The
very word, “evocative,” is evocative.
The
dictionary definition, “Serving to bring to mind. Making
you remember or imagine something,” brings up feelings of hazy memories one can’t
quite place or anchor.
Good
poetry is supremely evocative. Good prose is subtly so. Good music evokes on
the most sensual level, as do smells and even certain qualities of light.
I
was mulling over a Leonard
Cohen song, AVALANCHE, whose words I find evocative. But— blimey—
if I know what they mean. I just know that the many attempts to analyze it fall
flat. From the literal to the highfalutin theses I read, none touch what this
song evokes in me, which is dread and impending doom.
This
is but one example. I find James
Joyce’s Ulysses evocative, but also unreadable. I wonder if,
on some level, he meant it to be. A sort of hiding in plain sight.
I’m
not this sort of writer, but I am intrigued by evocative writing.
3 comments:
Evocative is a lovely word. Writing is beautiful when it pulls a feeling out of us, something intangible, but it's more important to me to be able to understand the writing. I have sworn that I will read Ulysses before I die. I'm almost 66 and haven't bothered yet. I don't know if it's worth the time when I have so many great books to read that I can comprehend more easily.
Love,
Janie
Sometimes, just being in a place can be evocative. Something about the atmosphere that one can’t describe can evoke a feeling of deja vu for me.
Isn't it funny that the word itself evokes emotion? The Little Prince came to mind... as I read your essay. One of my favorite books that never ceases to transport me to a higher plane.
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