APHRA BEHN OROONOKO
Shreya Shirodkar
Victoria Tang
Akshitha Ajayan
Raziq Mohideen
Roland Fong
The Life and Times of Aphra Behn
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Details of biography uncertain
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Mysterious early life
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Birth date traditionally 1640
Real name unknown (Amis, Wye, Cooper, Johnson?)
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Traveled to Suriname (South America)
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Married to Dutch merchant who soon died in 1665
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Briefly served in Holland as spy under English Crown
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Could not manage financially
Thrown into debtor's prison
The Life and Times of Aphra Behn
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Turned to writing (first woman to do so)
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Known for her wit
Made friends with John Dryden
Faced some backlash from literary community for being female
Died April 16th, 1689
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Suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in later years
Buried at Westminster Abbey
Works of Aphra Behn
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Versatile and prolific writer
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More classical than metaphysical
Many plays, including:
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1670 - The Forc'd Marriage
1671 - The Amorous Prince
1673 - The Dutch Lover
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Short stories, poems
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Novels
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Oroonoko, or the History of the Royal Slave published 1688
The first English novel?
Critical Opinion
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Major playwright and figure in Restoration theatre
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Literary role model for women
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Often controversial
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Pioneered use of female voices
Role in development of the modern novel
Themes of desire, sexuality, homosexuality
Claimed she would not be criticized if she were male
Virginia Woolf:
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"All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn which is,
most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who
earned them the right to speak their minds."
Oroonoko - Summary
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Oroonoko, grandson of African King, separated from his love Imoinda
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Both sold into slavery separately, but reunite in Surinam
Life as a slave
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Treated well by plantation caretaker
Incites slave rebellion
Asked to surrender through promise of freedom
• Not freed -> tortured
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Death
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Kills Imoinda to give her "honorable death"
Hacked into pieces
Oroonoko - Significance
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Considered Behn's most popular work
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Role in development of literary structure
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The "first abolitionist novel"
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More personal narrative style
First English novel?
Important in changing English opinion on slave trade
Other firsts
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Recognizably female narrator
Plot in the New World
EXCERPT READING
From Oroonoko
Literary Term - Characterization
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Use of literary techniques to create a character
Critics of Aphra Behn question the roundness of her characters and their inconsistencies
• Narrator technique was not developed at the time
Three techniques:
• Direct Description - narrator or other character describes
• Oroonoko a slave described as having European features
• Representation of Internal States - reveal private thoughts and emotions
• Female narrator explains that she is an influential person in the town (implying that
she too approves of slavery) but she also speaks highly of Oroonoko
• Portrayal of Behavior - actions or speech allow reader to draw conclusions
• Yet she remains powerless to save him even though she claims she has the power
to
Activity Time!
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Create a character!
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Use only visual descriptions/drawings
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Swap characters with someone else in class
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Write a brief excerpt of a story with your new character. Include:
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Direct Descriptions
Portrayal of Behavior
Representations of Internal States
Trade back papers and read each other's stories!
Bibliography
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"Aphra Behn: The First Lady of English Literature." University of Arkansas, Library Resources. University of
Arkansas, n.d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/lbrothe/shoup1.html>.
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" Credibility and Realism in Defoe and Behn." Credibility and Realism in Defoe and Behn. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Mar. 2015.
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Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of Aphra Behn (1640-1689)." Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. Poetry
Magazine, 2006. Web. Mar. 2015. <http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/behn/behnbio.htm>.
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Partnow, Elaine T. "Behn, Aphra." The Female Dramatist: Profiles of Women Playwrights from the Middle
Ages to Contemporary Times. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 1998. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc.
Web. 11 Mar. 2015
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&WID=17319&SID=5&iPin=fdram0014&SingleRec
ord=True>.
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Stiebel, Arlene. "Biography of Aphra Behn." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Magazine, n.d. Web. Mar. 2015.
<http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/aphra-behn>.
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"The Aphra Behn Page." The Aphra Behn Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015