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/lit/ - Literature

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3134096 No.3134096 [Reply] [Original]

>come from a philosophy background
>try to read fiction novels

>everything is purple prose
>trivial descriptions everywhere
>pointless dialogue


jesus christ, can't you just get to the overarching ideas and sum up the theme in a few coherent paragraphs? What's with all the beating around the bush

>> No.3134101
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>> No.3134111
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3134111

>>3134096
> all the beating around the bush
This is where the fun stuff happens.

>> No.3134116

apples to oranges.

>> No.3134113

>>3134096

>philosophy background
>a few coherent paragraphs

last i checked being and nothingness was like 800 pages. philosophers have to explain everything, cover every possible hole. sure it's not pointless, but it's still a fucking lot. why aren't you used to this?

and there's plenty of fiction without purple prose.

>> No.3134115
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>>3134096
>reads fiction
>expects to be awesome
>mfw

>> No.3134122
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>>3134113
/thread

>> No.3134131

>>3134096
Philosophy tries to explain life, fiction merely presents it and lets the reader try to explain it for themselves. For that purpose, the descriptions and dialogue is not pointless, even if it appears to be.

>> No.3134180

Fiction is a process of contextualizing ideas within experiences.

>> No.3134218

>implying fiction writers have an ounce of wisdom or insight into anything at all

>> No.3134256

>>3134113
>being and nothingness
>sartre
>2012

You have a point though.

>> No.3134268

Purple prose is cool.

>> No.3134292

>>3134268
if you notice the flowerly prose, then it's overdone. QED. that is the definition of purple prose.

>> No.3134299

>>3134292

I hate when I notice things I'm reading.

>> No.3134310

>>3134299
I hate when certain specific parts of an entire work stick out strongly and distract my attention from seeing it as a cohesive whole!

>> No.3134346 [DELETED] 

>>3134292
>>3134310

So... prose is purple when the prose is noticeable, which is bad because it sticks out from the rest work.

But for that to be true, the rest of work must also be unnoticeable.

I'm not sure you area good judge of prose.

>> No.3134355

>>3134292
>>3134310

So... prose is purple when the prose is noticeable, which is bad because it sticks out from the rest of the work.

But... for that to be true, the rest of work must also be unnoticeable.

(I'm not sure you are a good judge of prose.)

>> No.3134362

>>3134355
Never mind the fact that identifying its "noticeability" has to do with how discerning of a reader someone is.

>> No.3134363

have a ba in philosophy. masturbating to Heinlein right now.

>> No.3134654

>>3134363

i have ba in phil
i can't stand heilein's constant preaching in his novels, he sounds so condescending while trying to explain trivial ideas borrowed from past thinkers

couldn't finish stranger in strange land, the voice of the narrator is so pretentious and vapid

>> No.3134870

That's what an essay is for.

>> No.3134879

>mfw Creative Writing and Philosophy double major

Best of both words. Philosophy teaches me to be economic and exact with my language, creative writing teaches me to connect with an audience.

>> No.3134880

OP, you're either reading bad novels or are terrible at judging ambition.

>> No.3134946

>>3134096
>philosophy
>not purple
Pick one.

>> No.3135146

>>3134362
Or the fact that the reader likes shitty, over-done, flowery bullshit. Your argument is shit.

Oscar wilde is one of those faggots.

>> No.3135253
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>> No.3135256

>overarching ideas and sum up the theme in a few coherent paragraphs?

This is your challenge /lit/ summarise your favourite book quickly for our friend

>> No.3135274

>>3134946
I agree wholeheartedly.
It's not even that philosophy's prose is purple; the entire field is decorated, bedecked like an Imperial whore in Tyrian purple.
I fucking swear to god....

>> No.3135282

>>3134879

>philosophy
>economic

ok

>> No.3135310

OP is parodying the idea that the only thing of value discussing in a work of literature is its message, themes etc. Well said.

>> No.3135312

>>3135146
Well, liking shitty, over-done, flowery bullshit isn't related to noticing it or not, which is where my point was coming in from.

>> No.3135322

I come from a philosophy background but love purple prose. Maybe you'd like an author who is more minimalist.

>> No.3135328

>>3134879
>economic
>connect with audience

Dude, you're writing, not making a fucking big-mac ad. You don't need to connect with audience, and you sure as fuck don't need to be economic. Those concepts are useful if you're an ad-man or a salesman, not if you're any kind of writer. You can write what you like.

>> No.3135340

>comes from a philosophy background
>yet he hasn't studied aesthetics, which even fucking Wittgenstein recognized as central to all philosophical concerns

Me no shiggy diggy

>> No.3135349

>>3134879

>Creative Writing
>Philosophy

Have fun waiting tables.

>> No.3135360

>>3135349

what_is_an_english_teacher.jpeg

>> No.3136074

Everything written before fifty years ago consists mainly of showing off, with very little space for the actual ideas.

>> No.3136484

>>3135340

most novels would be more aesthetics if they were condensed into short-stories, as they ought to be.

Moby Dick would be marvelous at ~200pages. Cut out all the lies and misinformation about whaling, geography, sailing and cut out the long-winded monologues that go nowhere. It might be a classic then.

>> No.3136485

>>3136074

sad but true, they wrote books like we make reality tv shows

consist of fluff and vapidity

>> No.3136536
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3136536

>>3136484
Someone should have told Melville! What other books would you reduce in size so they'd become classics? Magic Mountain perhaps? Ulysses? They do drag on and on!

Seriously though, MD flew right over your head (pic related). Ever heard of high-modernism?

>> No.3136576

>>3136536
>Ever heard of high-modernism?

ever heard of long-winded drivel?

>> No.3136592

awful thread

>> No.3136640

>>3135328
>>3135328

don't know what economic means.

what the fuck.

>> No.3136647

Every time I try to read philosophy I stop after 10-15 minutes cause every word tells me "think for yourself you stupid idiot".

>> No.3136689

>>3136536
>Moby Dick
>high-modernism

Oh lord, I want to punch you in your filthy whore mouth _so_ bad right now.

>> No.3136719

>jesus christ, can't you just get to the overarching ideas and sum up the theme in a few coherent paragraphs? What's with all the beating around the bush

Yes, because getting ideas across swiftly is just what fiction is about.

>> No.3136743

>>3135360
an antiquity in an austere post-depression society.

>> No.3137322

>>3135328
>not if you're any kind of writer. You can write what you like.

>he thinks an audience being able to effectively digest your work is a bad thing

I bet you're a terrible writer.

>> No.3137343

The concept of purple prose is the biggest sham in all of literary criticism.

Basically, anyone that uses it seriously can suck my purple dick.

>> No.3137383

>>3137343
I'm fairly certain OP is making the joke that anything other than the core idea of a piece is extra.
I'm also fairly certain y'all postin' in a troll thread...