Makalah tentang Literature

Chapter 1 Literature I. Definitions of Literature Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. The function of Literature is to entertain, education, and memorialize actual or fictional event. II. Genre of Literature Genres of literature are important to learn about. The two main categories separating the different genres of literature are fiction and nonfiction. There are several genres of literature that fall under the nonfiction category. Nonfiction sits in direct opposition to fiction. Examples from both the fiction and nonfiction genres of literature are explained in detail below. This detailed genre of literature list is a great resource to share with any scholars. Genres of Nonfiction: 1. Narrative Nonfiction is information based on fact that is presented in a format which tells a story. 2. Essays are a short literary composition that reflects the author’s outlook or point. A short literary composition on a particular theme or subject, usually in prose and generally analytic, speculative, or interpretative. 3. Biography is a written account of another person’s life. 4. Autobiography gives the history of a person’s life, written or told by that person. Often written in Narrative form of their person’s life. 5. Speech is the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one’s thoughts and emotions by speech, sounds, and gesture. Generally delivered in the form of an address or discourse. Finally there is the general genre of Nonfiction. This is Informational text dealing with an actual, real-life subject. This genre of literature offers opinions or conjectures on facts and reality. This includes biographies, history, essays, speech, and narrative nonfiction. Nonfiction opposes fiction and is distinguished from those fiction genres of literature like poetry and drama which is the next section we will discuss. Genres of Fiction: 1. Drama is the genre of literature that’s subject for compositions is dramatic art in the way it is represented. This genre is stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action. 2. Poetry is verse and rhythmic writing with imagery that evokes an emotional response from the reader. The art of poetry is rhythmical in composition, written or spoken. This genre of literature is for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. 3. Fantasy is the forming of mental images with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality. 4. Humor is the faculty of perceiving what is amusing or comical. Fiction full of fun, fancy, and excitement which meant to entertain. This genre of literature can actually be seen and contained within all genres. 5. Fable is a story about supernatural or extraordinary people usually in the form of narration that demonstrates a useful truth. In Fables, animals often speak as humans that are legendary and supernatural tales. 6. Fairy Tales or wonder tales are a kind of folktale or fable. Sometimes the stories are about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children. 7. Science Fiction is a story based on impact of potential science, either actual or imagined. Science fiction is one of the genres of literature that is set in the future or on other planets. 8. Short Story is fiction of such briefness that is not able to support any subplots. 9. Realistic Fiction is a story that can actually happen and is true to real life. 10. Folklore are songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a person of “folk” that was handed down by word of mouth. Folklore is a genre of literature that is widely held, but false and based on unsubstantiated beliefs. 11. Historical Fiction is a story with fictional characters and events in a historical setting. 12. Horror is an overwhelming and painful feeling caused by literature that is frightfully shocking, terrifying, or revolting. Fiction in which events evoke a feeling of dread in both the characters and the reader. 13. Tall Tale is a humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with an here of nonchalance. 14. Legend is a story that sometimes of a national or folk hero. Legend is based on fact but also includes imaginative material. 15. Mystery is a genre of fiction that deals with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets. Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown. 16. Mythology is a type of legend or traditional narrative. This is often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods. A body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person. 17. Fiction in Verse is full-length novels with plot, subplots, theme, with major and minor characters. Fiction of verse is one of the genres of literature in which the narrative is usually presented in blank verse form. The genre of Fiction can be defined as narrative literary works whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact. In fiction something is feigned, invented, or imagined; a made-up story. III. Kind of Literature 1. Fictional Literature : a. Drama: Drama is the theatrical dialog performed on stage, it consists of 5 acts. Tragedy, comedy and melodrama are the sub types of drama. e.g William Shakespeare, an Elizabethan dramatist composed the plays Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear that are famous because of its combination of tragedy and comedy. Problem play, farce, fantasy, monologue and comedy of manners are some kinds of drama. b. Tragedy: It is a story of the major character who faces bad luck. Tragedy, elements of horrors and struggle usually concludes with the death of a person. The Illiad and The Odyssey by Homer are the two famous Greek tragedies. c. Comedy: The lead character overcomes the conflicts and overall look of the comedy is full of laughter and the issues are handled very lightly. d. Melodrama: Melodrama is a blend of two nouns - 'melody' and 'drama'. It is a musical play most popular by 1840. Uncle Tom's Cabin is one of the most popular plays describing cruelty of labor life. It has happy ending like comedy. e. Tragicomedy: The play that begins with serious mode but has a happy ending is tragicomedy. 2. Prose Literature History, journalism, philosophy, fiction and fantasy writings, scientific writings, children's literature authors and writers are included in Prose Literature. 3. Myth Myths are the fairy tales with lots of adventure, magic and it lacks scientific proof. Nursery rhymes, songs and lullabies are forms of myths that strike the interest of children. Creative and nature myth are stories of the stars and moon. Magic tales are wonderful tales of quests and fantasy. Hero myths are ideal heroes of adventure. 4. Short story The small commercial fiction, true or imaginary, smaller than a novel is known as short story. Short stories are well-grouped that followed the sequence of easy and no complexity in beginning, concrete theme, some dialogs and ends with resolution. They are oral and short-lived which have gossip, joke, fable, myth, parable, hearsay and legend. 5. Novel Novel can be based on comic, crime, detective, adventurous, romantic or political story divided into many parts. The major kinds of novels are: a. Allegory: The symbolic story revolves around two meanings. What the writer says directly is totally different from the conveyed meanings at the end. Political and Historical allegory are two forms of Allegory. b. Comedy: Satire is very common form in comedy novels and tries to focus on the facts of the society and their desires. c. Epistolary: The collection of letters or mails is the epistolary novels. Samuel Richardson's Pamela and Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrew are the few examples of Epistolary novels. d. Feminist: These types of novels are written by women writers around the world to describe the place of women in a male dominated society. E.g Virginia Woolf's "A Room of one's Own", e. Gothic: Gothic fiction is the combination of both horror and romance. Melodrama and parody were grouped in the Gothic literature in its early stages. f. Ironic: Ironic novels are known for excessive use of narrative technique. It is satire on the contemporary society about cultural, social and political issues. g. Realism: The realistic novels are based on the truths of ordinary society and their problems. It focuses on the plot, structure and the characters of the novel. h. Romance: Love and relationship topics are handled optimistically in the romantic novels. It originated in western countries; basically the story revolves around love affairs of main characters. Some popular sub categories of romantic novels are paranormal, erotic, suspense, multicultural and inspirational romance. i. Narration: In narrative style, writer becomes the third person who narrates whole story around the characters. j. Naturalism: Naturalism is based on the theory of Darwin. k. Picaresque: It is opposite to romance novels as it involves ideals, themes and principles that refuse the so-called prejudices of the society. l. Psychological: It's the psychological prospective of mind with a resolution. m. Satire: Satirical novels criticize the contemporary society. The most famous novels are Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726), Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim (1954), George Orwell's Animal Farm and Randell Jarrell's Pictures from an Institution (1954). n. Stream of Consciousness: James Joyce's stream of consciousness is all about the thought coming up in the minds of the readers. A novel also constitutes categories on social and political aspects like proletarian, psychological, protest novel, government, didactic, materialist novel, allegorical novel, novel of engagement, naturalistic novel, Marxist novel, radical novel, revolutionary novel, anti-war novel, utopian novel, futuristic novel, anarchist novel, problem novel, social philosophy novel, novel of ideas, problem play and speculative novel. 