The Essays as poem: Meditation
(Poetic/ Meditative essay)
Meditative essay is similar to
the poem; and the essayist is similar to the poet in many ways. Chiefly,
meditative essay uses image and symbols to show the main idea. The essayist
writers anything that randomly comes to his mind. But the images that come to
his mind give some sense. When we are meditating, we are engaged in
conversation with ourselves. we are talking to ourselves and trying to discover
some deeper truth. We are engaged in the complex thinking trying to discover
the truth. we do not possess the truth but we are in the process of finding it.
The writer of the meditative essay also does the same. So, the meditative essay
is the thinking on the paper. The writer is trying to say something
remarkable and he presents his complex thinking process on the paper. The essay
is a recorded testimony whatever comes in his mind. In this sense. we remember
the 16th century essayist, Moutaigne who said that the 'essay' is trying to
write or thinking on the paper. we know that the meditative essayist writes
whatever comes in his mind while thinking. So, he is not conscious to persuade
the readers. He is just engaged to find the idea and truth. Thus, the readers
are not easily persuaded by his essay and they feel difficult to grasp the
concept. The writer of the persuasive essay is open, practical and logical but
the writer of the meditative essay is headlong, imaginative and indifferent.
Meditative essay, therefore, presents disconnected ideas and images in the essay.
The readers do not find the connection between his ideas and images but he sees
the connection between them. So, he associates the different images for the
main purpose.
Meditative essay uses a lot of
images and details. These images and symbols are the great supporting materials
that help us find the main idea. we can find wat the essay is about by
associating these symbols. We should try to decide the suggestive or
connotative meaning of the symbols. We will get more reward if we read concentrating
deeply in the image and their symbolic meanings. We have to take the text as
the open texture but not the writing style. The writing style and structure may
be disjoined, complex and loose but the meanings of the images give some sense.
The essay 'Spring 1941' by E.B. White is very good example of this type. In
this essay, he wants to show the violence of Second World War (in 1941). He
also implies that still he has some hope of regeneration in his mind. He writes
everything about war, violence and regeneration whatever comes in his mind. But
his strange and disjoined images give a sense that he still has a hope of new
spring in the middle of violence. This is the main idea of the essay and we can
understand it by associating his images, details and their symbolic meanings.
Therefore, a meditative essay does not pay attention to the readers but it just
presents disjoined images and details that help us understand the meaning.
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