das do interlocutor. Mesmo assim, é-me fácil compreender porque Poe assim pensa: é muito enriquecedor estudar um texto a fundo, procurando desvendar o que temos em frente de nós. É isto que se passa em The Raven, e que Poe consegue aplicar na perfeição.
Creio ser possível tornar os textos ricos e interessantes mesmo que o seu conteúdo não seja obscuro ao olhar do comum leitor. Jefferson, Douglass e Apess usam a retórica e elementos deícticos para legitimar os seus argumentos: usam a escolha de termos e não a sugestibilidade dos temas que abordam para captar a atenção dos interlocutores. O uso das palavras é mais claro, pois é do seu interesse que seja compreendido por todos. Além disso, Jefferson e Douglass referenciam a história dos EUA para apoiar as suas ideias, aumentando a potencialidade do entendimento das referências inseridas. A meu parecer, estes exemplos não carecem de criatividade ou deixam de causar impressão no interlocutor, apesar das características acima descritas.
Por outro lado, os trascendentalistas recorrem, como diz Poe, a uma excessividade de sugestibilidade, com a qual eu concordo. Até certo ponto, a intencionalidade da mensagem de Emerson torna-se pouco perceptível em momentos do seu ensaio Nature. Thoreau, seu colega trascendentalista, usa parábolas para sugerir significados morais que, por vezes, não são tão claros, mesmo inseridos no contexto de Walden. Mesmo assim, a forma como Emerson enaltece a natureza, conseguida pela escolha de palavras certa, torna Nature um texto mais interessante, entregando-lhe uma paixão que não consigo encontrar em Walden. Em contraste, o discurso de Emerson em The American Scholar mostra uma sugestibilidade reduzida e, ao estilo de Apess e Douglass, recorre a elementos da tradição norte-americana, desta vez para apelar à capacidade criadora do Homem.
É ainda relevante considerar que as short-stories de Poe, em contraste com The Raven, não demonstram tanta complexidade ou obscuridade. Na realidade, a simbologia que é associada à teoria da perverseness, explicada em Imp of the Perverse e explorada em The Black Cat, é baseada essencialmente em conceitos previamente conhecidos pelo leitor (como a conotação negativa dos gatos pretos). O talento de Poe para escrever narrativa é assim demonstrado ao mais alto nível, pois estas short-stories conseguem causar uma forte impressão ao leitor (effect) sendo, ao mesmo tempo que claras na intenção, dotadas de simbologia relacionadas com elementos psicológicos, mais próximos do entendimento do leitor comum. O mesmo não acontece em Emerson ou Thoreau, que enchem as suas obras com significância que só consegue ser desvendada com um esforço muito maior.
Em retrospectiva, é fácil compreender porque Poe se opõe aos transcendentalistas: este não vê a necessidade dos autores do transcendentalismo se distanciarem do público-alvo dos seus trabalhos com a sua abordagem à escrita. No entanto, os escritos de Poe também alcançam um tipo de complexidade, mesmo que diferente: o undercurrent nas short-stories do autor é mais facilmente decifrável.
No excerto de 'The Philosophy of Composition' de Edgar Allan Poe, o autor começa por nos falar do facto de, por mais que um autor trabalhe o(s) tópico(s) das suas obras com grande mestria, este acabará sempre por se deparar com uma certa rigidez existente. Para contrariar esta situação, o autor deva adoptar duas técnicas literárias, que para Poe, são "inevitavelmente necessárias": complexidade/adaptação e sugestibilidade - um tipo de significado indefinido. Este explica também que a sugestibilidade dá as obras literárias uma grande "riqueza", mas depois afirma que a sugestibilidade é confundida com "o ideal". Poe acaba dizendo que o excesso de sugestibilidade nas obras torna em prosa a tão "aclamada poesia dos tão aclamados transcendentalistas".
