brown study (i)
By the way, that's not me in the image above (although it could be), and it's certainly not my brown study. It more resembles the room in which my ex-father-in-law used to write his lectures, or my own father used to compose his sermons, and even that is being hugely generous in comparison. I suspect it's really the library of some Edwardian gentleman, though I'm not sure about the feet up on the desk.But I should get to the point, which is, as you've realised, brown study, more specifically being in one, in a metaphorical rather than the literal sense with which I teased you above. The phrase, whose roots can be traced back at least as far as the 16th century, has rather gone out of fashion these days, ousted by the equally colourful notion of having the blues.
However, although brown study did and does have connotations of a gloomy or melancholic state of mind, with Doctor Watson famously describing himself as "falling into a brown study" in 'The Adventure of the Cardboard Box' (as who wouldn't?), and Conrad writing in 'Thrift and the Child' "He sat solemnly dejected, in a brown study", there is another sense to being in a brown study that goes over and beyond what having the blues means.That additional depth to the phrase carries an implication not so much of depression or sadness, but of the mind being in contemplative or reflective mode to such a degree of intensity that the person ceases to be aware of anything going on around them.
We sometimes fall into these states of abstraction quite by accident (or so it sems), when our senses momentarily disconnect themselves from the treadmill of life. Such moments can even be quite long, as in periods of day-dreaming (reverie), or when we're functioning on automatic pilot, and we generally don't know we've been in this type of brown study until something happens to make us snap out of it.
But we are also capable of inducing such a meditative state if we so wish, by practicing techniques that empty the mind of conscious thought and allow us to enter a still and trance-like state.
brown study (ii)
I sometimes use a mandala like the one above to help me lose myself into abstraction. Maybe you've tried something similar yourself at some point?As for poems on theme, I did have a look. There are a couple of quite famous brown study ones, but somehow they didn't appeal, so I've used some of my time this afternoon to conjure up the following. I nearly titled it 'Take Three Girls' (being beastly to each other). See what you think. It comes with the usual caveat, that I will probably look to refine it at a later date.
AbstractionBecause Sienna had the knackof getting out of it without the aid of grass or tabsor wine, the other girlsthought her haughty,both envied and despised her,mostly the latter actually,referring to her behind her backas snake eyes.It didn't help matters that she'dbuilt quite the cool rep with her abstract style. Her arthung on gallery walls,earned exhibitions, sold well.Ginger painted her in secret,'portrait of the artist as a young bitch'as if there might be voodooin gouache laid on thickwith menace.
And Rose stole paints and brushesin the studio they sharedbut Sienna didn't seem to care.After all, she had her secrets too -knew that 'abstract # 8'represented Ginger giving birthto a piglet and 'abstract # 11'was Rose being run overby a truck. Thanks for reading. Murder mystery beckons. S ;-) Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook