Introduction to Literature
Conclusion
What have we learned
together?
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1. close analysis of the form and content of a
literary text (attentive to details, forming a pattern,
analyzing a passage and its context) –some notes
and one paper as examples
2. reading and taking notes of a longer text
3. different literary genres & movements (gothic
fiction, dramatic monologue; metaphysical poetry,
sonnet, medieval ballad, expressionist tragedy)
4. themes: boundary-crossing, love seen from
different perspectives; human mortality; modern city
and American South, family relations, madness and
memory
5. Reflection and holding a dialogue with the text
6. final exam
From part to whole:
1. Attentive to Textual Details
(Porphyria’s Love)
 The sullen wind was soon awake, It tore the
elm-tops down for spite,
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these two sentences gave the reader a new
view of the wind, because usually the wind gives
people a gentle feeling like the breeze, but here
it tore the elm on purpose it feels like the wind
was furious and gloomy.
And did its worst to vex the lake 
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It feels like the wind becomes a naughty kid
From part to whole:
2. Recollecting Details to Form a Pattern
(Porphyria’s Love)
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I am quite sure she felt no pain
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Only, this time my shoulder bore
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How could he be “quite sure”; that she felt no pain? I think
it was his hallucination and arrogance …
Earlier in the poem, she bore him on “her shoulders” to
sooth him from his sorrows/ to show her love for him. Now
that she's dead and on his shoulders. Very ironic.
So glad
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This is also ironic, saying that she finally gets the love that
she wants from her lover, dead.
From part to whole:
3. Analyzing Techniques in Context
(To His Coy Mistress) (literary techniques listed)
There are several literary techniques used in this poem. The first
one is simile. For example, Andrew Marvell used “morning dew” to
represent the crystal-clear skin (transient youth) of the mistress
and “amorous birds of prey” to depict the delightful groans(?)
made by a pair of lovers when they are making love with each
other. Marvell also used “the Flood” and “the conversion of the
Jews” to compare the end of the world. Moreover, “marble vault” is
a comparison to the womb. There is also an allusion in the poem.
Marvell used the term, “vegetable love,” to indicate that this kind of
love is capable only of passive growth, not of consciousness,
although it grows longer, slower, and vaster. There are puns in the
poem. For instance, Marvell used the word, “sun,” with the double
meaning of “son” and “run” which carries the meaning of the time’s
going fast and the lady’s running away. The whole poem is full of
conceit and hyperbole which are showed in the use of large space
and time to woo slowly.
From part to whole:
3. Analyzing Techniques in Context
(To His Coy Mistress) rev:
After the hyperbolic hypothesis of age-long and expansive
courtship gets denied by the gruesome reality of marble
vault mortality, the speaker uses simile, conceit and
hyperbole make a proposal of seizing the day. While the
lady’s youth is compared to transient “morning dew,” the
speaker suggests that they become “amorous birds of prey”
which “devour” time rather than being consumed(“slow
chapped “) by it. Opposed to the “vegetable love” the
speaker would be willing to be engaged in if they had all the
time till “the Flood” and “the conversion of the Jews,” the
speaker here suggests that they roll themselves (“strength”
and “sweetness”) into one ball to face and fully experience
the passing of time, its pleasures and pains (“tear our
pleasures with rough strife/Thorough the iron gates of life”).
From part to whole:
Analyzing Techniques in Context
(To His Coy Mistress) rev 2:
After the two surprising conceits--amorous birds of prey
and ball, the proposal ends with an ambiguous and
ambitious boast: that they will make the sun “run.” To
make the sun “run,” on the one hand, the speaker
suggests that they fully embrace the passage of time
so that they ‘seem’ to make time run. On the other
hand, the sun puns with “son,” suggesting that they
make produce a sun through love-making. The whole
poem, in this way, expresses wittily with conceit, pun
and hyperbole the meaningfulness of loving and
seizing the day while they can.
Reading a Longer Text
Like reading your own life, you need to
 (1) experience it yourself, instead of
depending on plot summary, study
guides or Chinese translation;
 (2) take notes and re-read the text with
the help of the notes (and study
guides).
Genre Definitions and Analysis
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dramatic monologue– where, when, how and why
 the monologist’s mentality and purpose, and the
dramatic ironies implied.
metaphysical poetry –metaphysical conceit;
concept of love; an organized argument.
