On Minimalist Fiction

John Barth, in his short piece, “On Minimalist Fiction,” states that minimalism is the best way to write a piece. “Minimalism is the principle underlying the most impressive phenomenon on the current literacy scene.”  Barth uses the repetition of “striped-down” and “minimal” to emphasize that minimalism is the best way to go presently.

First and foremost, this was the hardest piece to blog on. I never thought that giving my opinion on something could be so hard. Personally, I think that there is some satire in the first paragraph, yet I cannot fully explain it. I think that the last sentence of the first paragraph is satirical as it states “I mean the flowering of the (North) American short story…” In this statement is seems as if he were mocking North America calling it lazy.

Poetry? Prose?

In his piece, “On the Differences between Poetry and Prose,” T. E. Hulme points out the difference between poetry and prose. He compares prose to a concrete thing in algebra that is “embodied in signs or counters which are moved about according to rule, without being visualized at all in the process.” Poetry on the other hand is seen as the rebellious one because, it “may be considered as an effort to avoid this characteristic of prose.” Although poetry is not a counter language, “it is a compromise for a language of institution which would hand over sensations bodily.” In other words they are both concrete ideas/ object however, prose follows the rules and poetry is more of a visual concept.

My interpretation of this piece would be that prose is duller than poetry. I say this because of the comparison that Hulme uses while describing poetry, [A poet says a ship “coursed the seas” to get a physical image, instead of the counter word “sailed.”]

"On the Dangers of Reading Fiction

In his letter, “On the Dangers of Reading Fiction,” Thomas Jefferson expresses his disapproval towards reading fiction.  He compares fiction to poison and states, “When this poison infects the mind, it destroys its tone and revolts it against wholesome reading.” He goes on to say that because of the embellishments that are put in fiction, the reader then rejects “the real businesses of life” because their imagination has been filled with fictitious ideas.Personally, I rarely engage in reading, yet I do not agree with his views, I would rather read fiction and experience the creativity of the author’s mind than sit and read about how the Europeans took over America, we hear enough of that in school why would I want to bore myself by reading that.

On Close Reading

In the literary piece “On Close Readings,” Peter Rabinowitz argues that close reading is not always the best form to read. He states that “the way one reads also varies from text to text.” He later defends his argument by stating that “different authors, different genres, different periods, different cultures expect readers to approach the text in different ways.”Later in the piece, Rabinowitz expresses his opinion on the text students should be exposed too.

            I agree with the arguments presented in this piece because students should not be forced to analyze all pieces of literature in the same manner. For example, we sometimes come across points, or devices in a text that are superficial  yet we do not catch because we are occupied in finding the meaning to everything and how it relates back to the theme, tone or mood. I also believe that students should read texts that will broaden their horizon.

                    Dylan Thomas, in  his piece "On the words in poetry," describes his first encounter with words and how he became to love them. He states " O did not care what the words said,overmuch, not what happened to Jack and Jill and the Mother Goose rest of them; I cared for the sound that their name, and the words made in my ears." Furthermore, illustrating the idea that one is never to young to appreciate words. They can be appreciated simply by there sound. Later on he moves on to stating," And as I read more and more, and it was not all verse, by any means, my love for the real life of words increased until I knew that I must live with them and in them always..." This meaning that words are not just letters put together to form a beautiful sound but they can be the speakers paintbrush to create a magnificent piece of art.

                    I agree with Mr. Thomas, in the sense that words can be a stupendous palette. They all make different sounds and put together they make an exquisite piece. However, one does not  simply need to hear their sound but know how to use them correctly. If there is no talent then what good are they? They are just blown away by the wind without having a single purpose.

Metaphors, What for?

                     In his piece about metaphors, John R. Searle comes forth with his disagreement on metaphors. Personally I would have to agree with him the use of metaphors is not always necessary. I do not mind them however, why make them extremely difficult to understand like, "Sally is a prime number between 17 and 23." What good can come out of that metaphor? If one does not have a certain intellectual level then it is foreign language. Why can't society stick to similes?                    

                    Yet, I do not close myself to metaphors, even if I find them useless at times, I do have to recognize that metaphors embellish a piece of literature. In spite of this, literature would be much easier to understand without having to figure out all the metaphors and what they mean.

Introduction to Poetry

                In his poem Introduction to Poetry, Billy Collins elaborates on his view that students should enjoy poems. He describes that poems are vibrant and full of life but students decide to just take it literally and forget that there is a meaning behind every word. He states that “all they want to do is tie the poem to a chair with a rope and torture a confession out of it.” Personally, I believe that he is saying that the poems should not just be broken down because you are told to do so by an instructor, but poems should be read for entertainment during leisure time.