Jillian Alonzo Blog:2

Jillian Alonzo

Blog 2

Understanding Literature

Recently I learned that many poets use writing as a type of meditation. I believe that not only poets, but other authors and screen writers can also use this type of meditation. Poets, authors, screen writers along with a variety of others all write with a purpose. One such purpose would be the release emotion, and another would be to provoke a certain emotional response from the reader. In the works of William Wordsworth, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charlotte Perkins Gilman one gets a glimpse of how meditation and inflicting a emotional response is utilized in poetry, short stories and scripts. 

In the poem entitled "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth the reader is left with a feeling of peacefulness and levity at the conclusion. Along with the reader, Wordsworth talks about "I wandered lonely as a cloud, That floats on high o'er vales and hills" (Wordsworth 653). This quote depicts a scene of feeling so light your like a cloud which is a very relaxing image. Along with this quote, Wordsworth uses a multitude of other phrases that inflict a calm and tranquil feeling in the reader. "And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils"(Wordsworth 653). This quote in particular talks about a heart filled with pleasure and being so happy your dancing in the flowers. Wordsworth not only uses his poetry to make the reader feel a certain way but also while writing his poems he expels exuberance.

Similar to Wordsworth, the authors of the short stores entitled "The Birthmark" by Nathaniel Hawthorne and "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman use the same type of meditation in their own work. The meditation releases energy into their story, along with transferring that energy into the reader. Perkins Gilman uses her energy to describe a unusual haunted house and mentally disturbed woman. Without Perkin Gilmans ability to describe and express her emotions through the story "The Yellow Wallpaper" would be less frightening and shocking. Drawing particularly to the part where Perkin Gilmans describes the wallpaper and how it looks like their are women trapped behind it. In addition, the ending is quite creepy when the narrator is hopelessly confused if she is one of those women trapped behind the yellow torn wallpaper.

"The Birthmark" in comparison to "The Yellow Wallpaper" are very similar but use different approaches to convey their own frightening aura to the reader. Unlike "The Yellow Wallpaper", Hawthorne uses an undertone of mystery to give the reader a eerie feeling. Though both authors use different emotions to stir interest, it is obvious that at the end of both stories one is left feeling scared and concerned for the characters and in general.

After learning in class that writers, poets in particular, use writing as a form of meditation to release and express emotion, I have applied that same principle to a variety of other authors. Just like poets, authors of stories embed deep meaning, morals, and raw, real life emotions to make the stories "come alive." After learning about this and applying it to the readings, I went to a comedy show and tried to apply the same theory to the screen writer whom wrote the skits. Just like Hawthorne, Perkin Gilman, and Wordsworth the writer of the show, especially a comedy show, is trying to get a emotional response from the viewers. For example, when one of the Nevergreens actresses poured mustard all over herself during the skit, Though this is a more obvious and physical expression of emotion, clearly she was looking to elicit an emotional response from the audience. Though I have never performed, I can imagine that people performing in a humorous setting do it as a thrill seeking meditation. It is not an every day occurrence that it is acceptable to cover oneself in mustard… I certainly laughed.