6. Folk Tale Folk Tales are traditional stories that have been creating interest since ancient times. The children and old persons like religious story, magic and superstition as well. Fable, tall tales, cumulative, trickster and proverbs are the sub categories of folk tales. Mythology or legend is the ancient religious stories of origin and human civilization such as story of Robin Hood. 7. Poetry Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings recollected in the tranquility. Greek poetry is found in free verse and we have rhymes in the Persian poem. a. Sonnet: Sonnet is the short poem of 14 lines grouped into Shakespearean and Italian sonnets. b. Ballad: The poems that are on the subject matter of love and sung by the poet or group of singers as telling readers a story. c. Elegy: This type of poem is the lamenting of the death of a person or his near one. Elegy Written in Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray is one of the famous poems marked as sad poems of the ages. d. Ode: Ode is the formal and long poem serious in nature. e. Allegory: Allegory is the famous form of poetry and is loved by the readers because of its two symbolic meanings. One is the literal meaning and another is the deep meaning. f. Epic and Mock epic: Epics are the narrative poems that convey moral and culture of that period. The Odyssey and Iliad are one of the largest philosophical epics written by Samuel Butler. Rape of the Lock is the great mock epic focusing on the minor incident of cutting of a curl. g. Lyric: It has Greek origin that gives a melody of imagery. It is the direct appeal of a poet to the readers about any incident or historical events. Lyrics are most of the times similar to ode or sonnets in the form. 8. Nonfiction Literature Nonfiction Literature is opposite to fiction as it is informative and comprises the interesting facts with analysis and illustrations. Types of Non- fiction literature : a. Autobiography and Biography. An autobiography is the story of the author's own life. 'Family Life at the White House' by Bill Clinton is focused on his life and achievements. 'Wings of fire' by Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam, Mein kampf of Adolph Hitler are the autobiography books on real life. b. Essay Generally the authors' point of view about any particular topic in a detailed way is an essay. Essay has simple way of narrating the main subject; therefore they are descriptive, lengthy, subject oriented and comparative. Different types of essay: Personal essay, expository essay type, response essay, process essay, persuasive essay, argumentative essay, critical essay type, interview essay, reflective essay type, evaluation, observation essay, comparison type of essay, application essay, compare and contrast essay and narrative essay type. c. Literary criticism It is the critical study of a piece of literature. Here critics apply different theories, evaluation, discussion and explanation to the text or an essay to give total judgments. Plato, Aristotle, T.S.Eliot, Saussure and Frye are some of the famous critics. d. Travel literature It is the narration of any tour or foreign journey with the description of the events, dates, places, sights and author's views. Francis Bacon's natural philosophies in the middle of Seventeenth century is one famous example of travel literature. e. Diary Diaries are the incidents recorded by the author without any means of publishing them. It is the rough work of one's daily routine, happenings, memorable days or events in their life. E.g. Anne Frank's 'Diary of a Young Girl' was published by her father in 1940s; it's a story of a girl trapped during German invade Amsterdam. Diaries consists of business letters, newsletters, weather listing. In today's world of Internet, writers write in blogs, forums, polls and social networking sites to convey their thoughts. This also is a form of diary writing. Some profound forms of diaries are online diary, travel, sleep, tagebuch, fictional, dream and death diaries. f. Journal Journal is one of types of diaries that records infinite information. They are of following types: 1) Personal: It is for personal analysis. In this journal one can write his goal, daily thoughts, events and situations. 2) Academic: It is for students who do research or dissertation on particular subjects. 3) Creative: Creative journals are the imaginative writing of a story, poem or narrative. 4) Trade: Trade journals are used by industrial purposes where they dictate practical information. 5) Dialectical: This journal is use by students to write on double column notebook. They can write facts, experiments, and observation on the left side and right side can be a series of thoughts and response with an end. g. Newspaper It is a collection of daily or weekly news of politics, sports, leisure, fashion, movies and business. h. Magazine Magazines can be the current affairs or opinions well collected covering various content. i. Frame Narrative The psychoanalysis of human mind is present in a frame narrative. Here we find another story within the main story. Some of the popular narratives are Pegasus, Wuthering Heights, The Flying Horse, The Three Pigs, A Time to keep and the Tasha Tudor Book of Holidays. j. Outdoor literature Outdoor literature is the literature of adventure that gives whole exploration of an event. Exciting moments of life such as horse riding, fishing, trekking can be a part of literature. Some outdoor books are 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' by Mark Twain, 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis, 'Voyages' by Richard Hakluyt and 'A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush' by Eric Newby. k. Narrative form of Literature Today we find movies, audio and video CD's and Cassettes that present current literature in use. Digital poetry is an upcoming trend too. Comic books, cartoons, ebook and Internet games are the learning methods for children. IV. Basic of Literature 1. Plot Plot is the way in which the narrative events are arranged. Generally, plots have the same basic elements: a. Exposition - the explanation of the story's premise and background material necessary for the reader to understand the story; b. Crisis - the peak in the story's action--the moment of highest dramatic tension; c. Climax - the scene which presents the story's decisive action; d. Resolution or denouement - the outcome of the story--the information that ties up all (or many) of the story's loose ends. 2. Point-of-View Point-of-View is the angle from which a story is told; i.e., the type of narrator the author chooses to use : a. In first-person narration the narrator uses "I" to tell his or her story. The first-person narrator may be a major character in the story or simply an observer. In third-person narration narrators are not actually characters in the story. b. Omniscient third-person narrators can reveal the thoughts of all their characters; they are "all-knowing." c. A limited omniscient narrator only reveals the thoughts and feelings of one (or possibly a limited few) character(s). d. An objective third-person narrator does not reveal anyone's thoughts and provides the sort of external, objective information that a camera (or an objective reporter) might record. 3. Character Character is a fictional representation of a person (or animal). Characters may be described as either flat or round. a. Round characters are usually main characters and are fully developed so that the reader can understand their personality and motivations. b. Flat characters are usually minor characters who are barely developed or may be stereotypes. c. A foil is a character who serves to contrast with another character. A hypocritical character, for example, may help emphasize the hero/heroine's honesty. 4. Theme Theme is the central or dominant idea of a work of fiction. 5. Setting Setting is the historical, physical, geographical, and psychological location where a fictional work takes place. 6. Style Style is the way a writer selects and arranges words to express ideas. 7. Tone Tone is the attitude of the speaker or author of a work toward the subject matter. 8. Symbol Symbol is a person, object, action, place, or event that in addition to its literal or denotative meanings suggests a more complex meaning or range of meanings. 