How to approach the Arts
A simple guide to enjoying yourself!
In the haze of the decade past, I recollect myself sat within a lecture hall, where my then Professor chose to discourse on the enigmatic task of approaching literature. It was an exercise masked by simplicity, ostensibly approach literature not with the mantle of erudition but more so with a marker of expectation.
What was advocated - by my then Professor - never strayed from the profoundly self-evident. The message was pointed: there is inherent human tendency to overtly complicate any task at hand, either to parade feigned intelligence or to delay the undertaking.
I ofter encountered the same binary pathology in online spaces, morphed and transmuted; either to mask simplicity with a lacklustre veneer of intelligence or to disengage from the task entirely.
I don’t blame people for doing this - or wanting to do this - the arts are nebulous at best, oscillating between unjustly simplifying accusations and tortuous, intellectual self-flagellation.
Rather than submitting ourselves in a futile quest of unravelling this Gordian knot, let us focus on some rules for our approach.
I propose the following:
Devices, on their own, do nothing
Nest your ideas
Identification is not implementation
Jargon is a plague
A feast is not a dissection
Broader brushstrokes cover more canvas
Some niches should stay in nooks
I am aware one unwritten cardinal sin is to allow rules to be left alone. In a vacuum, rules are unyielding. Even the most inflexible over time will become supple, adaptable, open to interpretation. A rule applied in one situation may take on a completely different meaning in another.
Indeed, the nature of rules allow for a strange interplay with context, morphing with each situation and interpreter. Hence, they need direction and as you will begin to understand, context is king. I cannot stress enough, context is not just a companion to the rules; it is their monarch.
Yet, it is not a rigid, stifling monolith confined to a singular interpretation, it rules with wisdom and grace. Each interpretation, is like the reign of a monarch, influenced by the time, the culture, the circumstances. And with each death, each transition from one context to another, there is a restoration, a renewal. New situations, new understandings, new applications all upon old rules.
This is the majesty of context, a regal force churning the mundane into the profound, the rigid into the supple. Envision this kingdom being ruled by a monarch never truly dead - but reborn, time and again. Here, in the sovereignty of context, principles remain and execution changes.
In understanding context, we learn not just how to follow the rules but how to live accordingly by them:
Devices, on their own, do nothing.
Devices (be that poetic, literary and the like) abstracted from their context and left stagnant , resonate no more meaning than discarded artefacts in a deserted museum. They await – if not demand - the conjuring hand of analysis to breathe new life in their dead stasis.
Nest your ideas.
Not all ideas should take flight from the nest; allow the cuckoo to do the damage.
Identification is not implementation.
Without the grasp of the underlying rationale for the implementation of literary devices, the identification of such becomes an exercise in mere formality, a hollow observation akin to pointing to a mushroom on the forest-floor without knowing if it is good to eat. Knowing what metonymy is, discerning a spondee in a line of tetrameter, recognising a charming simile or consistent enjambment—may grant accolades in a pub quiz, but they wither to insignificance without comprehension of their function. The text itself, nor the author's ghost, cannot unravel this enigma for you, only your unique alchemy of thought, that must perform the act.
Jargon is a plague.
Jargon is crudely pestilence. Not the beacon of significant enlightenment some would purport it to be. A smear that muddles rather than clarifies. Its coded language, cryptic to all but a few, casts shadows where illumination is needed. All jargon should be quickly questioned. Allow them to stutter into simplicity, or as is often the case, stymied stumpness.
Broader brushstrokes cover more canvas.
Consider the artist's brush, laden with paint, sweeping across the canvas in grand arcs. It is in these broader brushstrokes that the landscape takes form. If you cannot comprehend the splendour of the canvas, how can you fathom obsession over the minute? There is certain tact in discerning when best to simply acknowledge, a subtle art in knowing which mysteries to probe and which to allow their grace. Embrace the broad strokes before paying your respects to the delicate nuances.
A feast is not a dissection.
Remember, at a feast you are there to eat not to cook! Cutlery are not surgical instruments.
The pleasure of a bountiful meal lies not in the clinical gasto-analysis of its components but in the enjoyment of its flavours, textures, and aromas; of which some may detest! Dine ferociously on words and ideas! For those not to your taste, you may push them to the side of the plate. Whatever your preference, know when the etiquette is to pick up the knife; know when to set it back aside.
Some niches should stay in nooks.
Not every obscure alley needs to be explored, not every hidden crevice shall be mined for insight, nor all stones should be left unturned; there are the natural responses to murder! I caution against quixotic pursuits that spiral into extinguishing the very spark of understanding. Sometimes specialised corners of thought and expression were intentionally ensconced in their secluded nooks.
So what?
In conclusion, to approach the arts is to engage in a dynamic dance. One where the interplay between scrutiny and enjoyment, is in abandon. But as any dance, it requires balance, rhythm, and an awareness of the moment, knowing when to engage with intensity, when to glide with grace, and when to sway without a care. The world's most accomplished flamenco dancer might have trophies aplenty in her field, but you will quickly find her expertise dwarfed by the raucous energy of a lairy midnight crowd as "The Final Countdown" blares.
Context matters: understanding where we are, and what the moment calls for, is essential. All of this
thrives on tact, on a finely tuned intuition that knows when to probe and when to revel in the sheer beauty of words and ideas.