Hampl suggests that contemporary autobiographical writing rarely describes extreme circumstances; rather, recent memoirs tend to be "the story of perception" -- that is, they are more concerned with how their narrators experienced more or less ordinary events, than with the events themselves. So the matter of which details the writer chooses to present becomes very important. Description becomes key--maybe even more important than plot.
While making this argument about the importance of description, Hampl quotes the writer Vladimir Nabokov: "Caress the detail, the divine detail." (If you don't know who Nabokov is, read one of his books. You can thank me later.)
So: What does it mean to "caress" a detail? To make it "divine"? If you have ever noticed a writer (or a filmmaker, or a visual artist, for that matter) doing this, tell us about it briefly.
What I got from the narrative was that by “caressing” the detail, the writer is making it easier for the reader to understand. By caressing you are giving items from the writing bigger meaning as if to show the reader what is going on and not just telling them. It allows the reader to relate the story to their own world in which they are living in.
ReplyDeleteBy making it “divine” the writer gives the character or item a greater value to the reader. This makes it easier for the reader to relate his/her life, to the plot, of the writing genre. You see this a lot in pretty much any piece of writing with a narrator, because the narrator is describing the events of the story to you. It is done largely in plays because with the lack of special effects it is up to the narrator (or writer) to bring the events, culture, and location to the audience.
This is just what I took from Hampl’s narrative, however I am sure there are many other ways of translating Nabokov’s idea of “caress the detail, the divine detail”.
I would have to agree with a lot of what Brendan said. The idea of caressing the detail to me just meant to really take your time with it. Don't just state a fact like "the chair is red," but really go into great description and make that chair real and relatable to the reader. By doing this, not only does it help the reader have a better connection to the story, but you made something simple sound so intriguing that your story doesn't necessarily have to be grand or extreme.
ReplyDeleteIn my art class we're learning about different artists and their styles. One artist named Andy Goldsworthy, takes ordinary objects in nature and turns them into these really amazing works of art. He pays an incredible amount of attention to detail involving the shape, size, color, texture, etc. of each item to make something spectacular out of something as ordinary as leaves. It's actually pretty cool. You should Google image some of his work if you haven't heard of him.
I would agree with what I have read from the fellow classmates so far by caressing something you show it has great meaning like when we were young and had a hard day we might come home and coress or (hug) our mothers becasue it would seame to make things better. There fore coressign an idea you show it had great meaning to you and how it makes you feel.
ReplyDeleteBy making something "devine" you make it stand out to the reader and show that this was an immportant event, for instance when we talk about deving intervention, this is something that stands out as to make a change in ones life and shapes how that may think and act after the fact.
A book i had read that showed how the author woiuld caress ideas form the past of the carracter in the book wad "Dont you Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphery" where she grasped things from the young girls past or presant to show how it shaped the young girl.
I think caressing details is more then just going into alot of detail about one subject or event. Its even more then showing a greater meaning in litaraty or visual work. What I think caressing details mean is showing clarity, having good flow; aswell as have a relatable and confient voice in one's work.
ReplyDeleteT-wabb
i agree with everything my classmates have said so far but i also would like to share my personal oppinion on "caressing the detail".
ReplyDeleteto me, when i read that phrase i think of it almost in a physical way. like Bekah said, "the chair is red" is just touching on the subject or detail. to me, to caress the detail would be to go further into it by saying something like, "the crimson chair stood alone against the wall. it's weathered fabric showing the wear and tear of time as its memories lay deep within each fabric thread."
to caress the detail is to feel it, to not just touch or brush but to take time and feel everything you can, just as if you were to caress a person. to show feeling, and love you wouldnt just touch a boyfriend/girlfriend/other half or what have you, you would caress them, and show how you think and feel about them.
Cassie
I think the person I would have to agree with the most is Cassie. Everyone has made very valid points and it makes it a little difficult to respond without repeating something because everyone has pretty much said everything.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read something I want it to have SOME sort of detail but not to the extent of Henry James where you get bored reading and want to skip to the end. You don't want to get so lost in the details that you forget what the writer was describing in the first place.
i think that to "caress" a detail or to make it "divine" means if you "caress" every detail you make your writing "divine." it is also important that the details have true meaning and impact.
