As E. M. Forster said, āA work of literature must provide more than factual accuracy or vivid physical reality. . . it must tell us more than we already know.ā. Meaning good literature should suspend beliefs and provide something different from the everyday life. It needs to give more than just the bland facts and make you feel something. I believe this is completely true especially in more fictional settings but even when things are more factual there is often individual interpretation that can veer away from that accuracy. Any horror excerpt presented in this course, such as Irvingās āThe Adventure of the Mysterious Pictureā, have used suspense and characteristics of the unknown to build their stories and make the audience feel something. Even Emersonās transcendentalist essay āNatureā, the reality of the ārealā more mechanical world was suspended to create the desired effect. The Gothic piece 'The Adventure of the Mysterious Picture' by Washington Irving is an exact example of pulling us into the unknown which in turn gives us a picture of something more. The setting of this story is a room that has a haunting story behind it but itās the painting that truly gives the room itās ominous vibes. The focus is so much on this painting for such an important period of the work that the reader gets pulled in as well causing the reader to momentarily forget the reality of it. The main character goes through the same suspense as the reader as shadows and feelings are revealed that werenāt originally anticipated such as his anxiety and paranoia rather than his original skepticism. He tries to reason with his own thoughts but fantasy is quickly spinning into a reality for him. In every way this painting is ā[telling] us more than we already knowā both about its nature and the manās feelings. Another example of following this idea is Ralph Waldo Emerson's 'Nature' and how he draws plenty of imagery that veers off the path of most peopleās beliefs and certainly paints ideas that aren't known to everyone such as dealing with less widely accepted interpretations of the divine. He constantly personifies nature and its effects on life and how you must connect with it. Even going as far as describing himself as an eyeball and part of the divine experience. He proposes ideas that go against the everyday thinking such as the suggestion that no one truly owns the land despite what everyone believes when they own property. Emerson speaks of this idea that only children can truly see and understand nature, that the reality of it is shielded as they grow up. Throughout his essay he constantly brings light to ideas that many would not give a second thought to with imagery that makes you think, and that's how he ā[tells] us more than we already knowā. In conclusion both of these excerpts make the reader think and they also play on something the reader may not already know or understand. In āThe Adventure of the Mysterious Pictureā the setting and the characterās feelings create a scene of suspense and curiosity while āNatureā reveals ideas through creative imagery and interpretations. Both play pieces rely on telling the reader something they donāt already know and thatās exactly how Forster believed literature should be.
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