9. Allegory Allegory is a story with two parallel and consistent levels of meaning, on literal and one figurative. Chapter 2 Novel I. Definition of Novel Novel is one form of an extended fictional prose narrative. The novel deals with a human character in a social situation, man as a social being. The novel places more emphasis on character, especially one well-rounded character, than on plot. II. History of Novel • Origins of the Novel, which explains the beginnings of the novel as a prose form and describes major novelists of the 18th century • 19th Century Novel, which describes the development of the novel in the Romantic and Victorian periods • 20th Century Novel, which describes the modern (pre-World War II) and contemporary (post-World War II) novel 1. Origins of the Novel, Which explains the beginnings of the novel as a prose form and describes major novelists of the 18th century. There was a public demand for the novel. With the expansion of the middle class by the middle of the 18th century, more people could read and they had money to spend on literature. There was already a high interest in autobiography, biography, journals, diaries, memoirs. Alexander Pope's dictum that "The proper study of mankind is man" led to increased interest in the human character. 2. 19th Century Novel, Which describes the development of the novel in the Romantic and Victorian periods. a. Romantic Novel Romanticism is a movement in art and literature that began in Europe in the late 18th century and was most influential in the first half of the 19th century. Romanticism fosters a return to nature and also values the imagination over reason and emotion over intellect. One strain of the Romantic is the Gothic with its emphasis on tales of horror and the supernatural. b. Victorian Novel The Victorian Age is marked roughly by the reign of Queen Victoria of England from 1837-1901. The Victorian reading public firmly established the novel as the dominant literary form of the era. The novel is the most distinctive and lasting literary achievement of Victorian literature. 3. 20th Century Novel, Which describes the modern (pre-World War II) and contemporary (post-World War II) novel. Literary historians describe two general phases of 20th century literature, divided by World War II: a. Modern literature--roughly 1900 or 1914—1945 The literature of the 20th century has an overwhelming preoccupation with the self, the nature of consciousness, and the processes of perception. Literature is often subjective, and personal and internal. b. Contemporary literature--1945 to 2000 Literature of the contemporary period is also often referred to as post-modern or neo-modern literature. Even more than the Moderns, contemporary authors reflect pluralism. They are preoccupied with perception, fragmentation, the loss of belief in anything outside the self, pervasive irony. Many experiment with metafiction, the preoccupation with the text itself. III. Structure of Novel The elements of fiction are : • Plot : what happens in the story • Character : who is involved in what happens in the story • Point of View : how the story is told • Setting : where and when the story takes place • Theme : what the point of the story is 1. Plot A plot is a narrative of events, but its emphasis is on causality. A story requires curiosity. A plot also requires intelligence and memory, intelligence because the reader picks up a fact and relates it to other facts and memory because it is the ability to recall facts. A plot, then, is a series of events selected and arranged by the author of a work of fiction. A plot does not depend solely on the sequence of events, but on the relationship between events, the way that one event might cause another and so on and so on. The plot arises from conflict. A character is presented in a situation and then something happens and he or she is faced with an obstacle to a goal. A plot is selective: an author does not portray every moment in the life of the character but only those moments that advance the story. 2. Character Character is the element of fiction that focuses on the individuals involved in the plot; these are usually human but could be animals or even forces of nature. Generally a plot will feature : • Protagonist, • Major character, and • Antagonist who engineers an obstacle to the goal of the protagonist. 3. Point of View Point of view is the vantage point from which an author presents a story. Many novels feature multiple points of view. One can describe point of view from two angles: Expression of viewpoint • First person • Third person subjective • Third person multiple viewpoints • Third person omniscient • Third person objective Location of viewpoint: • A major character • A minor character • An omniscient narrator a. First Person A story told in the first person point of view is told by a character within the story. The first person can be a major character (Harry in Harry Potter and The Sorcerer Stone) or a minor character (Hermione in Potter and The Sorcerer Stone). The narrator may or may not be reliable. Third Person Points of View In a story told in the third person, the author tells the story. Authors can choose to limit themselves to one or a handful of points of view or can choose to be omniscient. b. Third person subjective In third person subjective point of view, also called third person limited, the story that unfolds is limited to what a particular character knows or observes. The author is free to reveal what the viewpoint character is thinking or feeling. c. Third person multiple viewpoints In third person subjective multiple viewpoints, the author will tell parts of the story from the points of view of different characters and will be free to reveal what the point of view character is thinking and feelings. Many murder mysteries use the third person subjective multiple viewpoint; the story is told in alternating chapters, one from the point of view of the hero and the other from the point of view of the murderer. Thus the reader is aware of events and motivations that the hero must work to uncover. d. Third person omniscient In third person omniscient point of view, the story is told from the author's point of view. The author feels free to describe the story from the vantage point of any character in the story. The author might get inside the heads of any of the characters. The author might tell the reader of events and motivations unknown to the characters. The author also might directly address the reader. e. Third person objective Third person objective point of view is also referred to as the camera's eye because in this point of view the narrator describes only what can be seen, not what is going on inside the heads of the characters. Readers often take point of view for granted and fail to consider how a novel might be different if told from a different point of view. For example, The Color Purple by Alice Walker is told from the point of view of the protagonist Celie. The story would have been significantly different if told by her abusive husband Mister. Novelists consciously choose point of view. Understanding why a story is told from a particular point of view provides the reader with insight into the intent of the story. 4. Setting Setting is the physical description of the place in which the story occurs. Setting helps to anchor a story in a particular time and place. Setting includes all of the physical aspects of the story: • the time of day, • the time of year, • the geographical location of the story, • the climate and weather at the time of the story, • the historical period of the action, • the immediate surroundings of the characters : o the characters' clothing o the characters' homes, offices, favorite places o the important objects in the characters' lives Setting functions as : • an antagonist, a way to establish plot conflict and determine the outcome of events. • a means of creating atmosphere . • a means of revealing character . • a means of reinforcing theme . 5. Theme Theme is the author's way of communicating and sharing ideas, perceptions and feelings with the reader or of probing and exploring the puzzling questions of human existence with the reader. Some Considerations About Theme • In some fiction, especially genre fiction (i.e. romance westerns gothics science fiction detective novels) theme may be less fully developed than other story elements. • It is entirely possible to disagree on what the theme of a work is. Authors are not always the most reliable guide to the meaning of their own work. • Don't confuse theme with subject or plot. Theme is the abstract generalized statement or comment the novel makes about a subject or situation. • Beware of the danger of understating (i.e. overlooking) or overstating (i.e¬ attaching too much importance to) the theme. • Theme should be totally supported by the other elements of the work; if it isn't the work itself is flawed. • The title can often suggest a focus or emphasis in the work and can point to the novel's theme. IV. Type of Novel 1. Allegory, the surface story, while a good read in itself, is but a means to an end of a deeper meaning. This is common in religious stories because earthly concerns are a distorted reflection of heavenly concerns. Much concerns the trials of journeying. 2. Characters, these are the actors who form, who must do something or something else, and relate to the others. It is through characters that a novel moves on. Characters may be given different levels of credibility, perhaps the lowest in comic novels and the most in in depth psychological moves. 