1 LITERATURE AND ITS STUDY literature- complex artistic phenomenon, meeting different needs and serving different purposes literature in Wellek and Warrens understanding: - their theory became one of the first systematic articulations of the necessity to study literature as a unique phenomenon, not as merely a part of philological study - all written texts ( anything in print- great novels, poems, textbooks, train tickets,etc.) - a sum of great books (based on a value judgement, rather than on serious formal and thematic distinctions) - imaginative literature (the art of letters or verbal art which uses words to evoke aestheic feelings as opposed to utilitarian literature) literary work- made up of verbal signs, meaning if it is to have significance for human beings, it has to communicate a message and that this message is usually very complex, ivolving various aspects of human reality main medium of literature- not a letter, but a word in its various manifestations Aristotle in his Poetics said, that music of the flute and of the lyre in most of their forms are all in the general conception modes of information, answering the questions (also considered as oldest answer): 1. what need is met by literature 2. how does literature originate 3. what form of the spirits is it which fashions it Danziger said “the work is usually in one way or another a reflection of recreation of the world and of lifewhat earlier crisis called an imitation- we are certainly ware of the fact that it is not after all the world and not real lide”. another approach describes literature as affective ( emotion, feeling, mood) power on readers Tolstoy “ the stronger the infection, the better the are”. so until now we described literature as: 1. imitation 2. fiction 3. affective art to affect the feelings of readers (receivers) it meets the need of its producers (authors of literary works, for expression) Plato “poets are possesed speakers of divine truth, inspired to utter that to which the muse impels them” William Wordsworth “poetry is a spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling- it takes origin from emotion recollected in tranquility. the emotion is contemplated till, by a species of reaction, the tranquillity dissapears, and an emotion, kindred to that which was before the subject of contemplation, is gradually produced, and does itself actually exist in the mind”. expressionism- aim was to achieve a psychological or spiritual reality rather than record external events in logical sequece (seeing the fictional world through the eyes of the author) post modernism- we get works treating topics which had previously been taboo, forbidden, or simply considered unworthy ( addressing womens issues, problems of national and ethnic minorties, postcolonial, etc.) cultural studies- analysing cultural differences in production, distribution and consumption of artistic works among different kinds of audiences, search for non- traditional disciplines 2 mass/ popular literature- literature that meet current mass interest in uncomplicated entertainment (well sold, found not only in bookstores,etc.), also looked down as not as valuable as the serious literature) the study of literature- branch of scholarship exploring literary texts and culture, can be seen as a part of general study of arts and aesthetics, consisting of four basic components 1. literary theory 2. literary criticism 3. literary history 4. critical theory (simply theory) *common goal is to allow the reader to experience a literary work more deeply and precisely, either through providing more knowledge about its background, author, or by offering an informed view of the complexities of a works meaning literary theory- study of basic principles of literature, its categories, criteria. concerned with analysis of general literary or aesthetic categories, common for more works of literature. serves as a common denominator for theoretical as well as critical advices literary criticism- analysis, evaluation or interpretation of the works of literature, mostly performed by literary scholars or critics. focused on the clarification of meaning of a concrete, particular work, uses synchronic methods of interpretation literary history- approaches literature from a historical, diachronic point of view, tracing its developmet over a longer period of time critical theory- result of significan challenges to the status of the literary work occuring in the late twentieth century, when the literary, traditionally a constitutive feature of the ontological uniqueness of the literary work has been spread out to other, non-literary dields (history, philosophy, law, antrophology). general literature/ comparative literature- involves the study of literary movements, schools, fashions identified in larger geographical ares, transcending regional or national lines. national literature- one of the most frequently used terms in the field of literary scholarship, though, paradoxically very difficult to define properly. usually distinguished by means of linguistic criteria *traditional divisions into world, national and comparative literatures have been recently enriched by concepts introduced within poststructural perspectives and efforts ( ethnic lines, gender ines, political and geographical lines). *in case of literary theory, criticism, history and critical history, the concepts of general (world, national, comparative, ethnic and postcolonial literature) implicates each other, meaning its impossible to study national literatures without background knowledge of certain universal tendencies and developments. LITERARY TEXT IN CONTEXT allusion- reminder for readers about other literary work, they form direct or indirect quotations from previous works, symbolic parallels and echoing motives.( in Ulysses author reminds about the journey of ancient greek hero Odysseus to Ithaca) Julia Kristeva claimed that a literary work is not just a product of a single author, but of its relationship to other texts and to the structures of language itself. Understood literary texts in two axes: 1. horizontal axis ( connecting the author and reader of a text) 2. vertical axis ( connecting the texts to other texts) intertextuality New Critical- posits the author more as the texts orchestrator than originator. A text is a multidimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them original, blend and clash. The text is a tissue of quotations. The writer can only imitate a gesture that is always anterior, never original. 3 intertextuality- process of mutual influence and continual dialogue betwen literary texts (must be read in the context of other texts). word is from latin intertexto meaning intermingle while weaving. palimpset- from greek meaning again-scraped, all the definition above, originally parchment manuscripts which were over-written several times mixing previous and later texts. Michael Riffaterre said “the readers perception of the relation between a text and other texts which have already originated or will originate in the future. (traditional understanding of intertextuality by one important aspect- the readers experience, perception). intertextuality also may be identified as: 1. intertextuality (includes quotations, plagiarism, allusions) 2. architextuality (relation between the text and other texts of the same genre) 3. paratextuaity ( the relation between a text and its “surrounding, for example a title, preface, annexes, illustrations, notes,..) 