//Our quest for knowledge, begins where all great adventures begin...
In the shoes of a university student who's procrastination has undoubtedly gotten the best of them, yet again.//
At the seat of your computer desk, you concentrate on the page in front of you and the clock ticks by. Minute after minute. It mocks you. Reminding you that your time is limited. Your essay should've been done weeks ago. But you've been clowning around again. And now you're facing the consequences.
It was now or never. You really needed to get this done.
[[I should read the question again]]
[[A snack will help me focus more]]
''Write a critical essay on [Ben Lerner]<c1|’s poem, [Didactic Elegy]<c2| that seeks to convey the [meaning]<c3| of his work, through [analysis]<c4| , and whether or not his work matters in the contemporary public sphere.''
(click: ?c1)[You had never heard of him before]
(click: ?c2)[You quickly fished out your copy of the poem from the pile of usual garbage that lay on your desk]
(click: ?c3)[You inwardly groaned at the potential of ambiguity in what you were going to now attempt to read]
(click: ?c4)[Analysis wasn't one of your strong suits but it was too late to turn back (show:?Cloaked)]
|cloaked)[You stared at the screen a little longer, hoping that the essay would spring forth from your fingertips but alas, to no avail'
You were forced to bow down and beg for mercy from your trustworthy overlord.
[[Turn to Google for help]]]
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What should you type in first?
[[The Basic Baby Guide to Analysing Poetry]]
[[Ben Lerner's wikipedia page]]
[[Switch to Google Scholar]]
(transition: "shudder")[//''Focus! Power Up!!!''//]
Just kidding.The noodles do nothing for you. You have just wasted more time. Why do you continue doing this to yourself?
You do some quick research into analysing [poetry]<c1|. You mostly focus on the [easy-to-read]<c2| how to steps that have probably been uploaded to assist school children but work fine for you too. All those university [fees]<c3| are really paying off for you in this moment as you absorb this fairly new information.
(click: ?c1)[Why did you decide to major in English, again?]
(click: ?c2)[SparkNotes. You're reading SparkNotes.]
(click: ?c3)[Your mother would be so proud.]
[[Time to apply what I've learnt!]]<a href="https://imgur.com/voo5hMl"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/voo5hMl.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
You decide to do some heavy reading. Delving into various scholarly critique, related to Ben Lerner's poetry and previous prose, as well as some theoretical articles that would assist you in analysing his work in an academic sense.
It all seems like hot garbage to you, at [first]<c3|.
(click: ?c3)[But you realise quite quickly that the articles are actually wildly interesting, and you end up getting quite absorbed, particularly by ones that argue that the text is merely a child of the author, and has no boundaries by which to grow. The text can be interpreted freely, detached from it's [parent]<c4|.]
(click: ?c4)[Traditional readings that you've done before seem to stem from the idea that the author's original intentions can be read in a text through interpretation of their techniques, but the articles you delve into suggest otherwise. That the author's intention doesn't matter. It's the [reader]<c5| that matters more.]
(click: ?c5)[The text is yours to interpret. Yours to understand and make value of. The author does not need to have a part in this.
You are rapt with attention. Excited by the possibility of reading a text and making it your [own]<c1|.]
(click: ?c1)[ A text only matters if ''you'' make it [matter]<c2|]
(click: ?c2)[ Satisfied with your research, you decide to [[delve]] into the poem and analyse it with what you have learnt.]You delve deeply into the life of Ben Lerner, absorbing all the information you can about his life and previous works. In doing so you learn all manner of facts about [him]<c1|.
(click: ?c1)[He was not only a prestigious American poet, but also an acclaimed novelist, an essayist and a well-known critic of literature. You ponder on why you'd never heard of him 'til this final assignment... Perhaps his work just wasn't your kind of style. (show: ?hidden)]
|hidden)[Your research also helps you understand the [type]<c2| of person Lerner was and is.]
(click: ?c2) [He was a man born in Topeka, Kansas, and who when interviewed had a lot to say regarding his publications. His first one was meant to be a satire of the poetry world, and that he hadn't meant to write it as a novel. His works seem to always have deeper meaning as he himself is a deep and complicated person.You also seem to realise, through reading interviews, that he has a bit of a pessimistic streak, along with a manner of thinking much more deeply than regular people about simplistic issues in life.(show: ?hidden2)]
|hidden2)[Through this research, as well as an article you stumbled on by accident that emphasises the importance of authors in interpretations of their texts, you feel more confident in your analysis of his poem, and you're sure you'll be able to [[dissect]] it]You begin to read the poem, keeping your newfound enlightenment in mind while you write out your analysis:
"Sense that sees itself is spirit..."
