Many people love to disagree with
the notion that there is a place for truth in writing: that everything
MUST be embellished or altered in some way in order to force the reader to think a certain way, or
to form a certain opinion. However, I believe that for some, writing is the
only way to express personal truths.
I take Emily Dickinson as my
example; her poetry is thought to reflect a lot of what happened to her and
around her. For instance, before she isolated herself from most of society in
the 1860’s, Reverand Charles Wadsworth – who she described as her “closest,
earthly friend” – left her life when he returned to his home in the West Coast
after visiting her. Some believe that this gave rise to the poetry that she wrote
in the years that followed. Poetry that is described as heartsick.
Although, this is all just
surmised, critics still struggle to interpret her work because she was so
hesitant about revealing it. Dickinson’s writing was a comfort to her. She
probably included her most honest thoughts and feelings in her poetry; she just
did not want to expose these truths to others.
Perhaps because Dickinson wrote
for herself, and for only a few selected others, her writing could be more
truthful than – perhaps – someone writing an autobiography for the masses.
Dickinson had no reason to embellish or exaggerate, but if someone wants to be
perceived a particular way with their writing, perhaps some manipulation is
necessary.
Agreed. There is hardly any truth in pieces written for the public.
ReplyDeleteYou may need to work on this sentence: 'This is all just surmised however, critics still struggle to interpret her work because she was so hesitant about revealing it.'
And I'll take Emily Dickinson over Katie Price's autobiography any day xD
Interesting point that Dickinson's writing may be more truthful than the average biography as she was only writing for herself. By the same token I suppose it could also be true that her writing is far less truthful as she had no need to present anything honestly due to not thinking that it would be read.
ReplyDeleteNice post :)
I agree with your answer; I think that elements of the truth, even if unintentional, always seep through into writing. However it is so easy nowadays for a celebrity to publish a book and use verisimilitude to either gloss over facts or change them completely. I guess it is down to purely gut instinct once we know all the facts as to whether a writer is being truthful or not. I just think that makes reading all the more interesting though; the different opinions we can all have on a set text :)
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