4. metatextuality (explicit or implicit commentary of one text on another text) 5. hypotextuality (earlier hypertextuality, relation between a text and its predecessors, text which are adapted, transformed or modified by later works) 6. hypertextuality (relationship between computer-based texts, breaking the traditional linerary of the text and enabling an interactive reading). LITERARY HISTORY - works grouped according to various criteria: 1. 2. 3. 4. language they are written in genres poetic characteristics literary period they emerged in *such groupings enable students and literary scholars to uncover distinctive characteristics of a particular literary work. literary scholarship- based on the assumption that a particular historical culture within which the text was created is crucial for its comprehension. comparative literary analysis- for example in context of literary history, we can consider the recipocal relationship between a particular culture within which the text was created and a particular culture within which the reader exists as a main subject. Ancient Literature (450-1066) - term usually indicating literatures of the oldest civilisations and cultures - never composed from scratch, means author never formed the story - developed out of the oral tradition of storytelling genres such as tragedy, odes, hymns, bucolic, epic poetry, NO fictional genres main subject was mainly about divinity (interaction of god with humans) character that centers the story was usually hero, a warrior hero specifically (past actions and ancestors mostly identify characters (reader is more likely to understand character by their previous activities and who their related are) - most ancient stories were written in the form of an epic (long poems that entail a sprawling saga and feats of a hero) - kalokagathea (a sense of harmonious development of the soul and the body) - poetry was viewed as the highest form of literature during this period (beautiful and legend, able to communicate a message (even proses or dramas were written as a poetry) 4 - AL expressed values and morality often in connection with religious beliefs - Notable figures: Caedmon Cynewulf Bede Middle English Literature (1066-1500) - also described as medieval literature - Bible considered as the most respected source of knowledge - most important characteristics of ME is impersonality, means most of literature was anonymous, caused by interest inthe poem rather than in the poet - strict norms of writing, rhetoric or religious pathos, allegories, symbols - genres such as lyric and drama, also stron steam of epic, mystery, morality plays - notion of intellectual property did not exist, story material was looked upon as communal property - less personal or individual quality - rhuman body replaced by the characters of saints forgetting their bodies and living in desire of death ad physical ascetics - literature was meant to be listened to rather than read (memorizing) - prominent feature was also chivalrly (gallantry and honour expected of knights and a general sense of courtesy) - Notable figures Geoffrey Chaucer Thomas Malory Robert Henryson Rennaisance Age (1500-1660) - “rebirth” from French (revival of inteterst in classical antiquity) - can be understood as a revolt against medieval scholasticism and sterility, while looking for sources in the “pagan” ideals. - English rennaisance was an era of cultural revival and poetic evolution - increased criticism by mny historians, contended that the English rennaisance has no real tie with the artistic chievments and aims of the Italian - renewed interest in classicl antiquity, rise in humanist philosophy (belief in self, human worth, individual dignity) - radical changes in ideas about religion, politics, science - focused on wordly things (spring, love) - optimistic outlook on humanity, individuality - religios but with different approach than the traditional religious poets - Notable figures Christopher Marlowe Francis Bacon William Shakespeare Post- Rennaisance (Baroque) - following the logic of alternation of antitheses, refused the classical principles and ideals of the Rennaisance and drew on traditional and conservative values of Roman Catholic Church - main aim in general was to awake the audiences wonder, astonishment and sensitivity by using rich metaphors and spectacle 5 - marked as monumental, decoratively allegorical, preffering external forms to content - notable figures: Torquato Tasso John Milton Neoclasicism I Enlightenment | Age of Reason - new way of thinking, independent thought was embraced - broad intellectual movement (developed gradually) emphasizing reason, individualism, skepticism - presented challenge to traditional religious views - scientific revolution closely ssociated with enlightenment as thinkers employed the scientific method to understand the world around them - emphasis on powers of mind “I think therefore I am” - respect for classical writers, strong traditionalism, distrust towards radical innovations - characteristics were reason, skepticism, mix between christianity and scientific rationalism (deism- god exists, but chooses to let the universe proceed according to natural law) - Notable figures: Moliére René Descartes Baruch Spinoza Isaac Newton English Neoclassical Period (1660-1770) - divided into three stages: 5. Restoration (John Milton, John Dryden, John Wilmot) 6. Augustan Age (Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, Daniel Defoe) 7. Age of Sensibility (Samuel Johnson, Henry Fielding) The Restoration - name comes from restored monarchy in England - brought power of a Parliamentary system under the two parties- Whigs and Tories - opening of theaters - reflected the spirit of the age, corruption and moral laxity (predominant in the social life) - part of Neo classicism Romanticism (1798-1837) - literary movement that emphasized nature (elements work as symbols for the unfettered emotions of writer) and the importance of emotion and artistic freedom - writers rebelling against the attempt to explain the world and human nature through science and the lens of the Industrial revolution - emotion (key characteristic) is much more powerful than rational thought - love, fear, sorrow, loneliness explored the importance of imagination and creative impulse, artistic viewpoint explores the theme of aesthetic beauty (nature and people as well, mainly female beauty) belief that creative inspiration came from solitary exploration (celebrated feeling of being alone) distinct focus on exotic locations and events or items from history (touch of ntiques and gifts of ancient cultures around the world) - vivid sensory descriptions (examples of simile and metaphor, visual imagery and sensory details) - use of personifications - deeply personal, explore the self of writer (autobiografical influences 6 - odes, sonnets, lyrics Notable figures: William Wordsworth William Blake Samuel Taylor Coleridge John Keats Mary Shelley Jane Austin Realism - real (rather than applying fantasy to fictional world, based on real everyday life) - rejects imaginative idealization in favour of close observation of outward appereances - mimetic principle- subject is represented in such a way as to give a reader the illusion of actual and - ordinary experience response to romanticism (writers wanted to get back to observations of society rather than creating exotic romantic world) magical realism- unique subgenre with elements of magic woven into the realistic setting - adds magical elements not found in reality yet considered normal social realism- explores the lives of workers and poor, focusing on the working class, provides social commentary on the devastating conditions of these people kitchen sink realism- offshoot of social realism that focuses on the lives of young working class - socialist realism- created by Joseph Stalin and adopted by Comunists, glorifies the