[Novalis]<c1|
(click: ?c1)[//This is a quote. It's significant because it means an important philosopher, Novalis, wrote this. So Lerner is trying to make himself sound important.// (show: ?hidden) ]
|hidden)[(link: "You continue reading") ["I posit the [critic]<c2| to distance myself from intention"]]
(click: ?c2)[//You find yourself hyperfocusing on the use of the word critic, understanding it to again be a self-proclamation of importance. Only important poetry is worthy enough of critique.//(show: ?hiding)]
|hiding)[(link: "You continue reading") ["The [critic]<c3| experiences amusement as a financial return"]]
(click: ?c3)[//The repetition of critic, implies importance. The importance of reading and judging poetry because it makes him money. Or something...// (show: ?hiding2)]
|hiding2)[(link: "You continue reading") ["It is no argument that the [critic]<c4| knows the artist personally"]]
(click: ?c4)[//This is probably an example of satire. Where Lerner's making a joke about how all poets should get along well with critics so that they can get better reviews on their poems.// (show: ?cloaked)]
|cloaked)[[[You continue to use your basic analysis to form an argument]]]
<center>(text-style: "emboss")[#''The Multiplicity of Meaning?'']</center>
<center>(text-colour: "white")[(text-style: "shadow") [##[[What does poetry mean for you?->How do I English again?]]]]</center>
<footer>
(text-colour: "#a5a500")[<a>Created by: Adrian Mouhajer</a>
The author recommends a reading of "Didactic Elegy" by Ben Lerner, from his book "Angle of Yaw" before attempting this game, to obtain the full experience.]
</footer> You use your somewhat shallow observations to draw further conclusions regarding Lerner's work, typing in a somewhat coherent argument, detailing that the choice of words, and the use of repetition of the word "critic" are Lerner's way of self-aggrandising what his poem has to [say]<c1|.
(click: ?c1)[And what it has to say is not much. You read it as basically nonsense. A caricature of what a poem should be. But it's probably intentionally like that. Because Lerner knows he's an important poet who can get away with it.(show: ?cloaked)]
|cloaked)[[[Your final conclusion]]]
<a href="https://imgur.com/uBOleDm"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/uBOleDm.gif" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
You write up your final conclusion, outlining the way that your analysis supports the idea that Lerner has written this poem to intentionally have no meaning because he's showing that poetry doesn't need to mean anything to be important.
You come away from the assignment feeling somewhat cheated and duped by the literary system. It seems like the poem is just there to laugh at you and make you feel dumber for reading it. A poem full of nonsense that has no real value to society besides showing exactly how smart and verbose the writer is.
That makes fun of you for marking down repetition by claiming it is nothing but a contradiction.
English is just a farce.
(link: "The End") [<a href="https://imgur.com/yb0ap5c"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yb0ap5c.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>
(link:"Maybe you missed something...")[(goto:"Title Page")]]
Double-click this passage to edit it."[Intention]<c1| draws a bold, black line across an otherwise white field"
(click: ?c1)[Lerner's own personality speaks volumes on the way he looks beyond the surface value of the world and seeks to implore people to reconsider the world around them. Here is a perfect example of that where he supports that outlook by drawing attention to the fact that there is always intention behind acts of "art"(or literature) signified by the metaphorical canvas that has been marked by a line. (show: ?hidden)]
|hidden)[(link: "You continue reading") ["Distance myself from intention... yet intention is necessary if the field is to be understood as an [economy]<c2|"]]
(click: ?c2)[Here Lerner discusses the ambiguity of his attitude towards intention, that even though he wishes to distance himself from it, ultimately it is necessary to consider the "field", a metaphor for the literary art, in this case his poem, to be understood as an economy. A metaphorical economy, one that can bring profit to the writer i.e Lerner.(show: ?hidden2)]
|hidden2)[(link: "You continue reading")["Even if the artist is a [known quantity]<c3|, interpretation is an open struggle... is charged with negatitivity"]]
(click: ?c3)[ Lerner's extended metaphor of the struggle of interpretation, even if the "artist" is known , comments on the way that his own work is self-reflective of himself. He supports this theory by referring to the way it is charged with negativity(his own personality traits leaking into his work). (show: ?hidden3)]
|hidden3)[[[You continue your analysis of the way that Lerner's own character bleeds into his work]]] You use your previous knowledge of Ben Lerner, to draw further observations from his poem, and detail the way that he is attempting to show the importance of the artist, and frequently uses rhetorical questions to draw upon the audience and incite them to understand that there are certain things that poetry should be written about.
