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Adapting Aesthetics

Coming-of-age stories with popsicle-stained lips, juice dribbling down the chapped lips twisted in smirks, and wrinkled jorts stained with sand. This clumsy, adolescent description sets up the scene for a classic coming-of-age story and the aesthetic the plotline follows. According to ProWritingAid, “A writing aesthetic is the defining vibe of a writer’s work. It’s a combination of an author’s writing style, tone, themes, literary devices, and messages. All these things contribute to the overall feeling of a writer’s work.”


Every well-rounded author needs their own aesthetic for their individual writing style to create a balance in their stories that draws the reader in with well-written literary imagery. Being a teen writer myself, my generation is always concerned with aesthetics of every aspect of life, from the clothes we wear, to the decor of our room, even down to the food we consume. But aesthetics in writing really matter when you want to create a story to prove a point, send a message, and inspire people. We need to answer a few key questions and understand the background information about aesthetics and what they mean before we can dive into how to become an author with an individual aesthetic.


Like all language, the aesthetics of literature traces back to the Classical age of Ancient Greece and Rome. Famous works, some of the first of their kind, like the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer, set up the first major aesthetic and tragic plotlines for literature. They glorified “epic grandeur” and heroic characters and ideals, idolizing glory above all traits. The literature of this period was mostly intended to reflect an ideological reality and society, focusing on war, beauty, terror, and order. 


In a time period of iconic art and literature, the Renaissance also had an impenetrable effect on aesthetics and the role they play in written works. Between the 14th and 17th centuries, the Renaissance artistic scene transformed in new and modern ways. The aesthetics of this time period were characterized by humanism and the exploitation of human potential and experience. Shifting from the dignity and order values of the previous generations, this era focused more on the things that made humans imperfectly perfect, like the potential and worth of an individual. 


Steering away from the historical aspect of aesthetics, in order to write creatively, we need to understand the language of aesthetics. Aesthetics of language is the deliberate choice and arrangement of words to convey plot. Going over literary choices and how to effectively use them to convey a specific aesthetic will help ground your work in a more stable style. Diction is often the most important choice for aesthetic writing. Different words that have similar meanings are key in establishing a specific tone and voice of the piece. For example, if you want to describe someone as skinny but want to add a more complex and mysterious vibe to the work, try the word “slender”. This still has the same meaning, yet it reads differently and alters the reader’s perception of their physique. One of my favorite traits of aesthetic writing is personification. Attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects or even animals gives the piece a certain complexity that simpler pieces fail to meet. Emily Dickinson is a good example of an author who succeeds in personifying things in her poetry. One such example is when Dickinson writes, “The sky is low–the clouds are mean,” suggesting that clouds and the swirling weather are spiteful, expressing imperfect human emotions. 


Especially in poetry, the structure of a piece can also enhance the aesthetic. In many poems, authors choose to break off sentences and stanzas in a way that adds to the hidden meaning. One such poem that achieves this heightened aesthetic is “I Choose Again to Open the Door” by Quinton Okoro. Published in the Adroit Journal, the author indents the middle of the poem away from the rest of the stanzas to create a separation of importance from the other descriptions. While reflecting on nostalgia and family values, they create a lonely indent as the poem leads from the beginning stanza into a description of their sister, her graduation, and their reflections on their grandparents’ houses and birthdays that had a lasting impact on them. 


Some may find aesthetics a Gen-Z phenomenon, as if it is less important than it actually is. However, aesthetics is more than taking a picture of a sunset, symmetrical with the waves crashing down and spreading sea foam over the sand. The aesthetics of language are much more than stringing words together in the hopes they sound pretty next to each other. It’s about knowing how to pair certain words and phrases together to create emotional response in the reader and to improve the world with personal impressions. 


Sources: 

Craiker, Krystal N. “Writing Aesthetic: What It Is and How to Find Yours.” ProWritingAid, ProWritingAid BLOG, 19 Aug. 2022, prowritingaid.com/writing-aesthetic

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