struggles of the proletariat - naturalism- uses the scientific method and scientific principles to explore humans and their relationships - psychological realism- divides into the psyche of the characters, rather than focusing on the plot (more like characters thoughts and motivations) Notable figures: William Dean Howells Samuel Clemens George Eliot Daniel Defoe Modernism - incluedes fiction, poetry and drama - on a philosophical basis tried to break the rules of burgeois morality, Victorian optimism and, in geeral drew a pessimistic picture of a culture based on apathy and moral relativism. - marked by modernism (describes the avant- garde styles of the early 20th century ) and postmodernism ( period of art that evolved after WW2) - allowed writers to express themselves in more experimental ways - contain non-linear narratives and free- flowing interior monologues that emphasize the experiences and emotions of the individual - individualism (focuses on individuals rather than society s a whole, follows characters as they adapt to a changing world, dealing with difficult circumstances) - multiple perspectives ( first person perspective with multiple characters to emphasize the subjectivity of each one and add depth to the story by presenting variety of viewpoints) - free verse (rejection of traditional structure) - literary devices (rely on literary devices like symbolism and imaginery to help reader understand the writing and to create stronger connection) - sense of disilusionment and fragmentation, strong and intentional break with tradition Notable figures: T.S.Eliot 7 W.B.Yeats D.H. Lawrence Ernest Hemingway Postmodernism - late 20th century - appears originally in architecture and later on in all branches of culture and arts - new way of experimental fiction - reaction to events of World War II. Notable figures: Thomas Pynchon Kurt Vonnegut Vladimir Nabokov John Irving LITERARY CRITICISM Interpretation - literary criticism drawed through this process - one of the most comprehensive way to search for the meaning of particular literary work - phenomena of the fact that literary meanings consist more of a spiritual intangible things rather than materials, it cannot be relatively well described and defined, therefore described by means of indirect hints or images - “think about” purpose - interpretive activities: 1. natural (non-professional)- performed by average readers during the reading of a work and thinking about it 2. scholary- performed by literary scholars trying to capture the meaning of a work in scholarly language, concentrating on the works language, composition, theme,… - broad (to make clear the artistic purport of the overall literary work of which language is the medium) and narrow (interpret a work of iterature is to specify the meanings of its language by analysis, paraphrase, commentary,..) by nature as far as the extent of its application is concerned - by writing a poem, a novel or a dramatic piece, writers express something that they expect, conciously or subconsciously, to be passed over to others, to the outside world - source of art thruths comes from immediate or historical reality, the individual and social environment of the writer and the reader - elucidation of meaning through interpretation is not restricted only to literary studies, significant for other human or social sciences as well imitation- mimesis, something that comes from what we consider as reality but is not identical with it fictionality- non indentity of the texts world with a real world, governed by principles of imagination 8 images- figures of speech, tropes texts meaning- a reslut of a complex relation between real and fictional elements, played out at the background of the municipality of other conflicted forces (individual, socialm historical, religious, philosophical,.. interconnection- one of the most important events occuring in social and human sciences in the second half of 20th century, as a result, previous distinctions have become vaguer, creating conditions for the emergence of more general methodological approaches seeking to identify common mechanisms of signification across several sciences Theory of criticism - interpreting literary works is a complex activitx requiring critics to take into account many different phenomena and aspects of the literary process - critical activity has been associated with the discussing of particular works and writers - different aspects required different approaches, in this case difference between impressionic criticism and judical criticism ( used individual judgement to explain and evaluate effects or the meaning of a work) - if the meaning of discussed works was traditionally derived from or related to circumstances of the authors life or paticular era, we describe it as historical- biographical criticism - increasing identification of literary studies as and independent disciplined caused that the discussion of literature became much more sophisticated and specialised - critical approaches freed literary studies from its traditional outfit and shifted the focus of critical activity to the literary itself New criticism - movement selected for a more detail discussion especially because it forms - developed when Victorians trends with their characteristics historicity, emphasis on the role of the literary character and critical judgements of an essayistic nature based upon taste and ethical- philosophical reflections - hypostasising of the text as an objective artefact (living its own life, not dependent on the personality of the author or the recipient) and generating the meaning primarly through its linguistic component parts - shared idea that the meaning of a lietarary work has to be determined from the work itself, not from authors intention or perhaps from its impact on the reader - identifying the main future tendencies of social sensibility and critical thinking - understanding literature as an autonomous activity resulting in the creation of a specific, uniquely literary meaning angelic imagination- superficialty, loss of sensual depth, constant elusion of the meaning being most important of them T.S.Elion: “honest criticism and sensitive appreciation is directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry and poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion, it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality”. Cleanth Brook: “the language of poetry is the language of paradox”. Allen Tate: “when languages are devauled by mass- control, the man of letters must discriminate and defend the difference between mass communication, for the control of men, and the knowledge of man which literature offers us for human participation”. 