Kurt-Vonnegut-on-the-8-shapes-of-stories-Big-Thi #

Kurt Vonnegut on the 8 shapes of stories - Big Think #

Created: December 19, 2020 11:30 AM URL: https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/vonnegut-shapes

The American author said he attempted to bring scientific thinking to literary criticism, but received “very little gratitude for this.” #

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• Kurt Vonnegut wrote a master’s thesis on the shapes of stories that he submitted to the anthropology department at the University of Chicago, which rejected it.
• Vonnegut half-jokingly defended his “scientific” approach to literary criticism over his career, but noted that great stories can’t be easily plotted on a diagram. But in his autobiography Palm Sunday, Vonnegut claimed that his “prettiest contribution” to the culture is his theory on the shapes of stories. Vonnegut describes how Hamlet’s experiences throughout the play can’t easily be classified as good or bad. Ambiguities like this make the story of “Hamlet” difficult to plot on Vonnegut’s diagram. But Vonnegut suggested that learning to see life’s ebbs and flows in stories might help you appreciate when things are good in your life.