ReplyDeleteYour comments have been excellent so far. Bekah, the analogy you made to the art of Goldsworthy makes a lot of sense, given his concern with everyday objects. Those of you who emphasized the physical or concrete nature of the detail are definitely understanding what Hampl is getting at.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has a point. I agree with the fact that caressing the detail is to make it more vibrant in the story. Putting such a heavy emphasis on detail allows the reader to sort of be placed in the story, see the surroundings, picture what it is to be the one experiencing the story. When you are able to put yourself into the story, it will become more real, more understandable, not just simply words. Making the detail divine is to give it priority above the plot, placing an emphasis on what the story is, not just what it's about.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with anna about caressing in writing and making parts of your writing devine. Because I feel in writting certain things need to have more detail than other in order for the reader to fully understand.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what everyone has said. Here is my take on what caress the detail means. I think that to caress the detail means that by having so much detail you make what you are writing more real to the reader. Since it is more real, the reader will relate to or care about what you are writing and it becomes divine and important. Then once it's divine the reader understands the point or emotion the writer is trying to make.
ReplyDeleteNathan
Hample said that,"the detail was surely divine, offering up miracle after miracle of connection out of the faithful of fragment before me". She was referring to the story of her mother's teacup. By " caress" she meant that, the detail of the story does matter, and in some cases it becomes the core of it. However, she added that, " to write one's life enables the world to preserve its history". When a writer or a story teller is able to add gentale affectionate touch in his or her work, regardless of the status of the main characters, "the more the detail requires description to assure its divinity". As Hampl stated it. I see that everyone has a point
ReplyDeleteBy "caressing the detail" I think he just means to elaborate on it, and to give it life, or to "make it divine."
ReplyDeleteThe best example of an author doing this that I can recall is J.R.R Tolkien in The Hobbit. There was a part where they were walking through a field, and he stopped and described a single flower for about two paragraphs.
It definitely gave me a better mental image of the flower, but it also got pretty frustrating because I just wanted to get on with the story. This is what I think she was getting at with the paragraph about Henry James.
There's a much better sense of literal or figurative texture involved. The reader (or viewer) can usually tell a lot more about the subjects (or objects) involved by the way they interact with each other. It could be the way light may bounce off one thing, but be absorbed by another, or even the distance a character stumbles after a punch to the face. Physical objects can be described in emotions and vise-versa. It's all very relative, and the writer/artist/director should know that the audience needs something to grasp at. Something more than just "this is strong, this is sinister, this is happy." If the piece is too vague, the reader/viewer can't relate, and there tends to be much less meaning if any at all.
ReplyDeleteMuch more is said in the way a villain's mind snaps, pops and boils than in a simple, "He thought of a plan." Even specifics such as the plan itself can be taken out entirely, if the audience understands that the villain's crudely formed mental gears are sliding/grinding/falling into place. Likewise, "It's hot outside" means almost nothing. Is the ground dry? Are the characters imagining it? Is any other aspect of the environment affected by the heat? Straight-out telling the reader/viewer that it is hot is infinitely less informative than the fact that Antarctica is now blooming, or that squirrels are melting to the pavement. In visual media, dry, crackling sound cues, yellow color filters, and excess buzzards might replace verbal description.
Also in the sense of relativity, many things need to be left simple. If every thumbtack, dustmite, and leaf sends the character/reader/viewer into an awful spiral of nostalgic wordplay, then the story will never move and nothing actually important will stand out. A piece of wood has lots of detail in the grain and a lot can be made of it, but with nothing carved out, built up, darkened, sharpened, or broken off, the audience won't know what they're supposed to see. In short: no white space means no significant detail. In the same way that a small flick of the wrist followed by a lopped of head would be shocking, a short little understatement followed by a massive effect can be super awesome.
So I figure that "caressing the detail" includes not only forming the depiction and what stands out about it, but choosing what subjects/objects stand out on a macro scale as well.
Sorry if that comes off as one big tangent. Overall, I agree with all the above posts.
From what i understand caressing the detail means to not just state the obvious and instead take a small detail and use impact words that latch onto the reader so they can relate to it. Overall letting it overflow with description. I like the way Tanner said it, "to give it life." By making it divine you enhance the realness to the reader. It shows much more depth and shows more interest. I agree a lot with what Brendan said.
ReplyDeleteCollin
I was truly just confused my first time through this with the amount of detailed description there was. I got frustrated with it and almost wanted to put the reading down. I still feel like I did that because I never really understood what I had read. So I agree that giving life to the reading and making it more exciting would be better for readers with short attention spans.
ReplyDeleteEric