INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE Assoc. Prof. Wilfredo M. Valois LITERATURE defined: From the dictionary: Literature refers to writing considered to be an art form or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage. "Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree."—Ezra Pound "It is in literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression." —Alfred North Whitehead "Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart." Salman Rushdie Matthew Arnold puts it as a “criticism of life” because our connection with literature provides an objective base for our understanding of life. Henry Van Dyke, however, gives an encompassing definition for literature, its scope and characteristics. According to this writer, literature “consists of writings which interpret the meanings of nature and life, in words of charm and power, in artistic forms and of permanent interest.” DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE ◦ POETRY ◦ PROSE ◦ “literature that evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm.” the other division of literature which uses a natural form of expression. Prose writing does not adhere to the rules of rhyme, rhythm and meter rather it employs a language characterized by its close semblance to the patterns of everyday speech. In such, the difference between prose and poetry is the difference in form. POETRY LYRIC-consists of poems which deal with emotions or feelings. NARRATIVE- referred to as a story telling verse. These are poems that narrate stories. DRAMATIC-consists of poems in which everything is conveyed through the words of a single speaker who reveals background circumstances and conflicts and provides insight into his own character, as well as that of the others. PROSE POETRY- has all the characteristics of poetry such as vivid imagery, poetic meter, heightened emotion, and language play except that it is written in sentences On His Blindness BY JOHN MILTON When I consider how my light is spent Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one talent which is death to hide Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest he returning chide, "Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?" I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need Either man's work or his own gifts: who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed And post o'er land and ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait." LYRIC-consists of poems which deal with emotions or feelings. This correlates to Wordsworth’s definition of poetry as “the spontaneous flow of emotion.” Subjective and personal, lyric types which abound with figures of speech include sonnet, song, elegy, ode and simple lyric. Sonnet- fourteen line poem with rhyme pattern which may be Shakespearean or Petrarchan Song – lyric poem intended to be sung; melodious and perfect in rhythm Elegy- lamentation for the dead; sorrowful in tone Ode- poem of praise written in formal, elevated style; noted for formal language and structure Simple lyric- all the rest that do not fall under the first four, the poems have general and loose characteristics Narrative poetry is referred to as a story telling verse. These are poems that narrate stories. Under this are the ballad, metrical tale, metrical romance and epic. Ballad- narrative poem intended to be sung… either folk or modern ballad Metrical tale- real or imaginary story peopled by ordinary folks; deals with any topic under the sun Metrical romance- a genre of courtly literature that poeticized knighthood in the figures of such heroes in the figures of such heroes as King Arthur, Lancelot, Tristan, Gawain, Percival. The chilvalric romance poeticized the exploits of knights performed in the name of glory, love, and moral perfection. METRICAL ROMANCE an epic genre of courtly literature that romanticizes knighthood in the figures of such heroes as King Arthur, Lancelot, Tristan, and Percival . The chivalric romance idealizes the exploits of knights, performed in the name of glory, love, and moral perfection. metrical tale and metrical romance ◦ Ordinary characters ◦ Any topic under the sun ◦ Folk tales, fables, legends, myths, ancient stories, stories retold ◦ Canterbury Tales ◦ Album of the Old England ◦ Characters of noble or royal origin ◦ Story featuring the chivalry of a knight ◦ Has the elements love, chivalry, and religion ◦ Presence of a quest ◦ Warrior in arms ◦ Devotion to a lady arising from a virgin cult EPIC ◦ narrates the exploits of a hero side by side the development of a nation ◦ longest narrative poem ◦ myths, legends, tradition, history ◦ begins with an invocation ◦ begins in medias res ◦ features the mortal combat of two major characters ◦ record of the growth of civilization Drama is defined as a “composition in verse or prose intended to portray life or character or to tell a story usually involving conflicts and emotions through action and dialogue and typically designed for theatrical performance.” Drama