3. Comic novels, these are about people caught in situations which draw out their own absurdities. The situation may be absurd or the people themselves. Comic novels can be cruel, and also have an overall pessimistic view of life. The world is exposed as bizarre and irrationality is emphasised. People are self-obsessed, or follow drives that seem beyond rational control. The worlds portrayed lack depth. 4. Education, a character engages with a series of predicaments and learns something about him or herself. The character may start as challenging the system, and may come to conform, or the passage is the other way around. The character may start young, and through growing up progress is followed. Life can be presented as very complex through which the growing and self-educating process takes place. 5. Epistolary, these are in the form of letters or emails to and from people. If this is all it is, it can be a rather restrictive format, and to get the full sense of place the letters or emails would have to be long, contrived and somewhat unconvincing. There is psychological potential. Older times when middle class people wrote letters to each other in good English might make better novels, although letters took a while to arrive. Another alternative to this is novel in the form of diaries. 6. Feminist, boundaries are challenged in the ordered male world. The categorising of male and female as binary opposites is undermined, particularly the subordinate female. Alternatively women's consciousness is highlighted within the male dominated world, often a subculture within it, or men too challenge the given power structures that invade everything from decision making to relationships. 7. Gothic, this utopian related form of novel is often set in the past and perhaps in some far away land of the trees, like Transylvania! The place of dilemma is not the location but in the mind, however. The point about the fantastical world is not to seek perfection but to show the fallacy of seeking perfection (e.g. everlasting life) or the evil involved in seeking it immorally. These often use Christian iconography to actually support the general Christian viewpoint from the viewpoint of the other side. 8. Ironic, it is the difference between how things seem and how they really exist. Often this is the expression of views to those intended or otherwise existing, and through expressing them creates the real meaning or stituation desired. It is usually done through creating absurd or unbelievable narration. 9. Magic realism, events usually are bizarre and even supernatural or mythical. Rationality is undermined for the purpose or examining what may be more real than the rational. The Western tradition is parodied as a counter to its cultural imperialism and therefore local third world ways of thinking are presented. 10. Narrative structure, there needs to be a scene set for action to take place within. The action has to be coherent, so that one thing leads to another. The characters carry out the action, and they need introducing, and they need to interrelate. The narrative is that underlying structure which runs the story, arranging the elements, driving the reader through the book. 11. Narration, this can take place from different points of view. The most neutral, most hidden approach, is the third person, with the least necessary "intrusion" to describe and present the narrative. 12. Naturalism, influenced by Darwin, this is a form of realism which stresses environment, the family line (and advantages/ disadvantages) and something of a deterministic outcome. 13. Picaresque, a set up and denial of the romance, particularly a journey in search of an ideal, and shows the characters to be foolish and in fact involved in no such thing other than atckling their predicaments as they prove too powerful or complex to resolve. 14. Postmodern, a general category for those novels which deny realism, which are poststructural in language, whose devices draw attention to the novel as a novel. These novels are writerly and reflexive. 15. Psychological, either ordinary grammatical introspection can be used or a stream of consciousness. The idea is to present at least part of the novel from the mind at a cost of easy to be followed narrative. This may be incorporated into a more conventional narrative structure or may overtake it. 16. Readerly, the text is simple to read, and readers consume it without having to engage in the process of word production. 17. Realism, realistic novels are like looking glasses through which the reader sees an ordinary world operate. This produces a story to get lost into, because the only interest is in the characters as they work through the plot. 18. Reflexive, the fact that here is a novel is highlighted by devices both written and presented, and this self-conscious, self referential, approach allows complexity to be better presented. 19. Romance, this form of novel goes beyond ordinary experience and social predicaments into make-believe. Something new is being searched for in an alternative world beyond familiar circumstances so that the novel's purpose is a moral or ideal issue. 20. Satire, a form of comic novel which intends, by lampooning, to be in fact constructive in its criticism because it wants things to be better. it's like saying, "If only people or institutions were more sensible or efficient then society would be improved." 21. Science fiction, a popular novel form which involves some utopian elements. The object is to reflect back on how we are now, as well as to dream on the possible future where life has more potential. Another object is to create an environment for moral discussion. 22. Stream of consciousness, this is a method of writing that tries to locate predicaments in the mind of the person. Our thoughts jump around and exhibit hopes and fears and the need for instant decisions on all kinds of matters, with intrusions from all over the place. This works very badly with a neutral third person God-like narrator. 23. Style, this concerns narration specifically and the method of writing in general. Each epoch seems to have a predominant style, but so does each author. It is something of a game of recognition to read a passage and guess the author. 24. Utopian, this is an extreme form of romantic novel because problems are eliminated. This make-believe intends to point up what could be the case, with the possibilities of utopia, though sometimes the characters may not be as perfect as the world they live in and some utopias may collapse at some point within the story, exposing them as a sham or unavailable in the real world. 25. Writerly, this kind of novel is usually beyond realism, forcing the reader to generate meaning actively from the given text. It stands at first glance in binary opposition to being readerly. V. Example Synopsis of Novel Synopsis of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer Stone This story introduces us to Harry Potter, an orphaned boy sent to live with his "horrible" Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and their fat, obnoxious son, Dudley. Since Harry's parents were powerful witches before they were killed by an even more powerful witch, Harry has Generational Witchcraft in his background, making it very likely that he will be a wizard when he grows up. Vernon and Petunia know this, and since they hate Witchcraft and anything to do with it, they determine to try to raise Harry in such a way as to deny him any knowledge of his parent's proclivities. Therefore, they do not tell him the truth of his parent's death, telling Harry they were killed in an auto accident. They also force Harry to live in a closet underneath the stairs, even though they have a perfectly good extra bedroom upstairs. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia deny Harry any parental love and compassion; in fact, all through this book, any non-witch folk -- like Vernon and Petunia -- are depicting in disgusting language. Non-witch people are known as Muggles , and they are depicting as being "dumber than a box of rocks", of being physically obscene, and of living the most boring, unimaginative lives possible. Witches, on the other hand, are depicted as being very smart, very "with it", of being physically normal, and of living wonderfully exciting lives, especially when they are in their Fantasy Reality, explained below. In a flashback scene to the time 10 years earlier when Harry's Mom and Dad were psychically murdered by evil Lord Voldemort on Halloween night, we learn that, instead of Voldemort's curse killing Harry as it had done to his parents, he was merely permanently scarred with a lightning bolt right in the middle of his forehead. [p. 14-15] Of course, a Christian would be immediately alerted to this turn of events because soon a supernaturally powerful global leader will demand everyone on earth take some sort of a mark in exactly this place on the body. Harry spends his first ten years totally unaware that he has Witchcraft in his background [Generational Witchcraft, p. 51] and that he might possess inherent "special powers". Suddenly, a letter arrives from the Hogwart School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, telling Harry that he has been accepted as a student, and informing him as to when classes begin. Of course, Uncle Vernon intercepts and destroys the letter. On the next day, two letters arrive, and Vernon destroys them. On the next day, many more letters arrive, this time coming in through windows, doors, and cracks. Finally, after the most stupid flight possible to avoid the letters, enough letters arrive at the boat on which Uncle Vernon has taken Harry that Harry finally gets his hands on one of the letters. Harry is totally dumbfounded with the news that he is a Wizard, but he has to get free of the physical clutches of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia. They have Harry on a boat headed for nowhere and they had every intention of keeping Harry from ever attending Hogwarts School. However, Harry receives supernatural assistance. A very huge man suddenly appears on the boat, out of nowhere, and forcibly removes Harry from the clutches of Uncle Vernon. His name turns out to be Hagrid, and he is the groundskeeper of Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft. Soon, Harry finds his way through the dimensional portal at the train station, and on board the Hogwarts train, on his way to discovering new friends, and an entirely new, exciting life in the Fantasy Reality of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Suddenly, Harry finds himself and his friends in the exciting race to discover the Sorcerer's Stone, the occult symbol of reaching the final stage in the quest for eternal life. Chapter 3 Fictions I. Definitions of Fiction Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. II. Types of Fiction 1. Realistic Fiction Realistic fiction, although untrue, could actually happen. Some events, people, and places may even be real. 2. Non-realistic Fiction Non-realistic fiction is that in which the story's events could not happen in real life, because they are supernatural, or involve an alternate form of history of mankind other than that recorded, or need impossible technology. 3. Semi-fiction Semi-fiction is fiction implementing a great deal of non-fiction,[1] for example: a fictional depiction "based on a true story", or a fictionalized account, or a reconstructed biography. III. Elements of Fiction 1. Plot, is what the character(s) did, said, and thought. 2. Climax. In a work of fiction, the climax often resembles that of the classical comedy, occurring near the end of the text or performance, after the rising action and before the falling action. 3. Resolution. It occurs after the climax, where the conflict is resolved. 4. Conflict. In order for the story to engage the reader or spectator, the conflict can usually be discerned as immediate, urgent, and insoluble. 5. Character, is a participant in the story, and is usually a person, but may be any personal identity, or entity whose existence originates from a fictional work or performance. 11. Chronological order. All of the events occur in the order in which they happened in writing. 12. Flashback, is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. 13. Setting, is the location and time of a story. 14. Theme, is a conceptual distillation of the story. 15. Style, is language conventions used to construct the story or article. IV. Forms of Fiction Traditionally, fiction includes novels, short stories, fables, fairy tales, plays, poetry, but it now also encompasses films, comic books, and video games. V. Uses of Fiction Although fiction may be viewed as a form of entertainment, it has other uses. Fiction has been used for instructional purposes, such as fictional examples used in school textbooks. It may be used in propaganda and advertising. Although they are not necessarily targeted at children, fables offer an explicit moral goal. VI. Example of Fiction Being Alike Flannery O'Connor has written in her story, "Everything That Rises Must Converge," a story about a young man who struggles not to be like his mother. He especially hates the negative qualities of hers that they share. Being cross and impatient with her is his way of punishing her for her influence on him and even more important, trying to overcome her bad tendencies in himself. The story starts with the young man, Julian, feeling sorry for himself that he has been forced to take his mother on the bus to her reducing class to lose weight and lower her blood pressure. She wears for the first time a new, comical green and purple hat that she feels a bit insecure about. On the way to the bus Julian and his mother argue about their social class and race relations. She is prejudice and this embarrasses him. His behavior embarrasses her in return. Once on the bus she starts a conversation with two other women with whom she complains about blacks and brags about her son who has been to college. During the conversation, he retreats into his mind and doesn't come out again until a black man enters the bus. Julian, to anger his mother, tries to talk to the man who obviously isn't interested in a conversation. As planned, the mother does get angry and her blood pressure goes up visibly. At the next stop a black woman and her young son get on the bus and sit down in the only two empty seats left in the front of the bus. The little boy tries to makes friends with Julian's mother immediately, while his mother, sitting across from them, becomes more jealous and more upset as time passes. Eventually Julian notices why the woman next to him is bristling and why his mother is looking sick... it is not that the women have symbolically traded sons, but that they are wearing the same ugly hat. He laughs out loud and his mother's face turns purple with indignity. As their stop nears, Julian and the second woman signal at the same time for the bus to let them off. Knowing his mother, Julian tries to prevent her from giving the little boy a nickel but she won't listen. The mother of the little boy feels so insulted that she yells to the other that her little boy doesn't take pennies from anyone. She then smacks the other across the face with her pocket book that was big and heavy like herself. Julian helps his mother from the ground and begins to explain to her the lesson she should have just learned. She ignores him completely and starts walking home. Unaccustomed to his mother not doing what he tells her, he finally grabs her by the arm to stop her from walking away from him. When he turns her around she looks at him with no recognition, one of her eyes rolls back in her head and she falls to the sidewalk. Julian is left alone running for help in the night. Julian and his mother are similar in many ways, although probably neither one would like to admit it. On the surface we see their differences: like her prejudice and snobbishness toward those of lower social class, and his racial tolerance and disregard for their families past glory. This, however, is only on the surface for if we look deeper, we see that they are both very much alike. Here is where their problem lies. We see they are both hypocrites, both live in fantasy worlds, and they both struggle for control of the relationship. They are both hypocrites. They say, and even believe, that they feel one way about things, but their actions show differently. One of the first discrepancies we are shown is Julian telling his mother to wear the green and purple hat that he himself describes as "hideous". When she starts to feel guilty about spending the money on herself, Julian tries to ease her conscience by reassuring her that he will someday earn some money. She tells him he is doing fine and should not worry about not contributing to the family, but only a bit earlier emphasizes to him the sacrifices she has made for him: " ...since the reducing class was one of her few pleasures... Julian could at least put himself out to take her, considering all she did for him.". Another of her hypocrisies is reminding her son he is a Godhigh and a Chestny and what rich and successful people they had been, even though we later learn they actually lost the family mansion after years of struggling to keep it. Hearing Julian talk one would think Julian hated the old manor, but he admits his secret longing to have it back; he is jealous of his mother growing up there when he couldn't. The biggest surprise is realizing that both the mother and her self-declared liberal son are intolerant and prejudice. Thinking back on her colored nursemaid she says there is nothing she wouldn't do for her colored friends, but she doesn't consider them equal. Segregation and slavery are positive things to her; she will give them anything but a chance to prove themselves. Julian seeks the company of blacks and dreams of bringing a "beautiful suspiciously Negroid woman" home to meet his mother. Unfortunately he doesn't seek their company because he likes them, but because his mother doesn't. He uses them without caring about them as people, simply to hurt his mother; when he chooses to speak to a black person, he doesn't pick them for their apparent personality, but for the individual's sophisticated clothing. If he thought of them as equals, then he would talk to the less educated or more poorly