Brooks worksheet PDF

Preview

Summary

Worksheet on Brooks, "The Well Wrought Urn," including summary and analysis of the text...

Description

Brooks worksheet

In A Well Wrought Urn, chapter 11, “The Heresy of Paraphrase”, Brooks takes the approach to poetry that it should speak for itself rather than be over-explained by critics- felt as an experience, above else. Brooks calls attention to paraphrase, a method he believed was leading poetic criticism astray because it led to poetry being placed in competition with theology, science or philosophy in an attempt to find the work’s “real” meaning (1358-1359). Condensing a poetic work down to a much shorter summary or analysis does not do the original work justice, in Brooks’ eyes. 2. In his criticism of poetic criticism, Brooks makes the argument that paraphrase simplifies the point/effect of a poem to such a degree that meaning is lost. He states that, “the relation of each item to the whole is crucial” (1361), because when one piece of information or some poetic method is analysed outside of its poetic context, it takes on a different meaning entirely. Paraphrasing becomes a shortcut to understanding a poem or a poet, or Brooks would say, not understanding them entirely but having the impression that the reader has captured the work’s essence when they have not. In one passage, Brooks states that, “The poet....is giving us an insight which preserves the unity of experiences and which....triumphs over conflicting elements of experience by unifying them into a new pattern” (1365). Rather than attempting to make something more interesting by adding rhetorical devices and poetic language, Brooks believes a full work’s importance to be how it shows the readers a new perspective. That is why paraphrase, while necessary, can often inhibit a more complex understanding of the work. 3. Brooks also calls up a considerable amount of evidence to support his claims in this chapter. He references Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats, more specifically the line “Beauty is truth, truth beauty” (1362) as an example of poetry that is removed from its context and misunderstood by many as some simple, obvious platitude rather than the meaning its place

within the poem gave it. When decontextualization occurs, so do misunderstandings of the piece. In another section, Brooks references how emotions are not the only importance in the poem, but rather how they interact with “the intellectual materials which they absorb into their structure” (1360). He uses the lyrics Western wind, when wilt thou blow That the small rain down can rain? Christ, that my love were in my arms And I in my bed again! To better display how attitudes can be included in the work apart from the idea- which can often be abstracted, but the voice and intimacy of the poet’s work cannot be represented through paraphrase alone. 4. Brooks uses irony to point out the messages of various works such as “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and “Intimations” such as childhood representing true knowledge and freedom, that the child “is the best philosopher” (1363). This irony has created a different meaning for what childhood is, something that set writers like Wordsworth apart at the time. The rhetorical device of irony created a deeper understanding of a subject within its given work, in this case, childhood. Brooks also uses metaphor near the end to more adequately describe his point of view: “Man’s experience is indeed a seamless garment, no part of which can be separated from the rest” (1367). So, he argues, that poetry is meant to convey the human experience as a whole, and that paraphrase limits its communicative ability. However, Brooks still understands why some paraphrasing is necessary in critical circles. 5. While reading this essay, I stumbled across one passage in particular that gave me pause. On page 1355, in the second to last paragraph, Brooks states that he dislikes the terms irony and ambiguity and other similar terms because they aren’t effective or precise descriptors. My thoughts were along the lines of wondering if they weren’t meant to be, and that was the

point. I wasn’t sure if I misunderstood what Brooks was attempting to communicate here or not. Was it because they are imprecise and not beautiful? But I supposed that would depend upon their context. It seemed like a substantial annoyance to Brooks, so I was curious about this passage in particular. 6. Who were Brooks’ primary critics? What about his view of paraphrasing did they disagree with and why? The essay did not go much into detail- as it was a chapter from Brooks’ novel- about the opposing viewpoints to Brooks’ claims. This question is relevant because examining the opposing viewpoint can help better understand the claim Brooks was trying to make and lend validity or much needed critique....