9 Deconstruction - part of poststructuralist tendencies with their struggle against the autonomous nature of the literary meaing - aim is to subvert or undermine any claim of a text, be it literary, philosophical, or even scientific, to an objective meaning - uses a close reading of canonical literary texts, playing on verbal ambiguities, connotations and etymology of their elements - treats literary works not as works with the elements arranged into a hierarchical structural whole, but as texts based on intertextuality, citationality and relativity of their elements, claiming that the meaning of any text is an absolutely relative entity, radically open to contradictiory readings. - method used in deconstruction is to find a weak chain in the text and then to take it apart ad absurdum Notable figures: Jacques Derrida Paul de Man J. Hillis Miller Barbara Johnson Jonathan Culler: “for new criticism an important feature of a good poems organic unity was its embodiment or dramatization of the positions it asserts, by enacting or performing what it asserts or describes, the poem becomes complete in itself, accounts for itself, stands free as a self-contained fusion of being and doing”. R.V.Young: “the deconstructionists are quite the cleverest people around English department these days, but occasionally they resemble the dullest undergraduates in their inability to distinguish between figurative and literal language- or between poetry and pottery”. * both above- discussed critical approaches are examples of what has been going on in literary crticism since the beginning of 20th century (associated with the birth of text- centred approaches to literary criticism). Russian Formal School - movement originated in 1910s and ended in 1930s as a result of unfavourable political circumstances in the then Soviet Union - insisting on the need of scientific study of literature, characteristics for every literary text. - a key quality of texts literariness is its ability to produce the effect of defamilirisation - art is a way of experiencing the artfulness of an object: the object is not important Victor Shklovsky “the technique of art is to make objects unfamiliar to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and lenght of perception because the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged. Prague Linguistic Circle - consisted of scholars whose aim was to discuss various issues related to linguistics and literature - introduction of the structuralist analysis of literature - rise of aesthetic pleasure (regardless of how it is organised, can acquire an aesthetic function and thus become an object of aesthetic pleasure - method found in French socil and human sciences Psychological Criticism - first psychological critics were actually prominent psychologists (S. Freud, C.G. Jung) Freud: - characterized art as and adult form of play whose aim lies in the wish-fulfilment and prevention of neuroses 10 - introduction of psychological terminology into criticism (ego, super ego, Oedipus and Electra complex, the subconscious) Jung: - artist considered to be a medium for the channeling of the collective wisdom of humankind, of the socalled collective subconscious - “ the artist is not a person endowed with free will who seeks his own ends, but one who allows art to realize its purposes through him. As a human being he may have oods and will and personal aims but as an artist he is man in higher sense- he is collective man a vehicle and moulder of the unconscious psychic life of mankind”. Psychoanalytic Criticism - second half of 20th century (drawing on Freuds work, using also the results of modern psychoanalytic research, esprecially the work of Jacques Lacan) - unconscious is structured as language - elaborating feminist issues (castration complex) - increased awarness of the complexity of human inner, irrational life, but also takes disadvantage usually privileging of human sexuality Archetypal Criticism - tends to emphasise mythical patterns in literary works - narrative designes, character types described as identifiable in a wide variety of works of literature, ritualized modes of social behaviour Interdisciplinary Criticism - strong emphasis on cultural aspect - examining how certain cultural categories like gender class, ethnicity are governing principles of literary representation, how they help structure interpretive communities and reader responses - problems of formerly under-represented minority groups within a particular national or word literature, yet strong tendency for feminist, postcolonial, lesbian, gay critics to explore writings excluded by dominant culture New Leftist orientation - reconsidering traditional arrangement of power distribution in the society- alongside political, gender and ethnic lines - this brings literature from the high pedestal of modernisms idealism down to everyday life with its pragmatic social, political and other problems. Marxist Criticism - drawed presupposition that economics is just one of the elements in the system of relationships within a society Frederic Jameson “literary works are symbolic acts through which people experience and perhaps criticise social relations” Feminist Criticism - focus on the factor of sexual difference in the production, reception, analysis and evaluation of the works of literature - traditionaly dominated by male writers exploring typically male themes, therefore they concentrate on literature written by women and about women 11 Notable figures: Mary Ellman Kate Millett Ellen Mores New Historicism - principle is to juxtapose literary and non- literary texts and to analyse their interaction - literary texts are cultural productions bearing the signs of the place and time of their origin - not only aesthetic artefacts, but always also evidence of political, economic, cultural or ideological issues LANGUAGE OF LITERATURE Story by Mark Twain placed as an example of illustration of the importance of language and sometimes suprising results that the author may achieve by using appropriate language devices One day, there was a blind man sitting on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet and a sign that read: “I am blind, please, help.” Mark Twain was walking by and stopped to observe. He saw that the blind man had only a few coins in his hat. He dropped in more coins and, without asking for permission, took the sign and rewrote it. He returned the sign to the blind man and left. That afternoon the publicist returned to the blind man and noticed that his hat was full of bills and coins. The blind man recognized his footsteps and asked if it was he who had rewritten his sign and wanted to know what he had written on it. Twain responded: “Nothing that was not true. I just wrote the message a little differently.” He smiled and went on his way. The new sign read: “Today is Spring and I cannot see it.” imaginative literature- the art of words and words understood as language are the only instrument by which the literary work can evoke aesthetic feelings in readers literary style- essential element of each literary work, overall texture of activities such as play with meanings, creating ambiguities, special sounding and phrases,… - aesthetic function- dominant to imformative one or to other functions of verbal communication - rich inventory of language elements and structures- including strange, exeptional words and their combinations, poetisms, idioms, expressive syntax, dialect elements,. - variability- based on original combinations of words, semativ shifts,.. - ambiguility- enable literary tects to ecpress more ideas with fewer words, or to aim at expressing “inexpressible” often transcendental meanings by means of imagery and symbolism - emotionality and expressivity- human subjectivity that is the expression of authors and the awakening of readers emotions Literary diction - writers choice of ords in order to achieve artistic effect (common or uncommon, pleasant or unpleasant, dignified or humorous, clear or vague,…) - aim to obtain effect of the uncommon, different, strange, other 12 - an example can be Wordsworth, who asired to create the strange by means of the common, or Hemingways short stories, that are made up of simple words, but contain a complex meaning, hidden in between the lines. - writers are able to choose between connotative (power of association and suggestion) and denotative (dictionary meaning of the word) words. Aristotle “ the mere metrical arrangement of the words, the expression of the meaning in words” Affective words: - diminutives ( words marking small objects, e.g. a cub, a bud, a pebble) - hypocoristic words or laudatives (diminutives