He, himself, has chosen to write about September 11,and the fall of the two towers because it is a simplistic issue that he has chosen to further, as he has done before in previous [works]<c1|.
(click: ?c1)[ You conclude that the ambiguity in his poem, the constant questioning and the mixed meanings that come across are a result of Lerner's own flawed psyche, where conflicting ideas of art and poetry exist and he is attemping to give the reader a view of his perspective and a look into his own mind. He uses the twin towers, a controversial issue, to further draw attention to his thought patterns, questioning his readers in an attempt to make them also question reality like he does.
You feel as if the literature matters, but only to someone who idolises or admires authors like Ben Lerner, it takes a certain kind of person to read this and be inspired to rethink their perspective. And you...
You are not that kind of person.(show: ?cloaked)]
|cloaked)[(link: "The End") [<a href="https://imgur.com/Yzu9wVk"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/Yzu9wVk.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]
]
(link:"Maybe you missed something...")[(goto:"Title Page")]"Intention draws...Speculations establishes gradations of....Where there are [none]<c1|."
(click: ?c1)[The first stanza of the poem resonates with you, as you gradually pick apart the metaphor. To an author, the meaning of their text is clear as it arose from their original intention but to a reader, the meaning they derive from the text is speculation on their part and these meanings may differ from what the author's original intention was.(show: ?hidden)]
|hidden)[(link: "Continue reading")["To distinguish...The eye assigns value..."
The eye, symbolising perspective, is Lerner's way of explaining how without viewmanship and interpretation then there can be no value assigned (to a text).(show: ?hidden1)]]
|hidden1)[(link: "Continue reading")["so a poem can seek out a figure of it's own impossibility..."
Lerner's answer to his own rhetorical question, is an act of personifying the poem, giving it the human characteristic of curiosity and the need to satisfy it.(show: ?hidden3)]]
|hidden3)[(link: "Continue reading")["Events extraneous to the work can unfix the meaning of it's figures...A poem may prefigure it's own irrelevance thereby staying relevant."
Here, you realise, Lerner is linking back to the real world (your world) and how disasters (extraneous events), such as September 11 (Which you realise he is alluding to when he mentions the towers), can unfix everything we know about poetry and again put the meaning of texts up for interpretation. Thus the irrelevant can become relevant and vice versa, depending on the "eye" i.e the reader.
"The influence of images is often stronger than the influence of events..."
"Refusing to assign meaning to an event is to interpret it lovingly..."
"Ignorance that sees itself is elegy"
A poem of serious reflection. A poem encouraging self-reflection. What did the collapse of the towers mean? What did we make it mean? [[Does poetry matter?]]]][Yes.]<c1|
(click: ?c1) [And no... (show: ?cloaked)]
|cloaked)[In the wake of disaster, what does poetry bring?
Hope? Or no hope.
An image. Stronger than the original?
What does the image conjur that the original [cannot]<c2|?]
(click: ?c2)[Questions that you can answer in your conclusion but you are quite transfixed by the whirl of reflection that has taken over you.(show: ?hidden)]
|hidden)[(link: "You write your conclusion")[This poem isn't merely an elegy, a lament to the ambiguity of poetry in the wake of disaster. It is an act of protest. A rebellion. A smirk-worthy rendition of the interpretation and analysis of poetry and it's real-world implication. A poem that enlightens you but also seeks to incite you.
The poem exists on it's own, it does not need to care about the intention of the author.
And yet, it is also a poem that could mean nothing at all.
If that is how you choose to interpret it.
The power after all is yours. You are the body in the street.
(link: "The End") [<a href="https://imgur.com/4KtXKcK"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/4KtXKcK.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>]]]
Double-click this passage to edit it.