December 4th, 2022
0
(21F) In literature, what is the difference between and extended conceit and a layered motif?
I (21F) am a college student and my English professor (50s M) said this in class the other day (transcribed from Zoom recording):
Following the Great Depression, American authors largely became disillusioned with the layered motif, a device which had dominated our literature for the preceding century and a half. Right before Americans entered the Second World War, the layered motif started to be regarded as amateur and frankly unmasculine. The vacuum was filled by the "extended conceit." Alright, that's enough for today. It's Friday. Get the fuck out of here and go get wasted.
As you can tell by the last bit, he's a straight chiller. Best prof I ever had. But the preceding statements were just some of his classic ADHD ramblings that came out of nowhere: he had never used the terms "layered motif" or "extended conceit" before, and did not cite where he was getting this information from.
I was really hoping he would pick back up on this on Monday, but we just got an email that he was hit by a semitruck and is in a coma. So I don't know if I'll ever get the answer this question.
Does anyone know what these terms mean, or where I could go to find more information on this historical turn in the 1930s and 40s?
December 4th, 2022
0
Comments:
Muted_Item_8665
From my completely uneducated and quickly google-searched perspective. I'll describe it in terms of jokes in stand up comedy because why not.
Layered motif would be like a comedian repeating an element of a joke again and again through their routine.
"What's the deal with airline food? Just playing with you, lets talk about my ex-wife... (40 minutes later) ... she was a cow, and her cooking was just like airline food! Now let me talk about a grocery clerk I met at the store... (40 minutes later) ...Can you believe this? He said he couldn't bag airline food!"
A couple writers after the great depression, if they were alive today and in this hypothetical audience, would roll their eyes at this. "ugh, this guy. Doing callbacks to a joke doesn't make it funnier."
Instead lets say these guys went onstage to do a bit instead. Instead of all the callbacks, one might start a joke off like this: "My ex-wife was a cow. Like when she speaks she goes moo. She was on this diet, and it's basically grass, right? Just the worst. And she was way too beefy..."
And this would cause the writers in the great depression to riot in applause. This would be extended conceit; Extended comparison of one singular thing that just keeps going and going. Maybe, I think. Because it is sooo cool to just make a whole routine around one comparison, according to these post-depression writers. No callbacks to anything, just one solid bit.
Anyway that's my guess.
3
ketchupaintreal
Wow this only got 1 single upvote? Tragically underrated response.
1