Dec 28, 2007
If any literary work is too long to be read at one sitting, we must be content to dispense with the immensely important effect derivable from unity of impression- for, if two sittings be required, the affairs of the world interfere, and everything like totality is at once destroyed. But since, ceteris paribus, no poet can afford to dispense with anything that may advance his design, it but remains to be seen whether there is, in extent, any advantage to counterbalance the loss of unity which attends it.Edgar Allan Poe, The Philosophy of Composition. In other words, an author should ask himself whether the positives of writing a longer piece suitable only for reading in multiple sittings outweighs the negatives of having the real world intrude on the reading experience in-betwen sittings.
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Daily Meh is written and edited by Simen (contact me). I live in Norway. This blog is about whatever interests me. Here are some of my favorite posts from the archives.
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