1. What elements of structure and appreciation, as well as tone and style, can be helpful for your own final work (review of one of the texts studied in class, or any other 19th century US literary text approved by the teacher)?
2. What are the precepts that both Poe's review of Hawthorne and "The Philosophy of Composition" set for the short form (either poem or story)?
10 comments:
1) My final work is going to be an essay and some elements in Poe's review will be helpful. Apart from the length, these elements that he mentions are well known.
I will be careful with my first sentence. I will try to begin with a strong sentence or at least I will try to explain why my essay might be important. The text will be condensed and its length will allow for it to be read in less than one hour, maybe in a half an hour.
I will also aim to the text unity. I will choose one thesis and I will address my theme from the beginning. I will not contradict my goal, presenting arguments that favour my thesis. If I think that an antagonist idea favours my thesis, I will present it. I will use a ratiocinative tone. I will try not to bore my reader, catching her full attention.
2) According to Poe, the length is an important percept either in a poem or in a short story. In the case of a poem, Poe says that an exaltation of the soul cannot be long sustained. But “A poem too brief may produce a vivid, but never an intense or enduring impression. Without a certain continuity of effort--without a certain duration or repetition of purpose--the soul is never deeply moved.” So, in the case of a poem, the length shouldn’t be too long or too short. He gives an ideal length, the length of “The Raven”: 108 lines. In the case of a short story, the length should allow the story to be read in thirty minutes or in one hour.
It should have an effect or impression. This has to be the author’s first choice because all the other elements are subdued to this effect. Poe says that the poet’s highest idea is the idea of the Beautiful. He says that “Beauty is the sole legitimate province of the poem”. Truth and passion are more attainable in prose, the writer is able to make use of any tone or argument that he chooses but in a poem that is harder to do because of the rhythm, which is “an essential aid in the development of the poet’s highest idea”. In a poem, truth and passion must be toned “into proper subservience to the predominant aim”, which is Beauty.
After choosing an effect, the writer must choose the tone of the poem. Poe says that “Melancholy is (…) the most legitimate of all the poetical tones”.
A refrain can be used. Poe states that there is pleasure in the sense of identity, of repetition. But if a refrain is used, the author needs to find “a pretext for the continuous use of one word”.
He has to come up with an argument, he must choose a topic, a place for the action of the poem and all the other details. All of this must suit his desired effect and tone.
The writer should aim at originality and that may be displayed in the tone, matter or in the formal combination.
1) Penso que este texto me será útil quando estiver a escrever o meu trabalho final pois relembrou-me questões pertinentes, como a estruturação do texto do geral para o particular, a comparação de estilo e conteúdo com outros autores, a intertextualidade de certos elementos, a exposição da própria natureza do conto e do poema (qual a sua função, e quais devem ser as suas características), e a análise mais aprofundada e metódica tanto do tom do autor na narrativa como do conteúdo desta mesma narrativa.
Carolina Tavares
In ‘The Philosophy of Composition’, Edgar Allan Poe considers the ‘radical error’ in the method that one can use in the construction of a story: “…Either the history affords a thesis…or, at best, the author sets himself to work in the combination of striking events to form merely the basis of his narrative…”. (P.1529)
Poe’s initial consideration is related to the extent of any literary work. If the composition is too long and cannot be read in one sitting the fullness of the work will be destroyed, therefore, Poe establishes a limit regarding the length of literary works, and this is the limit of one single sitting: “It appears evident, then, that there is a distinct limit, as regards length, to all works of literary art―the limit of a single sitting ―…” (P.1530), and although this is the limit, Poe acknowledges that some prose compositions ―like “Robinson Crusoe”― do not require unity, therefore this same limit can be surpassed.
