Reading through Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience was a much different read than Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimation of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood”, but not because the writing style was so different. Rather it was because of the artwork. While both had artwork, Blake’s had much more intense pictures on each page of his work. The whole time I was reading Blake I felt much more engaged and intrigued. In Wordsworth’s, though I did enjoy it, I found myself drifting off from the work itself and thinking about other things (like my German homework and if pizza Lunchables are considered a decent lunch for a college senior).
From this alone I could deduce some very simple theories about art’s interaction with learning and the brain. First, that it stimulates us much more then just a blank page with words. If I hadn’t said that to you before, that just means you haven’t been listening to me. I’ve believed this for a while now (which is the reason behind my obnoxiously bright coloured pens I love so much) and preach it when I can: colour keeps you stimulated and that stimulation helps not only one engage/connect with the text, but helps them remember what one reads. Second, it sets the mood. This may be a more subconscious doing, but let’s face it, if you see a skull surrounded by flames you get a much different feeling than if you see a unicorn sprouting rainbows out it’s rear. Third, it helps with understanding. Much like comics, it can help some one know what’s happening or at the very least, the themes of a poem. For example, in Blake’s London we see in the pictures the person we can assume is the “I”, but also the old man who shows the “Marks of weakness, marks of woe” (Line 5). This adds a depth to the work and shows what the reader may not necessarily be able to envision on their own.
While this was just me taking our my rear, much like unicorns have rainbows coming out their rears apparently, there are actually studies that say similar things. Take a look at the links below and see what they say about specifically children and art.
Art and Children
The Effects of Art on Children, eHow.com
Fact Sheet About the Benefits of Arts Education for Children
How Arts Training Improves Attention and Cognition
Free Arts for Abused Children
Training in the Arts, Reading, and Brain Imaging
I, like you, am a very visual person. Don't get me wrong, I can read 500 page books with the best of them (and that's why we're English majors), but I also immensely enjoy something aesthetically pleasing with vibrant colors, pretty script, and visual cues to stimulate my imagination. I have colorful pens and try to use exciting fonts wherever appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI actually entertained a degree in graphic design for awhile, until I discovered that computers hate me. I am, however, a huge fan of words turned into art. I even have a (somewhat neglected) pinterest board dedicated to it:
http://pinterest.com/allisoncreyes/literary-design/
William Blake's engravings could quite possibly adorn my future children's bedrooms (which surprisingly, I do not have a pinterest board dedicated to)
There are some great images (I love the Emerson one and the Twain in particular) and I'm a fan of words into art too, mainly because I think that words are already art. So turning them into larger pieces of art or aspects of art just makes them even better.
DeleteAlso, I think Blake's engravings would be beautiful in a child's bedroom (even if some of his poem wouldn't be).
It's interesting to me how far back the idea of children needing pictures to reinforce their reading goes. Despite the fact that its content and implications are pretty heavy as such things go, Songs of Innocence and Experience could logically be described as a picture book. A daring picture book the likes of which you wouldn't find in today's children's lit, but a picture book just the same. This really deepens the issue of whether Innocence and Experience can be considered for kids or for adults. After all, it's laid out almost like a modern book of children's poems (and was probably a huge influence on them), but the content is a lot darker than you'd see there.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not sure whether it is a kids or adult book, myself, and admittedly, the imagery is part of this. However, I'm inclined to think children's if only because the earlier works for children have always had a darker or heavier side of some sort. Let's face it, with fairy tales where limbs get cut off and people eaten, I don't see where this would change too much in such a short period of time.
DeleteTHis was a great blog! Kind of all over the place but very intersting observations and thoughts. I too agree that learning visually works much better for myself and especially children. Reading to my daughter and nephews can be very difficult when there are no pictures to go along with the stories. However, children are definitly different learners as we are as adults; my newphew memorized a book just by making corelations to the pictures on each page when he was 3. He had no idea how to read, but because we read it to him to much, when he saw the pictures on each page he read almost exactly what each page said without any real ability to read the words; on the other hand, my daughter and other newphew will make up stories as the read through a book and, while their stories are very funny and interesting to listen to, they lack the ability to focus on what I am actually reading to them - they aren't listening, they are just being distrated by the pretty pictures.
ReplyDeleteI'm not afraid to admit it! I'm a rambler when I blog! ;)
DeleteMy little cousins are the same the way: the pictures engage them and help learn the stories (even if sometimes the pictures are just a distraction at times).
I agree with you 100%. I find that with the use of different colors and pictures that I am more interested and intellectually involved. My note cards are done with different colored sharpies also. It helps me remember my definitions and in high school my chemical mechanisms.
ReplyDeleteI do the same thing! Keeps me very engaged even on my most distracted days.
DeleteNice observation! I definitely agree. I think the more color and art used, the more the reader is engaged in the work. Especially if the readers are children. I think most children tend to be more visual, and that could be why Blake incorporated so much artwork into his poems. Because of the artwork, the poems work well for both adult and children readers.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was the artwork that made me decide (eventually) that Blake's works were for both adult and children audiences. It brought the two worlds together quite nicely.
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