A Brief Introduction to English Literature

A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 20141 A Brief Introduction to English Literature By Charles Mwaura Kamau A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 2 © Charles M Kamau All Rights Reserved Libra Publishers A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 3 Books by the same author: 1. Foundations of Kenya's Company Law with Cases and Materials. (Amazon) 2. Basic Principles of Criminal Litigation in Kenya (Amazon) 3. Wisdom of Ages: A survival guide to Wealth, Peace & Happiness (Amazon) 4. CHINA: Understanding the Country and it’s People ( E-book Available at Amazon) 5. Principles of Kenyan Constitutional Law, (forthcoming, LawAfrica Publishers) 6. Mastering English as a Second Language (Amazon) 7. The Art of Great Lawyers (Scribd) Recommended Jeff Ramantosh, The People of Kenya: Their Customs, Cultures and Traditions (Amazon) A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 4 Contents Literature ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Aims and outcomes ......................................................................................................................... 9 Literary criticism ............................................................................................................................ 10 Plot and Structure ..................................................................................................................... 12 Some structural elements of plots ........................................................................................ 12 Examples of plots: ................................................................................................................. 13 Setting ........................................................................................................................................ 16 Examples of setting: .............................................................................................................. 16 Theme ....................................................................................................................................... 17 Examples of Themes ............................................................................................................ 18 Characterisation ......................................................................................................................... 20 Types of characters ............................................................................................................... 20 Narrator ..................................................................................................................................... 22 Examples of Narrators .......................................................................................................... 22 Tone and Style .......................................................................................................................... 24 Stream of consciousness ....................................................................................................... 24 Figurative Language ....................................................................................................................... 27 Simile ......................................................................................................................................... 29 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 29 Metaphor ................................................................................................................................... 31 Epithet ................................................................................................................................... 33 A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 5 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 33 Allegory...................................................................................................................................... 34 Examples of allegories: ......................................................................................................... 34 Personification ........................................................................................................................... 35 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 35 Analogies ................................................................................................................................... 37 Examples of Usage ................................................................................................................ 37 Humour ................................................................................................................................... 38 Example of usage .................................................................................................................. 39 Satire .......................................................................................................................................... 40 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 41 Sarcasm ...................................................................................................................................... 43 Example of usage: ................................................................................................................. 43 Irony .......................................................................................................................................... 45 Example of usage .............................................................................................................. 46 Symbolism ................................................................................................................................. 48 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 48 Motif .......................................................................................................................................... 52 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 52 Paradox ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 53 Imagery ...................................................................................................................................... 55 A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 6 Example of usage .................................................................................................................. 55 Anaphora ................................................................................................................................... 57 Examples of usage: ................................................................................................................ 57 Idioms ........................................................................................................................................ 59 Examples ............................................................................................................................... 59 Allusions .................................................................................................................................... 64 Examples ............................................................................................................................... 64 Section Summary .......................................................................................................................... 71 Genres ............................................................................................................................................ 72 Identifying a genre ........................................................................................................... 72 Prose .......................................................................................................................................... 74 Selected Excerpts in English ................................................................................................. 75 Poetry ......................................................................................................................................... 99 The purposes of poetic writing ........................................................................................... 100 Why study poetry ................................................................................................................ 101 How to read poetry ............................................................................................................. 102 Poetic forms ............................................................................................................................ 104 The sonnet .......................................................................................................................... 104 The epic .............................................................................................................................. 109 The ode ............................................................................................................................... 110 Elegy .................................................................................................................................... 112 A ballad ............................................................................................................................... 113 A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 7 The Song ............................................................................................................................. 115 Dramatic poetry .................................................................................................................. 116 Blank verse .......................................................................................................................... 117 Poetic Prose......................................................................................................................... 118 Tonal devices of poetry ........................................................................................................... 119 Alliteration ............................................................................................................................... 119 Assonance ........................................................................................................................... 119 Rhyme ................................................................................................................................. 119 Onomatopoeia .................................................................................................................... 119 Other literary devices .............................................................................................................. 119 Imagery in poetry .................................................................................................................... 119 A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 8 “‘Literary’ language is commonly distinguished from the language of ordinary life by certain heightening or suppressions. The novelist or essayist, let us say, fashions his language more or less in accordance with his own mood, with his immediate aim in writing, with the capacity of his expected readers. He is discoursing with a certain real or imaginary audience. He may put himself on paper, as Montaigne said, as if he were talking to the first man he happens to meet; or he may choose to address himself to the few chosen spirits of his generation and of succeeding generations. He trusts the arbitrary written or printed symbols of word-sounds to carry his thoughts safely into the minds of other men.” A study of Poetry By Bliss Perry “The best moments in reading are when you come across something– a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – which you had thought special and particular to you. Now here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out and taken yours.” Hector in The History Boys (2004), by Alan Bennett Literature Central to the study of literature is the critical analysis of how language is purposefully and creatively used in texts in order to create meaning and explore issues or themes. Through the literary skills of reading and responding critically and personally to literary texts, you actively construct meaning and in the process make connections between the texts, your live and the world around you. The study of Literature encourages you to enter imagined worlds and to explore, to examine, and to reflect on both current and timeless issues, as well as your individuality and humanity at large. Therefore, the main rationale for studying Literature is that it helps you to develop a humanistic outlook on life. Through a close interaction with literary or creative works which portray a diverse range of human thought, emotion and experience, you are able to gain knowledge and understanding of the nature of human existence and to develop insights into and an appreciation of the world and of the society in which you live. The study of literary texts both sharpens and broadens your mind. In addition literature sharpens your critical thinking skills. It helps you to: cultivate a questioning mind; explore personal and social issues; and Interrogate and manage ambiguities and multiple perspectives. This introduction to Literature booklet is aimed at building the reader’s socio-cultural sensitivity and awareness. At broadening your global outlook: this it does by offering you A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 9 Ends of Language The ends of language are, first, to make known one man’s thoughts to another; secondly, to do it with ease and quickness; and thirdly, thereby to convey the knowledge of things. When language fails in any of these requisites, it is abused or deficient. He who in conversation uses the words of any language without distinct ideas in his mind to which he applies them, only utters sounds without signification, and is in reality no more advanced in knowledge than he would be in learning, who had in his library the catalogues of books, without possessing the books themselves. He who has complex ideas, without particular names for them, is embarrassed in his conversation for want of proper terms to communicate his complex ideas, which he is therefore forced to make known by a detail of the simple ones which compose them: and thus is frequently compelled to use twenty words to express what another more fluent and ready man signifies by one. He who annexes not constantly the same word to the same idea, but uses the same word sometimes in one and sometimes in another signification, ought to pass in conversation for as fair and candid a man as he does in the market, who sells several things by the same name. By John Locke opportunities to explore a wide range of literary texts written in different contexts and from various parts of the world, and from different ages and cultures. Above all it aims at stimulating your thinking about different beliefs and values. Hopefully, by the end your empathy and understanding ‘of the other’ will be stronger. Aims and outcomes To develop skills of literary comprehension and appreciation to examine and discuss form and content, showing: comprehension of the thoughts and feelings conveyed in the texts To develop critical appreciation of the language, technique and style through which these thoughts and feelings are expressed to demonstrate the ability to compare and contrast literary or creative texts in terms of themes, characterization, language, technique and style to show awareness of the connections between literary or creative texts and other cultural media (such as paintings, sculpture, photography) to apply some of the techniques learnt to one’s own creative work to develop an interest in following up references and allusions, and the ability to establish interconnections within and between texts to develop a keen interest in reading and viewing literary or creative works to gain pleasure and enjoyment from reading and viewing literary or creative works and to appreciate the beauty, flexibility and play of language at its best to gain increased awareness of human relationships and the interaction between the individual and society and to empathize with others. to appreciate different cultures, attitudes and belief systems. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 10 Literary criticism Strictly defined, “literary criticism” refers to the act of interpreting and studying literature. As a literary critic you have to evaluate the worth or quality of a piece of literature as well as to argue on behalf of an interpretation or understanding of the particular meaning(s) of literary texts. The task is to explain and attempt to reach a critical understanding of what literary texts mean in terms of their aesthetic, as well as social, political, and cultural statements and suggestions. As a literary critic you do more than simply discuss or evaluate the importance of a literary text; rather, you must seek to reach a logical and reasonable understanding of not only what a text’s author intends for it to mean but, also, what different cultures and ideologies render it capable of meaning. NOTE: It is only when students develop the ability to read and view critically and independently that they apply the ability to select and appreciate literature outside the classroom. “A perfect Judge will read each Work of Wit With the same Spirit that its Author writ, Survey the Whole, nor seek slight Faults to find” Alexander Pope A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 11 Guidelines for Reading Literature During the First reading Determine what is happening, where, what, who is involved, major characters Make a record of your reactions and responses Describe characterizations, events, techniques and ideas During the Second reading Trace developing patterns Write expanded notes about characters, situations, actions Write paragraph describing your reactions and thoughts Write down questions that arise as you read A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 12 Plot and Structure Plot is the sequence or order of events that take place in a story, or in a work of art. It is the structure of the story. Aristotle in poetics says: a plot must have, a beginning, middle, and an end, and the events of the plot must causally relate to one another as being either necessary or probable. The plot has to draw the reader into the character’s lives and helps the reader understand the choices that the characters make. The plot may be related in different orders: for example, Chronological/Linear (natural order); in media res (in the middle of things); or begin in the present and return to the past (for example, through the use of flashbacks). A plot’s structure is the way in which the story elements are arranged. Some structural elements of plots Exposition and/or Rising Action: how readers learn details previous to the story’s beginning, and then continues toward the climax of the story Diversion: any episode prior to the climax that does not contribute directly to the rising action or add to the suspense (example: comic relief in tragedy). Suspense: A feeling of uncertainty as to the outcome, used to build interest and excitement on the part of the audience. Related to this is ‘The Hook’ which refers to the part of the text that gets people interested in what you have to say. Hooks are well-placed at the beginning but can be found elsewhere in the plotting as well. Back-story: this is the background story of the characters. Characters have a past and there are usually important events that have taken place prior to the story itself, and sometimes the past will drive the action in the present. This is back-story, also known as what- happened-before-this-story-took place. Sub-plots: A story within a story… Sub-plots are the little things going on in the background that often make the main plot more interesting by giving the reader more to think about. These little events are especially effective when they tie in seamlessly with the main plot. Exposition: this is the information needed to understand a story. Complication: this is the catalyst that begins the major conflict. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 13 Conflict: struggle between or among characters or entities; how characters deal with conflict helps reader interpret or reconcile characters. It also refers to the internal or external struggle between opposing forces, ideas, or interests that creates dramatic tension Climax: this is the turning point in the story that occurs when characters try to resolve the complication. Climax is usually the moment of greatest emotional intensity. Dénouement (“unknotting”) or Falling Action or Resolution: this is the set of events that bring the story to a close.This is where the unravelling of tensions occurs; where most questions answered; and where characters are left to deal with consequences of conflicts. A plot may take one the following types of endings: Happy ending – everything ends well and all is resolved. Tragic or Unhappy ending – many events in life do not end pleasantly, so literary fiction that emulates life is more apt to have an unhappy conclusion, forcing the reader to contemplate the complexities of life. Open-ended/Lack of Resolution/Partial Resolution/Indeterminate – no definitive ending or resolution occurs, leaving the reader to ponder the issued raised by the story. NOTE The ‘Freytag Pyramid’ is used as a basis for analysing plot. Climax Exposition Resolution Part of plot is how the author chooses to structure time. Many times an author opts to tell a story out of chronological sequence, perhaps with flashbacks or foreshadowing (which offers hints to future events. Examples of plots: The Chinese classical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest works of Chinese literature tells the story of a tumultuous period in Chinese history, the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. In the final years of the Han dynasty, A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 14 treacherous eunuchs and incompetent officials deceive the emperor and persecute good ministers, and the government becomes extremely corrupt on all levels, leading to widespread deterioration of the empire and the Yellow Scarves rebellion. As a result of the rebellion (which led to the weakening of the central government), and a disgruntled peasantry suffering from natural disasters the military leaders and local warlords became more powerful eventually leading to the collapse of the Dynasty. Three Kingdoms (part historical, part legend and part myth) recounts the fighting and scheming of the feudal lords and their retainers after the fall of the Han Dynasty under Emperor Ling, due to the rebellion. It then tells of the Empire falling and being divided into the three kingdoms – Shu, Wei, and Wu – and the reunification of the empire by the Jin Dynasty. The first eighty chapters describe in detail the crisis that causes the end of a four-hundred- year dynasty. For example we learn that, in the final years of the Han Dynasty, those who held the highest positions in the military were not necessarily men of merit but men with the correct bloodline. That the main factor to the downfall of the dynasty was jealousy and rivalry between the ruling eunuchs, families and clans. That in the period before the downfall of the Dynasty there were many natural disasters. Later the book tells of how three warlord states emerged victorious from this age of anarchy, establishing their boundaries from their conquered lands. The novel also contains numerous secondary stories. The other example is Franz Kafka’s The Trial The plot starts when an ambitious, young bank official named Josef K. is arrested by two officers from unspecified state agency, although he has done nothing wrong. K. is indignant and outraged. Throughout the ‘trial’ the nature of his crime revealed to him. After his release K. receives a phone call summoning him to court on the following. However, no time is set, but the address is given to him, which turns out to be an airless, shabby, and crowded room located in a huge tenement building. Although ‘K’ has no idea what he is charged with, or who authorized the process he makes a long speech denigrating the whole process. Later K. is visited by his uncle who introduces him to a lawyer. The lawyer only tells him that he can prepare a brief for K., but since the charge is unknown and the rules are unknown, it A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 15 is difficult work. He informs K. that the brief may never be read, but it is still very important. He then confesses that his most important task is to deal with powerful court officials behind the scenes. In K.’s numerous visits to the lawyer the lawyer impresses on him how dire his situation is and tells many stories of other hopeless clients and of his behind-the-scenes efforts on behalf of these clients. He also brags about his many connections. Still, the brief is never complete. Meanwhile K.’s work at the bank deteriorates as he is consumed with worry about his case. One year later, two officers come again for K. They take him to a quarry outside of town and kill him in the name of the Law. In Alexander Dumas’ The Count of Monte Christo In the plot the lead character, Edmond Dantes is betrayed during the prime of his life and career by the jealousy of his friend who wanted to marry the girl that Dantes was engaged to. The magistrate is corrupted and imprisons Dantes on tramped up charges. While in prison, in the deepest dungeons of the Chateau D’If, he was determined to escape and began digging a tunnel in hopes that it would lead to freedom. During this exercise, he met an elderly inmate named Abbe Faria ‘the mad priest’ whose attempt to dig his way to his salvation had led him only to Edmond’s cell. The old man taught Edmond history, economics, mathematics, and languages and many other subjects. In Edmond’s fourteenth year, Faria became mortally ill. Since the two had become like father and son, the wise elder told Edmond the location of a massive buried fortune. When Faria died his body was placed in a burial sac and left in his cell. Edmond seized the opportunity of escaping, he replaced Faria’s corpse with himself. The Jailers threw the sack into the sea and that way Dantes escaped. He then found himself in Monte Christo, after recovering the hidden treasure, where he planned and executed revenge against those who had put him in prison, including the corrupt magistrate. