Once I Met An English Scholar Awriting Masters Thesis Poem by Terence George Craddock

I met a man once a scholar then writing
his final masters thesis before his PhD
an Englishman who attended one of those
two English universities they like to boat
race row talk about and he told me....

he knew more about what the author wrote
had written on regarding his style creativity
than the author himself he knew this because
he had read about 16 of his novels a few
lesser works short stories etc etc etc...

I asked how many times he had read the novels
only once speed read mostly not all characters
as were all the same archetypes fully rounded
flat characters fillers but he knew what an
author meant with a swift rough reading...

now in actuality a writer writes with imagination
vitality creativity lives breaths character feelings
thinks their thoughts walks there steps step
by step sets up triumphs mistakes turn fall
writes out every characters faults virtues...

a good writer knows his/her characters casually
with intimacy because writer breathed life
into characters all clothes appearance even
the way they walk talk accent likes dislikes
a good writer knows their characters intensely...

characters do not eureka moment appear on page
there is also a simple matter of setting time period
origins education or lack thereof personality
emotions desires anger expectations employment
or lack thereof in their crucible social context lives...

author breathed life into each character sweat tears
all comedy tragedy main characters enter stage left
exit stage right what was sum total life struggle fight
to build suspense get action plot flow running together
smoothly author had to effectively interact characters...

to create a unified story line without lose treads
fact detail no contradictions unless suspense characters
are lying so let us assume author knew his creations
not to mention exposition, rising action, climax, falling
action, resolution as carefully author plot thought out...

so did I tell the scholar the fly in the ointment problem
with his not knowing too too shallow character analysis
I did I did try politely words fell on all knowing deaf ears...

a man who knows knows cannot be told
I tried to tell him wondered what his
final grade would be how much it suffered
from his knows knows not knowing blunders
months a few years passed masters thesis unfinished...