dressed individuals. In Julian's mind, he describes with disgust his mother's fantasy world. It is true that she has some problems with reality, like not admitting that they live in a less than upper-class neighborhood and more. She sees all of her sacrifices paying off when her son becomes a successful writer, but since he is making no effort, this cannot come true. She refuses to see his impending failure. Despite her voicing her belief they are in a good neighborhood, she reacts to the less than glamorous reality by building another fantasy; if she and her son dress well and respectably, they will be just that. She not only wears a hat and gloves to a reducing class, but also calls her son a "thug" when he dares to take off his tie in public. On the surface she is dignified and gracious; underneath she is intolerant and condescending. But Julian has is own little dream place as well. Julian thinks so often about his mother's fantasies he doesn't see his own. The old family mansion appears in his mind repeatedly, not broken down as it truly is but as his mother describes it being during her childhood: "But it remained in his mind as his mother had known it". He lives in a poorer, dingy area and sees himself being no better than his surroundings. He doesn't realize, like his mother, that housing alone does not control a person's fate. This logic implies that he blames his unhappiness on the old house being lost, and if only he lived there he could be happy. He is disturbed by his mother's inability to face the truth, but he lies to himself as well. A constant battle for control is fought between the two throughout the essay. They are so stubborn that neither will admit being wrong or will accept loosing to the other. There is no compromise in this family. From start to finish Julian tries to break his mother's spirit. He takes off his tie to help in the task, but she fights back and hassles him until he weakens and surrenders, putting the tie back on. She makes him accompany her to class not by asking, but by working on his sense of guilt. He has no respect for her anymore and sees her as a child. She shrinks to child like proportions in his imagination and wishes he could discipline her with a slap: "At that moment he could with pleasure have slapped her as he would have slapped a particularly obnoxious child in his charge". Unfortunately for her, she too does not respect her son's opinions and doesn't heed his warning not to give the little black boy on the bus a penny, and seals her own fate. It is because they spent so much of their lives battling that his mother no longer could believe he was for once trying to help instead of hurt. Everyone finds negative traits in themselves from their parents and resent them. The difference here is he did not realize this was his problem, and he tortured himself and his mother with his unhappiness. He resented her for teaching him to be like her: hypocritical, living in a fantasy, and controlling. Most kids grow out of this stage and learn to love their parents again, but because he was so relentless in his punishment he will never be able to. He will suffer for his selfishness the rest of his life. "Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the distance ahead of him.... The lights drifted farther away the faster he ran and his feet moves numbly as if they carried him nowhere. The tide of darkness seemed to sweep him back to her, postponing from moment to moment his entry into the world of guilt and sorrow. Chapter 4 Drama I. Definitions of Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance.[1] The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" (Classical Greek: δρᾶμα, drama), which is derived from "to do" (Classical Greek: δράω, draō). The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of literature, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception. II. History of Drama 1. Classical Athenian drama Western drama originates in classical Greece.[11] The theatrical culture of the city-state of Athens produced three genres of drama: tragedy, comedy, and the satyr play. Their origins remain obscure, though by the 5th century BCE they were institutionalised in competitions held as part of festivities celebrating the god Dionysus. 2. Roman drama Following the expansion of the Roman Republic (509–27 BCE) into several Greek territories between 270–240 BCE, Rome encountered Greek drama.[19] From the later years of the republic and by means of the Roman Empire (27 BCE-476 CE), theatre spread west across Europe, around the Mediterranean and reached England; Roman theatre was more varied, extensive and sophisticated than that of any culture before it.[20] While Greek drama continued to be performed throughout the Roman period, the year 240 BCE marks the beginning of regular Roman drama. 3. Medieval In the Middle Ages, drama in the vernacular languages of Europe may have emerged from religious enactments of the liturgy. Mystery plays were presented on the porch of the cathedrals or by strolling players on feast days. Miracle and mystery plays, along with moralities and interludes, later evolved into more elaborate forms of drama, such as was seen on the Elizabethan stages. 4. Elizabethan and Jacobean One of the great flowerings of drama in England occurred in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many of these plays were written in verse, particularly iambic pentameter. In addition to Shakespeare, such authors as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, and Ben Jonson were prominent playwrights during this period. As in the medieval period, historical plays celebrated the lives of past kings, enhancing the image of the Tudor monarchy. Authors of this period drew some of their storylines from Greek mythology and Roman mythology or from the plays of eminent Roman playwrights such as Plautus and Terence. 5. Modern and postmodern The pivotal and innovative contributions of the 19th-century Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen and the 20th-century German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht dominate modern drama; each inspired a tradition of imitators, which include many of the greatest playwrights of the modern era.[30] The works of both playwrights are, in their different ways, both modernist and realist, incorporating formal experimentation, meta-theatricality, and social critique.[31] In terms of the traditional theoretical discourse of genre, Ibsen's work has been described as the culmination of "liberal tragedy", while Brecht's has been aligned with an historicised comedy. III. Forms of Drama 1. Opera Western opera is a dramatic art form, which arose during the Renaissance in an attempt to revive the classical Greek drama tradition in which both music and theatre were combined. Being strongly intertwined with western classical music, the opera has undergone enormous changes in the past four centuries and it is an important form of theatre until this day. Noteworthy is the huge influence of the German 19th century composer Richard Wagner on the opera tradition. 2. Pantomime These stories follow in the tradition of fables and folk tales. Usually there is a lesson learned, and with some help from the audience, the hero/heroine saves the day. This kind of play uses stock characters seen in masque and again commedia dell'arte, these characters include the villain (doctore), the clown/ servant (Arlechino/ Harlequin/ buttons), the lovers etc. These plays usually have an emphasis on moral dilemmas, and good always triumphs over evil, this kind of play is also very entertaining making it a very effective way of reaching many people. 3. Creative drama Creative drama includes dramatic activities and games used primarily in educational settings with children. Its roots in the United States began in the early 1900s. Winifred Ward is considered to be the founder of creative drama in education, establishing the first academic use of drama in Evanston, Illinois. Chapter 5 Poetry I. Definitions of Poetry Poetry (from the Greek 'poiesis'/ποίησις [poieo/ποιέω], a making: a forming, creating, or the art of poetry, or a poem) is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning. Poetry may be written independently, as discrete poems; or, may occur in conjunction with other arts, as in poetic drama, hymns, lyrics, or prose poetry. It is published in dedicated magazines (the longest established being Poetry and Oxford Poetry), individual collections and wider anthologies. II. History of Poetry 1. Western traditions During this period, there was also substantially more interaction among the various poetic traditions, in part due to the spread of European colonialism and the attendant rise in global trade. In addition to a boom in translation, during the Romantic period numerous ancient works were rediscovered. 2. 20th-century disputes Some 20th-century literary theorists, relying less on the opposition of prose and poetry, focused on the poet as simply one who creates using language, and poetry as what the poet creates. The underlying concept of the poet as creator is not uncommon, and some modernist poets essentially do not distinguish between the creation of a poem with words, and creative acts in other media such as carpentry.