jueves, 19 de noviembre de 2009

Realism

1. So far we have studied several works of US Literature. Apply your concepts of “What is literature” to one of those works and discuss why you think it is a work of art.

I must begin by saying that, without disrespecting the scholars, I disagree with the definition shown in the class of considering only canonical literature as good literature. I believe literature is something very personal and subjective. In my opinion, good or bad literature does not exist. In short, what is good for me might be bad for you and that is perfectly right. One cannot give a concrete definition of literature, and probably of nothing at all as Virginia Woolf pointed out: “One cannot hope to tell the truth. One can only show how one came to hold whatever opinion one does hold” (Project Gutenberg). My opinion has its roots in the article “What is literature”. In this article, the author states that “’Literature’ and the ‘literary’ then are highly subjective categories” (Laga) and its definition is left to the personal background. However, in the article, there are some characteristics which define what a work of art is. Using those characteristics, I will analyze one of the pieces of literary work we have discussed in class.

“The masque of the Red Death” written by Edgar Allan Poe can absolutely be considered as a piece of canonical literature, I think. The first characteristic is the imaginative or fictive character of literature as opposed to factual information. Poe’s story is a work of art in the sense that he invented the pest, the context, the settings and the characters. “The masque of the Red Death” is art because it is an imaginative story and does not contain any factual nor historical information. Secondly, literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language. For example, in the story Poe writes: “There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution” (Literature Network). This is an intensification of the language since he uses exaggeration by using the word profuse. The use of language in the story is definitely not ordinary, but denotes mastery. Thirdly, literature is non-useful writing. Reading “The masque of the Red Death” is of no use for us. It does not contribute to do anything pragmatic. Literature in that sense is not practical; nevertheless, I do consider thinking as something pragmatic, and Poe invites us through his story to reflect upon our fears. Lastly, literature is what I like to read. I do enjoy reading Poe, and whenever I write something it has macabre features like his writings. I believe Poe is one of the best American authors because it moves me completely. I could say that, according to me, Poe is a canonical author and “The masque of the Red Death” is a work of art. The article also supports my opinion because of all the above mentioned characteristics of what makes a piece of writing in a literary piece of writing.

In conclusion, “The masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe is literature because it is imaginative, intensifies the language, is non-useful and I like reading it.

2. Romanticism is a very complex literary movement. Choose one work you consider romantic and explain what it is that makes it a romantic piece of literature.

Throughout history, artists have created and been part of different artistic movement. Literature is considered an art; therefore, writers are artists. They have also been part of various movements. In our American Literature class we have studied Romanticism which I think is one of the most complex artistic movement to understand. Anyhow, we have dealt with it in our classes and I can say I have some basic knowledge regarding its basic characteristics. When I say basic knowledge, I am implying that to deeply understand a literary movement we need to devote more time to comprehend its rationale and read quite a number of pieces.

Romanticism’s basic features are the representation of supernatural and occult dimensions, human psychology and sensibility of human beings. Apart from these characteristics, it has also been called as the Counter-Enlightenment movement since it disagreed with the rational dimension of the epoch. It highlighted the intuition, imagination and feeling which were not considered by the Enlightenment movement. Another feature present in the romantic works is symbolism. Based on the previous romantic features mentioned, I will analyze “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe.

“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a completely imaginative work since it does not have any factual information. Poe’s imagination created this great story and he did not have any rational reason for creating it. It does not have any reference to place, time, or characters. In fact, it does not even mention names, which makes it a romantic piece. Human psychology is also present in this literary work. We can observe that when the killer talks to himself after he had committed the deed: “If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I took for the concealment of the body. The night waned, and I worked hastily, but in silence. First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.” (Literature Network) and also when at the very end he confesses the crime because he felt the officers were listening to the dead man heart beats: "Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble no more! I admit the deed! - tear up the planks! here, here! - It is the beating of his hideous heart!” (Literature Network). In “The Tell-Tale Heart”, Poe also showed the feelings of the main character by writing: “TRUE! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?” (Literature Network). Finally, Poe uses several symbols in this work such as the disease, the heart beat and the planks. All of these do not have any explicit meaning and are merely left to the reader’s mercy of definition. We can see how this is very romantic because it is connected to the more psychological and sensible aspect of human beings rather than the rational.

In conclusion, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is a romantic piece of literature since it has all the features of basic Romanticism. As exemplified, romantic authors like Edgar Allan Poe must include imagination, feeling, symbols and human psychology in their works of art.

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