of names,e.g. Robie, Susie) - argumentatives (opposites to diminutives, usually with negative implications, e.g. using “a paw! instead of hand,..) - euphemisms (words that try to soften rough or unpleasant meaning, for example “he died= he went away) - pejoratives (words expressing negative attitude, e.g. an idiot, a beast) - neologisms (newly created words, e.g. a clone-baby) - archaisms (words of old origin, not frequently used in contemporary everyday speech, e.g. pronoun thee, conjuctions heretofore, hereunto,..) Other grouping: - synonyms- words of different form, with close or nearly the same meaning (delicious, tasty, appetizing, luscious, delectable) or, to put it differently, words with close denotations, but different connotations - homonyms- words with the same pronounciation, but different meaning and different etymological origin (mine- as a colliery, and as a possesive pronoun - pure homonyms and homophones (words with same sound, but different spelling (steel, steal) - heteronyms- word with same spelling but different meaning and different pronounciation (lead as a verb, lead as a metal material) - antonyms- words that are synonymous except for one feature, for example “good” and “bad” representing quality or value of something (usually used in oxymoron, paradoxes, antitheses,..) - poetisms- purposes of literary texts, not used in any other style (thou,thee= you, thy=your) LITERARY IMAGERY - to express situations and sensations adequatly, writers must find means which would represent their intensive sensuality and convey the impressions of seeing, hearing, smelling, movement - images- verbal devices which enable the literary texts to evoke sensual effects, complex of images is reffered as imagery - includes also auditory (sounds), gustatory, olfactory, tactile (touch), thermal (temperature) - can be static, dynamic, free, tied * mix of for example colour and sound is called synaesthetic imagery, which meains patterns of images, whether literal or figurative, can enrich readers with new and deeper meanings, either in poetry or prose - study of literary imagery belongs both to psychology and literary theory, while psychology is interested in the process of the origin of various tpes of images in human minds, literary theory deals with verbal imagery. - levels of imagery according to the level of complexity: direct descriptions of visible objects and scenes- simplest level tropes- simile, metaphor, subtypes symbol- most complex TROPES 13 - words or clusters of words which, in addition to evoking sensual impressions can express secondary meaings or, to put it bluntly, something else than what they literally are - more complex, because they use connotation to appeal, in a unique, non-referential way, both to senses and intellect - sometimes taken as synonymous to figures of speech, however in traditional poetics these two means are contrasted - based on turning, shifting of readers attention from primary significance of a word or a phrase to their secondary meaning - based on analogy, because they point to some other meaning than the literal one - consists of tenor (describes the first, starting, denotation of the comparison) and vehicle ( marks the other denotation to which the tenor is compared) Life is tale told by an idiot... (William Shakespeare) - life, the tenor, is compared to a chaotic and not well organized tale, the vehicle, as if told by an idiot) Simile - compares two seemingly unlike things by using explicit means of comparison - words such as “like” or “as” - negative simile ( my mistress eyes are “nothing like” the sun) Metaphor - compares two seemingly unlike things - no usage of “like” or “as” (your words are usic to my ears) - based on either obvious, or very frequentl, distant, but inherent, similarity in appereance of both objects of comparison- the tenor and the vehicle - draw the readers attention to the implicit correspondences between the things - dead metaphores (leg of a table, back of a chair) - complex metaphor (multi-levek metaphor combining several images in one resulting picutre Metonymy - capitalises on the existence of certain internal relationship between the involved objects or concepts - used not only in poetic language, but in everyday conversations Synecdoche - considered to be kind of metonomy - represents the object through its origin (she wears fox= she wears the coat of fox fur, I like Shakespeare= I like plays by Shakespeare) or quantity relationships - pars pro toto (substituting the whole through its parts, example “lend me a hand”) - totum pro parte ( expressing the parts through the whole, for example “the city sleeps”= the inhabitants of city sleep) Personification - gives human forms and characteristics to an animal, object, or idea (my little horse ust think it queer/ to stop without a farmhouse near) - frequent in fables, myths, fairy tales and related to allegory Epithet - metaphorical image expressed by just one adjective or adverb, for exaple azure sky, gusty wind, sweer gras,.. 14 Oxymoron - adjective or adverb of contrasting meaning to the related noun, for example painfull joy, lazy bee, sweet hatred Hyperbole - exaggeration of meaning usuall with comic, humorous or satirical effect (she told me the ocean of words and said nothing) - opposite is litotes (understandment) Paradox - combination of words that creates a witty contradiction that, surprisingly, is thruthful upon closer inspection (never say never) Allusion - introducing secondary meaning of the word by reffering to some work of art or literature, to some well known story, character, situation (his love for Tracy was his Achilles heel) Periphrasis - states a longer descriptive and figurative phrase istead of connotative, and usually shorter expression (the country of bolero, corrida and flamengo= Spain) SYMBOL AND OTHER MULTILEVEL WAYS OF BUILDING IMAGERY - universal term used in logistics, mathematics, sematics, semiotics, epistemology, aesthetics,… - can be defined as any object that suggest a larger meaning than itself - often overlaps with trope or figurative language - involves both denotative and connotative meanings - unlike image, symbol combines many meanings which are organized in layers - one of the ost frequent symbol in literature is rose (love, feminine beauty, loss ov virginity) - understanding symbols according to Paul P. Reuben 1. the story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically- symbols nearly always signal their existence by emphasis, repetition, position 2. the meaning of aliterary symbol must be established and supported by the entire context of the story. a symbol has its meaning inside not outside a story 3. to be called a symbol an item must suggest a meaning different in kind from its literal meaning 4. a symbol has a cluster of meanings - symbols play important role in literary language, usually used to represent abstract ideas or complicated images to seem more real, mor interesting, better understood - in mythology they act as archetypes representing universal human experience Allegory - literary figure which is frequently compared to symbol - based on one-to-one reference as opposed to the symbol which uses one thing to point to a multiplicity of diffused meanings (raven representing darkness, horror, death,..) - literary texts containing allegories are frequently considered less artistic and more didactic - between allegory as a trope (dove= peace) or an allegory as a genre (a literary work using many allegories to point to a hidden meaning that was popular especially in times of oppression, when certain things could not be said openly) - very old genre occuring in the Bible, medieval morality plays