Ora, é possível de se perceber da maneira com Poe descreve os transcendentalistas e a sua forma de escrever que este provavelmente nutria um pouco de desdém por estes. Poe, falando do facto da sugestibilidade ser considerada muitas vezes como "ideal" leva-nos a pensar com certeza que este dava uma primazia à complexidade dos textos e ao seu poder de adaptação, em detrimento da sugestibilidade. Nesta passagem Poe provavelmente teria em mente textos como "Nature" de Emerson em que sem dúvida a sugestibilidade é favorecida.
Tendo em conta este aspecto, posso dizer verdadeiramente que concordo com Poe. O forte uso da sugestibilidade em um texto pode torná-lo mais difícil em termos de interpretação e por isso, tê-la como condição "ideal" em um texto poderá não ser desejável. O facto de os textos da maior parte dos transcendentalistas conterem um grande número de argumentos carregados de sugestibilidade faz com que a maior parte dos leitores (ou os que não se encontram familiarizados com o autor e com a sua maneira de escrever) tenha bastante dificuldade em compreender o que o autor pretende comunicar na sua obra. Existe uma falta de adaptabilidade do texto (e do contexto) por parte do autor para o leitor.
No entanto, tenho que discordar com Poe acerca do facto de este considerar a sugestibilidade necessária nas obras literárias. A sugestibilidade é apenas uma de muitas ferramentas que se podem usar em textos literários para lhes dar uma grande riqueza de significado: se pensarmos em obras como as de Douglass (a sua palestra "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?) rapidamente nos apercebemos que o seu discurso se encontra imensamente rico em termos de significado, apesar da linguagem que usa ser bastante directa: o discurso de Douglass faz bom uso de elementos como a retórica (perguntas retóricas) e outros para cativar o seu público. A sua mensagem é transmitida com muito mais clareza do que a mensagem que se encontra nos textos de Emerson ou de Walden, em que a maneira como estes transmitem as suas ideias e o facto destas não serem partilhadas por todos diminui a capacidade de percepção dos seus textos por parte do público.
Tendo em conta por último, as várias obras de Poe, podemos-nos facilmente aperceber que Poe usa a sugestibilidade nas suas obras de formas diferentes, dependendo do tipo de obra e da mensagem que o autor pretende transmitir: ao lermos as suas short stories (como "The Black Cat" ou "The Tell-Tale Heart") apesar de estas nutrirem um certo nível de sugestibilidade, a verdade é que o leitor muito facilmente conseguirá compreender o significado latente nas histórias devido às suas experiências de vida: o exemplo do gato preto, que é conhecido por todos os homens como sendo considerado um animal que trás o mal e a perversidade. Se compararmos estas como o seu poema "The Raven" não há dúvida que no caso do poema a complexidade e a sugestibilidade interligam-se dando ao poema um tom muito mais rico e cheio de significado. De facto, o uso da sugestibilidade em grande escala faz muito mais sentido em poemas como este, em que o seu uso eleva o poema à qualidade de "obra-prima".
Este parágrafo de "The philosophy of composition" é precedido por um no qual Poe descreve a verosimilhança de tudo quanto escrevera em "The Raven", sendo por isso que inicia o parágrafo em questão dizendo que outros dois elementos são necessário: Complexidade (adaptação) e sugestão, abordando ainda os "perigos" da sugestão excessiva. Na minha opinião, Poe tem razão na medida em que, de facto, estes são dois ingredientes chave da poesia, que, podendo partir do plausível (sendo que anteriormente Poe conclui que a prosa será uma melhor forma de expressão da verdade), como em "The Raven"- um homem perde o seu interesse amoroso e sofre por isso, o adapta e dá acesso a novas questões e faz com que cada leitor se "aproprie" do poema e com ele se relacione. Quanto à sugestão esta será fulcral no sentido em que a partir de esta, algo muito concreto (neste caso o corvo) se torna num símbolo de algo muito maior e confere não só a complexidade, como também aumenta a proximidade entre leitor e poema- o corvo é o símbolo da melancolia do homem, mas também de qualquer leitor. Neste âmbito, são estas duas características que conferem ao poema a riqueza a que Poe se refere, sem elas "The Raven", por exemplo, limitar-se-ia a ser um relato de uma situação triste, com elas "dá voz" a um problema existencialista (o de nunca voltar a ver a pessoa amada). No fim deste parágrafo, Poe crítica a poesia transcendentalista, a qual chama de "flattest [prose]", devido ao uso excessivo da sugestão. Enquanto me parece que o uso excessivo da sugestão é, na realidade nocivo, uma vez que não só se torna difícil de compreender o sentido pretendido, como também retira força ao que é dito (a previsibilidade da sugestão torna-a inútil), parece-me que Poe seja demasiado incisivo na sua crítica aos transcendentalistas, como aliás é em várias das suas opiniões. Em "Nature", Emerson afirma que " To the wise, therefore,
a fact is true poetry...", poder-se-á então concluir que há alguma dissonância entre Emerson e Poe, uma vez que este último refere a necessidade da adaptação e da sugestão. Esta dissonância não será de estranhar quando se tem presente que Emerson é "o pai" do transcendentalismo, que Poe crítica.
