1/10 - High Brow vs. Low Brow

Personal expounding on Christina Nelson's Blog on high brow and low brow. ;)

I liked how her Blog began, but I'd like to elaborate on high brow literature and see what happens. I see that it is more than just a complex weaving of analysis or story telling that most people become confused and frustrated with. I would like to add that it is also, generally, written at a much slower pace. It takes the time to identify and explore several different possibilities before moving on through the logical conclusion. It leaves nearly no lacuna (without a reason for it to be there, or rather not be there) and uses words that the average reader might not even be able to look up as they have been dropped from the dictionary and replaced by the "dude, that thing," demotic language equivalent. I see high brow as T.S. Eliot, where you can discover a new depth of understanding and/or personal meaning from how and why his structure changes throughout a poem. In a certain light, high brow literature can be described as a sort of advanced coding that keeps secrets from anyone who has a lesser understanding of the subject matter being written about than the person who wrote it. It's a puzzle to be researched and struggled with until enlightenment comes. It's an Armageddon with a cover.

I love how Christina defends low brow reads from those with an opinion of themselves! Low brow can be everything high brow is "for dummies." As with Shakespeare's style of repetitive parallelism. I see Jackson Pollock on my dime store novel's pages and an argument for their worth and credibility.

I have found myself too far along the single path of my definitions and I am certain that I have left out many defining qualities that a high brow writer would surely have stated.

To stand on the shoulders of geniuses and voice my opinions like a baboon in a tree. See you all Wednesday!