In addition to this week’s readings, I looked up Poe’s “Philosophy of Composition”. Having spent a lot of time with Poe in my undergraduate, but not having read this essay, I thought it was about time. How Poe relates to this all will be attended to later on in the post. But first on the readings for this week- the content describing composition programs in both the Bereton and Kitzhaber pieces brought up questions (whose answers are yet shifting) about what skills college freshman are expected to enter college with, and what skills will are commonly lacking. Another aspect of the same question is what incoming students assume composition is and how they will use it in comparison to what the university goals are for composition use among students. It was clear from both readings and our class discussions that historically and currently the answers to these questions are different in select time periods and institutions.
Having the framework of these pieces while grading the first 1301 assignment, I found it interesting that in several of the student’s responses, students identified their strengths as writers to lie in their ability to be creative. Although they recognized that they lacked technical skills, their faith in themselves as good writers remained firm because of this creative value.
Which brings me to the relevancy of the Poe essay- Poe, when describing in detail his composition of “The Raven” spends the greater part of the essay explaining the structural process necessary to convey his intention. Poe points out that many authors would have the general public believe that “they compose by a species of fine-frenzy- an ecstatic intuition,” but that this is a convenient illusion to hide the real labor of composition. Although Poe’s analysis is of his own poetic work, the process he engages in has a much wider reaching application. So I will attempt to briefly generalize this process:
1. Establish your overall intention/goal for the work.
2. Establish the effect you want to produce.
3. Choose a form to best accomplish your intention and effect.
4. Evaluate the choices you have within this form thinking of audience reception, such as length, style, and tone.
5. Once you have established the above criteria, you can begin to select content and construct the piece.
This highly structured way of approaching the composition of a text, especially a creative one, might seem too rigid to allow for creativity. Poe, however, suggests the opposite- that this very intentional structure is the only way to compose a truly original creative work. It is this lesson that reminded me of the freshman responses to their own writing- the ingrained idea that form will naturally follow ideas, when it may be much more useful to think of ideas following form, or to consider that even our best ideas remain in the realm of the abstract without the appropriate form to communicate them. I can see where the overemphasis on magical composition abilities of the creative mind comes from- an issue in Poe's time period, it persists as an ideal today (as Boice describes). Hopefully during the semester, I can move my students away from this type of thinking- and consider it for myself when I am tempted to use that old procrastination tactic that justifies itself by saying the greatest pressure produces the best work.
Poe, E.A. "The Philosophy of Composition". http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/poe/composition.html
Very interesting post. I will have to read Poe's article now! I agree, I also graded some very poorly written BA1s were students boasted about their imagination and creative writing skills.
ReplyDeleteNice connection here. Poe's piece is one I have used in the past in this course. He suggests a number of primary ideas that can be used, generally, in a good philosophy of teaching. Keep the end in mind, for instance. You'll note that I often ask people what type of job they want to get and how what they're doing here helps them get to that place. In a way, the idea of a single effect is a good one for Composition in general, as Kitzhaber suggests. That is, what is the goal of the course, across sections, and how do we get there? Consistency. Primary purpose. Poe suggests that in writing. Nice thinking. I'm going to suggest others read this piece.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your extra work and insights, Megan. There are ideas in Poe's essay that can be very helpful for writing and teaching (as Dr. Rice noted). I struggle with process each and every time I write but find that having a form of some sort makes a positive difference for me.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that a structure is necessary for organizing thoughts and ideas and giving shape to a writing. It is a significant tool for getting one starting to write. However,the rules of writing should not suppress ones own natural flow of writing.
ReplyDelete