[24] Yet other modernists challenge the very attempt to define poetry as misguided, as when Archibald MacLeish concludes his paradoxical poem, "Ars Poetica", with the lines: "A poem should not mean / but be."[25] See also Wallace Stevens's comparison of poetry to music in "To the One of Fictive Music", poetry "musing the obscure" so as to "give motion to perfection more serene" than any other music. III. Elements of Poetry 1. Prosody Prosody is the study of the meter, rhythm, and intonation of a poem. Rhythm and meter are different, although closely related.[29] Meter is the definitive pattern established for a verse (such as iambic pentameter), while rhythm is the actual sound that results from a line of poetry. Thus, the meter of a line may be described as being "iambic", but a full description of the rhythm would require noting where the language causes one to pause or accelerate and how the meter interacts with other elements of the language. Prosody also may be used more specifically to refer to the scanning of poetic lines to show meter. 2. Rhyme, alliteration, assonance Rhyme, alliteration, assonance and consonance are ways of creating repetitive patterns of sound. They may be used as an independent structural element in a poem, to reinforce rhythmic patterns, or as an ornamental element. Rhyme consists of identical ("hard-rhyme") or similar ("soft-rhyme") sounds placed at the ends of lines or at predictable locations within lines ("internal rhyme").[53] Languages vary in the richness of their rhyming structures; Italian, for example, has a rich rhyming structure permitting maintenance of a limited set of rhymes throughout a lengthy poem. Alliteration and assonance played a key role in structuring early Germanic, Norse and Old English forms of poetry. The alliterative patterns of early Germanic poetry interweave meter and alliteration as a key part of their structure, so that the metrical pattern determines when the listener expects instances of alliteration to occur. Consonance occurs where a consonant sound is repeated throughout a sentence without putting the sound only at the front of a word. Consonance provokes a more subtle effect than alliteration and so is less useful as a structural element. 3. Form Poetic form is more flexible in modernist and post-modernist poetry, and continues to be less structured than in previous literary eras. Many modern poets eschew recognisable structures or forms, and write in free verse. But poetry remains distinguished from prose by its form; some regard for basic formal structures of poetry will be found in even the best free verse, however much such structures may appear to have been ignored. Similarly, in the best poetry written in classic styles there will be departures from strict form for emphasis or effect. Among major structural elements used in poetry are the line, the stanza or verse paragraph, and larger combinations of stanzas or lines such as cantos. Also sometimes used are broader visual presentations of words and calligraphy. These basic units of poetic form are often combined into larger structures, called poetic forms or poetic modes (see following section), as in the sonnet or haiku. 4. Diction Poetic diction treats of the manner in which language is used, and refers not only to the sound but also to the underlying meaning and its interaction with sound and form. Many languages and poetic forms have very specific poetic dictions, to the point where distinct grammars and dialects are used specifically for poetry. Registers in poetry can range from strict employment of ordinary speech patterns, as favoured in much late 20th century prosody, through to highly ornate and aureate uses of language by such as the medieval and renaissance makars. IV. Forms of Poetry 1. Sonnet, are particularly associated with love poetry, and often use a poetic diction heavily based on vivid imagery, but the twists and turns associated with the move from octave to sestet and to final couplet make them a useful and dynamic form for many subjects. 2. Jintishi, is a formal type of Classical Chinese poetry, based on a set of fixed rules. These include the use of set patterns using the four tones of Middle Chinese in each couplet: the level, rising, departing and entering tones. 3. Sestina, has six stanzas, each comprising six unrhymed lines, in which the words at the end of the first stanza’s lines reappear in a rolling pattern in the other stanzas. 4. Villanelle, is a nineteen-line poem made up of five triplets with a closing quatrain; the poem is characterized by having two refrains, initially used in the first and third lines of the first stanza, and then alternately used at the close of each subsequent stanza until the final quatrain, which is concluded by the two refrains. 5. Pantoum, is a rare form of poetry similar to a villanelle. V. Genres of Poetry 1. Narrative poetry, is a genre of poetry that tells a story. 2. Epic poetry, is a genre of poetry, and a major form of narrative literature. 3. Dramatic poetry, is drama written in verse to be spoken or sung, and appears in varying, sometimes related forms in many cultures. 4. Satirical poetry. The punch of an insult delivered in verse can be many times more powerful and memorable than that of the same insult, spoken or written in prose. 5. Lyric poetry, is a genre that, unlike epic poetry and dramatic poetry, does not attempt to tell a story but instead is of a more personal nature. VI. Example of Poetry Ibn Al-‘Arabi (1165-1240) They journeyed, When the darkness of night Had let down her curtain; And I said to her: "Pity a passionate lover, Outcast and distraught, Whom desires eagerly encompass, And at whom Speeding arrows are aimed Wheresoever he bends his course." (tr. R. A. Nicholson) Chapter 6 Fable I. Definitions of Fable A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized (given human qualities), and that illustrates a moral lesson (a "moral"), which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim. II. History of Fable Fables had a further long tradition through the Middle Ages, and became part of European high literature. During the 17th century, the French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695) saw the soul of the fable in the moral — a rule of behavior. In modern times, while the fable has been trivialized in children's books, it has also been fully adapted to modern adult literature. Felix Salten's Bambi (1923) is a Bildungsroman — a story of a protagonist's coming-of-age — cast in the form of a fable. 1. Classic fabulists a. Aesop (mid-6th century BCE), author of Aesop's Fables. b. Vishnu Sarma (ca. 200 BCE), author of the anthropomorphic political treatise and fable collection, the Panchatantra. 2. Modern fabulists a. Sholem Aleichem (1859–1916). b. Don Marquis (1878–1937), author of the fables of archy and mehitabel. c. José Saramago (1922–2010). d. David Sedaris (born 1956), author of Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk III. Example of Fable "The Fox and the Crow," from Aesop's Fables "A crow was sitting on a branch of a tree with a piece of cheese in her beak when a Fox observed her and set his wits to work to discover some way of getting the cheese. "Coming and standing under the tree he looked up and said, 'What a noble bird I see above me! Her beauty is without equal, the hue of her plumage exquisite. If only her voice is as sweet as her looks are fair, she ought without doubt to be Queen of the Birds. "The Crow was hugely flattered by this, and just to show the Fox that she could sing she gave a loud caw. Down came the cheese and the Fox, snatching it up, said, 'You have a voice, madam, I see: what you want is wits.' Chapter 7 Folklore I. Definitions of Folklore Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called folkloristics. II. Area of Folklore Folklore can be divided into four areas of study: artifact (such as voodoo dolls), describable and transmissible entity (oral tradition), culture, and behavior (rituals). These areas do not stand alone, however, as often a particular item or element may fit into more than one of these areas. 1. Artifact. Objects such as dolls, decorative items used in religious rituals, hand-built houses and barns, and handmade clothing and other crafts are considered to be folk artifacts, grouped within the field as "material culture". 2. Oral Tradition. Folklore can contain religious or mythic elements, it equally concerns itself with the sometimes mundane traditions of everyday life. Folklore frequently ties the practical and the esoteric into one narrative package. It has often been conflated with mythology, and vice versa, because it has been assumed that any figurative story that does not pertain to the dominant beliefs of the time is not of the same status as those dominant beliefs. Thus, Roman religion is called "myth" by today's dominant religions. In that way, both "myth" and "folklore" have become catch-all terms for all figurative narratives which do not correspond with the dominant belief structure. 