develops primarily by means of dialogue-the lines spoken by the characters. The plot and the action of drama unfold on the stage as the characters interact. From Greece where it originally started, drama may be classified as tragedy and comedy. While tragedy deals with subject which is serious and involving persons of significance, comedy treats themes and characters with humor and typically has a happy ending. Whereas tragedy reveals the nobility of the human condition, comedy demonstrates its folly, portraying human beings as selfish, hypocritical, vain, weak and irrational. LITERATURE OF KNOWLEDGE AND LITERATURE OF POWER Thomas de Quincey What is Literature? ◦ Is it printed in a book? ◦ Is it spoken in the church? ◦ Is it dramatized? Two Domains of Literature 1. Literature of Knowledge 2. Literature of Power Literature Of Knowledge Of Power 1. Function is to teach 1. Function is to move 2. Rudder 2. Oar or a sail 3. Appeals to u 3. 4. nderstanding Higher understanding but always through affections of pleasure and sympathy (human emotions, passions, desires) Functions of Literature 1. To teach- seeking knowledge; understanding words 2. To move- being able to sympathize with truth e.g. Effect of Children upon society - The sight or imagery of children’s pity, tenderness, peculiar modes of admiration, helplessness, innocence and their simplicity- - Our primal affections are strengthened and continually renewed; kept in perpetual remembrance and their ideals are continually refreshed. Effects of Literary Piece 1. Power- exercise and expansion to your own latent capacity of sympathy with the infinite. 2. Flight- the first step in power, is an ascending movement into another element where earth is forgotten. 3. Human sensibilities are ventilated and continually called out into exercise 4. Moral capacities of man- understanding heart Effects of Literary Piece 5. tragedy, romance, fairy tale, etc- restore to man’s mind the ideals of justice, hope, truth, mercy, retribution 6. Concept of poetic justice- different from jurisprudence; refers to the style of the poet; through this style, ideals stated above are restored and revitalized. 7. Novel- with themes about human fears and hopes, with human instincts of wrong and right, sustains and quickens those affections- calls people into action rather than torpor. Scientific Vs. Literary Scientific Literary 1. Knowledge 1. Power 2. Provisional work 2. 3. Like the book of Sir Isaac Newton (militant at first then replaced by another) Survive as finished and unalterable 3. Like Iliad, Prometheus, Othello, King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth, Paradise Lost (not militant but triumphant forever- cannot be altered) EDUCATING THE LITERARY TASTE Paz latorena Different definitions of Literary Taste It is the discernment and appreciation of that which is fundamentally excellent in literature. A faculty that discerns the beauties of literature with pleasure and its imperfections with dislike. (from the essay of Addison and affirmed by Coleridge as a rational activity but with a distinctly subjective bias) Literary Criticism vs. Literary Taste 1. Literary Criticism- is a formal action of the intellect, a deliberate search for perfections and imperfects by the application of universally accepted standards to a literary compositions 2. Literary taste- It is the instant, almost instinctive preferring of one literature to another, apparently for no other reason except that the first is more proper to human nature 3. To have a literary taste is to have a feeling and an inclination for what is fine and beautiful in literature, to savor and to appreciate it, and to dislike and to reject what is vulgar and tawdry in it. (Ruskin) Literary taste can be taught, can be acquired by determined intercourse with good models (Sir Joshua Reynolds) To distinguish between pleasures that are becoming to a man vs. unbecoming To find delight in what ought to delight him To feel repulsion fro what ought to repel him Literary Standards 1. Intellectual Value 2. Emotional Value 3. Ethical value Intellectual Value 1. It means something in a literary composition which makes the reader think to some purpose so that his mental life is enriched. 2. Other arts like music, painting, sculpture and dance, do not place great emphasis on intellectual value; they only appeal to the senses 3. All great literature, that of universal and enduring appeal have a high degree of intellectual value Examples: Shakespeare, Calderon dela Barca, Dante, Milton, Tolstoy, Thomas Hardy, Dickens, Hugo, etc. Truth - It is truth that appeals to the human mind. - Not the truth that is mere information or factual - Truth is what the art and imagination transmute ‘dry bones’ put together into breath and life - Combining fundamental methods such as romanticism, realism, idealism or naturalism Emotional Value 1. An appeal to the emotion is the distinguishing mark of a good literature. A literary piece has an endeavor to express and to arouse emotion. 