as well as in modern literature Grotesque 15 - literary trope with a special type of complec image which is created by paradoxicl and disharmonic mixing of human, animal, plant characteristics, usually in exaggerated or even in monstrous forms, by deforming reality, hyperbolization ans’d by understanding human existence as a part of cosmic harmony - usually understood as a short prosaic text with dominant grotesque imagery - in contemporary literature: fantastic/magical/carnival demonic/tragic satirical and transcendental SOUND CHARACTERISTICS OF LITERARY LANGUAGE auditory imagery- evoking images of sounds or imitating natural sounds (sounds produced by animals, murmuring of water, chattering of leaves,..) sound symbolism- higher level of sound imagery, basically the process of using different sounds produced by the speech organs to carry any special meaning rhythm- derivers from patterns of stress in words or utterances, tends to be regular, mostly in poetry alliteration- the repetition of speech sounds in sequence of nearby words, chracteristic for Old English and Middle English poetry - devided into 2 types 1. consonance- repeating of consonants with a change in the interviewing vowel (live- love, ding-dong, in the summer, what soft was the sun..) 2. assonance- repeating of vowels psychological effects of some language sounds: - plosives d,g,b,m are dark and their repetition evokes the feeling of fear, sadness, tragedy - p,t brings the effect of energy, power and freshness - l is marked as “liquid sound” - fricatives [f], [v], [θ], [ð], [h], [s], [z], [ʃ], [Ʒ] provoke the effect of pulsing energy with both pleasant and unpleasand connotations - grouping of short vowels cause wuicker tempo of reading and long vowels determine slower tempo of the text rhyme- is built when alliteration appears in the end of line or a sentence euphony- term applied to passages which sound pleasant and smooth, or musical. evokes feeling of peace, comfort, pleasure and other pleasant emotions cacophony- language which sounds harsh, rough, unmusical. evokes the feeling of discomfort, nervousness, terror or the other unpleasant things. onomatopoeia (echoism)- applied to word or combination of words the sound of which imitates the sound it denotes for example hiss, buzz, bang, the quick sharp scratch LITERARY SYNTAX - rhetorical deices based on changes in word order or positions of words within a sentence as well as by various deformations in sentence structures that bring a syntactic ambiguity to the literary texts - there might ocur structures and constructions which deviate standard language and they are based on breking grammar rules (inversion, anacoluthon, zeugma, parenthesis, attraction, amplification), omission or overusing of some linguisstic elements ( asyndeton, polysyndeton, ellipsis, aposiopesis, proposiopesis) and repetition of words or structures (anaphora, epiphora, tautology) - as a means of communicating mood, attitude or characterization always has to be analyzed along with other elements of style (diction, imagery) 16 repetition- important and rather frequent syntactic device of literary language, keep the literary text coherent and united inversion- nursery rhyme emphasized by the reversal of a normal order of words in the second and third lines antithesis- repetition of syntactic structure, built upon the principle of antonymy parallelism- oposite of antithesis, when the structure is repeated to emphasize related or similar ideas tautology- repetition of already conveyed meaning by useless or redundant words zeugma- figure of speech in which a word is used to modify or govern two or more words although appropriate to only one of them or making a different sense with each parenthesis- is a phrase inserted into a sentence or passage with which it is not gramtically connected, used to express the speakers emotional state, his surprise and excitement attraction- change in form of one linguistic element caused by the proximity of another element (she smiled and leaved) aposiopesis- term marking an unfinished utterance, it has got the form of sudden breaking of tterance without continuing. proposiopesis- utterance without beginning for example- … and thus he left. asyndeton- ommision of a conjuction between the parts of a sentence (we played, sang, danced) polysyndeton- overuse of conjuctions in close succession and in positions they are not strictly necessary (the baby cooed and laughed and rocked the pam) ellipsis- term marking the omission of words or parts of sentence anaphora- repetition of a word or a phras at the beginning of succesive sentences or clauses epiphora- repetition of a word or a phrase at the end of sentence or clause LITERARY KINDS AND GENRES - each work of art is unque and individual, it also displays features which can be found in other works as well and those features allow critics to place it into a larger group called genre - in some historical periods, generic divisions were used almost for ideological purposes - reasons given by some literary criics: 1. a genre puts a work into a group of similar works so the readers are able to perceive it in relation to other works 2. readers can experience pleasant psychological experience caused by reading a familiar literary form 3. a genre usually provides a code important for the understanding of a literary work 4. to work within a framework of an already defined genre can be stimulating for authors who can probe their literary craftsmanship 17 - distinguishing 3 main literary genres POETRY - in Aristotle’s terminology lyric is considered to be probably the most concentrated kind of writing with special poetic diction - general aesthetic aim is not to tell the story, but to express the author’s state of mind, his thoughts and feelings - special emotional effect of poetry is the result of rich imagery, figurative language, rhythm and often, but not necessarily rhymes Rhythm in poetry rhythm- a regular or irregular pattern of beats that is formed by intentional arrangement of syllables of contrasting quaities (stressed and unstressed syllables, long and short syllables) - can be constructed and measured by: 1. accentual prosody- rhythm typical for English language, characterized by the regular number of stressed syllables regardless the total number of syllables in each line. 2. syllabic prosody- rhythm crated by the same number of syllables in each line, regardless the number of stresses 3. accentual- syllabic prosody- combination of two previous, a decesive criterion for its character is both the regular number of syllables in lines along with the regular number of stresses 4. quantitative prosody- rather rare in English literature, its rhythm is based on regular altering of long and short syllables - basic unit of rhythm is foot, which usually contain one stressed syllable and several unaccented/ unstressed syllables types of feets: 1. iamb- unstressed + stressed (be-low, ja-pan) 2. trochee- stressed + unstressed (dou-ble, mo-ther) 3. anapaest- unstressed + unstressed + stressed (en-ter-tain) 4. dactyl- stressed + unstressed + unstressed (mur- mr-ing) 5. spondee- stressed + stressed (pen- knife) • Trochee trips from long to short. From long to long in solemn sort Slow spondee talks; strong foot! yet ill able Ever to come up with Dactyl trisyllable. 