Sonnet – also an argument (in three quatrains and
a couplet or in octave and sestet)
medieval ballad – language, use of symbol and
repetition, structure (start with climax, etc), versions,
Tragedy – the characters with flaws but still noble or
humane features (The Glass Menagerie not a greek
tragedy)
Expressionism – presentation (thru’ symbol or some
other formal device) of subjective feelings but
not/more than objective reality.
Theme(1): Boundary-Crossing
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Boundary-Crossing can be breaking constraints to
be involved in interaction between the self and the
other; exploration and entering the terrain of the
unknown; it can also be violation and invasion.
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A general movement since the 19th century (modernity),
more prevalent nowadays (the postmodern age).
Between life and death: differently by men (the
insane, the possessive and the heroic and
idealistic), or by women (for self-preservation or to
break the constraint)
In the self, and between self and Other: the
conscious and the unconscious, double, racial
others
geographical boundaries, between self and Nature
Between different disciplines such as art and
science; math and music, etc.
Theme(2): love seen from
different perspectives
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More realistic views
 Pygmalion,
 Romance frustrated
by environment “A
Rose for Emily”
“Araby” “A&P”
 The Glass Menagerie
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Extremes—Love and
Death “Porphyria’s
Lover” “My Last
Duchess” “A Rose for
Emily” “Barbara Allen”
& “Edward”
Physical vs. Spiritual:
“Valediction” “Flea,”
R&J’s the courting
sonnet, "The Sick
Rose"
The ritual of love—
courtship and
persuasion
Theme (3): human mortality
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Love vs. Human Mortality – the
transience of life presented through
seasonal changes (summer, autumn),
twilight, fire/ember. (sonnet 18 & 73) –
note the ambiguous endings.
Love & Death – to possess by killing is
futile, just as union in death is only a
myth of the past.
Theme (3): Modern City and
American South
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American South: Aristocratic manners
(civilization), music, flowers, porch,
and courtship of gentleman callers
degradation (departure of the father)
and displacement
Signs of Modern City: fire escape, dark
alleys, paradise dance hall, radio, TV,
electricity and the wars
Theme (4): family relations,
madness and memory
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Memory: expressed “emotionally” through
screen devices and music; filmic
juxtaposition of the past and the present;
Madness: the lines unclear
Family Constraints and Connections: (“Two
Kinds,” “A Rose for Emily” “My Mother and the Bed,” “I Asked
My Mother to Sing” “Those Winter Sundays” “Cat in the Rain” )
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Care-taking and encouragement,
understanding and imposition
Under family constraints, one still has to
assert oneself—without hurting the family
members too much. Catherine does.
Reflection and Dialogue (1)
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Andre: If the monster were goodlooking, would the story be different???
Echo: Yes. …I think the look of the
monster is a key, an important setup to
unfold the later events.
Reflection and Dialogue
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Kate: Frankenstein does not create the
monster for any selfish purposes.
However, in the later sci-fi films, such as
Blade Runner, Artificial Intelligence and the
recent "Island," cyborgs or clones are
created to serve human beings, so they
have to be killed after their functions are
fulfilled even though they are beautiful.
Reflection and Dialogue (2)
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Would Laura be more confident after being
encouraged by Jim? Would she ‘blow off’
the candle to welcome modern life?
To re-write the story, you would need to
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Show how the first step is taken: e.g. Laura
starts to acquire some skills to survive;
Make Jim less impulsive
Shift the context – maybe to today’s world of
Internet. 
Final Exam
* Altogether you should answer 5 questions.
Close Analysis-- Choose 2 (40 %)
Essay Questions I: Choose 2 (40 %, 20 each)
Essay Question II: (20%)—no choice
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How does Tom in The Glass Menagerie narrate the
story? What is the function(s) of his narrative frame?
Please compare it with the narrative frame (of Walton’s
letters) in Frankenstein.
Things to consider:
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Tom’s ways of setting the context; Tom the narrator vs.
Tom the character (Note: Tom ≠Tennessee Williams.)
The functions of beginning and ending: introduction;
resolution of the conflicts and distancing the
extraordinary/traumatic.
Enjoy learning and good luck!