Criticism on the Twilight Critics

Stephenie Meyer's Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) novel recently made its debut on the big screen as a movie starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. The first of Stephenie's "vampire" series has had mixed reviews. I've read both Anne Rice's "vampire" writings and Stephenie Meyer's book and I must say, these critics who put down Stephenie Meyer's book are forgetting who the target audience is in her series. They criticize her writing style, complaining that it lacks substance. What substance are they looking for? The gory details about the vampire kills and in-depth historical perspectives that you can read about in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles? Would Stephenie Meyer's target teen audience really be interested in reading all that? Or wouldn't the frequent mention of love and crushing stares be more interesting? Right.

I've also read criticism about the conversations between the characters of the The Twilight Saga, remarks that their dialogues were "bland" or "corny". Most of the characters in the novel are teenagers, for crying out loud. I think Stephenie Meyer painted a fairly realistic view of teenagers in her novel by not making them sound too intellectual, yet drawing some emphasis on their unsureness, their "dazzlement" with their desires and physical affection. In the story, both Edward and Bella deal with their growing desires for one another, yet wondering at the same time, why they are so attracted to each other, realizing that there is "something" that is not quite normal or right about the entire situation. It's a theme that successfully keeps the reader wondering where all this will lead to in the end.



Stephenie Meyers is no dummy when it comes to writing. With a degree in English to back her, I think Stephenie Meyers kept her writing style in a manner that holds the target audience's interest very well. Her descriptions are clear and the flow of events is smooth enough to follow along well enough to be able to allow the reader with an active imagination to picture every scene in their minds without feeling overwhelmed by an overabundance of information unrelated to the specific event. Heck, she has even been able to win a very large adult fan base with her vivid descriptions of Bella's thoughts and feelings, the very same things that many young people experience when they fall obsessively in love with someone, not just with a vampire. If anyone who claims to have fallen in love with someone before can't remember how their thoughts always seemed to be forcibly preoccupied by visions of their "loved" one's face, wishes to touch or hold that person, or even fantasies about kissing that person, then they've never felt this kind of "love" that millions of readers and movie-goers have enjoyed for decades in other popular novels and movies. And this is exactly the kind of love that you find in this teenage romance novel which happens to have a vampire for one of the characters.

In all retrospect, I just want to tell the critics who give The Twilight Saga a negative review to read the book first and keep in mind who the intended readers are...then maybe they can have something sensible to say about the whole thing.

Emily Dickinson

Poetry lovers and literature students know that American literature and poetry classes would not be complete without studying the works of Emily Dickinson. Known for her dark poetry and extensive use of capitals and dashes, she is considered a powerful figure in American poetry. As someone who is fond of writing that touches gloomy and mysterious topics, I find Emily Dickinson's works quite intriguing and yet, enjoyable to read. Her writing style also famously incorporates punctuations which (in my opinion) add to the dramatic effect of her poems.


I won't go into detail about her life story here. You can google her name on the Internet or pick up a book at the library to find that out yourself. But I wanted to share this poem about her that I found 13 years ago. This was published in The Beacon on May 5, 1995. It takes a humorous look at Emily Dickinson's poetry. I just thought it was well-done for writing that pokes fun at something so serious.

EMILY DICKINSON
by Diane Guyer


I think that if poor Emily
a dose of Prozac had,
the flavor of her Poetry
might not have been so Sad.


Haphazard Capitals would not
appear in Every single Line -
and more Miraculous than that -
the Words would regularly Rhyme.


Those dashes that she's famous for -
in lieu of Punctuation -
would be Replaced by Comma more
with simple Medication.


Black ink from out her Grieving Pen -
O, pain! - O, death! - reclusive Strife -
might sing of Things more Cheerful, then -
if Emily only had a Life.

Interesting, don't you agree? I love the way she mimicked Emily Dickinson's style as she injected humor into the very same subject matter.