18 Iambics march from short to long. With a leap and a bound the swift Anapaests throng. metre- regular rhythmic pattern (alternating stressed and unstressed, or short and long syllables in regular intervals monometer- the line consisting of two feet =dimeter, three feet= trimeter, four feet= tetrameter, five feet= pentameter, six feet= hexameter, seven feet= heptameter, eight feet= octameter monosylabic line- one foot in line *lines with higher number of feet are very rare and they are referred to as “nine foot line”,… ballad metre- used in ballad stanzas blank verse- plays and sonnets by shakespeare were written like this an it means it consists of unrhymed lines of iambic parameter free verse- poetry that has no fixed pattern of metre, rhyme, line lenght or stanza arrangement Rhyme - repetition of sounds in words that appear close to each other in a poem - most common is end rhyme, appearing at the end of lines and are usually arranged into a scheme- rhyme scheme, that is traditionally designated by letters of the alphabet to each new rhyme (aabb, abcabs) So close, no matter how far Couldn’t be much more from the heart Forever trusting who we are and nothing else matters a a a b Never opened myself this way Life is ours, we live it our way All these words I don’t just say and nothing else matters c c c b initial rhymes- at the beginning of sequencing lines internal rhymes- repetition of sounds in the middle and the end of a line perfect rhymes- both consonants and vowels in all the rhymed syllables are identical imperfect rhymes- contains identical consonants with different vowels types of rhymed parts of lines: 1. masculine/ male rhyme- one syllable rhyme (new-view) 2. feminine/female rhyme- two syllable rhyme (stranger-danger) 3. three syllable and four syllable rhymes (very rare, laborious- victorious) Strophe and stanza 19 - specific graphic appearance of words on the page, being usually arranged in lines and groups of lines a) strophe- unit of several lines graphically divided from the following and preceding groups of lines , there is no limit number of lines in one strophe, even the regular metre or rhyme is not necessary b) stanza- if the strope consist of a fixed number of lines, with a prevailing kind of metre and constinent rhyme scheme, its a form of paragraph in poetry, which meas that one stanza should develope one idea types of stanzas according to number of lines: 1. one line stanza 2. couplet- two line stanza 3. triplet- three line stanza 4. quatrain- four line staza 5. quintet- five line stanza 6. sestet- six line stanza 7. septet- seven line stanza 8. octave- eight line stanza 9. longer can be called sonnets, ballades, rondels,..) enjabement- run on verse (when a sentence does not end at the end of stanza but it runs on to the following stanza caesura- if the sentence ends before the end of a line, that is how the pause is called Genres of poetry 1. lyric poetry (dominance goes to expression of emotions) 2. narrative poetry ( tells a story) 3. dramatic poetry ( performed by a character) ode- a long, serious in tone poem, which celebrates love and life elegy- analogically, long and serious poem, but on the contrary it is a form of lamentation about any tragic events, life situations, death hymn- praise to god sonnet- frequent stanzas 14 line lyric poem 1. Petrarchan sonnet- composed of 14 lines tht are devided into an octave and a sestet, rhyme is usually abbaabba + cdecde or cdccdc 2. Shakespearean- composed of three quatrains rhyming abab cdcd efef and a final couplet gg eipic poem- long poem describing adventures of great heroes and heroines, developed into prose ballad- based on a form of folk ballad, written in quatrains of strict rhyme scheme and containing specific themes, usually sad and tragedic, also usually contains refrain dramatic monologue, dialogue, opera, musical comedy, etc. presenting dramatic poetry Prose Poetic Characteristics - prose as one of three basic literary kinds is relatively opposite of poetry, mainly by its language and graphical organization - mainly its rather colloquial language that usually described as ordinary and words as “dull, boring, banal, colourless, comon, everyday, matter of fact,..” 20 language of prose- prosaic writing is simply writing that says something without necessarily trying to say it in a beautiful way or using beautiful words, which means that language of a prose work is not as artificial as language of prose, and it is very close to colloquial style of everyday life narrative prose- synonym for prosaic writing fiction prose- indicates the made up plot introduced by the story, which is an opposite to non fictional or factual prose which is based on facts (essays, biographies,..) plot- the basis principle of any narration, it is series of events which has: a) Aristotles- a beginning, a middle and an end b) later he adds- a beginning is that which does not itself follow anything by casual necessity, but adter which something naturally is or comes to be. an end, on the contraty, is that which itself naturally follows some other thing, either by necessity, or as a rule, but has nothing following it. a middle is that which follows something as some other thing follows it. a well constructed plot, therefore, must neither begin nor end haphazardly, but conform to these principles. * a good plot does not include any irrelevant turns, no false leads, and no misleading information (however, there are some genres based on such techniques, e.g. detective stories, anti-novel, etc.) - traditionally divided into 5 parts: 1. exposition- introduces characters and conflict and the function of which is to catch readers attention and curiosity 2. rising action- intensified conflicts, brings readers to the climax 3. climax- point of the highest emotional pitch after which the 4. falling action leads action to the logical result= 5. the resultion of narration theme- dominant idea of narration and not the “moral” of the story. characteristics: a) must be expressible in the form of a statement, not “motherhood” but “motherhood sometimes has more frustration than reward” b) theme must be stated as a generalization about life, names of characters or specific situations in the plot are not to be used when stating a theme c) a theme must not be generalization larger than is justified by the terms of the story d) a theme is the central and unifying concept of the story, it must be adhere to the following requirements: 1. it must account for all the major details of the story 2. it must not be contradicted by any detail of the story 3. it ust not rely on supposed facts- facts not actually stated or clearly implied by the story literary characters- the plot is peopled by it, one of them is usually more important than others providing the focus to the action 1. protagonist- major character 2. antagonist- in sharp opposite to the protagonist 3. minor characters (figures)- secondary importance 4. narrator- the character who tells the story characterisation- used for describing and developing personality of a character, narrator later explicitely describes characters personality and provides direct statements and evaluation or does it through other characters a) direct characterization- through characters or direct statements b) inderect characterization- through means of their utterances, thinking, behaviour, dreams depth of characterization devided into: a) round- revealing complex personality, very close to living human beings b) flat- there is only restricted set of personal characteistics known to readers, character is like an unloving figure c) stock character- highly schematized personality, e.g. a beautiful but stupid blonde girl, a cynical detective,… d) foil- character existing only to create contrast to another character 21 e) static/dynamic- considering a characters development and changes within a plot conflict- in the role of “engine”, moves plot of narration forward, basically fight between two opposing characters, forces, ideas. a) external- if a character fights against another