3. Cultural. Folklorist William Bascom states that folklore has many cultural aspects, such as allowing for escape from societal consequences. In addition, folklore can also serve to validate a culture (romantic nationalism), as well as transmit a culture's morals and values. Folklore can also be the root of many cultural types of music. In addition, folklorists study medical, supernatural, religious, and political belief systems as an essential, often unspoken, part of expressive culture. 4. Rituals. Many rituals can sometimes be considered folklore, whether formalized in a cultural or religious system (e.g. weddings, baptisms, harvest festivals) or practiced within a family or secular context. III. Genre of Folklore 1. Archetypes 2. Ballad 3. Blason Populaire 4. Childlore 5. Children's street culture 6. Counting rhymes 7. Costumbrismo 8. Craft 9. Custom 10. Epic poetry 11. Festival 12. Folk art 13. Folk belief 14. Folk magic 15. Folk medicine 16. Folk metaphor 17. Folk narrative 18. Folk play 19. Folk poetry and rhyme 20. Folk simile 21. Folk song 22. Games 23. Holiday lore and customs 24. Mythology 25. Riddle 26. Saying 27. Superstition 28. Taunts 29. Weather lore 30. Xerox lore IV. Example of Folklore Phan-Ku The universe began with a cosmic hen's egg. The inside of this perfect egg contained the yin and yang. They represented all of the opposites, woman and man, good and evil, light and dark, happiness and sadness, and cold and heat. Inside of the yin and yang was the great creator, Phan-Ku. When the time was right Phan-Ku hatched from the egg. When he hatched he was a giant and was still growing ten feet a day and would live to be 18,000 years old. He had horns and two walrus like teeth. He was orange and in each powerful hand were a chisel and hammer in which he would carve the world and delicate clouds. Phan-Ku first went to carving out the valleys and mountains, and than separated the light from the dark and land from the sea. He called the pure heavenly sky yin and the heavy darkness yang. After he died his eyes became the sun and the moon, his breath the wind, and even though he was dead his voice became the thunder, his sweat the rain. Then, his hair became the fertile land of trees and plants, the rain forest. His flesh became the earth. Then the worms that ate his body became people. In order for his creation to be complete he had to die. Chapter 8 Short Story I. Definitions of Short Story A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas (in the 20th and 21st century sense) and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because of the fragmentation of the medium into genres. II. History of Short Story 1. Predecessors Short stories date back to oral story-telling traditions which originally produced epics such as Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Oral narratives were often told in the form of rhyming or rhythmic verse, often including recurring sections or, in the case of Homer, Homeric epithets. Such stylistic devices often acted as mnemonics for easier recall, rendition and adaptation of the story. Short sections of verse might focus on individual narratives that could be told at one sitting. The overall arc of the tale would emerge only through the telling of multiple such sections. The mid 17th century in France saw the development of a refined short novel, the "nouvelle", by such authors as Madame de Lafayette. In the 1690s, traditional fairy tales began to be published (one of the most famous collections was by Charles Perrault). The appearance of Antoine Galland's first modern translation of the Thousand and One Nights (or Arabian Nights) (from 1704; another translation appeared in 1710–12) would have an enormous influence on the 18th century European short stories of Voltaire, Diderot and others. 2. 1790-1850 There are early examples of short stories published seperately between 1790 and 1810, but the first true collections of short stories appeared between 1810 and 1830 in several countries around the same period. The first short stories in the United Kingdom were gothic tales like Richard Cumberland's "remarkable narrative" The Poisoner of Montremos (1791).[4] Great novelists like Sir Walter Scott and Charles Dickens also wrote some short stories. 3. 1850-1900 In the latter 19th century, the growth of print magazines and journals created a strong demand for short fiction of between 3,000 and 15,000 words. 4. 1900-1945 In the first half of the 20th century, a number of high-profile American magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker Scribner's, The Saturday Evening Post, Esquire and The Bookman published short stories in each issue. The demand for quality short stories was so great and the money paid for such so well that F. Scott Fitzgerald repeatedly turned to short-story (as Matthews preferred to write it) writing to pay his numerous debts. His first collection Flappers and Philosophers appeared in book form 1920. 5. After 1945 The period following World War II saw a great flowering of literary short fiction in the United States. The New Yorker continued to publish the works of the form’s leading mid-century practitioners, including Shirley Jackson, whose story, The Lottery, published in 1948, elicited the strongest response in the magazine’s history to that time. Other frequent contributors during the last 1940s included John Cheever, John Steinbeck, Jean Stafford, and Eudora Welty. J. D. Salinger's Nine Stories (1953) experimented with point of view and voice, while Flannery O’Connor's story A Good Man is Hard to Find (1955) reinvigorated the Southern Gothic style. Cultural and social identity played a considerable role in much of the short fiction of the 1960s. III. Example of Short Story The Love Boat The small boat lurched forward precariously. Its three inhabitants lurched too. “Can’t he keep this thing still?” The disgruntled older woman broke off from her conversation with her daughter. “Keith!” Megan looked accusingly to her husband, as if the jolt had been caused by him alone, “you know Mother gets upset.” “There’s precious little I can do about it – tell ‘your mother’ that.” “Well you might at least try....” He shrugged and looked away. Conversation restarted without his involvement. “Well, as I was saying, when I went to the shops on Tuesday, I met Mary no, wait, I’m lying it was Monday morning, it must have been Monday because she’d been cutting the lawn all morning.” The mother was in full flow. “Anyway she was telling me about poor Mrs James at No 22”. “Isn’t that the woman with the artificial leg?” Megan asked. “No, no, that’s Anne. Mrs James is the one whose husband died last year. He’d been ill for a long time and suffered terribly, although being married to her for all that time, he must have been used to it. They reckoned in the end that he’d had enough and gave up the ghost just to get away from her” Keith knew exactly how he’d felt. With “mother” in tow, he’d often felt the same. The gleeful announcement of his first day off in months had been met with the idea of an outing. The “We could take mother” that followed was less of a suggestion than a decision. No sooner the word, than he was being hectored disconcertedly into the drama. After what had seemed an eternity of bobbing around, listening to the never-ending cawing of the gannets at the other end of the boat, Keith began to feel an icy chill across his back from the change in direction of the wind, as he pulled slowly on the oars of the rowing boat. “Well, her son came back from college; from somewhere up north I think, she did tell me, could have been Manchester or was it Bolton? Anyway, he came back and caused havoc...” Machine gun like, the mother only paused to reload, “Seems he’s bought a new car, it’s an old one – big one, flash thing. Anyway, he left it on their drive and next morning woke up to find it’d been broken into – they’d smashed the car window and half-pulled the door off its hinges. They got away with his radio and a stack of things he’d left in the back”. The endless, monotonous tirade washed over Keith like an annoying background throb, constant and loud enough that it couldn’t be entirely ignored. “You should see the car door” she continued, Megan listening intently to her every word. “Of course, she nearly died of fright, well can you imagine, on your own drive?” “For God’s sake shut up” Keith shouted silently to himself, without benefit of either a gap in the conversation or the courage to use it. “On and on and on, it’s enough to drive you mental – just shut up, why don’t you, give it a bloody rest”. But Keith said nothing. Instead, ideas of “dying” and “car doors” jumbled and jostled around in his mind. In an instant, a flash of inspiration came to him. For one glorious second, he saw it all; the images crystal clear in his mind; her head carefully and deliciously positioned between the car frame and door, while he repeatedly slammed it shut with all his force. The sensation was exhilarating. The immeasurable pleasure of the bang, bang, bang brought tears to his eyes and a glow to his heart. Bang, bang, bang. Ten years of listening to this dross all relieved in a simple action. Bang, bang, bang. But still the voice continued; still the words, the unrelenting spiel. Despite repeating battering the head resiliently continued to talk. As if nothing at all had happened, words spewed forth like a fountain. Chapter 9 Limerick I. Definitions of Limerick