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 16 Setting In simple terms, setting is the time, place, and social reality within which a story takes place. The setting may be a time in history, a geographical place, or an imaginary location. In stories in which place is the important element of setting, the writer usually provides specific, sometimes extended descriptions of the place. In other stories, the treatment of time is more significant than place. In literature, time functions in three different ways: the period of time in which a story takes place, how much time passes during the plot of the story, and how the passage of that time is perceived by the lead character (such as, if he or she is having fun time goes quickly, but if he/she is lonely or worried time drags). Just as important as time and place, is the social context of a story, which is often a product of time and place. We must understand enough about the society— its customs, values, possibilities— to know what constraints the characters face, what they are free to choose, and what they may not do. NOTE You have to understand where the text is based, in which period of time, in which society and at which level in that society if you are to interpret correctly the other elements in the story. Examples of setting: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander takes place during the years after the decline of Napoleon’s empire. The story begins in 1815 and ends in 1844. The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. The setting of the novel is all throughout Europe; the novel begins in Marseilles (France), but then leads to other locations such as Monte Cristo (France), Rome (Italy), and Constantinople (Greece). A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 17 Theme The theme of a literary text can be said to be the Message of the text, the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. The ‘Universal’ means that although the particulars of the readers experience may be different from the details of the story, the reader can connect with the general underlying truths behind the story. The theme can also be described in terms of a moral, or message, or lesson that the reader can gain from the piece of literature. The Theme is rarely stated in the text instead, as a reader you must usually consider the plot, characters, and setting to infer the theme. Theme can be found in any of these: Direct statements by the authorial voice. Themes are presented in thoughts and conversations of the main characters. Direct statements by a first-person speaker or dramatic statements by characters. Authors put words in their character’s mouths only for good reasons. One of these is to develop a story’s themes. Look for thoughts that are repeated throughout the story. characters who stand for ideas. The main character usually illustrates the most important theme of the story. A good way to get at this theme is to ask yourself the question, what does the main character learn in the course of the story? The work itself. The actions or events in the story are used to suggest theme. People naturally express ideas and feelings through their actions. One thing authors think about is what an action will ‘say’. In other words, how will the action express an idea or theme? Further suggestions on finding the theme: Check out the title. Sometimes the title tells you a lot about the theme. Notice repeating patterns and symbols. Sometimes these lead you to the theme. Identify the figurative language used and the allusions that are made throughout the story. Understand the details and particulars of the story. Ask yourself if they may have a greater meaning. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 18 Examples of Themes Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World has the following themes: The use of technology to control society, the incompatibility of happiness and truth, the dangers of an all-powerful state. George Orwell’s 1984 themes include: The Dangers of Totalitarianism Psychological Manipulation by those in power Control of Information and History by despotic governments Language as Mind Control Similarly, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s, The Brothers Karamazov has the following themes: The Conflict between Faith and Doubt. Dostoevsky also sets characters in opposing, contrasting roles, and he pits ideas and philosophies against each other The Pervasiveness of Moral Responsibility. Dostoevsky states that every man is partially responsible for the sins of his fellow man. The Burden of Free Will. The novel challenges the notion that in the absence of moral laws, man is free to do whatever he chooses. Lastly, Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country tackles the following theme: Conflict between the Urban and Rural Society. Paton clearly places his sympathy on the qualities of rural life: rural society comes to represent family, religion, morality and stability, while the chaotic urban life that Paton describes represents the breaking up of families, hedonism, and atheism. NOTE The moral of a fable is its theme. The theme of a parable is its teaching. The theme of a piece of fiction is its view about life and how people behave. Theme is often confused with other literary elements such as Plot or Topic (or Subject). However, the Theme of a piece of literature is a message about people, life, and the world we live in that the author wants the reader to understand. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 19 The Topic, on the other hand, is the main idea or gist of the story. Exercise Read Wole Soyinka’s A Telephone Conversation and identify its’ theme. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 20 Characterisation Characters: Characters are the people (sometimes animals or ideas) portrayed by the actors in the text. It is the characters who move the action, or plot, of the play forward. Characters can be described physically, intellectually, emotionally, socially, or philosophically. Character Analysis This is done to identify the sort of characters being portrayed in the text. The following can assist you in your analysis: 1. The speech and sayings of the person, noting that: what he or she says need not be taken at face value; the person may be hypocritical, or self-deceived, or biased). 2. The actions of the person. 3. The opinion of others (including the narrator of the story) about the person. 4. The actions of others in relation to the person (their actions may help to indicate what the person could do but does not do). 5. The appearance of the person including; face, body, clothes (these may help to convey the personality, or they may in some measure help to disguise it). 6. Determine the character’s appearance, personality, and ethical qualities. 7. Sometimes the environment (setting) even functions as a character. Types of characters Main Characters These characters are almost always round or three-dimensional characters. They have good and bad qualities. Over the course of the story their goals, ambitions and values change. A dynamic character grows or progresses to a higher level of understanding in the course of the story. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 21 Minor Characters These characters are almost always flat or two-dimensional characters. They have only one or two striking qualities. Their predominant quality is not balanced by an opposite quality. They are usually all good or all bad. Such characters can be interesting or amusing in their own right, but they lack depth. Flat characters are sometimes referred to as ‘static’ characters because they do not change in the course of the story. Examples of characters The Count of Monte Christo Protagonist- that is, the lead or main character in the novel is Edmond Dantes. Antagonist – that is, the character who operates in opposition to the lead character, in the novel is Fernand who fell in love with Edmond's fiancée. He plots for Edmond to be jailed. Round/Complex character – interesting character, can’t be ‘second guessed’ a good example is; Abbe Faria, he was a priest, a scholar and a political prisoner. While in prison he had made escape tools, had written a treatise and in stills vengeance in his young protégé. He also had knowledge of where lots of treasure was hidden. Flat/Simple character – this are characters who are not very interesting. An example could be Eugenie Danglars who was originally set to marry Albert de Morcerf. She later runs away with her best friend Louise d’Armilly. Dynamic character – this is a character who evolves as the story progresses. A good example is Mercedes or Countess de Morcerf, the fiancé of Edmond Dantes, who later married Ferdinard after caring for Dantes’ father until his death. She also kept the secret of her son’s true father to herself only revealing it when the son challenges Monte Cristo to a duel for having destroyed his father’s honour. Static character – stays the same throughout the story an example is Madame Heloise de Villefort who keeps on poisoning people, in order to secure their inheritance, throughout the story. At the end she poisons herself. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 22 Narrator Refers to speaker, narrator, persona or voice created by the author to tell the story This may be in, First person = I, we Second person = You (uncommon) Third person = He, she, they (most common) The Point of view of the narrator may be: Dramatic/objective = strictly reporting Omniscient = all-knowing Limited omniscient = some insight The narrator is the person who tells the story and the story is told from his/her point of view. Often the narrator is simply a voice that tells the story in the third person (someone we do not know and who takes no part in the story). This type of narrator has no personality, but has the power to know the minds and hearts of all the characters in the novel. A third person narrator like this knows everything about the characters and events in the novel. They can follow characters into their homes and into their thoughts, and they are present to describe all the events that take place. Sometimes the narrator has the voice of the author and may comment on the action or characters. They may even speak directly to the reader. Examples of Narrators In Two Thousand Seasons Kwame Armar employees the services of an omniscient narrator: “…Killers who from the desert brought us in the aftermath of Anoa’s prophecy a choice of deaths; death of our spirit, the clogging destruction of our minds with their senseless religion of slavery. In answer to our refusal of this proffered death of our soul they brought our bodies slaughter. Killers who from the sea came holding death of the body in their right, the mind’s annihilation in their left, shrieking fables of a white god and son unconceived, exemplar of their proffered, senseless suffering.” Another narrator (Anoa) poses the rhetorical question “Slavery-do you know what that is?” then goes on and provides the answer herself: A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 23 Ah, you will know it. Two thousand seasons, a thousand going into it, a second thousand crawling maimed from it, will teach you everything about enslavement, the destruction of souls, killing the bodies, the infusion of violence into every breath, every drop, every morsel of sustaining air, your water, food. Another narrator Isanusi says: “The first wish of the white men is this: they have our land, of the beauty...These metals it is the white men’s wish to take away from us... This is the white men’s second wish,” Isanusi continues “They have been told of the forest here and of the grasslands; of the birds and animals we have roaming the land. It is the white men’s wish to have us help them kill these birds for food. The elephants they say... There is a third wish the white men have made. Land they want from us, but not the way guests ask the use of land.” Later the narrator continues: “It is our destiny not to flee the predator’s thrust, not to seek hiding places from the destroyers left triumphant; but turn against the destroyers, and bending all our soul against their thrust, turning every stratagem of the destroyers against themselves, destroy them. That is our destiny: to end destruction utterly; to begin the highest, the profoundest work of creation, the work that is inseparable from our way, inseparable from the way.” Further examples of narrator Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has two different first person narrators, an anonymous frame narrator (a member of the company who hears Marlow tell his story), and then Marlow himself. Rider Haggard’s Montezuma’s Daughter, is narrated by in the first person Thomas Wingfield. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World on its part uses a Third-person omniscient narrator, primarily from the point of view of Bernar or John but also from the point of view of Lenina, Helmholtz Watson, and Mustapha Mond. In the Greek epic the Iliad Homer is the narrator. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 24 ‘Consciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in bits. Such words as ‘chain’ or ‘train’ do not describe it fitly as it presents itself in the first instant. It is nothing jointed: it flows. A ‘river’ or a ‘stream’ are the metaphors by which it is most naturally described. In talking of it hereafter, let as call it the stream of thought, of consciousness, or of subjective life.” William James, Principles of Psychology, (1890) Tone and Style The Tone is the methods by which writers and speakers reveal their attitudes or feelings towards their audience, characters, narrator, theme, or subject. Tone can be found or expressed by diction, word choice, syntax, metaphors, word arrangement, imagery, appeal to senses, and even words that seem unrelated in context. Writer’s tone can be serious, sarcastic, tongue-in- cheek, solemn, objective, satirical, solemn, commanding, affectionate, hostile etc. The Style is ways in which writers assemble words to tell the story, to develop an argument, dramatize the play, and compose the poem. In other words style is the choice of words in the service of content. 1 The Essential aspect of style is diction. Diction refers to the word choices a writer makes. A writer’s diction may be said to be either, formal (which uses standard or elegant words), neutral (which uses everyday standard vocabulary)or informal (which uses colloquial language or slang). Stream of consciousness This is a style of writing in which the thoughts and feelings of the writer are recorded as they occur. Stream of consciousness writing allows an author to create the illusion that the reader is privy to sensations and uncensored thoughts within a character’s mind before the character has ordered them into any rational form or shape, thereby gaining direct, intimate and unmediated access to their personal, private “thoughts.” 2 1 Roberts and Jacobs, Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing 2 Dr. Ian Ellis-Jones, James Joyce: Master of Literary Mindfulness A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 25 Example: Why Are We So Blest? By Kwame Armah is an example of stream of consciousness. The author adopts a broken narrative strategy which reflects the minds of the three protagonists that are in a state of constant agitation. Narrated in fragments, their lives of dissipation and inaction run as in a whirlpool. The reader is constantly compelled to go forward and backward in order to fill gaps, reconstruct a chronology of events, and make a whole of the bits and pieces of their biographical information scattered haphazardly through the story. NOTE Resist the impulse to assess a work after you first read it, even if you have diligently. A thorough critical analysis cannot be accomplished until you’ve reread the work. Critical Thinking – analysis of any work of literature – requires a thorough investigation of the “who, where, when, what, why, etc.” of the work. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 26 Exercise: Choose one literary work novel from any of those which have been given as examples in this section and critically read it. Then attempt the following criticism. How would you describe the choice of words and their arrangement (the style) in this work? Does the author call attention to the way he or she uses words, or is the style inconspicuous? What are the various connotations (shades of meaning, or emotional suggestions) of key words in this work? If dialect or colloquial speech is used, what is its effect? Is the level of language appropriate for the speaker or characters in the work? Are there statements or actions in this work that are presented ironically (that is, there is a discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between what is said and what is intended)? Is the style consistent throughout the work or does it shift to a different style (more formal or less formal, for example)? Is the style suitable for the subject and theme of the work? Does it contribute to the meaning of the whole or hinder the reader’s understanding? If you are reading a translation of a foreign work of literature or a modern translation of an older English work, what limitations or difficulties are created by your lack of contact with the author’s original language? ************************************************************************************** The next section deals with different literary techniques that writers employ to convey their meaning and to achieve their purpose. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 27 “There is a generally accepted division of language into literal and figurative. Language that is literal uses words in their accepted and accurate meaning. Figurative language employs words with meanings not strictly literal, but varying from their ordinary definitions. The use of figurative language falls under the ambit of a writer’s personal style. This is the subject of our next study.” Composition and Literature By W. F. (William Franklin “Proper words in proper places; make the true definition of style.” Jonathan Swift “The final cause of speech is to get an idea as exactly as possible out of one mind into another. Its formal cause therefore is such choice and disposition of words as will achieve this end most economically.” G. M. Young Figurative Language “Content helps to determine style. And one of the best ways to palm off inferior goods is to wrap them up in a respectable-looking package.” Anon Figurative Language is any expression that stretches the meaning of words beyond their literal meaning. Figurative language is not intended to be interpreted in a literal sense. It is language that appeals to the imagination and to the emotions. It uses devices such as similes, metaphors, analogies, irony and to describe something. Through use of such figures of speech the writer describes things through the use of unusual comparisons, for effect, interest and to make things clearer. The opposite if figurative language is literal language which means exactly what it says. To speak literally all the time would make language dull and limit your abilities to express your emotions. Figurative language provides new ways of looking at the world. It adds clearness to our speech; it gives it more force; or it imparts to literature beauty. ‘Figurative language’ is often used in speaking and writing to express ideas and emotions, and to affect the views and attitudes of others. There are many reasons why you can choose to use figurative language: to add colour, drama, persuasiveness, beauty, clarity, and wit. You can also use it to conceal your real feelings. Without Figures of Speech your writing would be plodding and boring. Similarly, some complex ideas can be explained better through the use of figurative language. Since use of figurative language is a matter of style, learning to use figurative language is an important step in developing a mature and rich writing style. Style in English Literature is the way in which a work is presented through the voice of the author. Style, as the word is commonly understood, is the choice and arrangement of words A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 28 in sentences and of sentences in paragraphs in a way that is effective in expressing your meaning and convincing your readers or hearers. In short, your Style is created by the words you choose and the way you structure those words into a sentence. It is important to understand that, style is not fancy or pompous language added to plain statements of fact. A good style is one that is effective, and a bad style is one which fails of doing what the writer wishes to do. Henry David Thoreau was spot on when he said: “Who cares what a man’s style is, so it is intelligible, as intelligible as his thought. Literally and really, the style is no more than the stylus, the pen he writes with; and it is not worth scraping and polishing, and gilding, unless it will write his thoughts the better for it. It is something for use, and not to look at.” There are as many ways of expressing ideas as there are ways of combining words and as many styles as there are writers. Style is just as essential to a piece of work as plot, setting, theme, and characters. Now let us look at different figures of speech. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 29 Comparison The principal figures based upon comparison are simile, metaphor, epithet, personification, apostrophe, allegory, and analogy. Simile A simile is one of the simplest figures of speech. It is nothing more or less than a direct comparison by the use of such words as like and as. The simile is used to help readers understand something new by comparing it with something familiar. In other words when a writer compares one thing with another he confers the qualities of the image upon the subject. In addition, writers use similes to attract the attention of their readers and appeal directly to familiar experiences, therefore of making it easier for their imagination to comprehend what is being communicated. Example: Marriage is like a pair of scissors, so joined that they cannot be separated, often moving in opposite directions, yet always punishing anyone who comes between them. Examples of usage: “Now an army may be likened to water, for just as flowing water avoids the heights and hastens to the lowlands, so an army avoids strength and strikes weakness” Sun Tzu The Art of War “They bend their tongue like their bow; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know Me, declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:3.) “We all, like sheep have gone astray…” (Isaiah 53:6). “As Unto the bow the cord is, So unto the man is woman; Though she bends him, she obeys him, Though she draws him, yet she follows: Useless each without the other.” The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 30 “When I have stopped reading, ideas from the words stay stuck in my mind, like the sweet smell of butter perfuming my fingers long after the popcorn is finished.” (I love the look of words, Maya Angelo) “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion” (Proverbs. 