Abstract aesthetic standards - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Clearly abstract aesthetic standards tend to take a more philosophical position on the value of a piece of written literature rather than paying much attention to the core message of the written literature, which is often hidden in the writings rather than the general perception of the work. In my understanding, it is out of this conception that Orwell made his statement. The statement gives an understanding that it is always the best thing to do if readers would pay much attention to what is written in a piece of literature to come out with their generalized opinion on the value of the work rather than drawing generalized conclusions based on the type of literature the work is. For example for the mere fact that two poems were both written in the 1930s does not mean they would both have the same aesthetic value (Brownmiller, 2005). In the estimation of George Orwell, such generalizations would be considered as being more abstract that visual and this takes an element of empirical judgment out of the whole discussion. In the following paragraphs, a detailed analysis is done on the statement by George Orwell by using two literature works, which were all written in the 1930s. The focus would however be on the value of the literature works rather than on Orwell as a statement maker. Writer’s Stand on the Statement After a critical review of two literature works namely Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon and Robin Skelton’s Collection Poetry of the Thirties, the writer holds a very strong convection that he agrees partially with the statement by George Orwell that “abstract aesthetic standards are all bunkum and… a book is only a “good” book if it preaches the right sermon.” Before delving into the detailed analysis of the two literature works, a much generalized position can be taken as to why I agree partially and not fully with the statement. Generally, it can be seen that Orwell would want much attention to be placed on the theme that the literature work carries in judging whether or not the book is a good one (Experiment-Resources, 2008). However, the theme or message alone cannot make a book aesthetically brilliant (Jackson, 2005). Even though the message, which Orwell refers to as sermon would be very important in the grading, of a book, it is also important to pay attention to other elements of the book and how the writer uses them. Examples of these elements include techniques, setting and characters. This is because all writers approach the titles of their written literature works; be they poems or novels with a sense of having the need to put a message across to readers. Most of these times, the intended message that the writers put across are sent to the reader through the use of a number of techniques and themes. The two elements namely techniques and themes ought to be meshed together in a very holistic fashion to gain the writer an accolade of having put together a good work. Again, readers would want to see a perfect relationship between characters and the setting and link this to the message or sermon to judge how aesthetically brilliant a piece of literature work is. Detailed elaboration of this stand taken is made by using the works of Lewis Grassic Gibbon and Robin Skelton. Critical Literature Review Sunset Song and to the Poetry of the Thirties Sunset Song by Lewis Grassic Gibbon In writing the novel Sunset song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon clearly defended the aesthetic values of work in relation to how Orwell would want a book to be judged as being good by using two major elements of aesthetic standards. These are theme and characters. Theme The major themes of Sunset Song touches on what most reviewers have described ...Download file to see next pagesRead More