Ricardo B. Morais Literary Comment Part 1
Before unpacking the meaning of the referenced quote above, we must keep in mind the general intent of the piece from where it is cited. "The Philosophy of Composition," an essay written by Poe to describe the intricacies of his writing of "The Raven," is meant to methodically explain both how Poe composed his poetical work and how his way of composition is the right, almost pure way of achieving poetic truth.
In his essay, Poe belittles the writing of others, without mentioning names, by making it blatantly clear that his own objective "(as usual) was originality," and that "no man in verse has ever done, or ever seemed to think of doing an original thing," when describing his line combination and stanza composition. Towards the beginning of the "Philosophy of Composition," Poe pretentiously wonders of how interesting it would be to have an article written about the processes of writing composition, making it plainly understood that he believes other writers are not only incapable of providing that detail--because "they would shutter at letting the public eye take a peep" at the painstaking process of composing a literary piece--but also because he believes other writers don´t really have a composition process that they abide by. Remember that for Poe, true originality "must be elaborately sought" and has nothing to do with "impulse or intuition." Frankly, I doubt that Poe, or any other writer for that matter, would be able to construct a literary piece so methodically--almost mathematically--and still be able to retain an artistic truth (what Poe defines as “beauty.”)
Ricardo B. Morais Literary Comment Part 2
Now that we have at least some part of Poe´s rationale in mind, we can better unpack the meaning of the quotation referenced above. In it Poe defines the contours of what is, essentially, true poetry and what is not. He begins by writing that two elements are required to combat the ever-present "hardness and nakedness," which repel the artistic eye: complexity as it pertains to adaptation, and an "undercurrent of meaning," which should drive the story entirely but only make itself obvious to the reader in the climax of the piece. Both these elements are pretty straightforward. But Poe, being Poe, then heeds caution and makes a separation between his writing, his notions of poetry and those of the Transcendentalists. He cautions against the excess of meaning in writing and how it causes poetry to quickly become prose, which he calls the poetry of the Transcendentalists.
We might not like how Poe says what he says but we cannot dismiss his literary genius and the points he makes simply because of his poetic arrogance. He is right about the writing of Transcendentalists, over-packed with meaning and lacking truth to its original effect.
Let´s consider the writings of Emerson as an example of what Poe calls "the very flattest kind" of prose writing--that which inspires no beauty, sadness (its highest manifestation), and remains only true to the satisfaction of the intellect and the excitement of the heart. This delineation of the values of "truth," and "passion," respectively, are more attainable in prose than in poetry, after all. "The world is a temple whose walls are covered with emblems, pictures and commandments of the deity. There is no fact in nature which does not carry the whole sense of nature," taken from "The Poet," points to the constant manifestation of a spiritual force which transcends the physical and empirical world as we know it, but it does so in a blatant, obvious manner. There is no undercurrent of meaning because its meaning is constantly explained and mentioned in the writing itself. In other words, Emerson doesn´t show; rather he tells. The effect pursued by Emerson is of course the elevation of the soul. But if we are forced to read countless lines on how that is achieved and we are TOLD how it is so rather than reading it and getting to a literary climax that empowers our own interpretation of it, that effect may well be lost. In that regard I agree with Poe.
(I submitted my comment in two parts because of the character limit imposed by the website. Apologies if I went overboard but I assure you I had already cut what I had originally written in half.)
In this excerpt, Poe comments on the subject. Edgar Allan Poe implies that the subject should include certain hardness which repels an artistic eye. According to him, complexitiy and suggestiveness are must. He was the one who used these features very well. When we think of Edgar Allan. The first thing which comes to mind is that suggestiveness. In "The philosophy of composotion" he opposes of excess meaning of poem. Excess of meaning makes the poem prose for him. I totally agree with Poe. He was against the transcendentalism and he uses the words of Transcendentalism as a vehicle so as to show his opposition to excess meaning of poem by referring to the lines of "The Raven" in his essay. Hardness is required for him too. What makes The Raven hardness is his being inexplicable.
When we compare this excerpt with "The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne" which we have already analyzed in the class. We can see the same way with Edgar Allan Poe. Edgar Allan poe disagree with openness. In the protagonist of The Minister's Black Veil, we can see that Hawthorne also does not agree with the openness. In this case, Hawthorne gives the readers message implicitly not directly. The reason why Mr Hooper, the protagonist of the short story wears the veil is not stated in the text. Even when he was dying he did not take the veil off. The message was that everybody hides his bad side in their invisible masks and the character tries to show their masks which are hidden in their spirits.
Additionally, when I compare this excerpt with "An Indian's Looking Glass for the White Man" by William Apess. Actually this text is not poem we can say that the authour shows his purpose directly without any implication. But in some parts, he makes irony and the irony makes the content undercurrent little bit. In the following lines which is quoted from " An Indian's Looking Glass for the White Man" shows the irony:
Now, if the Lord Jesus Christ, who is counted by all to be a Jew - and it is well known that the Jews are a colored people, especially those living in the East, where Christ was born--and if he should appear among us, would he not be shut out of doors by many, very quickly? And by those too who profess religion?
This quotation tells that if Jesus had dark color he would also be humiliated by many because of his skin color. When we read this quot first of all we cannot understand the meaning which is hidden directly but we focus on deeply we can understand the meaning and the purpose of the author. The author creates hidden meaning thanks to his way of narrative.
Poe is going to dwell on two very different and very important elements, present in every form of art: complexity and suggestiveness. The author's perspective is that some amount of both is the ideal. Without them the text would remain naked and poor. He explains that the suggested meaning is what adds richness to the text, but that the excess of it can ruin the text. He points out the writing of transcendentalists authors and critics that it not neither prose nor poetry, mainly due to the fact that the supposed "hidden meaning" is the only thing in their texts.
On the one hand, I agree with Poe, in what concerns complexity. Art tries to capture reality, but it cannot copy it. To add some complexitiy is absolutely crucial, because if one desires to escape reality and read a book or watch a movie, it can not depict only reality, it must offer something different. An author has to, compulsory, adapt reality: has to create problems and create complex, deep characters; invent new and different situations or be able to observe old events but to give them a new perspective. A text without complexity is a desert, it is plain and barren. It brings no originality forward. All great authors, even modernists, agree on this specific term. Eça de Queiroz, Henry Fielding and John Steinbeck are considered realists, and take proud of calling themselves that but even if the pure reality is the only thing that they appreciate, every single one of their novels is a more complex and rich reality. I agree with Poe: to enjoy a simple, naked and poor text is, artistically, impossible!