While this can happen in prose, it can never happen with a poem, because it would not produce a ‘true poetical effect’ on the reader. So in order to avoid a very long poem Poe sets another limit, in this case, for the extent of the poem, and this would be the length of one hundred and eight lines: “…I conceived the proper length for my intended poem- a length of about one hundred lines. It is, in fact, a hundred and eight.”. (P.1531)
After setting these limits, Poe’s next thoughts take into account the choice of one’s desired effect to convey in a literary work, in this case, the work should be able to be ‘universally appreciable’, thus, leading to the effect that Beauty can have: elevate one’s soul due to its direct effect while a person reads. Poe attributes this effect to the poem: “I mean, that Beauty is the sole legitimate province of the poem…Now I designate Beauty as the province of the poem, merely because it is an obvious rule of Art that effects should be made to spring from direct causes…”. (P.1531)
2) Segundo Poe, tanto um poema como um conto devem, acima de tudo, ser breves o suficiente para serem lidos numa hora (no caso dos poemas), ou entre meia e duas horas (no caso dos contos), de modo a ser atingida a "unity of effect or impression" (pág. 1525). A elaboração de ambos deve começar pela escolha de um "efeito" que se pretende criar no leitor, a partir do qual o "tone" e os "incidents" (acontecimentos da narrativas em si) são determinados (pág. 1529). Todas as palavras escritas devem ter como propósito assegurar este "efeito". Em relação ao espaço da narrativa, Poe recomenda "a close circumscription of space", pois esta é "absolutely necessary to the effect of insulated incident - it has the force of a frame to a picture" (pág. 1534). É também requerido, segundo Poe, que haja "some amount of complexity (...) and (...) suggestiveness", pois é isto que confere a "richness" (pág. 1536) ao poema/conto.
E, no caso do poema, a existência de um "refrain" é também recomendável, sendo que este refrão deve ser breve (de preferêcia uma única palavra) e conter vogais e consoantes sonoras (pág. 1532).
Poe também estabelece as diferenças entre estes dois tipos de texto. Um poema que rime é o tipo de texto mais eficaz, dado que tenha o comprimento adequado, para atingir o desejado "efeito", uma vez que a rima e o ritmo do poema são "an essential aid in the development of the poet's highest idea - the idea of the Beautiful" (pág. 1526). No entanto, este ritmo também restringe a escrita com certas artificialidades que a impedem de atingir o ideal da Verdade. Sendo o conto livre destas artificialidades, pode desenvolver completamente "all points of thought or expression which have their basis in Truth" (pág. 1526), e utilizar "a vast variety of modes or inflections of thought and expression" (pág. 1526), os quais são antagónicos ao poema e proibidos pelo seu ritmo. Tomando por exemplo "Robinson Crusoe" de Daniel Defoe, Poe acrescenta que o conto é por vezes capaz de ultrapassar a limitação da curta duração, pois alguns textos em prosa, como o exemplo utilizado, não exigem qualquer unidade (pág. 1530).
1) Os elementos que podem ser úteis para o meu trabalho final são: o facto de que o meu texto tem de começar com uma frase cativante para captar a atenção do leitor; o texto não deve ser muito grande, uma vez que este é para ser lido entre meia hora a duas horas "we allude to the short prose narrative, requiring from a half-hour to one or two hours in its perusal" (p. 1525); o nome do ensaio tem de ser adequado ao texto que irei analisar. Na review, Poe dá o exemplo de que Hawthorne dá o nome de "tales" mas que alguns são "pure essays" (p. 1524); "every word tells, and there is not a word which does not tell" (p. 1528), ou seja, que todas as palavras contidas no ensaio são importantes, não existindo informação extra que não seja importante para o mesmo; e finalmente, que o meu texto seja conciso porém original, podendo apresentar "a vast variety of modes or inflections of thought and expression" (p.1526), como por exemplo, raciocínio, ironia, humor e ritmo.
1- As Poe mentions in A Review: Twice-Told Tales By Nathaniel Hawthorne, when writing my final work I'll focus on unity since:" (...) the unity of effect or impressions is a point of the greatest importance." (page 1525); I'll also aim to not be brief in my review since, as Poe explains, being brief can be bad given the thought that disables the possibility to properly make my point clear, however I should not have a lengthy explanation since I would be renouncing to the aspect of unity. Having this in mind, Poe refers yet another important aspect th have in mind which is the fact that I should not manipulate information in order for it to suit what I want to say, instead it would be more beneficial for me to find information and/or examples that support my thesis. The last thing that I find important is that my review should be able to be read in less than an hour, meaning that I have to keep it short but clear.
I certainly agree with Poe's interpretation. After the plot unfolds, in the end,
through the minister's mouth, we realize that the message that the author was trying
to lead us to, was that of misjudging others and not looking at ourselves
and to our own sins as well. And this only comes at the end of the story, I believe
that it is so maybe with the goal of "treating" the reader as an experiment,
just like the people of the village. The average reader, will probably agree that
when the minister would scare away little kids it was a legit fear. So in my opinion
this literary work is about prejudice and how we often tend to look at other people
and excuse our own sins unconsciously with the sins of others. Just because one person
has admitted his sins publicly (wearing a black veil), it does not mean that others
do not sin if they don't do the same. Maybe if people were more honest about their
sins they would face the minister's exposure with wit.
In Poe's review many elements could be helpful for us.
The Originality (invention, creation, imagination)is the most praised; "vivid originality of manner and expression". The originality in style, in brevity, towards other American authors.
Hawthorne is compared to Irving- with who can be found similarities and differences.
The right brevity is correlated to the short prose narrative, so this style is more effective than a novel, a poem, a lyric-epic poetry- " the writer of prose tale may bring to his theme a vast variety of models".
The adjective given to the style is pure.
Basic element is Unity, and the way in which it is made; Poe adds "Simple cessation in reading, would, of itself, be sufficient to destroy the true unity".
Other important elements are the writer's control and the external or extrinsic influences resulting from weariness or interruption; the combination between incident and events to establish preconceived effect. The rhythm, that scans the development of the poet's highest idea; the Idea as paratext and the reflections that it induces. The subjects, the versatility.
The Poe's maxim : " Of Hawthorne's Tales we would say, that they belong to the highest region of Art- an Art subservient to genius of a very lofty order".
2 within 1) Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most famous writers in history. The rise in Gothic literature made him, it's questionable founder, a grand setting stone in modern writers.
Being a student of American Literature I am bound to do a final assignment: to review a text. Therefore, the review that Mr. Poe writes of "Twice-Told Tales" by Mr. Nathaniel Hawthorne is, in every single senso of the word, very helpful.
The structure is solely focused on the effect that it wants to bring the reader: "Mr. Hawthorne is a man of the truest genius". Throughout the text, Mr. Poe chooses to make a series of relevant regards about what is most importante aspect in poetry and in prose, stating that the Higher degree of art is, indeed, the former but that the latter allows, being without rythim, a bigger freedom to excell in the search of Truth through Beauty. This structure makes the reader set the tale, as Mr. Poe states in the first sentence of his fifth paragraph, as the best form to "fulfil the demands of high genius". Is the effect that Mr. Poe is concerned, as he states in another of his texts: "The Philosophy of Composition".
Furthermore, Mr. Poe calls for the geniality of Mr. Hawthorne by the size of the author's tales, due to the fact all of them can be read in one sitting, such as "The Raven", which is split in little poems. The extent is very important because if more than one sitting is necessary, the "affairs of the world interfere" and everything the writer pursues is ruined. This rule can be very helpful to our review, even if a word limit is set, because it reminds us to be concise, straightforward and profound in simplicity.
Besides all this caracteristics, Mr. Poe argues that the Tone, the Province and the lenght should be the basis of all kind of texts. In a review the tone can shuffle from ironic, cynical or even passionate, according to the critic's opinion of the analysed text. In Mr. Poe's review, the tone is of an admiration for Mr. Hawthorne, and of a true feeling of awe when facing his tale. In writing "The Raven", Mr. Poe claims that Beauty is his province, the province of all Poetry, but claims that Truth is the object and the satisfaction of the intelect. In both texts is argued that Prose is the best way to attain Truth. Therefore, being a writing that aims mainly to one's intelect, our review shal settle it's province in Truth, just as Mr. Poe does in his.
Finally, Mr. Poe calls for originality, claiming that it is this aspect that elevates Mr. Hawthorne, " Mr. Hawthorne's distinctive trait is invention, creation, originality - a trait which, in the literature of fiction, is positively worth all the rest", and also states that it is new, original creation that he usually pursues and which he intended in the start of his most famous work "The Raven": "My first object (as usual) was originality". This is the final helpful hint to our review: to be original. To be able to follow the forced structure but to distinguish oneself by talking about commonplace and about everything everyone will talk about, being a class of about 50 people writing about the same subjects, one has to try and make a great effort to be original.
2) Brevity is much highlighted in both Poe's review of Hawthorne and in "The Philosophy of Composition ". Looking into the text ,I can "redraft" the precept of short form through these words: the short prose narrative is extremely important; its perusal requires from a half-hour to one or two hours. As it cannot be read at one sitting, it deprives itself of the immense force derivable from totality; simple cessation in reading would be sufficient to destroy the true unity- from Poe's review.
Than from " The Philosophy of Composition" : " there is a distinct limit, as regards length, the limit of a single sitting".
To read at one sitting becomes an essential parametr to avoid to lose the unity: " if two sittings be required, the affairs of the world interfere, and every thing like totality is at once destroyed".
The proper length for Poe's intended poem is a length of about one hundred lines.
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