2. Including pleasant and unpleasant emotions such as moods, feelings, attitudes. 3. Writers write more of grief, pathos, fear and even horror (Why? Because life is more of the material of tragedy and pathos and writers capitalize on them.) Effects of the Unpleasant Emotions/ the Painful in 1. Arouses desirable emotions Literature 2. Painful stimulus has effect on the reader 3. Weak man arouses pity 4. Portrayal of acts of cruelty and injustice stir moral indignation 5. The horrors of War show heroism and sacrifice and hopeful in the end and the eventual abolition of war Unpleasant emotions maybe contemptible yet satisfying, enlarging and ennobling. “So in larger scenes of horror, or of tragedy, or pathos, our pleasure in the nobility that withstands pain and evil, our sympathy with suffering lift us out of the realm of the merely unpleasant or painful.” Ethical value A question whether literature should instruct or teach didactic lessons or art should be expressed/ written for art’s sake or for aesthetics’ sake. Plato- Literature should instruct Aristotle- Literature should be for pleasure or aesthetic Horace- Literature should instruct and delight Ethical Standards 1. Immorality of Expression- Frankness vs. Concealing phrases 2. Immorality of Theme- Not all literary compositions with immoral themes are necessarily immoral. 3. The demarcation lies in the purpose and aim of the writer Figure of Speech - a word or phrase used in a non-literal sense for rhetorical or vivid effect. expressions which are used to embellish the language of prose and poetry for vivid effect and impression When a writer uses simile… • Two unlike things are being compared • The words like or as are being used to make the comparison The snow was as thick as a blanket. She was as light as a feather. You are acting like a baby. He felt like a bug under a microscope. His temper was as explosive as a volcano. Metaphor is comparing two unlike things without using like or as Simile: Fido is like a teddy bear. Simile: Fido is as soft as a teddy bear. Metaphor: Fido is a teddy bear. As a simile • Friends are like parachutes. If they aren’t there the first time you need them, chances are, you won’t be needing them again. Friends are being compared to parachutes using the word like. (friends = parachutes) Friends and parachutes are dissimilar and unlike each other, yet we have found a way to relate and compare them. As a metaphor: Friends are parachutes. More examples of metaphor A good laugh is sunshine in a house. This computer is a dinosaur. METONYMY is a substitution of an idea with a noun, word, term, symbol closely associated with it I pledge my service to the crown. (instead of using King or monarch) She was a girl of twenty summers. (This is used instead of age, or years) He’s always chasing skirts. (this is the substitute for girls or women) John reads Poe. (this refers to the literary works of Edgar Allan Poe) More examples The table is now open for nominations from the floor. Malacanang is as frantic as White House in addressing the pandemic. The pen is mightier than the sword. The end is near and so I face the final curtain. SYNECDOCHE like metonymy is also substitution but it substitutes a part for a whole, or a whole for a part (of a body). The word “hand” refers to food or money, as in, “I need an additional hand.” I have seven mouths to feed. (seven children) Two heads are better than one. Woods- forest Wheels – car PERSONIFICATION- Giving human traits or characteristics to something that isn’t human, such as animals, objects or non-living things The old motorcycle barked and yipped before it started up with a howl. Spring caresses the earth and sky with her warm, delicate hands. The flood waters rose, and the river became a ravenous monster. Raging on for hours, it consumed everything in its sight. The car danced across the icy road. The angry clouds marched across the sky. The stars in the clear night sky winked at me. The tulips nodded their heads in the breeze. Money talks. Love moves in mysterious ways. Reality bites. HYPERBOLE A major understatement; the opposite of exaggeration A major exaggeration or overstatement used for emphasis or humor My backpack weighs a ton. I nearly died laughing! I will lay you down in a bed of roses. I’ve told you a million times! Apostrophe- is a direct call or address to someone or something who/which is absent or missing. In drama, it occurs when a speaker breaks off from addressing the audience and directs speech to a third party such as an individual, sometimes absent from the scene. Often the addressed person is a personified abstract quality or inanimate object. In dramatic works and poetry written in or translated into English, such a figure of speech is often introduced by the vocative exclamation, "O". Poets may apostrophize a beloved, the Muse, God, love, time, or any other Examples of apostrophe Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. O holy night! The stars are brightly