character, society, God,.. b) internal- within which a character fights with himself, his own ideas, emotions, attitudes setting- fundamental elements of setting are time and place, creating thus a physical context or background for plot of the story. can be effective in creating the atmosphere and mood of the story. part of it is also influence on characters. point of view/ perspective: 1. a third- person point of view- oldest and most traditional one. Narattor who knows the thoughts and motions of all characters and who is informed about all details from the history, presence and future of the story, provides a omniscient point of view. a) limited point of view- story is told through perspective of one of the characters but that character is reffered to as “he or she” b) camera eye point of view 2. first- person point of view- if the story is told by one character reffered to as “I”, this perspectiv offers more personal tone giving possibility to look into narrator’s mind. 3. second- person point of view- experimental, narrator directly addresses the reader. GENRES OF PROSE prosaic works 1. long prose ( more than 50 000 words, e.g. novel) 2. intermediate prose (more than 20 000 words, e.g. novella and a short story) 3. short prose (up to 20 000 words, e.g. a fable, anecdote,etc.) novel- literary work of prose fiction which tells a long, rather developed and complex story that is peopled by many characters. a) picaresque novel- earlier form of novel b) chivalric or trivial novel c) gothic novel d) epistolary novel- written in the form of letters e) impressionistic novel- based on modernist stream of consciousness technique f) anti- novel- breakig all traditional rules of novel writing acording to theme : a) family novel b) historical novel c) utopian and dystopian novels d) science fiction e) adventure novel f) detective and spy novel g) novel of travel h) psychological novel i) biographical novel according to dominant function of the novel: a) didactic novel- bringing new pedagogical concepts b) buildungsroman- describing personal developmen of a literary character c) philosophical novel- introducing philisophical theories 22 if the dominant tone of narration is recognizable: a) humorous novel b) satirical novel c) ironic novel according to the time occurance: a) sentimental novel b) romantic novel c) realistic novel d) naturaistic novel e) existential novel f) postmodern novel * first novel in Europe appeared in 1600 (Don Quixote by m. carvantes) romance- a genre predecessor of the novel, originally told stories describing adventurous life of knightly heroes and their looking for love short story- as a genre is a successor of the fabliau, the exemplum and the legend. similarly to a novel, it includes all elements of narration: plot, theme, characters, setting and recognizable point of view, but reduced measures ( plot is less complex, developing only one or two conflicts, less characters myth- tells the story with the aim to explain repeatedly experienced events (origin of the earth, planets, gods,…) mythologies- myths created by the particular culture or civilizations grouped into one fable- very brief story with mostly animal characters, the function of which is to teach a moral, that is why a fable is usually considered as “one of the main genres of didactic literature” folk tale- originally and orally spread prosaic genre of a specific structure and usually didactic function, with numerous sub- genres a) animal b) fantastic c) realistic d) legendary e) allegorical anecdote- introducing a brief entertaining plot a) joke b) saying c) proverb DRAMA Poetic characteristics: - primarly designed to be performed and watched, not read (exception is closet drama intended for reading only) - can have a form of prose (poetic drama) - the primary material is not only language, but also stage, scenery, lighting, actors, costumes, makeup, audience, publicity, theathre building, house management,… - characteristics that distinguish drama from other forms: 1. living presence of the actor- the audience receives the actor equaly in both the empirical and symbolic senses 23 2. perpetual present tense- in a play while on stage, everything is happening now, in present time, however, containing its own past. every performance is different from previous and later ones as the external circumstances (udience, interaction between actors and audience, psychological status of actors,..) 3. mode of destiny. everything in drama has its purpose, as nothing exists there randomly. all events have their motivation and consequences that lead to purposeful conclusion * above characteristic are fully adaptable only in traditional plays, as modern drama tried to break these strict rules play- literary genealogy understood as both written works of dramatics and as the complete theatrical performance. characters in drama- exclusive position, as they are the only mediators of dramatic text to the audience monodrama- played by one actor dialogues and monologues- performation of text by authors a) soliloquy- monologue performed on stage alone, usually the most important ideas of a play are presented through them b) aside- special type of monologue that is presented on the stage as if other characters cannot hear it and an actor is addresing it only to an audience c) dramatic irony- situation when the audience knows more than characters in a literary work do act- part of a play in which the group of actors on stage do not change, consist of one or more scenes that is a part of a play in which localisation is changed traditional drama composition: dramatic genres: a) tragedy- tracked back to the religious rites of the early greek mythology, dramatic genre which is serious and complete, consisting of incidents that arouse pity and fear with the effect of catharsis (emotional cleansing), language of tragedy is pleasurable, so appropriate to the situations ocuring on a stage, protagonist of a tragedy is always extraordinary, facing to a threating of destiny and tragic downfall b) miracle plays- based on lives of saints c) mystery plays- dramatisations of episodes of the old and new testament d) morality plays- depicting struggles between christian and non believing way of life in the period of rennaisance: a) history plays- dramatization of events chronicled in historical records b) shakespearean tragedy 24 contemporary drama: a) problem play b) absurd drama c) monodrama past: a) comedy- any play that ended happily, essential difference between tragedy and comedy is in the depiction of human nature: tragedy shows greatness in human nature and human freedom whereas comedy shows human weaknesses and limitations b) comedia dell’arte- form of improvising theathre originated in 16th century in Italy c) situation comedy- animated cartoons, professional wrestling d) burlesque- based on earthy humour and short turns in action e) grotesque- based on eyaggeration of any of dramatic elements f) masque- originally played in masks and paying enormous attention to costumes and stage decorations g) farce- built up the extravagant but still possible situations, mistaken identities and vulgar verbal humour including puns and sexual allusions h) comedy of manners, satiric comedy, vlack comedy, dark comedy, hugh comedy, sketch comedy, slapstick, cabaret,.. musical theathre- combine dramatic language with music: a) melodrama- a play with romantic, sensational plot containing also songs or music as interludes b) opera- complex genre combining text- liberitto, music, visual art and acting c) operetta- light, comic opera d) musicals- developing traditions of opera through modern dramatic and music elements, such as popular music and procedures
