“Can Poetry Change Your Life” – Louis Menand

Identify the things that make this writing piece a strong example for essay writing.

In the introduction of the essay, Menand wastes no time introducing the subject of the essay, his critical response to the book ‘Equipment for Living: On Poetry and Pop Music’ and captures the readers attention by listing well known poetry and pop music artists mentioned in said book to convey that this book covers a broad range of artists, ” in a critical style that could be called advanced pop.” Menand then goes on to explain what advanced pop criticism means in order for the reader, who like me is probably clueless on the matter, become familiar with such jargon (which is a lot of what makes up the report, I personally not understanding what he mentions because I am illiterate in knowledge of the music and poetry world). Menand then expresses his critiques for the novel, using the idiom, “a few bricks shy of a tome” as a clever way of mentioning that the book is almost the size of a large and heavy textbook and also mentions that the start and end of the book unpacks the authors claim that poetry can make a difference uneasily. Menand includes descriptive words such as ‘funny, smart, excellent, clever and entertaining’ to also indicate that there are many things to praise as well as stating “I enjoyed almost all of “Equipment for Living” to clarify that he does not dislike the book. Also aiding in the strength of Menand’s writing is his expert weaving of quotes into his sentences to ensure that each paragraph flows better, as exemplified by him stating “when I hear the words “literalize the trope,” I reach for my remote”. Following his use of such quotes is a comment on whether he agrees with what is quoted, offering critical insight on the matter by including his own knowledge and opinions such as “and, in fact, a surprising amount of pop-music criticism is bottled nostalgia, owls that fly at dusk.”, excellently using a metaphor. There is a large abundance of quotes and names in order to provide examples of who the author, Robbins, mentions, this abundance often overcrowding the piece. Another is Menand’s alluding to subjects outside what is mentioned in the book he is critiquing, as seen when he states “Robbins is more interested in the inarticulable or barely articulable sting than he is in reconstructing social relations in the Mediterranean gift economy.” and
“the Jedi master of this mode of criticism”. This spices up the writing to give comparisons to things completely different from the subject matter. Also included are rhetorical questions and anecdotes in order to make the writing more interesting to the reader and to draw attention to his personal opinion so that the reader can understand what he is getting across.

1. What is the main point being made in the essay? The main point of the essay is to express to the reader his personal issue with the general public overlooking Hemingway’s short stories like ‘Men without women’ and ‘In our time’ and overly praising his well-known novels like ‘The Sun Also Rises’.
2. Find an example of emotive language – highlight and explain the effect. Whilst expressing his admiration for Hemingway’s short stories, the author uses very strong positive emotive language, examples of such moments including ‘warm gratification’, ‘truly magnificent’ and ‘magnificent lavishness’. Even stronger emotive language is expressed in the last paragraph when he praises Cabell, one of the few novelists he enjoys reading, very powerful words like ‘transcendent, lacy, frosty, wit, erudition, delicacy and golden great’. This emotive language evokes a strong emotional response in the reader, allowing the reader to understand his immense passion for Cabell’s fantasy novels and Hemingway’s short stories.
3. The writer uses em dash sentences to develop an almost conversational tone. Why is this appropriate in this essay? Is it effective (why?) “There is something a little – well, a little you-know – in all of those things.” is a perfect example of the use of an em dash sentence to provide a conversational tone to the sentence, enabling the reader to feel as if the author is directly addressing the reader and including him/her in the discussion.
4. Find a simile. Highlight and describe its effect. The author very cleverly uses the simile, “the littler critics circle like literary buzzards above only sick lions.” meaning that amateur critics will always target acclaimed and praised writers who have passed their golden days (hence the comparison to sick lions) for a good review, the comparison of critics to buzzards indicating that they are scavenging birds desperate for a juicy scoop, aiding in the reader’s understanding of the author of the article’s negative view on the behaviour of critics after a writer’s downfall.
5. What is the writer’s opinion of “Men without women”? Highlight 3 words/ phrases that communicate this opinion. Answered in question 2.
6. Identify the personification and the hyperbole in the final paragraph. What point is being made? How does it connect to the rest of the essay? There are two examples of personification in the passage “His words, his phrases leap lightly to his bidding. his themes cry aloud for great music to accompany them.” The first describes Cabell’s ease with his use of words and their arrangement to really make his novels come to life. The second suggests that his fantastical themes are so grand and powerful that they deserve music to go alongside them, also suggesting that the novel is so lively that the reader can visualize the novel play out as a movie and what music would accompany such visuals. These aid in the author’s expression of how much he connects and is immensely invested in Cabell’s works, contrary to how he feels about Hemingway’s novels. The hyperbole “and I couldn’t read all the way through one of them, to save my mother from the electric chair” definitely justifies the author’s point of being strongly repulsed by Hemingway’s novels, the obvious exaggeration of the dire circumstances in which he still wouldn’t read all of his books getting across to the reader just how much he can’t stand them.

Greed, pride, wrath and great ignorance. Flaws, they plague us. It’s only human to make mistakes, most of which we fail to identify before it’s too late before the consequential misfortunes follow as a result. For the average person, minor errors will most likely result in a brief diversion in our destined journeys, after which most are quickly able to safely return to the right track and become aware of what caused this derailment. However, for the title character of Shakespeare’s ‘King Lear’, this slight misstep diverts his destined path towards a much darker and devastating one, Lear becoming increasingly more lost and unable to revert back to the light, losing both himself and his kingdom. This potential for such a large downfall is a risk that a person in power puts themselves in. The most important characters provide a vital component in evoking a change in the reader’s perception, allowing reflection on ourselves as we compare their world to ours. This challenges the reader to be wary of not only how dangerous mistakes can become with greater responsibility and influence, but to question our reliance on those we have faith in to make important decisions.