The movements of the earth & Ernest Hemingway

: the literary magpie

Abstract

The title of this essay acknowledges Ernest Hemingway’s instincts and practice as a writer to borrow from other writers, seizing and adapting techniques and ideas for his own purposes. It aims to consider the influences of Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein on Hemingway’s early short stories. By analysing the short stories and vignettes that Hemingway wrote in Paris while under the apprenticeship of Pound between 1922-1924 I propose to show the formation and development of Hemingway’s early prose. The most important influence on Hemingway’s emerging style is Pound: his Imagism served as a template. Pound also acted as a promoter of Hemingway’s work, an essential, and often overlooked role in the realisation of a young writer’s career. In addition, Hemingway adapted T.S. Eliot’s use of the objective correlative — a significant tool for the indirect delivery of emotion, and perfectly suited to Imagist technique — most probably through Pound’s guidance. Another important influence was that of the formidable and hugely experienced Gertrude Stein. From Stein, Hemingway learned certain principles about the importance of repetition and rhythm. Finally, I consider Hemingway’s theory of omission and whether it works in the different ways in which he described it through the years. In each case of borrowing, he perfected or amended the technique or some part of it to make up the unique Hemingway voice that emerged fully formed in late 1924 in stories such as ‘Indian Camp’ and ‘Big Two-Hearted River’. This work is intended as a study of literary technique as much as it is of literary influence: it is a description and an analysis of the formation of a style. Style is one thing, however; the next question to ask is what effect does it have on the reader? The second main purpose of this critical work is to help in understanding how Hemingway generated emotion in the reader in those early Paris stories. Hemingway fully understood that emotion — central to the short story — must be communicated to the reader, but never by language that is itself emotional.

Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2025.

Date of Award	Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Supervisor	Fran Brearton (Supervisor) & Glenn Patterson (Supervisor)