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Learning to Circumvent the Limitations of the Written-Self: The Rhetorical Benefits of Poetic Fragmentation and Internet ‘Catfishing’

Meghan Punschke Nolan (2015) — Persona Studies

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DOI: 10.21153/ps2015vol1no1art431 (opens in a new tab)

Type:   Journal Article
Country:   Global
Tags:   Catfishing, Computer Mediated Communication, Online False Identities, Online Relationships, Poetic Fragmentation, Romantic Deception, Self Presentation, Written Identity
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Synopsis

            
This publication examines how writing identities are formed and perceived within the constraints of authority, authenticity, and moral accountability, arguing that fragmentation of the self can illuminate the complex, fluid nature of linguistic identification. It juxtaposes Modernist poetic techniques of fragmentation with contemporary online practices of catfishing to assess how both strategies reveal tensions between normative expectations of belonging and the lived multiplicity of persona. The analysis draws on theories from sociolinguistics, literary studies, and communication research to map how writers negotiate selfhood through varying voices, records of speech, and stylistic choices. The author traces the historical shift from resemblance-based language and traditional poetic authority to modern practices that valorize identity plurality. Poets such as Pessoa and Eliot are cited as exemplars of deliberate impersonality and multi-voiced writing, while internet catfish are described as online counterparts who perform altered identities for strategic or relational ends. Although the two phenomena share reflective techniques, the piece differentiates their moral implications: poets’ fragmentation is framed as an ethical and artistic pursuit that engages audiences in truth-telling and reflection, whereas catfishing is characterized as deception that disrupts trust within online communities. The discussion also engages related work on online self-presentation, context in computer-mediated communication, and the ways digital platforms enable rapid cycling through personas. In conclusion, the work argues that deliberate fragmentation can expand our understanding of language and self, offering a framework for examining how identity is performed and perceived. It emphasizes careful, morally aware use of fragmentation to explore multilingual and multiplatform expressions of the self.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The essay explicitly identifies scarce non-academic discussion of the restrictive nature of written self-expression. It also argues that writerly identity is rarely treated as a component of personal identity, despite writing's role in everyday self-presentation. No empirical evidence is offered about the scale of these gaps.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
Conceptual interdisciplinary essay drawing on sociolinguistics, literary theory, composition studies, media theory, and cited prior studies. It compares Modernist poetic fragmentation with online catfishing as forms of alternate-persona writing, using literary texts and publicly reported catfishing cases to develop a rhetorical argument about authority, authenticity, moral accountability, and written identity.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
This is a theoretical, interpretive essay rather than original empirical research. Its claims about catfishing, victims, motives, and harms rely on cited scholarship, documentaries, television cases, and media reports. It does not provide a systematic sample, participant data, prevalence estimates, validated measures, or direct testing of its comparisons between poetic and online identity performances.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Further work should give greater attention to the written self outside academic settings and examine how deliberate, ethical fragmentation can support reflection on fluid written identities. Any such work should distinguish reflective identity experimentation from covert deception intended to mislead or harm others.

          

              

    
    

        
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