On the other hand, Poe's take on suggestiveness is not so acceptable. The author relies on the thesis that it is the undercurrent meaning that rules the text. In his review of Hawthorne's "The Minister's Black Veil", Poe declares that only greater minds will be successful in finding the second meaning, behind the obvious one. Furthermore, Poe repels the "excessive" of symbols, which are the definition of "suggested meaning", and declares that transcendentalists lose a lot by depending so much on this undercurrent, that, in fact, it becomes the upper. It is in this particular subject that I tend to disagree with Poe. The amount of suggestiveness must be enough that the text poses an hard challenge to the reader, that when one reads it, the whole set of different meanings can not be crystal clear, one must dig deep in the text, must understand every word. Nevertheless, a text that reveals itself too hard, and forces the reader to spend an awful amount of time studying it must also be avoided. Giving the example of transcendentalists, such as Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman, the quality and profoundness of the texts are, undoubtedly, tremendous, but they do not allow the reader to just hover over the poems or the prose, they ask of the reader dedication and time, and even if the reader offers it to them, one may not be able to fully grap the meaning implied. Therefore, I found myself in between these two thesis (Poe and Transcendentalists): the suggestiveness in Poe's texts is not enough to intelectually pose a difficult challenge, but the density of "Nature" and "Leaves of Grass" is too far-stretched.
In conclusion, to appeal to the artistical eye is the goal and duty of every single artists, if failed, the art becomes as meaningless, because if one can not understand, one can not perceive it. This is a long permiss: if the text is too complex and too filled with suggestiveness, and if, therefore, the meaning is lost and not graspable, the text becomes meaningless. That is why modern art, be it painting or literature have become more and more meaningless, because the rejection of form and standartness has give place to an adoration of suggestiveness and the pieces not a shread of meaning.
In this excerpt from Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Philosophy of Composition”, he tries to mention how a poem show be written in the matter of subject and narration. Giving the message clearly and leaving no place for comment turn poetry into prose which means poetry should not be used in this way to convey the message to the readers. For that purpose, using verse which is the structure of poetry is a way of hiding meaning and letting the readers to understand it in their own perspectives. Poe says that certain meaning should not be given directly and there should be “hardness” to understand the real meaning of a work. In addition, there should be a “suggested” meaning for the readers at the end of a poem, so to say to authors should create a path for the readers in order not to cause them think far-fetched from the certain meaning; also, it is necessary to give a “suggested” meaning for the readers who are not elite. In this manner simplicity in a poem gives only straightforward pain or pleasure, also when there is simplicity, it satisfies the readers. In contrast to simplicity in a poem, when there is “hardness”, “indefinite meaning”, briefly “complexity”, a poem gives a complex misery or pleasure to the readers. His poetry is different from the transcendentalists’ poetry because he prefers “undercurrent” meaning in his poem. Considering Poe’s perspective, I agree with him, because writing with “complexity” and “suggested” meaning makes a work artistic and valuable regardless of considering it is verse or prose. These terms are also necessary for the unity of effect.
In this manner considering Poe’s view, we can say that Nathaniel Hawthorne has written his work “The Ministers’ Black Veil” with the same perspective as Poe. He uses darkness and hidden meaning within the prose text to let the readers understand and get the message. He also uses symbolism in order to create an undercurrent meaning. Throughout the narration, he does not mention the reason why the character wears a black veil, but at the end as Poe said, in an ambiguous way Hawthorne explains the reason of using veil as a symbolic figure in order to convey the moral message to readers. In the message, he declares that he uses veil as a mirror to reflect society itself.
Considering William Apess’ “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man”, we can say that he uses this “complexity” throughout his narration by using pun like Jonathan Swift did as a political criticism in his “A Modest Proposal”. Every statement given in Apess’ text shows us that there are deeper meanings. In addition throughout his narration, he uses irony to make the meaning complex and ambiguous. For instance; describing his supporters as “fellow creatures following him to the grave” and calling the white people as “noble hearted” although he criticizes them through the text. The reason why his work is a critical is because he gives the message in the text through “complexity”. Although he tries to narrate ambiguously in his narration, he gives “suggested” meaning from the beginning to the end of his narration.
In conclusion, there are similarities between Poe’s perspective and the authors’ who were mentioned above. Considering Poe’s view, there should be “two things invariably required”; “complexity” and “suggestiveness” in order to take interest of the readers and evoke “curiosity” in their mind and to let them take more “pleasure” or a “message” from the poems they read. Briefly, according to Poe, writing with those elements creates “richness” in a poem and distinguishes his perspective from the transcendentalists.
Post a Comment