Famous Minimalist Literary Works
The Red Wheelbarrow
Written by William Carlos Williams, The Red Wheelbarrow serves as a perfect example of minimalist poetry. It consists of only four stanzas with four words per stanza. Pertaining to the general rules of minimalism, there are no words that could be deemed unnecessary in this poem. Since there are so few words, many interpretations could be made about this poem. That is another thing that minimalist writers did. They wanted the each reader to find a personal meaning. Due to its short length, this poem does just that by providing enough information to introduce a broad topic while leaving out information for the reader to fill in the gaps. Although many interpretations can be made about this poem, one of the most common regards the importance of agriculture. The poem describes a scene at a farm and, by using the phrase "so much depends on," it hints that it is talking about how important this industry is to every single person.
I Know a Man
Robert Creely gives us yet another example of minimalist poetry. This poem contains some interesting characteristics that display characteristics of minimalism. Although this poem has four stanzas, if you look more closely, it becomes apparent that all four stanzas are really just one long sentence. There are no unnecessary words, only ones that are needed to make the poem coherent. At the end of each stanza the reader is, in a sense, cut off because the sentence will jump to the next stanza. Also, each line of this poem displays a short pause at the end. This gives the poem rhythm. You can also see that there are words throughout the poem that are not spelled out all the way. This provides emphasis on those words in particular. All of these previously mentioned characteristics can be seen as characteristics of a minimalist poem.
To learn more about minimalism in poetry and to see more examples, click on the link below.
To learn more about minimalism in poetry and to see more examples, click on the link below.
The Old Man and the Sea
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The themes of minimalism were not only seen in poetry. Ernest Hemingway's novel The Old Man and the Sea consists of a story about a Cuban fisherman who has hardly had any luck recently. His young friend who usually accompanies him on his fishing journies decides to ditch him to go on a more productive charter boat. Alone, the old man ventures out into the sea, hooks into a ginormous marlin that drags him further out to sea, endures an epic battle, and then fights off sharks to bring his catch back in. There is a lot that happens in this novel; however, it only consists of 27,000 words. Hemingway keeps the wording very concise throughout the novel, a key element of minimalism. Like other minimalist works, this book aims to establish a deeper meaning in the reader. It leaves this part up to the reader. Some see the story as a symbol of the importance bravery because the old man ventures out onto the sea on his own. Others see the great battle with the fish as an allusion to life's greater struggles. Fighting this fish was the hardest thing the old man had ever done, but he endured it. It can teach us that, no matter how hard life may get, nothing is impossible. The fact that meanings can be taken from this book in so many different ways shows yet another sign of minimalism.
To learn more about The Old Man and the Sea, click the link below. |
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