shining! Then come, sweet death, and rid me of this grief. Christopher Marlowe) (Queen Isabel in Edward II by O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth. Act III, Scene I) Roll on, thou deep and dark blue Ocean – roll! Byron) (Julius Caesar, (The Ocean by Lord Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race. Man by James Joyce) (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ALLUSION is making references to the different branches of knowledge. It occurs when you borrow ideas or information to fields other than literature and use it as part of your creative writing. Three common borrowings come from the Bible, mythology, and history. Biblical allusion You have the patience of Job and the loyalty of Ruth. There returns my prodigal son whom I accept without conditions. Mythological allusion You have the face of Helen who can launch a thousand ships. I am disqualified in the contest since I failed my Mathematics which is my Achilles’ heel. Historical allusion The cry awoke Balintawak And the echoes answered back: Freedom! My waterloo is singing; I am out. ALLUSION 1. Your backyard is a Garden of Eden. (Biblical allusion) 2. I guess I should see this message about a new job as my burning bush. (Biblical Allusion) 3. When you feel betrayed by a friend, you can say, "You too, Brutus?" (allusion to Julius Caesar-Brutus betrayed Caesar) 4. You're a regular Einstein. (allusion to a historical figure) 5. When your parents learn about your new plan to raise money, it's going to sink like the Titanic. (allusion to a historical event) PARADOX is a contradiction within a statement which is found logical, true, and valid. It is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly, but which may include a latent truth. “Some of the biggest failures I ever had were successes." "The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot." "If you wish to preserve your secret, wrap it up in frankness." ”If you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love." (attributed to Mother Teresa) "War is peace." "Freedom is slavery." "Ignorance is strength." Oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect. In short, they are contradictory words put together e.g. alone together virtual reality liquid gas civil disobedience seriously funny open secret military intelligence tragic comedy definite maybe exact estimate same difference larger half constant variable original copies extinct life minor crisis only choice living dead working holiday true lies Irony is the opposite of what you expect (which happens), the opposite of what you mean, or meaning the opposite of what you say. ◦ VERBAL IRONY is saying the opposite of what you mean or meaning the opposite of what you say. It is often laced with sarcasm or cynicism. ◦ SITUATIONAL IRONY—the opposite of what you expect happens ◦ A marriage counselor filed for divorce “ I never lied in my entire life.” ◦ A teacher failed a test ( a politician makes this statement) ◦ A fire station burns down “ Boy, I am having a good time!” (he is so bored in truth) “ I will never drink again!” swearing this!) (an alcoholic ◦ An anti technology website ◦ A pilot with a fear of heights ◦ A fertility counselor struggles to get pregnant ◦ A hungry cook ◦ A shoemaker without shoes A marriage counselor filed for divorce A teacher failed a test Gunpowder was discovers in the process of looking for the elixir for immortality In The Gift of Magi by O. Henry, the wife cuts her hair to sell it in order to have the money to buy her husband a pocket watch chain. The husband then sells the watch to buy her a hair accessory. Fahrenheit 451 is in the top 100 banned books in the US An anti technology website A fire station burns down A traffic cop got his license suspended due A pilot with a fear of heights A couple seeking divorce rediscover their love for each other run the process of filing for divorce In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus’s father only fulfills the prophecy of him being killed by his own son after trying to avoid it and sending him away Robbery at a police station A post on Facebook about how useless it now is Being thirsty in the sea A fertility counselor struggles to get pregnant A hungry cook A shoemaker without shoes Antithesis is a figure of speech comprised of opposing or contrasted words or sentiments. Writers arrange them in parallel construction in the same sentence. Antithesis is a figure of speech based on unlikeness, and therefore always expresses contrast. You should always contrast verbs with other verbs, adjectives with adjectives, nouns with nouns, and so on. "One small step for a man, one giant leap for all mankind." Money is the root of all evils: poverty is the fruit of all goodness. It is better to lose health like a spendthrift than to waste it like a miser. Deeds show what we are; words, what we should be. Often there is a double or even triple contrast in the same sentence. EX.— Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time.