11:22) “When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely march, majestic as the forest; in riding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As unfathomable as the clouds; move like a thunderbolt.” (The Art of War, Sun Tzu) A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 31 But yet, if we would speak of things as they are, we must allow, that all the art of rhetoric, besides order and clearness, all the artificial and figurative application of words eloquence has invented, are for nothing else but to insinuate wrong ideas, move the passions, and thereby mislead the judgment; and so indeed are perfect cheats: and therefore, however laudable or allowable oratory may render them in harangues and popular addresses, they are certainly, in all discourses that pretend to inform or instruct, wholly to be avoided; and where truth and knowledge are concerned, cannot but be thought a great fault, either of the language or the person that makes use of them. John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding Metaphor “The greatest thing by far is to be master of metaphor.” Aristotle poetics “Look at almost any passage, and you’ll find that a paragraph has five or six metaphors in it. It’s not that the speaker is trying to be poetic, it’s just that that’s the way language works.” Steven Pinker author The metaphor is the commonest figure of speech; indeed, it is so common that figurative language is often called metaphorical language. A metaphor is an implied comparison or assumed comparison between things essentially different, but having some common quality. Many words in English language have their roots in metaphor. In metaphor the words ‘like’ and ‘as’ are no not used. However, the construction of the sentence is such that the comparison is taken for granted and the thing to which comparison is made is treated as if it were the thing itself. Metaphors enable a writer to convey briefly and vividly ideas that might otherwise need tedious exposition. By use of familiar images the complex is made comprehensible. It cannot be overemphasised that in practice we always use metaphor to give expression to abstract concepts. Example of metaphors: Procrastination is the thief of time; Year after year it steals, till all are fled, And to the mercies of a moment leaves A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 32 No man is an island No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main By John Donne, Night Thoughts Be wise to-day; ’tis madness to defer; Next day the fatal precedent will plead. Thus on, till wisdom is push’d out of life. Edward Young (1681-1765) Invictus Out of the night that covers me, Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul. In the fell clutch of circumstance I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance My head is bloody, but unbowed. Beyond this place of wrath and tears Looms but the Horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years Finds, and shall find, me unafraid. It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. William Ernest Henley The vast concerns of an eternal scene. If not so frequent, would not this be strange? That 'tis so frequent, this is stranger still. John Milton’s Paradise lost makes an extensive use of metaphors, so does Dante’s Divine comedy. An extended metaphor is one where there is a single main subject to which additional subjects and metaphors are applied The Caged Bird by Maya Angelou and Invictus are good examples of extended metaphors. NOTE Metaphors are crucial to our everyday thinking; they are used as shorthand for complex ideas. However, care should be taken, so that they are not taken too literally and thus end up being a hindrance to understanding rather than a help. Do not get into trouble by using a “mixed metaphor”, that is using two comparisons in the same sentence or paragraph, one of which contradicts the other. There are a number of figures that express emotion by simply changing the normal order of the sentence. Among these are inversion, exclamation, interrogation, climax, and irony. We experience reality metaphorically. What we know, we know metaphorically. In fact, the ‘fixed truths’ of our culture are nothing but metaphorical understandings that have become conventionalised to the point where the original metaphor has been forgotten. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 33 Epithet An epithet is a word, generally a descriptive adjective or a noun, used, not to give information, but to impart strength or ornament to diction. It is like a shortened metaphor. In literature, an epithet is a literary device that describes a person, place or thing in such a way that it brings out or makes prominent the typical characteristic of the person, place or thing described. It is very often found in impassioned prose or verse. Notice that in each epithet there is a comparison; that the figure is based on likeness. The function of an epithet is to attract full attention of the readers. Examples of usage: Leo Tolstoy’s ‘Anna Karenina’ “Just think! This whole world of ours is only a speck of mildew sprung up on a tiny planet, yet we think we can have something great - thoughts, actions! They are all but grains of sand” Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney’s ‘Little Things’ Little drops of water, Little grains of sand, Make the mighty ocean And the pleasant land. … Little deeds of kindness, Little words of love, Help to make earth happy Like the Heaven above. Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad are full of epithets. The writer describes vividly the characters, places and things in his literary pieces through epithets. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 34 Allegory An Allegory is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events. The purpose of allegories is normally to teach a certain lesson or explain a complex idea. Generally, in an allegory material things and circumstances are used to illustrate and enforce high spiritual truths. It can be said to be a continued personification. Unlike symbolism an allegory is a complete narrative which involves characters, and events that stand for an abstract idea or an event. A symbol, on the other hand, is an object that stands for another object giving it a particular meaning. Writers use allegory to add different layers of meanings to their works. Thus, for instance an allegorical story might be enjoyed by both children and adults but at different levels, each enjoying it from their own understanding. Examples of allegories: Plato’s Cave In Plato’s Republic Socrates gives the following allegory: Imagine this: People live under the earth in a cave like dwelling. Stretching a long way up toward the daylight is its entrance, toward which the entire cave is gathered. The people have been in this dwelling since childhood, shackled by the legs and neck. Thus they stay in the same place so that there is only one thing for them to look that: whatever they encounter in front of their faces. But because they are shackled, they are unable to turn their heads around. Some light, of course, is allowed them, namely from a fire that casts its glow toward them from behind them, being above and at some distance. Between the fire and those who are shackled [i.e., behind their backs] there runs a walkway at a certain height. Imagine that a low wall has been built the length of the walkway, like the low curtain that puppeteers put up, over which they show their puppets. So now imagine that all along this low wall people are carrying all sorts of things that reach up higher than the wall: statues and other carvings made of stone or wood and many other artefacts that people have made. As you would expect, some are talking to each other [as they walk along] and some are silent. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 35 What do you think? From the beginning people like this have never managed, be they on their own or with the help of others, to see anything besides the shadows that are, continually, projected on the wall opposite them by the glow of the fire. And what do they see of the things that are being carried along [behind them]? Do they not see simply these [namely the shadows]? Now if they were able to say something about what they saw and to talk it over, do you not think that they would regard that which they saw on the wall as beings? And now what if this prison also had an echo reverberating off the wall in front of them [the one that they always and only look at]? Whenever one of the people walking behind those in chains (and carrying the things) would make a sound, do you think the prisoners would imagine that the speaker were anyone other than the shadow passing in front of them? All in all …those who were chained would consider nothing besides the shadows of the artefacts as the unhidden. Personification Sometimes the metaphor consists in speaking of inanimate things or animals as if they were human. Thus human qualities are given to an animal, an object, or an idea. This is called the figure of personification. One of the best allegorical works which uses personification is George Orwell’s Animal farm. Examples of usage: Kahlil Gibran on Love When love beckons to you, follow him, Though his ways are hard and steep. And when his wings enfold you yield to him, Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you. And when he speaks to you believe in him, Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden. The following poem by David Diop also employs the literary device of personification. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 36 The Fiftieth Birthday of Agassiz by Longfellow. “And Nature, the old Nurse, took The child upon her knee, Saying, ‘Here is a story book Thy father hath written for thee. “‘Come wander with me,’ she said, ‘Into regions yet untrod, And read what is still unread In the Manuscripts of God.’ “And he wandered away and away With Nature, the dear old Nurse, Who sang to him night and day The rhymes of the universe.” The Honest Dealer by Anon All of us know that money talks Throughout our glorious nation; But money whispers low compared to Business reputation: Pull off no slick nor cooked deal For pennies or for dollars God! Think of all the trade You’ll lose if just one sucker hollers! Africa by David Diop Africa, my Africa Africa of proud warriors in ancestral savannahs Africa of whom my grandmother sings On the banks of the distant river I have never known you But your blood flows in my veins Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields The blood of your sweat The sweat of your work The work of your slavery Africa, tell me Africa Is this you, this back that is bent This back that breaks Under the weight of humiliation This back trembling with red scars And saying yes to the whip under the midday sun But a grave voice answers me Impetuous child that tree, young and strong That tree over there Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers That is your Africa springing up anew Springing up patiently, obstinately Whose fruit bit by bit acquires The bitter taste of liberty. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 37 The City of God “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” “Justice removed, then, what are kingdoms but great bands of robbers? What are bands of robbers themselves but little kingdoms? The band itself is made up of men; it is governed by authority of a ruler; it is bound together by a pact of association; and the loot is divided according to agreed law. If, by the constant addition of desperate men, this scourge grows to such a size that it acquires territory, establishes a seat of government, occupies cities and subjugates peoples, it assumes the name of kingdom more openly. For this name is now manifestly conferred upon it not by the removal of greed, but by the addition of impunity. It was a pertinent and true answer which was made to Alexander the Great by a pirate whom he had seized. When the king asked him what he meant by infesting the sea, the pirate defiantly replied: “The same as you do when you infest the whole world; but because I do it with a little ship I am called a robber, and because you do it with a great fleet, you are an emperor’. Augustine of Hippo, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” “Justice removed, then, what are kingdoms but great Analogies “I especially love analogies, my most faithful masters, acquainted with all the secrets of nature” Johannes Kepler Analogy is comparison of two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one. While metaphors and analogy often overlap, the metaphor is generally a more artistic likening, done briefly for effect and emphasis, while analogy serves the more practical end of explaining a thought process or a line of reasoning or the abstract in terms of the concrete, and may therefore be more extended. When we think of analogies, we often imagine cases where drawing on complex concepts from one domain helps to extend our comprehension of concepts from a different domain. As such, the use of analogies is often associated with creativity and problem-solving. Examples of Usage Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act V: ‘Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player That struts and frets his hour upon the stage And then is heard no more. It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.’ NOTE Analogical reasoning is fundamental to human thought and expression. Analogous language can be particularly useful in A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 38 Sydney J. Harris, What True Education Should Do: ‘Pupils are more like oysters than sausages. The job of teaching is not to stuff them and then seal them up, but to help them open and reveal the riches within. There are pearls in each of us, if only we knew how to cultivate them with ardour and persistence.’ Henry Van Dyke: Time is too slow for those who wait Too swift for those who fear, Too long for those who grieve Too short for those who love, time is Eternity. Saint Augustine, Bad Company “Bad company is like a nail driven into a post, which, after the first and second blow, may be drawn out with little difficulty; but being once driven up to the head, the pincers cannot take hold to draw it out, but which can only be done by the destruction of the wood.” explain scientific and mathematical concepts which may be hard to explain in ordinary language. Sometimes the point of an analogical argument is just to persuade people to take an idea seriously. Therefore, analogies provide plausible conjectures, not infallible deductions. Inferences generated by analogy must always be tested to see if they’re actually helpful. To propose an analogy, or simply to understand one, we must take a kind of mental leap. Like a spark that jumps across a gap, an idea from the source analog is carried over to the target. The two analogs may initially seem unrelated, but the act of making an analogy creates connections between them. All the above figures of speech are varieties of metaphor. In them there is always an implied, if not an expressed, comparison. Effect Humour “People who never love Can never be taken seriously” Seneca “Wisdom sometimes is seen in folly” Horace Humour is what makes us laugh. There are two very different kinds of humour: one producing comedy, the other producing satire. Comic humour presents the absurdity of life without judgement, whereas satiric humour is directed to attacking the follies or vices of mankind. Humour works chiefly by stressing the contrast between the ideal and the real. Humour is a thing that can be cultivated, even learned; and it is one of the most important things in the whole art of writing. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 39 The master of humour can draw upon the riches of his own mind, and thereby embellish and enliven any subject he may desire to write upon. Ridicule Humour used to win one at the expense of another is called satire and sarcasm. Ridicule, satire, and sarcasm are suitable for use against an open enemy, such as a political opponent, against a public nuisance which ought to be suppressed, or in behalf of higher ideals and standards. The one thing that makes this style of little effect is anger or morbid intensity. While some thing or someone is attacked, perhaps with ferocity, results are to be obtained by winning the reader. Good-natured humour is an essential element in really successful ridicule. If intense or morbid hatred or temper is allowed to dominate, the reader is repulsed and made distrustful, and turns away without being affected in the desired way at all. Example of usage The following, which opens a little known essay of Edgar Allan Poe’s, is one of the most perfect examples of simple ridicule in the English language. NOTE Humour, and especially good humour, is indispensable to the most successful works of fiction. Above all other kinds of writing, fiction must win the heart of the reader. And this requires that the heart of the writer should be tender and sympathetic. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 40 (Satire) has a social function that places it on a level with Religion, Law, and Government. Though its tone may be light, its function is wholly serious; and as for passion, it is actuated by a fierce and strenuous moral and intellectual enthusiasm, the passion for order, justice, and beauty. . . . It keeps the public conscience alert, it exposes absurdity for what it is and makes those inclined to adopt foolish or tasteless fashions aware that they are ridiculous. It shows vice its own feature and makes it odious to others. . . . Satire is an aristocratic art. It is not afraid to tell unpopular truths, but its habit is to tell them with the assurance and detachment of ridicule, and ridicule is the weapon of contempt... Alexander Pope Satire “He that hath a satirical vein, as maketh others afraid of his wit, so he need be afraid of others’ memory.” Lord Bacon Satire is a literary technique of writing or art (for example cartoons) which principally ridicules its subject (individuals, organisations, states etc.) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. A satire, either in prose or in poetic form, holds prevailing vices or follies up to ridicule: it employs humour and wit to criticize human institutions or humanity itself, in order that they might be remodelled or improved. Satirists’ main motivation is to inspire change through laughter rather than to tear down. As a writer you should refrain from using abusive language in the guise of satire. In the words of Roscommon: “You must not think, that a satiric style allows of scandalous and brutish words.” The formula for satire is one of honey and medicine. 3 The best satire does not seek to do harm or damage by its ridicule, unless we speak of damage to the structure of vice, but rather it seeks to create a shock of recognition and to make vice repulsive so that the vice will be expunged from the person or society under attack or from the person or society intended to benefit by the attack (regardless of who is the immediate object of attack); whenever possible this shock of recognition is to be conveyed through laughter or wit. Far from being simply destructive, unhelpful and malicious, 3 Robert Harris ‘The Purpose and Method of Satire’ A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 41 As with a moral View design’d To cure the Vices of Mankind: His vein, ironically grave, Expos'd the Fool, and lash'd the Knave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yet, Malice never was his Aim; He lash’d the Vice but spar’d the Name. No Individual could resent, Where Thousands equally were meant. His Satyr points at no Defect, But what all Mortals may correct… ” Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift Perfection, of a kind, was what he was after, And the poetry he invented was easy to understand; He knew human folly like the back of his hand, And was greatly interested in armies and fleets; When he laughed, respectable senators burst with laughter, And when he cried the little children died in the street. W. H. Auden verse in ‘Epitaph on a Tyrant’. satire purpose is correction. This view was held by Jonathan Swift, one of the best satirists in English Literature. Examples of usage: Mark Twain’s in Huckleberry Finn uses satire as a tool to share his ideas and opinion on slavery, human nature. Jonathan Swift’s Gullivers Travels, A tale in a tub and a Modest Proposal are excellent examples of satirical works. For example In Part Four of Gulliver’s Travels; the character of Gulliver is that of a patriotic Englishman, decent and practical but at the same time stupid and gullible (as his name suggests). Wherever Gulliver goes, he is always eager to show his devotion to his country and benefits of civilization to other less enlightened peoples. In the fourth voyage, the land of Houyhnhnms, a highly civilized race of horses who keep their savage and filthy domestic animals called Yahoos, which bear strange resemblances to human beings, he is surprised at his host's ignorance of the art of war as practiced in "civilized countries". I could not forbear shaking my head and smiling a little at his ignorance. And, being no stranger to the art of war, I gave him a description of cannon, culverins, muskets, carbines, pistols, bullets, powder, swords, bayonets, battles, sieges, retreats, attacks, undermines, countermines, bombardments, sea-fights; ships sunk with a thousand men, twenty thousand killed on each side; dying groans, limbs in the air; smoke, noise, confusion, trampling to death under horses' feet... Without doubt, the Houyhnhnms were horrified that ' a creature pretending to reason could be capable of such enormities.' A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 42 He further writes that: …in some fields of his country there are certain shining stones of several colours, whereof the Yahoos are violently fond, and when part of these stones are fixed in the earth, as it sometimes happenth, they will dig with their claws for whole days to get them out, carry them away, and hide them by heaps in their kennels; but still looking round with great caution, for fear their comrades should find out their treasure. Concluding that: “… as those countries which I have described do not appear to have any desire of being conquered and enslaved, murdered, or driven out by colonies; nor bound either in gold, silver, sugar, or tobacco; I did humbly conceive they were by no means proper objects of our zeal, our valour, or our interest.” In a modest proposal Jonathan Swift’s s rage against man’s inhumanity to man and concentrates all his indignation at the terrible poverty he saw everywhere in his home country; it is a cold sort of indignation, and all the more fearful for that. Swift’s cure for poverty is simple: it is that the children of the poor should be killed and eaten. It is difficult to find anything to equal the anger one feels hidden under the cool and detached prose of this pamphlet: I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young, healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled... He continues: I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance; and therefore whoever could find out a fair, cheap and easy method of making these children sound and useful members of the common-wealth, would deserve so well of the publick, as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation. Other satirical literature texts are: The People’s Bachelor by Austin Bukenya, The Divorce, by Wale Ogunyema and The Blinkards by Kobina Sekyi and The Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thion’go. American TV shows, The Daily Show and the Simpsons are great examples of modern satire. The Chinese historical novel Journey to the West also makes use of satire. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 43 “Let it be first provided that this figure (sarcasmus) be not used without some great cause which may well deserve it, as arrogancie, insolent pride, wilfull folly, shamefull lecherie, ridiculous avarice, or such like, for it is both folly and rudenesse to use derision without cause: but to mocke silly people, innocents, or men in misery, or the poore in distresse, argueth both the pride of the mind, and the crueltie of the heart.” Henry Peachum’s The Garden of Eloquence Sarcasm “Sarcasm: the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the Privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky Sarcasm is a literary and rhetorical device that is meant to mock with often satirical or ironic remarks with a purpose to amuse and hurt someone or some section of society. Sarcasm is used when bitterness is hard to express in a pleasant way or the objective is to say something without hurting somebody directly. What is said often differs fundamentally from what is meant. Sarcasm almost always takes the form of surface praise that is actually meant to be insulting. As a writer when you sarcasm cleverly, you can make a serious point in a light-hearted way. Example of usage: Mark Twain when he said: ‘…suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of congress. But I repeat myself.’ Or when George Carlin said: ‘Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.’ Or when George Murray said: “If it’s a good idea, go ahead and do it. It’s much easier to apologise than it is to get permission.” In Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar has been murdered. His close friend Mark Antony, in danger himself, wanted to revenge Caesar’s death. He was able to convince Brutus, one of the conspirators, that they mustn’t fear him. He got the permission to speak in public the memorial speech for Caesar. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 44 The following is his speech which uses sarcasm ‘especially note the use of ‘honourable men’: Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus Hath told you Caesar was ambitious: If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answer’d it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest-- For Brutus is an honourable man; So are they all, all honourable men-- Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. He hath brought many captives home to Rome Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill: Did this in Caesar seem ambitious? When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept: Ambition should be made of sterner stuff: Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And Brutus is an honourable man. You all did see that on the Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition? Yet Brutus says he was ambitious; And, sure, he is an honourable man. I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke, But here I am to speak what I do know. You all did love him once, not without cause: What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him? O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason. Bear with me; My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar, And I must pause till it come back to me. Sarcasm is a literary device that depends on the tone of voice. Therefore, this is mostly a verbal literary devise. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 45 Irony “We cannot use language maturely until we are spontaneously at home in irony.” Kenneth Burke Irony involves a difference or contrast between appearance and reality - that is a discrepancy between what appears to be true and what really is true. Irony is a figure in which one thing is said and the opposite is meant. Irony exposes and underscores a contrast between: what is and what seems to be what is and what ought to be what is and what one wishes to be what is and what one expects to be Common types of irony in literature Verbal irony This occurs when people say the opposite of what they mean. This is perhaps the most common type of irony. The reader knows that a statement is ironic because of familiarity with the situation or a description of voice, facial, or bodily expressions which show the discrepancy. There are two kinds of verbal irony. These are understatement and overstatement. Understatement occurs when one minimises the nature of something. Overstatement occurs when one exaggerates the nature of something. Irony is often more emphatic than a point-blank statement of the truth. Sometimes, the opposite is shown as a point of comparison. Verbal irony in its most bitter and destructive form becomes sarcasm. This occurs especially when, someone is condemned by a speaker under the guise of praising him or her. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 46 Example of usage Harper Lee employs the effects of irony in To Kill a Mockingbird as a way to criticize the deficiency of public education. “Now tell your father not to teach you anymore. It’s best to begin reading with a fresh mind.” Instead of praising Scout’s ability to read at an advanced level, Miss Caroline discourages it. This ironic example set by Miss Caroline seems to demonstrate the inadequate training that she had received for her occupation. Miss Caroline seems to have been instructed upon a strict standard on how her students are expected to behave, but when she encounters something different, such as Scout’s advanced ability to read, she does not know the appropriate way to react. Situational irony In situational irony, the situation is different from what common sense indicates it is, will be, or ought to be. Situational irony is often used to expose hypocrisy and injustice. For example in Shakespeare’s Othello, Othello spends a considerable amount of time setting up the picture of himself that he wants the council to see, noting with an air of self- deprecation, that he is “rude . . . in my speech, / And little blessed with the soft phrase of peace” (81–82). Besides setting up an air of modesty (appropriate when one is speaking in front of the city’s most powerful citizens who have the power to end his life at their will), Othello also adds a touch of irony to the situation. Of all the people we meet in the council’s chambers, he is the one least likely to be rough in his speech. Dramatic irony Dramatic irony occurs when a character states something that they believe to be true but that the reader knows is not true. The key to dramatic irony is the reader’s foreknowledge of coming events. Soliloquies are useful in creating dramatic irony. The audience is then able to anticipate what may happen, even though the characters onstage are taken by surprise. Further, second readings of stories often increase dramatic irony because of the knowledge that might have been missed during the first reading. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 47 In Othello, The devilish Iago, always playing the role of the saint in public, tries to sooth upset Othello. It is deeply ironic that the man who the audience knows to be the most morally bankrupt character to preach doctrine. For example, Iago tries to defend Desdemona, saying that even though she may be lying in bed with Cassio, if nothing happens “‘tis a venial slip” meaning a pardonable sin as opposed to a mortal sin. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 48 ‘O human race, how many storms and misfortunes and shipwrecks must toss you about while, transformed into a many-headed beast, you strive after conflicting things. You are sick in your intellects (theoretical and practical), and in your affections; you do not nurture your higher intellect with inviolable principles, nor your lower intellect with the lessons of experience, nor your affections with the sweetness of divine counsel, when it is breathed into you by the trumpet of the holy spirit: Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity’ Dante Alighieri Monarchy Symbolism “A symbol is a term, a name, or even a picture that may be familiar in daily life, yet that possesses specific connotations in addition to its conventional an obvious meaning.” Carl Jung Symbols are images that have meaning beyond themselves. In a short story, a symbol is a detail, a character, or an incident that has meaning beyond its literal role in the narrative. Symbolism is like metaphor in the way that it represents a difficult, complicated or abstract idea through a commonplace object. A symbol is an image that is not presented for its own sake. Imaginative literature involves us in sensory, sensuous experience that often seems richer than what our blunted senses take in from day to day. As we read, the mind’s eye takes in images -vividly imagine details, shapes and textures. But often we sense that there is more there than meets the eye. A literary symbol is something which means more than what it is. It is an object, a person, a situation, an action, or some other item, which has a literal meaning in the story but suggests or represents other meanings as well. Examples of usage: In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses symbolism of wine spilling in the streets to symbolise the blood that spill from the guillotine (since the book is set against the background of the French Revolution). The people who drank the wine with great thirst are the same people that become thirsty for the blood of the aristocrats. Their poverty drives them to both drink wine from the muddy ground and kill in hopes of gaining equality. Another example is the poem ‘the Road not taken’. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 49 The road not taken by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth. Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same. And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. One way of interpreting the symbolism of this poem is an example of the “difficult but necessary process of making choices in life”. It is difficult to make a choice that will affect the outcome of one’s life, and human nature lends to curiosity. What could have been? What opportunities were gained, and what opportunities were lost by the choice made? As a reader you have to decode, interpret, and put into words what the images seem to tell you. Responding to symbols is a way of reading between the lines. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 50 In the Healers Kwame Armar writes: “When different groups within what should be a natural community clash against each other that is also a disease. That is why healers say that our people, the way we are now divided into petty nations, are suffering from a terrible disease.” Here ‘disease’ symbolises ‘tribalism’. The novels ‘This Earth, My Brother’ By Kofi Awoonor and The Concubine by Elechi Amandi also make very good use of symbolism. So does the American novels To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee and Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger. NOTE When you interpret the language of symbols, you should keep the following in mind: Some symbols come into a story from a shared language of symbols (Much in human experience has traditional symbolic associations: for example, the dawn with hope, Light is often the symbol for knowledge, for enlightenment.) some symbols have a special personal meaning for the writer and their meaning may come into focus as they return again and again in the writer’s words literary symbols are rich in associations; but they do not merely signal one short message. symbols acquire their full meaning in the context of the story to be called a symbol, an item must suggest a meaning different in kind from its literal meaning; a symbol is something more than the representative of a class or type symbols may be ambiguous Exercise: Identify the symbolism in Song of Chicken by Jack Mapanje Master, you talked with bows, Arrows and catapults once Your hands steaming with hawk blood To protect your chicken. A symbol is like a pebble cast into a pond: It sends out ever widening ripples of meaning. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 51 Why do you talk with knives now, Your hands teeming with eggshells And hot blood from your own chicken? Is it to impress your visitors? And in the poem, The Weaver bird by Kofi Awoonor: The weaver bird built in our house And laid its eggs on our only tree We did not want to send it away We watched the building of the nest And supervised the egg-laying. And the weaver returned in the guise of the owner Preaching salvation to us that own the house … A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 52 Motif A motif is an image, sound, action or other figures that have a symbolic significance and contributes toward the development of the central theme. Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, and literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. Examples of usage: In Mark Twain’s The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn the motif of childhood gives the novel a lighter tone and makes it enjoyable to read despite its grave central idea i.e. slavery and racism. Both Huck and Tom are young and flexible enough to undergo a moral education and thus are more open-minded than adults. Another obvious motif in the narrative is superstitions. Jim appears silly to believe in all sorts of signs and omens but interestingly predicts the coming event. In Kafka’s Metamorphosis you find the motif of Sleep and Rest. References to sleep and rest, as well as the lack of sleep and rest, recur throughout the book. The story opens, for instance, with Gregor waking from sleep to discover his transformation, and Part 2 of the story begins with Gregor waking a second time, in this instance late in the day after the incident in which his father drove him back into his room. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness on its part, contains a motif of observation and eavesdropping. Marlow, the main character, gets information about the world either by observing his surroundings or listening to the conversation of others. Similarly, there is another evident motif of a comparison between the exterior and the interior. Initially, Marlow is a person who keenly observes things and people from the surface but as he continues his journey into the heart of darkness, he gains an insight into his deeper nature as well as that of others. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 53 Paradox At the most basic level, a paradox is a statement that is self-contradictory because it often contains two statements that are both true, but in general, cannot both be true at the same time. The value of paradox is its shock value. Because its seeming impossibility startles the reader into attention by the fact of its apparent absurdity and significance is not revealed at first glance, but upon deeper reflection it provides astonishing insight.Therefore, a paradox is not just a witty or amusing statement but a statement carrying a profound truth. Examples of usage: “What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young.” George Bernard Shaw “We must all be slaves to the law if we are to be free” Cicero “I can resist anything but temptation.” Oscar Wilde “We live in an age when unnecessary things are our only necessities.” Oscar Wilde “Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.” Mahatma Gandhi In The Healers Kwame Armar presents the following paradox: “Suppose a man turns killer. Is he not more like a beast then? Or if he invades your house’ flashing a weapon?” Densu asked. “As one learning to be a healer,” Damfo asked, “what would you do in such a case? ... “How can you kill out of respect for life?” “If what I kill destroys life,” Densu answered. Joseph Heller’s Catch-22, presents the following paradox: A condensed form of paradox is known as an oxymoron. For example ‘ignorance is knowledge’ A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 54 “There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to.” Examples of paradoxes from Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace: “We can know only that we know nothing. And that is the highest degree of human wisdom.” “You can love a person dear to you with a human love, but an enemy can only be loved with divine love.” “Human science fragments everything in order to understand it, kills everything in order to examine it.” In George Orwell’s satire The Animal Farm, the first commandment of the animals’ commune is revised into a witty paradox: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” NOTE The purpose of a paradox is to arrest attention and provoke fresh thought. Paradoxes are also used to undermine the arguments of one’s opponents. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 55 The Man In The Arena It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. Excerpt from the speech ‘Citizenship in a Republic’ By Theodore Roosevelt Imagery ‘Imagery is our senses in words’ Imagery is the use of words to generate and evoke a vibrant and graphic presentation of objects, places, actions and ideas. Virtually any description of something that, in real life, could be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted can be called an “image.” Imagery can come in the form of direct description or figurative language. NOTE Imagery is everywhere in writing. Almost all literary texts evoke some physical object or scene. When reading a text try to ask yourself what sorts of images an author is filling your mind with as you. Example of usage Prisoner by Mutabaruka: You ask me If I have ever been to prison Been to prison Your world Of murderers and thieves Of hatred and jealousy Of death… And you ask me If I have ever been to prison I answer, yes I am still there Tryin’ to escape… A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 56 In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird also uses imagery, for example: In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on summer’s day; bony mules hitched to Hoover carts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the square. Here the author use imagery to tell the reader about the setting of the novel and about the size, location, age, appearance, and the economic status of the town of Maycomb. The Telephone Conversation by Wole Sonyika is also a poem full of imagery. Exercise: Find a poem or paragraph that is rich in imagery. Read the poem or paragraph and write an essay in which you not only discuss the various types of imagery the writer uses in the piece. Be sure to be specific. Cite actual words and phrases from the poem or paragraph as examples to support your opinions and conclusions. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 57 Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space “From this distant vantage point, the Earth might not seem of any particular interest. But for us, it's different. Consider again that dot. That's here, that's home, that's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there—on the mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.” Carl Sagan The Art of War “…If wise, a commander is able to recognise changing circumstances and to act expediently. If sincere, his men will have no doubt of the certainty of rewards and punishments. If humane, he loves mankind, sympathises with others, and appreciates their industry and toil. If courageous, he gains victory by seizing opportunity without hesitation. If strict, his troops are disciplined because they are in awe of him and are afraid of punishment.” “Plans and projects for harming the enemy are not‘confined to any one method. Sometimes entice his wise and virtuous men away so that he has no counsellors. Or send treacherous people to his country to wreck his administration. Sometimes use cunning deception to alienate his ministers from the sovereign. Or send skilled craftsmen to encourage his people to exhaust their wealth. Or present him with licentious musicians and dancers to change his customs. Or give him beautiful women to bewilder him.” Sun Tzu Anaphora This means a repetition of the initial words. The words, though they are simple become effective because of the repetition. The repetition can be as simple as a single word or as long as an entire phrase. Anaphora is used to give prominence to ideas, it is also used in literature to add rhythm and thus, making passages more pleasurable to read and easier to remember. As a literary device, anaphora serves the purpose of furnishing artistic effect to the passages of prose and poetry. As a rhetorical device, it is used to appeal to the emotions of the audience in order to persuade, inspire, motivate and encourage them. Examples of usage: The Book of Ecclesiastes makes an excellent use of this literary device. Chapter 3:3-8 in the King James Version Bible is a good example: To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 58 Another example is Charles Dickens ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ which starts with following lines: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” Exercises Identify the Anaphora in the following sentences by Sun Tzu. 1. “And therefore I say: Know the enemy, know yourself; your victory will never be endangered. Know the ground, know the weather; your victory will then be total.” 2. “What is called ‘fore-knowledge’ cannot be elicited from spirits, nor from gods, nor by analogy with past events, nor from calculations. It must be obtained from men who know the enemy situation. 3. Among the official class there are worthy men who have been deprived of office; others who have committed errors and have been punished. There are sycophants and minions who are covetous of wealth. There are those who wrongly remain low in office; those who have not obtained responsible positions, and those whose sole desire is to take advantage of times of trouble to extend the scope of their own abilities. There are those who are two-faced, changeable, and deceitful, and those who are always sitting on the fence. As far as all such are concerned you can secretly inquire after their welfare, reward them liberally with gold and silk, and so tie them to you. Then you may rely on them to seek out the real facts of the situation in their country, and to ascertain its plans directed against you. They can as well create cleavages between the sovereign and his ministers so that these are not in harmonious accord.” Sun Tzu A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 59 “The most powerful and the most perfect expression of thought and feeling through the medium of oral language must be traced to the mastery of words. Nothing is better suited to lead speakers and readers of English into an easy control of this language than the command of the phrase that perfectly expresses the thought.” Greenville Kleiser, Fifteen Thousand Useful Phrases Idioms An idiom is a combination of words that has a meaning that is different from the meanings of the individual words themselves. It can have a literal meaning in one situation and a different idiomatic meaning in another situation. It is a phrase which does not always follow the normal rules of meaning and grammar. When you learn English idioms, you take English out of textbook and into the real world. The English language can be considered as being made up of two components: “Textbook English “and “Natural English”. The textbook form of English is composed using proper English vocabulary, while strictly adhering to the rules of English grammar. The sentences in textbook English are necessarily grammatically correct and complete in all respects. The natural form of English, on the other hand, allows liberal use of slang, jargon, phrases and idioms, lending a colourful hue to the language. Natural English is spoken at an informal level, and it is the idioms in the language that give it a natural, conversational and creative feel. Examples A fool and his money are soon parted— this idiom means that people who aren't careful with their money spend it quickly. 'A fool and his money are easily parted' is an alternative form of the idiom. Abide by a decision—meaning you accept the decision and comply with it, even though you might disagree with it. Above board— means to make political decisions or carry out business matters in a legal and proper manner. All talk and no trousers- Someone who is all talk and no trousers, talks about doing big, important things, but doesn't take any action. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 60 At loggerheads –If people are at loggerheads, they are arguing and can't agree on anything Babe in the woods – A babe in the woods is a naive, defenceless, young person. Back the wrong horse—If you back the wrong horse, you give your support to the losing side in something. Backseat driver – A backseat driver is an annoying person who is fond of giving advice to the person performing a task or doing something, especially when the advice is either wrong or unwelcome. Barking up the wrong tree—if you are barking up the wrong tree, it means that you have completely misunderstood something or are totally wrong. Be that as it may – an expression which means that, while you are prepared to accept that there is some truth in what the other person has just said, it's not going to change your opinions in any significant manner. Beyond our ken – if something's beyond your ken, it is beyond your understanding Bite off more than you can chew—means to take on more responsibilities than you can manage. ‘Don’t bite off more than you can chew’ is often used to advise people against agreeing to more than they can handle. By the skin of your teeth—If you do something by the skin of your teeth, you only just manage to do it and come very near indeed to failing. Brush under the carpet – If you brush something under the carpet, you are making an attempt to ignore it, or hide it from others Close the stable door after the horse has bolted – to try to fix something after the problem has occurred. Cloud cuckoo land – to have ideas or plans that are completely unrealistic: such a person is said to be living on cloud cuckoo land. Clutch at straws – If someone is in serious trouble and tries anything to get out of it, even though their chances of success are probably nil, they are said to be clutching at straws. Comfort zone – means a place where people feel comfortable, where they can avoid the worries of the world. It can be physical or mental. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 61 Cut and dried – If something is ‘cut and dried’, then it means all has already been decided and, in the case of an opinion, might be predictable. Devil’s advocate – If someone plays Devil’s advocate in an argument, it means they adopt a position they don’t believe in, just for the sake of the argument. Don’t hold your breath – If you are told not to hold your breath, it means that you shouldn't have high expectations about something. Double-edged sword – If someone uses an argument that could both help them and harm them, then they are using a two-edged sword; it cuts both ways. Every trick in the book – this means to try every possible way, including dishonesty and deceit, to get what you want. Flogging a dead horse – If someone is trying to convince people to do or feel something without any hope of succeeding, they’re said to be flogging a dead horse. This is used when someone is trying to raise interest in an issue that no-one supports anymore; beating a dead horse will not make it do any more work. From the horse’s mouth—means to hear something directly from the person who is concerned or responsible. Give someone a piece of your mind—to criticize someone strongly and angrily. To tell them what you really think. Go against the grain—A person, who does things in an unconventional manner, especially if their methods are not generally approved of, is said to go against the grain. Such an individual can be called a maverick. Have a trick up your sleeve— to have a secret strategy to use when the time is right Head is in the clouds – If a person has their head in the clouds, they have unrealistic, impractical ideas. Just deserts – If a bad or evil person gets their just deserts, they get the punishment or suffer the misfortune that it is felt they deserve. Keep your ear to the ground—try to keep informed about something, especially if there are rumours or uncertainties. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 62 Keep your head above water— if you are just managing to survive financially, you are keeping your head above water Keep your nose clean — to stay out of trouble by not getting involved in any sort of wrong-doing. Keep your shirt on!—used to tell someone to calm down. Keeping your options open—do not restrict yourself or rule out any possible course of action Know the ropes – Someone who is experienced and knows how the system works knows the ropes. Know which side one’s bread is buttered on— If you know which side one's bread is buttered on, you know where your interests lie and will act accordingly to protect or further them. More than one string to their bow—a person who has more than one string to their bow has different talents or skills to fall back on. ‘One more trick up their sleeve’ Muddy the waters —if somebody muddies the waters, he or she makes the situation more complex or less clear. My hands are ties —If your hands are tied, you are unable to act for some reason One-man band—If one person does all the work or has all the responsibility somewhere, then they are a one- man band. Pull someone’s leg—to tease someone, but not maliciously Pull the wool over someone’s eyes— to deceive or cheat someone Putting the cart before the horse—doing something the wrong way round Red tape —this is a negative term for the official paperwork and bureaucracy that we have to deal wit Ruffle a few feathers —to annoy some people when making changes or improvements Saved by the bell — saved from a danger or a tricky situation just in time Under the table—Bribes or illegal payments are often described as money under the table. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 63 Under the weather— If you are feeling a bit ill, sad or lack energy, you are under the weather. Under false colours—someone pretending to be something they are not in order to deceive people so that they can succeed. Under your breath—If you say something under your breath, you whisper or say it very quietly. Under your nose—If something happens right in front of you, especially if it is surprising or audacious, it happens under your nose. Up in the air—If a matter is up in the air, no decision has been made and there is uncertainty about it. Upper hands — have the advantage. Virgin territory — something that hasn’t been explored before Wash your hands of something—disassociate yourself and accept no responsibility for what will happen. Wet blanket—a wet blanket is someone who tries to spoil other people’s fun. Window dressing—If something is done to pretend to be dealing with an issue or problem, rather than actually dealing with it, it is window dressing. With a heavy hand—If someone does something with a heavy hand, they do it in a strict way, exerting a lot of control. You can’t have your cake and eat it—means that you can't have things both ways You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs—means that in order to achieve something or make progress; there must be losers in the process. ‘collateral damage’ A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 64 …Well, the first great man who ever wrote me a letter was our guest—Oliver Wendell Holmes. He was also the first great literary man I ever stole anything from—and that is how I came to write to him and he to me. When my first book was new, a friend of mine said to me, “The dedication is very neat.” Yes, I said, I thought it was. My friend said, “I always admired it, even before I saw it in The Innocents Abroad.” I naturally said: “What do you mean? Where did you ever see it before?” “Well, I saw it first some years ago as Doctor Holmes’s dedication to his Songs in Many Keys.” Of course, my first impulse was to prepare this man’s remains for burial, but upon reflection I said I would reprieve him for a moment or two and give him a chance to prove his assertion if he could: We stepped into a book-store, and he did prove it. I had really stolen that dedication, almost word for word. I could not imagine how this curious thing had happened; for I knew one thing—that a certain amount of pride always goes along with a teaspoonful of brains, and that this pride protects a man from deliberately stealing other people’s ideas. That is what a teaspoonful of brains will do for a man—and admirers had often told me I had nearly a basketful—though they were rather reserved as to the size of the basket. However, I thought the thing out, and solved the mystery. Two years before, I had been laid up a couple of weeks in the Sandwich Islands, and had read and re- read Doctor Holmes’s poems till my mental reservoir was filled up with them to the brim. The dedication lay on the top, and handy, so, by-and-by, I unconsciously stole it. Perhaps I unconsciously stole the rest of the volume, too, for many people have told me that my book was pretty poetical, in one way or another. Well, of course, I wrote Doctor Holmes and told him I hadn'’t meant to steal, and he wrote back and said in the kindest way that it was all right and no harm done; and added that he believed we all unconsciously worked over ideas gathered in reading and hearing, imagining they were original with ourselves. He stated a truth, and did it in such a pleasant way, and salved over my sore spot so gently and so healingly, that I was rather glad I had committed the crime for the sake of the letter. I afterward called on him and told him to make perfectly free with any ideas of mine that struck him as being good protoplasm for poetry. He could see by that that there wasn’t anything mean about me; so we got along right from the start…” On Plagiarism: By Mark Twain Allusions Sometimes a metaphor consists in a reference or allusion to a well-known passage in literature or a fact of history. An Allusion is a reference to an outside work, a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion, mythology, philosophy politics, sports, or science. An illusion relies on the reader being familiar to the item being alluded to. The audience must figure out and understand the original source. Recognizing and understanding allusions can make reading more interesting and enjoyable because you connect your knowledge of the reference to the text, respond emotionally to the reference and connect those emotions to the text. To fully understand an allusion and how it relates to the text, you may need to do some additional research. For example, check for footnotes that contain more information about the allusion, Refer to dictionaries, encyclopaedias, or other reference books or ask others such as teachers, librarians, family, and friends. Examples The Emperor’s (new) clothes- used to describe a person’s imaginary quality whose fictitiousness other people refrain from pointing out. The story is told of an emperor who loved beautiful new clothes so much that he spent all his money on being finely dressed. His only interest was in going to the theatre or in riding about in his carriage where he could show off his new clothes. One day two swindlers came to the emperor’s city. They said that they were weavers, claiming that they knew how to make the finest cloth imaginable. And that the clothes they A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 65 will make, will be invisible to anyone who was incompetent or stupid. The Emperor’s ministers could not see the clothes, but for fear of being branded stupid, they pretended to see them. When the Emperor was asked to remove his old clothes and put on his invincible clothes, he complied, even though he himself could not see them. Soon everyone in the kingdom joined in on the pretence. Until one child, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretence, blurted out that the Emperor had no clothes, bringing everyone back to their senses. Gentleman’s Agreement- This means ‘an agreement not enforceable at law and only binding as a matter of honour’. The case of Bloom v. Kinder [1958] was more cynically, but closer to reality: “A gentlemen’s agreement is an agreement which is not an agreement, made between two persons, neither of whom is a gentleman, whereby each expects the other to be strictly bound without himself being bound at all.” See also ‘Faustian pact’: Meaning, an agreement with Evil, in the form of the Devil, with the paradoxical intention of achieving a higher Good that is otherwise obstructed. A pact with the Devil is a dangerous thing, for the only thing the Devil is said to want is the person’s soul, and that he will do anything to get it: he will lie, trick and cheat. “…For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?...” in the Bible, Mark 8 34:38. The allusion has its roots in the legend of Faust told in Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus. In the legend Faust has studied for years without satisfactory progress, losing his faith and his idealism. In frustration he becomes a black-magic sorcerer and summons the Devil. The demon Mephistopheles (or Mephisto) appears. Together they make a pact in which Mephistopheles offers to serve Faust for a period of time, at the cost of Faust’s eternal soul. Today, the term faustian has come to mean a tarnished deal for worldly power or knowledge at the expense of a higher (spiritual) value or reward. Beware of the Greek’s bearing gifts - A warning against trickery by people who pretend to give free gifts or aid. The phrase originates from Homer’s The Iliad. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 66 When the Greeks gave a wooden horse to their enemies (the Trojans) in the war of Troy, Aeneid the Laocoon, a priest of Poseidon tells his countrymen. ‘Do not trust the horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even bearing gifts’. The Trojans failed to heed the warning, which proved to be their undoing, since it later transpired that the Greek had hidden some warriors in the bowels of the wooden horse. At night the warriors came out and opened the city gates, letting all the other Green warriors into the city. The green-eyed monster- this alludes to jealousy. This originates from Shakespeare’s Othello. Iago tells Othello: ‘O, beware jealousy! It is the green-ey’d monster, which doth mock That man it feeds on. Othello did not heed the warning. Mistakenly believing his wife had cheated on him, he let jealousy consume him, ultimately leading him to the murder of his wife. The haves and the have-nots- The phrase refers to the rich and the poor of the society. In Don Quixote Safire says to Sancho Panza: “There are only two families in the world, the haves and the have-nots”. Make an offer that… can’t refuse- giving someone an option of two choices, one of which being not an option at all. The phrase was popularised by Mario Puzo in The Godfather. I never promised you a rose garden- the phrase means that expectations need to be lowered, since things are not always smooth all the way, especially in Politics and in Marriage. It was popularised by Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil in the 1990s. When the citizens started to complain when things got hard, he told them: “I never promised you a rose garden… following the example of developed countries, we are also cutting state funding.” A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 67 To live in an ivory tower- It means to live secluded from the harsh realities of life. In 1914, an English translation of Henri Bergson’s work on laughter noted: “Each member [of society] must be ever attentive to his social surroundings; he must model himself on his environment; in short, he must avoid shutting himself up in his own peculiar character as a philosopher in his ivory tower.” Keep up with the Joneses- means trying to compete with the neighbours and striving to own everything that the neighbours own. Mark Twain in the essay, ‘Corn Pone Opinions,’ wrote: ““Our table manners, and company manners, and street manners change from time to time, but the changes are not reasoned out; we merely notice and conform. We are creatures of outside influences; as a rule we do not think, we only imitate. We cannot invent standards that will stick; what we mistake for standards are only fashions, and perishable… The outside influences are always pouring in upon us, and we are always obeying their orders and accepting their verdicts. The Smiths like the new play; the Joneses go to see it, and they copy the Smith verdict.” Lame duck- Means a person or thing that finds himself or herself less capable, and currently disabled, helpless, ineffective, or inefficient. Originally, ‘lame duck’ was a business term used in the eighteenth century to describe anyone who was bankrupt or behind on their debt payments... In 1847, William Thackeray in a novel ‘Vanity Fair’ wrote: “…and that’s flat—unless I see Amelia’s ten thousand down you don’t marry her. I’ll have no lame duck’s daughter in my family. Pass the wine, sir—or ring for coffee.” The phrase is now used in reference to politicians who have lost their power to effect any meaningful policy. The land of milk and honey- refers to an imaginary place that has everything one would want. The origin of the idiom is the Bible, Exodus 3:8: A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 68 “So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey…” Let them eat cake- Used ironically to describe a leader who is not in touch or cares little about the problems facing the common people. The phrase can be traced to Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Confessions, written in 1770. In Book 6, He wrote: “At length I recollected the thoughtless saying of a great princess, who, on being informed that the country people had no bread, replied, “Then let them eat pastry!” Megaphone Diplomacy- Refers to a political dialogue which consists of sloganeering rather than a genuine search for solutions. If negotiations between countries or parties are held through press releases and announcements, this is megaphone diplomacy, aiming to force the other party into adopting their favoured position. The phrase can be compared to brinkmanship diplomacy which the philosopher Bertrand Russell termed as a game of chicken. The game of chicken, also known as the hawk-dove game or snowdrift game, is an influential model of conflict for two players in game theory. The principle of the game is that while each player prefers not to yield to the other, the worst possible outcome occurs when both players do not yield. The name ‘chicken’ has its origins in a game in which two drivers drive towards each other on a collision course: one must swerve, or both may die in the crash, but if one driver swerves and the other does not, the one who swerved will be called a ‘chicken,’ meaning a coward. No such thing as a free lunch- the phrase means you don't get anything for nothing. That is, whatever goods and services are provided they must be paid for by someone. The phrase was popularised by the American economist Milton Friedman a staunch supporter of capitalism and author of Free to Choose and Capitalism and Freedom. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back- the idiom means, when progress is being made in a particular situation something bad happens that causes the situation to revert to a worse situation that it was before. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 69 It was popularised by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin book title One Step Forward Two Steps Back (The Crisis in Our Party) and who also authored Imperialism the highest form of Capitalism. To pass the buck- means to avoid responsibility by blaming it on someone else. The best-known use of buck in this context is by US President Harry S. Truman who put the sign ‘the buck stops here’ on his desk, to remind himself and his electors that he bore the ultimate responsibility to all political decisions and policies. To open Pandora’s Box- to let all sorts of uncontrollable issues loose. Once upon a time, there were two brothers. One was called Prometheus, because he always looked before him, and boasted that he was wise beforehand. The other was called Epimetheus, because he always looked behind him, and did not boast at all; but said humbly, that he had sooner prophesy after the event. On day there came to the two brothers the most beautiful creature that ever was seen, Pandora by name; which means, all the gifts of the Gods. But because she had a strange box in her hand, this fanciful, forecasting, suspicious, prudential, theoretical, deductive, prophesying Prometheus, who was always settling what was going to happen, would have nothing to do with pretty Pandora and her box. But Epimetheus took her and it, as he took everything that came; and married her for better for worse, as every man ought, whenever he has even the chance of a good wife. And they opened the box between them, of course, to see what was inside: for, else, of what possible use could it have been to them? And out flew all the ills which flesh are heir to; all the children of the four great bogies, greed, Ignorance, Fear, and corruption—for instance: Diseases, Famines, Quacks, Unpaid bills, Idols, Wars, Despots, tribalism, Demagogues, etc. But one thing remained at the bottom of the box, and that was, Hope. So Epimetheus got a great deal of trouble, as most men do in this world: but he got the three best things in the world into the bargain—a good wife, and experience, and hope. 4 4 Adopted from The Water-Babies, by Charles Kingsley A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 70 The pen is mightier than the sword- it means, changes brought about by changing people’s perception, through writing and persuasion, is more effective and real, than changes brought through violence. The other meaning is that, violence cannot stop an idea whose time has come. The origin of the phrase was used by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in his play Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy, 1839: In the play, the cardinal says: True, This! – Beneath the rule of men entirely great, The pen is mightier than the sword. Behold The arch-enchanters wand! - itself a nothing! – But taking sorcery from the master-hand To paralyse the Caesars, and to strike The loud earth breathless! - Take away the sword – States can be saved without it! From the sublime to the ridiculous-The allusions means moving from something that is very good or very serious to something that is very bad or silly Tom Paine the author of Common Sense, The Age of Reason as well as The Rights of Man wrote: “The sublime and the ridiculous are often so nearly related that it is difficult to class them separately. One step above the sublime makes the ridiculous, and one step above the ridiculous makes the sublime again.” NOTE Allusions can, admittedly, be a bit frustrating when you’re still in the earlier stages of your serious reading career, since you have to constantly google. But the more you read, the more literary allusions you’ll recognize, and the more depth and richness of meaning they’ll add to your reading experience. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 71 Section Summary Much of the English language is figurative. There are many writing techniques that anyone can employ to improve their written work. Remember; always put your reader first. Figures of speech (and writing) enable you to add colour and variety so that you keep your reader engrossed. Through their use your writing can be both entertaining and educating. However, when a figure suggests itself, it must be so clearly seen that there can be no mixing of images. In most cases figures are ornaments of literature; it must be remembered that ornament is always secondary, and that no ornament is good unless it is in entire harmony with the thing it is to beautify. The above definitions and illustrations are for reference. You do not need to know the names of any of these figures in order to use them, and it is altogether probable that learning to name and analyse them will to some extent make us too self-conscious to use them at all. At the same time, they will help us to explain things that otherwise might puzzle us in our study. Exercises: Choose a text from any of those referenced in the examples and attempt the following exercises. Does the author create analogies, like similes or metaphors? Does the author use personification? Does the text use unusual images or patterns of imagery? Is there deliberate hyperbole or understatement in the passage? What part do rhythm and sound devices such as alliteration or onomatopoeia play in the passage? Does the author employ paradox or oxymoron to add complexity? What purpose do the figures of speech serve, and what effect do they have on the text? What seems to be the speaker’s attitude in the text? A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 72 Genres Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines a genre as “a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content” Literary genres are categories into which similar literary works may be grouped. According to Wikipedia: ‘A genre is a vague term with no fixed boundaries in that while literary works within genres hold characteristics in common such as style, structure and use of literary devices, they may also differ considerably or even cross over into multiple genres. These categories can be further subdivide into “sub-genres,”’ There are three broad types of genres in English literature. However, drama may fall into either of the other two. These genres are: Prose, for example: Myths, parables, romances, biographies, novels, short stories, News reports, feature articles, essays, editorials, textbooks and other academic works etc. Poetry which is brief, intense, and patterned when compared with prose. Poetry relies on imagery, figurative language and sound. Examples include: epic, lyric, and dramatic Drama which is made up of dialogue and set direction and is designed to be performed. Examples include: comedy, tragedy, and melodrama. Identifying a genre As we have seen, Literature comes in a very wide variety of forms, and how we approach and comprehend each piece of literature depends to some extent on what form the literature takes. Therefore, the first thing you should do when reading a text is to determine its genre. Your first approach in the identification process is to read any background information on the written text. This background information usually comes before the reading as an introduction. This information may include the time period it was from, what part of the world, the targeted audience and the aims and purposes of the text. All of this information helps you to figure out how to interpret the text. The original context is very important in determining how to understand the text and its intended meaning. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 73 Non-Fiction Biography: This is a story of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject (person about whose life is being written). Authorized biography is written with the subject’s help. Unauthorised biography is written without the subject’s help. Autobiography: Refers to a person’s story of his/her own life written by himself/herself. Fiction Historical fiction This is a story which is ‘made up’ but is set in a specific and recognizable historical period. .These novels and stories often include characters and places which are historically accurate, others include documents as well. Documentary fiction This is a ‘made up’ story which uses a collage of documents, such as actual news stories, letters, diaries, etc, in addition to dialogue and narration, to help to tell a story. Science fiction Originally, this is a story which used the science of the future as a major element of plot or setting. Mystery A mystery novel contains a puzzle and challenges the reader to join the detective character who eventually solves the puzzle ‘Oral’ literature This are ‘oral tradition stories’, which are memorised and passed from person to person through the telling, these tend to have messages for the listener to decipher and definite similarities in plot, characters, and settings. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 74 Folklores from Kenya A husband once told his wife that he was a cleverer than his father-in-law. The wife laughed loudly and replied that her husband was not serious. “My father had an idea of high tricks long before your mother was born, so you cannot be cleverer than him.” she said The young man did not argue with his wife. He rather chose to test his father-in-law in order to prove his mettle in high tricks. One day he sent an empty pot through his wife to the father- in-law, asking him to fill it with the sweetest wine imaginable. The wine, he warned, must neither be native palm wine nor the imported wine. He requested that as soon as the pot was filled, the father-in-law should inform him. This young man, of course, thought that it would take his father-in-law a long time to find the sort of wine he had requested. However, to his great surprise, the young man’s father-in-law lost no time, but sent a messenger to let his son-in-law know that the wine in question was ready. The message said: “Your wine is ready. You must send someone who is neither a man nor a woman to carry it to you.” On receipt of this surprising message from his father-in-law, the young man knew that it was not possible for him to have the wine, as there was no such person in the world. So, his father-in-law, without doubt, was a cleverer person in high tricks than he. Young men think that old men are fools, but old men know that young men are fools. A myth- This is a story about a god or goddess. Myths often explain where things come from. A tall tale is a story wild wildly exaggerated or made up characters and events. A legend is a story that may be partially or completely true about a hero or heroine. An anecdote is a very short story that is told to make a point. It is usually an interesting or funny incident that happened to someone. It is usually true. A folk tale is a story that was passed down from grandparents to grandchildren for hundreds of years. These tales were not written down until recently. A fable is a short story that has animals as the main characters. It is told to make a point about how people should treat each other. Examples: Aesop’s Tales and Jeff Ramantosh’s ‘Folklores from Kenya’ Prose “…a page of good prose is where one hears the rain. A page of good prose is when one hears the noise of battle.... A page of good prose seems to me the most serious dialogue that well- informed and intelligent men and women carry on today in their endeavour to make sure that the fires of this planet burn peaceably.” John Cheever In its broadest sense the term prose is applied to all forms of written or spoken expression not having a regular rhythmic pattern. In prose, Ideas are contained in sentences that are arranged into paragraphs. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 75 “The practise of storing the mind with choice passages from the best prose writers and poets, and thus flavouring it with the essence of good literatures, is one which is commended both by the best teachers and by the example of some of the most celebrated orators, who have adopted it with signal success.” Anon Selected Excerpts in English A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 76 Self-Reliance By Ralph Waldo Emerson To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,—that is genius. Speak your latent conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for always the inmost becomes the outmost—and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment. Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plato and Milton is that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men, but what they thought. A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humoured inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another. There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better for worse as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried… We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. … A man is relieved and happy when he has put his heart into his work and done his best… Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, ... And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not pinched in a A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 77 corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but redeemers and benefactors, pious aspirants to be noble clay under the Almighty effort let us advance on Chaos and the Dark. … Do not think the youth has no force, because he cannot speak to you and me. Hark! in the next room who spoke so clear and emphatic? Good Heaven! it is he! it is that very lump of bashfulness and phlegm which for weeks has done nothing but eat when you were by, and now rolls out these words like bell-strokes. It seems he knows how to speak to his contemporaries. Bashful or bold then, he will know how to make us seniors very unnecessary. ... Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 78 Meaning of Education By Thomas Henry Huxley From ‘A Liberal Education; and Where to Find it,’ (1868) What is education? Above all things, what is our ideal of a thoroughly liberal education?—of that education which, if we could begin life again, we would give ourselves—of that education which, if we could mould the fates to our own will, we would give our children? Well, I know not what may be your conceptions upon this matter, but I will tell you mine, and I hope I shall find that our views are not very diverse. Suppose it was perfectly certain that the life and fortune of every one of us would, one day or other, depend upon his winning or losing a game of chess. Don’t you think that we should all consider it to be a primary duty to learn at least the names and the moves of the pieces; to have a notion of a gambit, and a keen eye for all the means of giving and getting out of check? Do you not think that we should look with a disapprobation amounting to scorn, upon the father who allowed his son, or the state which allowed its members, to grow up without knowing a pawn from a knight? Yet it is a very plain and elementary truth, that the life, the fortune, and the happiness of every one of us, and, more or less, of those who are connected with us, do depend upon our knowing something of the rules of a game infinitely more difficult and complicated than chess. It is a game which has been played for untold ages, every man and woman of us being one of the two players in a game of his or her own. The chess-board is the world… To the man who plays well, the highest stakes are paid ... And one who plays ill is checkmated—without haste, but without remorse… Well, what I mean by Education is learning the rules of this mighty game. In other words, education is the instruction of the intellect in the laws of Nature, under which name I include not merely things and their forces, but men and their ways; and the fashioning of the affections and of the will into an earnest and loving desire to move in harmony with those laws. For me, education means neither more nor less than this. Anything which professes to call itself education must be tried by this standard, and if it fails to stand the test, I will not call it education, whatever may be the force of authority, or of numbers, upon the other side. ... A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 79 Those who take honours in Nature’s university, who learn the laws which govern men and things and obey them, are the really great and successful men in this world. The great mass of mankind is in the “Poll”, who pick up just enough to get through without much discredit. Those who won’t learn at all are plucked; and then you can’t come up again. Nature’s pluck means extermination…Ignorance is visited as sharply as wilful disobedience—incapacity meets with the same punishment as crime. … The object of what we commonly call education—that education in which man intervenes and which I shall distinguish as artificial education—is to make good these defects in Nature’s methods… And a liberal education is an artificial education which has not only prepared a man to escape the great evils of disobedience to natural laws, but has trained him to appreciate and to seize upon the rewards, which Nature scatters with as free a hand as her penalties. That man, I think, has had a liberal education who has been so trained in youth that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does with ease and pleasure all the work that, as a mechanism, it is capable of; whose intellect is a clear, cold, logic engine, with all its parts of equal strength, and in smooth working order; ready, like a steam engine, to be turned to any kind of work, and spin the gossamers as well as forge the anchors of the mind; whose mind is stored with a knowledge of the great and fundamental truths of Nature and of the laws of her operations; one who, no stunted ascetic, is full of life and fire, but whose passions are trained to come to heel by a vigorous will, the servant of a tender conscience; who has learned to love all beauty, whether of Nature or of art, to hate all vileness, and to respect others as himself. Such one and no other, I conceive, has had a liberal education; for he is, as completely as a man can be, in harmony with Nature. He will make the best of her, and she of him. They will get on together rarely; she as his ever beneficent mother; he as her mouthpiece, her conscious self, her minister and interpreter. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 80 Knowledge and Learning By John Henry Newman in “The Idea of a University,” (1852) …I suppose the prima-facie view which the public at large would take of a university, considering it as a place of education, is nothing more or less than a place for acquiring a great deal of knowledge on a great many subjects. Memory is one of the first developed of the mental faculties; (a student’s) business when he goes to school is to learn, that is, to store up things in his memory. For some years his intellect is little more than an instrument for taking in facts, or a receptacle for storing them; he welcomes them as fast as they come to him; he lives on what is without; he has his eyes ever about him; he has a lively susceptibility of impressions; he imbibes information of every kind; and little does he make his own in a true sense of the word, living rather upon his neighbours all around him. He has opinions, religious, political and literary, and, for a (student), is very positive in them and sure about them; but he gets them from his schoolfellows, or his masters, or his parents, as the case may be. Geography, chronology, history, language, natural history, he heaps up the matter of these studies as treasures for a future day. … there is exercise for his argumentative powers in the elements of mathematics, and for his taste in the poets and orators, still, while at school, or at least, till quite the last years of his time, he acquires, and little more; and when he is leaving for the university, he is mainly the creature of foreign influences and circumstances, and made up of accidents, homogeneous or not, as the case may be. Moreover, the moral habits, which are a (student’s) praise, encourage and assist this result; that is, diligence, assiduity, regularity, despatch, and persevering application; for these are the direct conditions of acquisition, and naturally lead to it. … It requires a great deal of reading, or a wide range of information, to warrant us in putting forth our opinions on any serious subject; and without such learning the most original mind may be able indeed to dazzle, to amuse, to refute, to perplex, but not to come to any useful result or any trustworthy conclusion. There are indeed persons who profess a different view of the matter, and even act upon it. Every now and then you will find a person of vigorous or fertile mind, who relies upon his own resources, despises all former authors, and gives the world, with the utmost fearlessness, his views upon religion, or history, or any other popular subject. And his works may A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 81 sell for a while; he may get a name in his day; but this will be all. His readers are sure to find on the long run that his doctrines are mere theories, and not the expression of facts, that they are chaff instead of bread, and then his popularity drops as suddenly as it rose. Knowledge then is the indispensable condition of expansion of mind, and the instrument of attaining to it; this cannot be denied, it is ever to be insisted on; I begin with it as a first principle; however, the very truth of it carries men too far, and confirms to them the notion that it is the whole of the matter. A narrow mind is thought to be that which contains little knowledge; and an enlarged mind, that which holds a great deal; and what seems to put the matter beyond dispute is, the fact of the great number of studies which are pursued in a university, by its very profession. Lectures are given on every kind of subject; examinations are held; prizes awarded. There are moral, metaphysical, physical professors; professors of languages, of history, of mathematics, of experimental science. Lists of questions are published, wonderful for their range and depth, variety and difficulty; treatises are written, which carry upon their very face the evidence of extensive reading or multifarious information; what then is wanting for mental culture to a person of large reading and scientific attainments? What is grasp of mind but acquirement? where shall philosophical repose be found, but in the consciousness and enjoyment of large intellectual possessions? And yet this notion is, I conceive, a mistake …and that the end of a liberal education is not mere knowledge, or knowledge considered in its matter… …In like manner, we sometimes fall in with persons who have seen much of the world, and of the men who, in their day, have played a conspicuous part in it, but who generalise, nothing, and have no observation, in the true sense of the word. They abound in information in detail, curious and entertaining, about men and things; and, having lived under the influence of no very clear or settled principles, religious or political, they speak of everyone and everything, only as so many phenomena, which are complete in themselves, and lead to nothing, not discussing them, or teaching any truth, or instructing the hearer, but simply talking. No one would say that these persons, well informed as they are, had attained to any great culture of intellect or to philosophy. The case is the same still more strikingly where the persons in question are beyond dispute men of inferior powers and deficient education. Perhaps they have been much in foreign countries, A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 82 and they receive, in a passive, otiose, unfruitful way, the various facts which are forced upon them there…. Instances, such as these, confirm, by the contrast, the conclusion I have already drawn from those which preceded them. That only is true enlargement of mind which is the power of viewing many things at once as one whole, of referring them severally to their true place in the universal system, of understanding their respective values, and determining their mutual dependence. Thus is that form of universal knowledge, of which I have on a former occasion spoken, set up in the individual intellect, and constitutes its perfection. … Nay, self-education in any shape, in the most restricted sense, is preferable to a system of teaching which, professing so much, really does so little for the mind. Shut your college gates against the votary of knowledge, throw him back upon the searchings and the efforts of his own mind; he will gain by being spared an entrance into your babel. Few indeed there are who can dispense with the stimulus and support of instructors, or will do anything at all, if left to themselves. And fewer still (though such great minds are to be found), who will not, from such unassisted attempts, contract a self-reliance and a self-esteem... Yet such is the better specimen of the fruit of that ambitious system which has of late years been making way among us: for its result on ordinary minds, and on the common run of students, is less satisfactory still; they leave their place of education simply dissipated and relaxed by the multiplicity of subjects, which they have never really mastered, and so shallow as not even to know their shallowness. How much better, I say, it is for the active and thoughtful intellect, where such is to be found, to eschew the college and the university altogether, than to submit to a drudgery so ignoble, a mockery so contumelious! How much more profitable for the independent mind, after the mere rudiments of education, to range through a library at random, taking down books as they meet him, and pursuing the trains of thought which his mother wit suggests! How much healthier to wander into the fields, and there with the exiled prince to find “tongues in the trees, books in the running brooks!” A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 83 The Art of reading By Frederic Harrison From “The Choice of Books,” (1891) It is the fashion for those who have any connection with letters to expatiate on the infinite blessings of literature, and the miraculous achievements of the press: to extol, as a gift above price, the taste for study and the love of reading. Far be it from me to gainsay the inestimable value of good books, or to discourage any man from reading the best; but I often think that we forget that other side to this glorious view of literature—the misuse of books, the debilitating waste of brain in aimless, promiscuous, vapid reading, or even, it may be, in the poisonous inhalation of mere literary garbage and bad men’s worst thoughts. … What are the subjects, what are the class of books we are to read, in what order, with what connection, to what ultimate use or object? Even those who are resolved to read the better books are embarrassed by a field of choice practically boundless. The longest life, the greatest industry, joined to the most powerful memory, would not suffice to make us profit from a hundredth part of the world of books before us. If the great Newton said that he seemed to have been all his life gathering a few shells on the shore, whilst a boundless ocean of truth still lay beyond and unknown to him, how much more to each of us must the sea of literature be a pathless immensity beyond our powers of vision or of reach—an immensity in which industry itself is useless without judgment, method, discipline; where it is of infinite importance what we can learn and remember, and of utterly no importance what we may have once looked at or heard of. Alas! the most of our reading leaves as little mark even in our own education as the foam that gathers round the keel of a passing boat! For myself, I am inclined to think the most useful help to reading is to know what we should not read, what we can keep out from that small cleared spot in the overgrown jungle of “information”, the corner which we can call our ordered patch of fruit-bearing knowledge. The incessant accumulation of fresh books must hinder any real knowledge of the old; for the multiplicity of volumes becomes a bar upon our use of any… Thus the difficulties of literature are in their way as great as those of the world, the obstacles to finding the right friends are as great, the peril is as great of being lost in a Babel of voices and an ever-changing mass of beings. Books are not wiser than men, the true books are not easier to find than the true men, the bad books or the vulgar books are not less obtrusive and not less A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 84 ubiquitous than the bad or vulgar men are everywhere; the art of right reading is as long and difficult to learn as the art of right living. Those who are on good terms with the first author they meet, run as much risk as men who surrender their time to the first passer in the street; for to be open to every book is for the most part to gain as little as possible from any. A man aimlessly wandering about in a crowded city is of all men the most lonely; so he who takes up only the books that he ‘comes across’ is pretty certain to meet but few that are worth knowing. ...Now this danger is one to which we are specially exposed in this age. Our high-pressure life of emergencies, our whirling industrial organisation or disorganisation have brought us in this (as in most things) their peculiar difficulties and drawbacks. In almost everything vast opportunities and gigantic means of multiplying our products bring with them new perils and troubles which are often at first neglected. Our huge cities, where wealth is piled up and the requirements and appliances of life extended beyond the dreams of our forefathers, seem to breed in themselves new forms of squalor, disease, blights, or risks to life such as we are yet unable to master. So the enormous multiplicity of modern books is not altogether favourable to the knowing of the best… The Nile is the source of the Egyptian’s bread, and without it he perishes of hunger. But the Nile may be rather too liberal in his flood, and then the Egyptian runs imminent risk of drowning… Every book that we take up without a purpose is an opportunity lost of taking up a book with a purpose—every bit of stray information which we cram into our heads without any sense of its importance, is for the most part a bit of the most useful information driven out of our heads and choked off from our minds. It is so certain that information, i.e., the knowledge, the stored thoughts and observations of mankind, is now grown to proportions so utterly incalculable and prodigious, that even the learned whose lives are given to study can but pick up some crumbs that fall from the table of truth. They delve and tend but a plot in that vast and teeming kingdom, whilst those whom active life leaves with but a few cramped hours of study can hardly come to know the very vastness of the field before them, or how infinitesimally small is the corner they can traverse at the best. We know all is not of equal value. We know that books differ in value as much as diamonds differ from the sand on the seashore, as much as our living friend differs from a dead rat. We know that much in the myriad-peopled world of books—very much in all kinds—is trivial, enervating, inane, even noxious. And thus, where we have infinite opportunities of wasting our efforts to no end, of fatiguing our minds without enriching them, of clogging the spirit without A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 85 satisfying it, there, I cannot but think, the very infinity of opportunities is robbing us of the actual power of using them. And thus I come often, in my less hopeful moods, to watch the remorseless cataract of daily literature which thunders over the remnants of the past, as if it were a fresh impediment to the men of our day in the way of systematic knowledge and consistent powers of thought, as if it were destined one day to overwhelm the great inheritance of mankind in prose and verse… … And so, I say it most confidently, the first intellectual task of our age is rightly to order and make serviceable the vast realm of printed material which four centuries have swept across our path. To organise our knowledge, to systematise our reading, to save, out of the relentless cataract of ink, the immortal thoughts of the greatest—this is a necessity, unless the productive ingenuity of man is to lead us at last to a measureless and pathless chaos… The Choice of Books is really the choice of our education, of a moral and intellectual ideal, of the whole duty of man. But though I shrink from any so high a theme, a few words are needed to indicate my general point of view in the matter. In the first place, when we speak about books, let us avoid the extravagance of expecting too much from books, the pedant’s habit of extolling books as synonymous with education. Books are no more education than laws are virtue; and just as profligacy is easy within the strict limits of law, a boundless knowledge of books may be found with a narrow education. A man may be, as the poet saith, “deep vers’d in books, and shallow in himself”. We need to know in order that we may feel rightly and act wisely. The thirst after truth itself may be pushed to a degree where indulgence enfeebles our sympathies and unnerves us in action. Of all men perhaps the book- lover needs most to be reminded that man’s business here is to know for the sake of living, not to live for the sake of knowing. A healthy mode of reading would follow the lines of a sound education. And the first canon of a sound education is to make it the instrument to perfect the whole nature and character. Its aims are comprehensive, not special; they regard life as a whole, not mental curiosity; they have to give us, not so much materials, as capacities. So that, however moderate and limited the opportunity for education, in its way it should be always more or less symmetrical and balanced, appealing equally in turn to the three grand intellectual elements—imagination, memory, reflection: and so having something to give us in poetry, in history, in science, and in philosophy. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 86 And thus our reading will be sadly one-sided, however voluminous it be, if it entirely close to us any of the great types and ideals which the creative instinct of man has produced, if it shut out from us either the ancient world, or other poetry, as important almost as our own. When our reading, however deep, runs wholly into “pockets,” and exhausts itself in the literature of one age, one country, one type, then we may be sure that it is tending to narrow or deform our minds. And the more it leads us into curious byways and nurtures us into indifference for the beaten highways of the world, the sooner we shall end, if we be not specialists and students by profession, in ceasing to treat our books as the companions and solace of our lifetime, and in using them as the instruments of a refined sort of self-indulgence. A wise education, and so judicious reading, should leave no great type of thought, no dominant phase of human nature, wholly a blank. Whether our reading be great or small, so far as it goes, it should be general. If our lives admit of but a short space for reading, all the more reason that, so far as may be, it should remind us of the vast expanse of human thought, and the wonderful variety of human nature. … Be it imagination, memory, or reflection that we address—that is, in poetry, history, science, or philosophy, our first duty is to aim at knowing something at least of the best, … A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 87 On writing stories Preface to ‘Call to Arms’ by Lu Hsun also known as Zhou Shuren (The Chief Commander of China’s Modern Cultural Revolution) When I was young I, too, had many dreams. Most of them came to be forgotten, but I see nothing in this to regret. For although recalling the past may make you happy, it may sometimes also make you lonely, and there is no point in clinging in spirit to lonely bygone days. However, my trouble is that I cannot forget completely, and these stories have resulted from what I have been unable to erase from my memory… I believe those who sink from prosperity to poverty will probably come, in the process, to understand what the world is really like. I wanted to go to the K—— school in N—— perhaps because I was in search of a change of scene and faces. … At that time the proper thing was to study the classics and take the official examinations. Anyone who studied “foreign subjects” was looked down upon as a fellow good for nothing, who, out of desperation, was forced to sell his soul to foreign devils. … I went to N—— and entered the K—— school; and it was there that I heard for the first time the names of such subjects as natural science, arithmetic, geography, history, drawing and physical training. They had no physiology course, but we saw woodblock editions of such works as A New Course on the Human Body and Essays on Chemistry and Hygiene. Recalling the talk and prescriptions of physicians I had known and comparing them with what I now knew, I came to the conclusion those physicians must be either unwitting or deliberate charlatans; and I began to sympathize with the invalids and families who suffered at their hands. From translated histories I also learned that the Japanese Reformation had originated, to a great extent, with the introduction of Western medical science to Japan. These inklings took me to a provincial medical college in Japan. I dreamed a beautiful dream that on my return to China I would cure patients like my father, who had been wrongly treated, while if war broke out I would serve as an army doctor, at the same time strengthening my countrymen’s faith in reformation. … This was during the Russo-Japanese War, so there were many war films ... It was a long time since I had seen any compatriots, but one day I saw a film showing some Chinese, one of whom was bound, while many others stood around him. They were all strong fellows but appeared completely apathetic. According to the commentary, the one with his hands bound was a spy A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 88 working for the Russians, who was to have his head cut off by the Japanese military as a warning to others, while the Chinese beside him had come to enjoy the spectacle. Before the term was over I had left for Tokyo, because after this film I felt that medical science was not so important after all. The people of a weak and backward country, however strong and healthy they may be, can only serve to be made examples of, or to witness such futile spectacles; and it doesn’t really matter how many of them die of illness. The most important thing, therefore, was to change their spirit, and since at that time I felt that literature was the best means to this end, I determined to promote a literary movement…. after discussion our first step, of course, was to publish a magazine, the title of which denoted that this was a new birth. As we were then rather classically inclined, we called it Xin Sheng (New Life). When the time for publication drew near, some of our contributors dropped out, and then our funds were withdrawn, until finally there were only three of us left, and we were penniless. Since we had started our magazine at an unlucky hour, there was naturally no one to whom we could complain when we failed; but later even we three were destined to part, and our discussions of a dream future had to cease. So ended this abortive New Life. Only later did I feel the futility of it all; at that time I did not really understand anything. Later I felt if a man’s proposals met with approval, it should encourage him; if they met with opposition, it should make him fight back; but the real tragedy for him was to lift up his voice among the living and meet with no response, neither approval nor opposition, just as if he were left helpless in a boundless desert. So I began to feel lonely. And this feeling of loneliness grew day by day, coiling about my soul like a huge poisonous snake. Yet in spite of my unaccountable sadness, I felt no indignation; for this experience had made me reflect and see that I was definitely not the heroic type who could rally multitudes at his call. However, my loneliness had to be dispelled, for it was causing me agony. So I used various means to dull my senses, both by conforming to the spirit of the time and turning to the past. Later I experienced or witnessed even greater loneliness and sadness, which I do not like to recall, preferring that it should perish with me. Still my attempt to deaden my senses was not unsuccessful—I had lost the enthusiasm and fervour of my youth. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 89 In S—— Hostel there were three rooms where it was said a woman had lived who hanged herself on the locust tree in the courtyard. Although the tree had grown so tall that its branches could no longer be reached, the rooms remained deserted. For some years I stayed here, copying ancient inscriptions. I had few visitors, ... The only visitor to come for an occasional talk was my old friend Chin Hsin-yi. He would put his big portfolio down on the broken table, take off his long gown, and sit facing me, looking as if his heart was still beating fast after braving the dogs. “What is the use of copying these?” he demanded inquisitively one night, after looking through the inscriptions I had copied. “No use at all.” “Then why copy them?” “For no particular reason.” “I think you might write something. . . .” I understood. They were editing the magazine New Youth, but hitherto there seemed to have been no reaction, favourable or otherwise, and I guessed they must be feeling lonely. However I said: “Imagine an iron house without windows, absolutely indestructible, with many people fast asleep inside who will soon die of suffocation. But you know since they will die in their sleep, they will not feel the pain of death. Now if you cry aloud to wake a few of the lighter sleepers, making those unfortunate few suffer the agony of irrevocable death, do you think you are doing them a good turn?” “But if a few awake, you can’t say there is no hope of destroying the iron house.” True, in spite of my own conviction, I could not blot out hope, for hope lies in the future. I could not use my own evidence to refute his assertion that it might exist. So I agreed to write, and the result was my first story, A Madman’s Diary. From that time onwards, I could not stop writing, and would write some sort of short story from time to time at the request of friends, until I had more than a dozen of them. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 90 On Referencing Preface to Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes …My wish would be simply to present it to thee plain and unadorned, without any embellishment of preface or uncountable muster of customary sonnets, epigrams, and eulogies, such as are commonly put at the beginning of books. For I can tell thee, though composing it cost me some labour, I found none greater than the making of this Preface thou art now reading. Many times did I take up my pen to write it, and many did I lay it down again, not knowing what to write. One of these times, as I was pondering with the paper before me, a pen in my ear, my elbow on the desk, and my cheek in my hand, thinking of what I should say, there came in unexpectedly a certain lively, clever friend of mine, who, seeing me so deep in thought, asked the reason; to which I, making no mystery of it, answered that I was thinking of the Preface I had to make for the story of ‘Don Quixote,’ which so troubled me that I had a mind not to make any at all, nor even publish the achievements of so noble a knight. “For, how could you expect me not to feel uneasy about what that ancient lawgiver they call the Public will say when it sees me, after slumbering so many years in the silence of oblivion, coming out now with all my years upon my back, and with a book as dry as a rush, devoid of invention, meagre in style, poor in thoughts, wholly wanting in learning and wisdom, without quotations in the margin or annotations at the end, after the fashion of other books I see, which, though all fables and profanity, are so full of maxims from Aristotle, and Plato, and the whole herd of philosophers, that they fill the readers with amazement and convince them that the authors are men of learning, erudition, and eloquence. And then, when they quote the Holy Scriptures!- anyone would say they are St. Thomases or other doctors of the Church... Of all this there will be nothing in my book, for I have nothing to quote in the margin or to note at the end, and still less do I know what authors I follow in it, to place them at the beginning, as all do, under the letters A, B, C, beginning with Aristotle and ending with Xenophon, or Zoilus, or Zeuxis, though one was a slanderer and the other a painter. Also my book must do without sonnets at the beginning, at least sonnets whose authors are dukes, marquises, counts, bishops, ladies, or famous poets. Though if I were to ask two or three obliging friends, I know they would give me them, and such as the productions of those that have the highest reputation in our Spain could not equal. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 91 “In short, my friend,” I continued, “I am determined that Senor Don Quixote shall remain buried in the archives of his own La Mancha until Heaven provide some one to garnish him with all those things he stands in need of; because I find myself, through my shallowness and want of learning, unequal to supplying them, and because I am by nature shy and careless about hunting for authors to say what I myself can say without them. Hence the cogitation and abstraction you found me in, and reason enough, what you have heard from me.” Hearing this, my friend, giving himself a slap on the forehead and breaking into a hearty laugh, exclaimed, “Before God, Brother, now am I disabused of an error in which I have been living all this long time I have known you, all through which I have taken you to be shrewd and sensible in all you do; but now I see you are as far from that as the heaven is from the earth. It is possible that things of so little moment and so easy to set right can occupy and perplex a ripe wit like yours, fit to break through and crush far greater obstacles? By my faith, this comes, not of any want of ability, but of too much indolence and too little knowledge of life. Do you want to know if I am telling the truth? Well, then, attend to me, and you will see how, in the opening and shutting of an eye, I sweep away all your difficulties, and supply all those deficiencies which you say check and discourage you from bringing before the world the story of your famous Don Quixote, the light and mirror of all knight-errantry.” “Say on,” said I, listening to his talk; “how do you propose to make up for my diffidence, and reduce to order this chaos of perplexity I am in?” To which he made answer, “Your first difficulty about the sonnets, epigrams, or complimentary verses which you want for the beginning, and which ought to be by persons of importance and rank, can be removed if you yourself take a little trouble to make them; you can afterwards baptise them, and put any name you like to them, fathering them on Prester John of the Indies or the Emperor of Trebizond, who, to my knowledge, were said to have been famous poets: and even if they were not, and any pedants or bachelors should attack you and question the fact, never care two maravedis for that, for even if they prove a lie against you they cannot cut off the hand you wrote it with. “As to references in the margin to the books and authors from whom you take the aphorisms and sayings you put into your story, it is only contriving to fit in nicely any sentences or scraps of Latin you may happen to have by heart, or at any rate that will not give you much trouble to look up; so as, when you speak of freedom and captivity, to insert Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro; A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 92 (Liberty is not well sold for all the gold) and then refer in the margin to Horace, or whoever said it; or, if you allude to the power of death, to come in with- Pallida mors Aequo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas, Regumque turres (Pale Death, with impartial foot, knocks at the cottages of the poor and the palaces of kings) If it be friendship and the love God bids us bear to our enemy, go at once to the Holy Scriptures, which you can do with a very small amount of research, and quote no less than the words of God himself: Ego autem dico vobis: diligite inimicos vestros. (But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you) If you speak of evil thoughts, turn to the Gospel: De corde exeunt cogitationes malae.(For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemie) If of the fickleness of friends, there is Cato, who will give you his distich: Donec eris felix multos numerabis amicos, Tempora si fuerint nubila, solus eris. (As long as you are fortunate, you will have many friends; if the weather has become cloudy, you will be alone.) With these and such like bits of Latin they will take you for a grammarian at all events, and that now-a-days is no small honour and profit. “With regard to adding annotations at the end of the book, you may safely do it in this way. If you mention any giant in your book contrive that it shall be the giant Goliath, and with this alone, which will cost you almost nothing, you have a grand note, for you can put- The giant Golias or Goliath was a Philistine whom the shepherd David slew by a mighty stone-cast in the Terebinth valley, as is related in the Book of Kings- in the chapter where you find it written.” “Next, to prove yourself a man of erudition in polite literature and cosmography, manage that the river Tagus shall be named in your story, and there you are at once with another famous annotation, setting forth- The river Tagus was so called after a King of Spain: it has its source in such and such a place and falls into the ocean, kissing the walls of the famous city of Lisbon, … A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 93 Ovid will furnish you with Medea; if with witches or enchantresses, Homer has Calypso, and Virgil Circe; if with valiant captains, Julius Caesar himself will lend you himself in his own ‘Commentaries,’ and Plutarch will give you a thousand Alexanders. If you should deal with love, with two ounces you may know of Tuscan you can go to Leon the Hebrew, who will supply you to your heart’s content; or if you should not care to go to foreign countries you have at home Fonseca’s ‘Of the Love of God,’ in which is condensed all that you or the most imaginative mind can want on the subject. In short, all you have to do is to manage to quote these names, or refer to these stories I have mentioned, and leave it to me to insert the annotations and quotations, and I swear by all that’s good to fill your margins and use up four sheets at the end of the book. “Now let us come to those references to authors which other books have, and you want for yours. The remedy for this is very simple: You have only to look out for some book that quotes them all, from A to Z as you say yourself, and then insert the very same alphabet in your book, and though the imposition may be plain to see, because you have so little need to borrow from them, that is no matter; there will probably be some simple enough to believe that you have made use of them all in this plain, artless story of yours. At any rate, if it answers no other purpose, this long catalogue of authors will serve to give a surprising look of authority to your book. Besides, no one will trouble himself to verify whether you have followed them or whether you have not, being no way concerned in it; especially as, if I mistake not, this book of yours has no need of any one of those things you say it wants, for it is, from beginning to end, an attack upon the books of chivalry, …. It has only to avail itself of truth to nature in its composition, and the more perfect the imitation the better the work will be. And as this piece of yours aims at nothing more than to destroy the authority and influence which books of chivalry have in the world and with the public, there is no need for you to go a- begging for aphorisms from philosophers, precepts from Holy Scripture, fables from poets, speeches from orators, or miracles from saints; but merely to take care that your style and diction run musically, pleasantly, and plainly, with clear, proper, and well-placed words, setting forth your purpose to the best of your power, and putting your ideas intelligibly, without confusion or obscurity. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 94 Strive, too, that in reading your story the melancholy may be moved to laughter, and the merry made merrier still; that the simple shall not be wearied, that the judicious shall admire the invention, that the grave shall not despise it, nor the wise fail to praise it. Finally, keep your aim fixed on the destruction of that ill-founded edifice of the books of chivalry, hated by some and praised by many more; for if you succeed in this you will have achieved no small success.” A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 95 On Good Behaviour By Ralph Waldo Emerson from ‘The Conduct of Life,’ There is always a best way of doing everything, if it be to boil an egg. Manners are the happy ways of doing things; each once a stroke of genius or of love,—now repeated and hardened into usage. They form at last a rich varnish, with which the routine of life is washed, and its details adorned. If they are superficial, so are the dew-drops which give such a depth to the morning meadows. Manners are very communicable: men catch them from each other…. They stereotype the lesson they have learned into a mode. The power of manners is incessant,—an element as unconcealable as fire. The nobility cannot in any country be disguised, and no more in a republic or a democracy than in a kingdom. No man can resist their influence. There are certain manners which are learned in good society, of that force, that, if a person has them, he or she must be considered, and is everywhere welcome, though without beauty, or wealth, or genius… We talk much of utilities,—but ‘tis our manners that associate us. In hours of business, we go to him who knows, or has, or does this or that which we want, and we do not let our taste or feeling stand in the way. But this activity over, we return to the indolent state, and wish for those we can be at ease with; those who will go where we go, whose manners do not offend us, whose social tone chimes with ours. When we reflect on their persuasive and cheering force; how they recommend, prepare, and draw people together; how, in all clubs, manners make the members; how manners make the fortune of the ambitious youth; that, for the most part, his manners marry him, and, for the most part, he marries manners; when we think what keys they are, and to what secrets; what high lessons and inspiring tokens of character they convey; and what divination is required in us, for the reading of this fine telegraph; we see what range the subject has, and what relations to convenience, power, and beauty. Their first service is very low,—when they are the minor morals; but ‘tis the beginning of civility,—to make us, I mean, endurable to each other. We prize them for their rough-plastic, abstergent force; to get people out of the quadruped state; to get them washed, clothed, and set up on end; to slough their animal husks and habits; compel them to be clean; overawe their spite A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 96 and meanness, teach them to stifle the base, and choose the generous expression, and make them know how much happier the generous behaviours are. Bad behaviour the laws cannot reach. Society is invested with rude, cynical, restless, and frivolous persons who prey upon the rest, and whom a public opinion concentrated into good manners, forms accepted by the sense of all…I have seen men who neigh like a horse when you contradict them, or say something which they do not understand;—then the overbold, who make their own invitation to your hearth; the persevering talker, who gives you his society in large, saturating doses; the pitiers of themselves,—a perilous class; … in short, every stripe of absurdity;—these are social inflictions which the magistrate cannot cure or defend you from, and which must be intrusted to the restraining force of custom, and proverbs, and familiar rules of behaviour impressed on young people in their school-days… ... Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behaviour. The whole economy of nature is bent on expression… The face and eyes reveal what the spirit is doing, how old it is, what aims it has. The eyes indicate the antiquity of the soul, or through how many forms it has already ascended. Manners have been somewhat cynically defined to be a contrivance of wise men to keep fools at a distance. Fashion is shrewd to detect those who do not belong to her train, and seldom wastes her attentions. Society is very swift in its instincts, and, if you do not belong to it, resists and sneers at you; or quietly drops you. … People grow up and grow old under this infliction and never suspect the truth, ascribing the solitude which acts on them very injuriously to any cause but the right one. … Manners require time, as nothing is more vulgar than haste. Friendship should be surrounded with ceremonies and respects, and not crushed into corners. Friendship requires more time than poor busy men can usually command. … Manners impress as they indicate real power. A man who is sure of his point, carries a broad and contented expression, which everybody reads. And you cannot rightly train one to an air and manner, except by making him the kind of man of whom that manner is the natural expression. Nature for ever puts a premium on reality. What is done for effect, is seen to be done for effect; what is done for love, is felt to be done for love. A man inspires affection and honour, because he was not lying in wait for these. The things of a man for which we visit him, were done in the dark and the cold. A little integrity is better than any career. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 97 On Toleration in Religion By John Locke … (Toleration is the chief characteristic mark of the true religion). For whatsoever some people boast of the antiquity of places and names, or of the pomp of their outward worship; others, of the reformation of their discipline; all, of the orthodoxy of their faith…these things, and all others of this nature, are much rather marks of men striving for power and empire over one another. Let anyone have never so true a claim to all these things, yet if he be destitute of charity, meekness, and good-will in general towards all mankind, even to those that are not (of his religion), he is certainly yet short of being a true (man of God) himself....The business of true religion is quite another thing. It is not instituted in order to the erecting of an external pomp, nor to the obtaining of ecclesiastical dominion, nor to the exercising of compulsive force, but to the regulating of men’s lives, according to the rules of virtue and piety. Now, I appeal to the consciences of those that persecute, torment, destroy, and kill other men upon pretence of religion, whether they do it out of friendship and kindness towards them or no?... That any man should think fit to cause another man—whose salvation he heartily desires—to expire in torments, and that even in an unconverted state, would, I confess, seem very strange to me, and I think, to any other also. But nobody, surely, will ever believe that such a carriage can proceed from charity, love, or goodwill. (men ought not to be compelled by fire and sword to profess certain doctrines, and conform to this or that exterior worship, without any regard had unto their morals)… The toleration of those that differ from others in matters of religion is so agreeable to … to the genuine reason of mankind, that it seems monstrous for men to be so blind as not to perceive the necessity and advantage of it in so clear a light. … Nobody, therefore, in fine, neither single persons nor churches, nay, nor even commonwealths, have any just title to invade the civil rights and worldly goods of each other upon pretence of religion. Those that are of another opinion would do well to consider with themselves how A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 98 pernicious a seed of discord and war, how powerful a provocation to endless hatreds, rapines, and slaughters they thereby furnish unto mankind. No peace and security, no, not so much as common friendship, can ever be established or preserved amongst men so long as this opinion prevails, that dominion is founded in grace and that religion is to be propagated by force of arms. …seeing one man does not violate the right of another by his erroneous opinions and undue manner of worship, nor is his perdition any prejudice to another man’s affairs, therefore, the care of each man’s salvation belongs only to himself. But I would not have this understood as if I meant hereby to condemn all charitable admonitions and affectionate endeavours to reduce men from errors... Any one may employ as many exhortations and arguments as he pleases, towards the promoting of another man’s salvation. But all force and compulsion are to be forborne. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 99 The genesis of a poem “The poet concentrates his thought on some concrete piece of life, on some incident, character, or bit of personal experience; because of his emotional temperament, this concentration of interest stirs in him a quick play of feeling and prompts the swift concurrence of many images. Under the incitement of these feelings, and in accordance with laws of association that may at least in part be described, these images grow bright and clear, take definite shapes, fall into significant groupings, branch and ramify, and break into sparkling mimicry of the actual world of the senses—all the time delicately controlled by the poet's conscious purpose and so growing intellectually significant, but all the time, if the work of art is to be vital, impelled also in their alert weaving of patterns by the moods of the poet, by his fine instinctive sense of the emotional expressiveness of this or that image that lurks in the background of his consciousness. For this intricate web of images, tinged with his most intimate moods, the poet through his intuitive command of words finds an apt series of sound-symbols and records them with written characters. And so a poem arises through an exquisite distillation of personal moods into imagery and into language, and is ready to offer to all future generations its undiminishing store of spiritual joy and strength.” Lewis E. Gates, Studies and Appreciations Poetry “I wish our clever young poets would remember my homely definitions of prose and poetry; that is, prose is words in their best order; and poetry is the best words in the best order.” COLERIDGE, Table Talk. Poetry is prose in slow motion. The language of poetry tends to be more expressive or decorated, with comparisons, rhyme, and rhythm contributing to a different sound and feel. People most often express themselves in poetry when they have an experience or feeling that seems too strong for ordinary prose, most often experiences of love, death, disaster, beauty, happiness, horror or shock. Poetry is a way of concentrating on and encapsulating a moment or experience, of remembering it, or sometimes of working through it. If the normal time in a football match is the prose then a penalty shoot-out is the poetry. Even though Poetry deals with serious subjects, it appeals to the feelings rather than to the reason, it employs beautiful language. Poetry is music, the tempos and tones of life, the beat of language enacted. It is the human voice singing its joys and grief. It is movement. It is voice and dance. Poetry is language, the structures, grammar, syntax, etymologies. It is metaphor, and the rhythms of persuasion. It is precision and concision. Poetry is pictures painted with words. According to Bliss Perry in ‘A Study Of Poetry’: Poetry is the universal voice, the human spirit calling across boundaries of time, geography, culture, age, race, gender, experience. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 100 “Out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric; Out of the quarrel with ourselves we make poetry.” W.B. Yeats “The essence of poetry is invention; such invention as, by producing something unexpected, surprises and delights.” Samuel Johnson in Lives of the Poets Poetry is the school I will never graduate from because no matter how hard –I try I will never tell it all the secret way of its patterns And how the same letters form different syllables to form different words, And how they fall – in front or behind one another, and if re - arranged would create a whole different story... It is how emotions run High – Low – Calm –Serene Vivacious, like the sun at noon, surreal like the fantasy it promises You never know when poetry goes subtle or quiet. How even when there, It grows deep like a river that bleeds when the dry earth has sucked out her waters...poetry… Lilian A. Aujo ‘The Eye of Poetry’ Through it we learn about each other and about ourselves. The purposes of poetic writing Poetic writing is used to express feelings and emotions, describe experiences and tell stories. Poetic writing includes both prose and poetry. Prose uses sentences and paragraphs and is used for short stories, personal letters and descriptions of people and places. Poetry is usually written in lines, often using verses or stanzas The lines may rhyme, or they may be in free verse (where they do not rhyme, but each line is about an idea or thought) In Midsummer Night’s Dream, v, i, Shakespeare writes: “The lunatic, the lover and the poet Are of imagination all compact; One sees more devils than vast hell can hold, That is, the madman: the lover, all as frantic, Sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt: The poet’s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen Turns them to shapes and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name. Such tricks hath strong imagination, That, if it would but apprehend some joy, It comprehends some bringer of that joy; Or in the night, imagining some fear, How easy is a bush supposed a bear!” A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 101 A poem is not primarily a series of printed word-signs addressed to the eye; it is a series of sounds addressed to the ear. Why study poetry Poetry acknowledges something deep within our nature—an urge to name, say, sing, grieve, praise, out of our solitariness, to another person. It makes words into a material thing, hard and solid as a table, dense with significance Poetry is a source of hope. Like music poetry is also good for purely aesthetic pleasure. Poetry is also a witness to human cruelty. Poetry instructs us to look for the structure in any written piece. Poetry teaches us the principles of interpretation, because such questions naturally arise in the discussion of a poem. Poetry reminds us that the metaphor is the basic way of knowing the unknown and that we often describe one thing in terms of another. Poetry gives us images to cherish and to invigorate our daily experience. Poetry encourages an economy and precision in language. Research indicates that: Poetry awakens our senses, helps us make connections to others, and leads us to think in synthesizing ways, as required by the use of metaphor. Paying attention to the language and rhythms of poetry helps build oral language skills. Children with well-developed oral language skills are more likely to have higher achievement in reading and writing. 5 5 Poetry: A Powerful Medium for Literacy and Technology Development By Dr. Janette Hughes “Poetry may make us from time to time a little more aware of the deeper unnamed feelings which form the substratum of our being, to which we rarely penetrate; for our lives are mostly a constant evasion of ourselves.” T.S. Eliot A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 102 When I Was One- And-Twenty When I was one-and-twenty I heard a wise man say, “Give crowns and pounds and guineas But not your heart away; Give pearls away and rubies But keep your fancy free.” But I was one-and-twenty, No use to talk to me. When I was one-and-twenty I heard him say again, “The heart out of the bosom Was never given in vain; ‘Tis paid with sighs a-plenty And sold for endless rue.” And I am two-and-twenty, And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true. By A. E. Housman How to read poetry Learn to read closely, listen to the sounds and rhythms, look at the patterns which create these, hear the language of the poem intensely, see if you can put yourself into the physical environment that the poet is creating. Start with questions that you might ask yourself about a poem. Discipline yourself to look at the images, to hear the sounds working together, to think about the subject the poet has introduced. Ask yourself if you have read anything else which would comment upon this idea. Link what is in front of you to your experience both in books and in life. Dr. Chris Koenig-Woodyard in A Guide to Interpreting Poetry offers the following suggestion to reading poetry: The Stages of Reading First reading: read straight through—ignoring line and stanza breaks—as though you were reading prose (full sentences). Second reading: read out loud, paying attention to line breaks, and punctuation. Third reading: circle/underline words and phrases that you don’t understand. Fourth Reading: circle/underline words and phrases that you do understand, and that you feel help you to understand the poem. Maybe the key word or phrase embodies a theme of the poem. Fifth (and subsequent readings): interact with the poem. Read out loud, again. Sound out individual words and lines repeatedly, trying to gain a sense of rhythm (stress and accents), the sound of letters (hard/soft). Mark up the page(s)—and if you do not want to write in your book, photocopy the page(s)—writing down thoughts and questions; recording definitions of words from your third reading, when you noted words that you didn’t understand. Reverse Reading: To be performed after your first reading. As you read, and an idea enters your head (you have a sense of the big picture of a poem, its theme), STOP reading! and A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 103 began moving backward through the poem, trying to locate the word, image, line that triggered your idea. If you can’t find a specific trigger—make a note in the margin. Look up words in a dictionary, the ones you don’t know but even the ones you do to see if there are nuances you might be missing. See how the rhymed words make suggestions about what the poem is saying. NOTE: Unlike Prose, Poetry uses all of its lines and spaces to create meaning. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 104 The Character Of A Happy Life by Sir Henry Wotton How happy is he born or taught, That serveth not another’s will; Whose armour is his honest thought, And simple truth his highest skill; Whose passions not his masters are; Whose soul is still prepar'd for death Untied unto the world with care Of princes' grace or vulgar breath; Who envies none whom chance doth raise, Or vice; who never understood The deepest wounds are given by praise, By rule of state, but not of good; Who hath his life from rumours freed; Whose conscience is his strong retreat; Whose state can neither flatterers feed, Nor ruins make accusers great; Who God doth late and early pray, More of his grace than goods to send, And entertains the harmless day With a well-chosen book or friend. This man is free from servile bands Of hope to rise or fear to fall; Lord of himself, though not of lands; And having nothing, yet hath all. Poetic forms Poetry has been divided into three great classes: narrative, lyric, and dramatic. The lyric is a short poem expressing the thoughts and feelings of a single speaker. It originally referred to a poem sung to the music of a lyre. Lyric poetry finds its source in the author’s feelings and emotions. The lyric adopts any verse that suits the emotion. The principal classes of lyric poetry are the song, the ode, the elegy, and the sonnet. The narrative relates a series of events or tells a story. Narrative poems find their material in external events and circumstances. Narrative poetry deals with events, real or imaginary. It includes, among other varieties, the epic, the metrical romance, the tale, and the ballad. The dramatic Presents the voice of an imaginary character (or characters) speaking directly, without any additional narration by the author. The sonnet The word Sonnet originally meant Little Song. The sonnet is fourteen-line poem with a single theme. The lines are written in “iambic pentameter.” This means that they alternate soft and strong syllables (iambic) and are five beats long (pentameter). There are two types of sonnet: the Italian and the Shakespearean. The two parts of the Italian or Petrarchan sonnet work together. The octave raises a question, states a problem, or presents a brief narrative; the sestet answers the question, solves the problem, or comments on the narrative. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 105 Most of the Shakespearean sonnets are grouped into three "quatrains" (groups of four lines) followed by a rhyming couplet (two lines). Each of the quatrains of the English or Shakespearean sonnet usually explores one aspect of the main idea— stating a problem, raising a question, and/or presenting a narrative situation. The final couplet presents a startling or seemingly contrasting concluding statement. The couplet nearly always rings with finality, a truth or certainty – the completion of argument, an assertion, a refutation. NOTE A sonnet is a lyric that deals with a single thought, idea, or sentiment in a fixed metrical form. The sonnet always contains fourteen lines. It has, 286 too, a very definite rhyme scheme. Examples If We Must Die By Claude McKay If we must die—let it not be like hogs Hunted and penned in an inglorious spot, While round us bark the mad and hungry dogs, Making their mock at our accursed lot. If we must die—oh, let us nobly die, So that our precious blood may not be shed In vain; then even the monsters we defy Shall be constrained to honor us though dead! Oh, Kinsmen! We must meet the common foe; Though far outnumbered, let us show us brave, And for their thousand blows deal one deathblow! What though before us lies the open grave? Like men we'll face the murderous, cowardly pack, Pressed to the wall, dying, but fighting back! “In poetry you have a form looking for a subject and a subject looking for a form. When they come together successfully you have a poem.” Brooks and Warren in Understanding Poetry A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 106 Sonnet 116 By William Shakespeare “Let me not to the marriage of true minds Admit impediments. Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: O no; it is an ever-fixed mark, That looks on tempests, and is never shaken; It is the star to every wandering bark, Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks Within his bending sickle's compass come; Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, But bears it out even to the edge of doom. If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ, nor no man ever loved.” Personal Talk By William Wordsworth I AM not One who much or oft delight To season my fireside with personal talk.-- Of friends, who live within an easy walk, Or neighbours, daily, weekly, in my sight: And, for my chance-acquaintance, ladies bright, Sons, mothers, maidens withering on the stalk, These all wear out of me, like Forms, with chalk Painted on rich men’s floors, for one feast-night. Better than such discourse doth silence long, Long, barren silence, square with my desire; To sit without emotion, hope, or aim, In the loved presence of my cottage-fire, And listen to the flapping of the flame, Or kettle whispering its faint undersong. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 107 Sonnet By John Masefield From Good Friday and Other Poems Is there a great green commonwealth of Thought Which ranks the yearly pageant, and decides How Summer’s royal progress shall be wrought, By secret stir which in each plant abides? Does rocking daffodil consent that she, The snowdrop of wet winters, shall be first? Does spotted cowslip with the grass agree To hold her pride before the rattle burst? And in the hedge what quick agreement goes, When hawthorn blossoms redden to decay, That Summer’s pride shall come, the Summer’s rose, Before the flower be on the bramble spray? Or is it, as with us, unresting strife, And each consent a lucky gasp for life? Sonnet 129 By William Shakespeare “The expense of spirit in a waste of shame Is lust in action; and till action, lust Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame, Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust, Enjoy’d no sooner but despised straight, Past reason hunted, and no sooner had Past reason hated, as a swallow’d bait On purpose laid to make the taker mad; Mad in pursuit and in possession so; Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme; A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe; Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream. All this the world well knows; yet none knows well To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.” A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 108 NOTE In the first twelve lines note the rhyming last words in alternate lines. The last words in the last lines (the couplet) also rhyme. Unrhymed iambic pentameter is called ‘blank verse’. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 109 The epic The epic is a narrative poem of elevated character telling generally of the exploits of heroes. The conventions of this genre are several, for example: It is a long narrative about a serious or worthy traditional subject. The epic is usually of a narrative build. Its diction is elevated in style. It employs a formal, dignified, objective tone and many figures of speech. The narrative focused on the exploits of an epic hero or demigod who represents the cultural values of a race, nation, or religious group. The hero’s success or failure determines the fate of an entire people or nation. The action takes place in a vast setting; it covers a wide geographic area. Examples: The ‘Iliad and the odyssey’ of the Greeks, ‘Paradise Lost’ of the English, ‘the Songs of Lawino’ By Okot Bitek, Emperor Shaka the Great: A Zulu Epic by Mazisi Kunene, and Tragedy of White Injustice By Marcus Mosiah Garvey are good examples of the epic. The metrical romance is any fictitious narrative of heroic, marvellous, or supernatural incidents derived from history or legend, and told at considerable length. ‘The Idylls of the King’ by Alfred Tennyson are examples of this genre. The tale is but little different from the romance. It leaves the field of legend and occupies the place in poetry that a story or a novel does in prose. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 110 The ode This is a lyrical poem of some length on a single subject, generally in praise or celebration of an object, a place or an experience. The word ‘ode’ comes from the Greek word ‘oide’ meaning ‘to sing or chant’. Most contemporary amateur poets use the Irregular ode — an ode without any predetermined topic or structure. This form may be written with or without rhyme, may be short or long, may be serious or silly, and may meditate on the huge and fantastic or the small and simple. NOTE An ode is a lyric expressing exalted emotion; it usually has a complex and irregular metrical form. Collins’s ‘The Passions’, Wordsworth’s ‘Intimations of Immortality,’ and Lowell’s ‘Commemoration Ode,’ are good examples. Example The Ship of State By Horace O ship the fresh tide carries back to sea again. Where are you going! Quickly, run for harbour. Can’t you see how your sides have been stripped bare of oars, how your shattered masts and yards are groaning loudly in the swift south-westerly, and bare of rigging, your hull can scarce tolerate the overpowering waters? You haven’t a single sail that’s still intact now, no gods, that people call to when they’re in trouble. Though you’re built of Pontic pine, a child of those famous forests, though you can boast of your race, and an idle name: the fearful sailor puts no faith in gaudy keels. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 111 You must beware of being merely a plaything of the winds. You, who not long ago were troubling weariness to me, and now are my passion and anxious care, avoid the glistening seas between the shining Cyclades. From Hymn to Earth the Mother of All By Homer (7th century B.C.) O universal mother, who dost keep From everlasting thy foundations deep, Eldest of things, Great Earth, I sing of thee! All shapes that have their dwelling in the sea, All things that fly, or on the ground divine Live, move, and there are nourished–these are thine; These from thy wealth thou dost sustain; from thee Fair babes are born, and fruits on every tree Hang ripe and large, revered Divinity! A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 112 Elegy An elegy is a serious poem pervaded by a feeling of melancholy. It is generally written to commemorate the death of some friend. NOTE The elements of a traditional elegy mirror three stages of loss. First, there is a lament, where the speaker expresses grief and sorrow, then praise and admiration of the idealized dead, and finally consolation and solace. Example O Captain! My Captain! By Walt Whitman O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done; The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won; The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring: But O heart! heart! heart! O the bleeding drops of red, Where on the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells; Rise up--for you the flag is flung--for you the bugle trills; 10 For you bouquets and ribbon'd wreaths--for you the shores a-crowding; For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning; Here Captain! dear father! This arm beneath your head; It is some dream that on the deck, You've fallen cold and dead. My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won; Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 113 But I, with mournful tread, Walk the deck my Captain lies, Fallen cold and dead. A ballad A ballad is a short narrative poem, generally rehearsing but one incident. It is usually vigorous in style, and gives but little thought to elegance. The word Ballad originally derived from an Old French word meaning dancing song. There are two types of ballads. Folk ballads and literary ballads Ballads are often written in ballad stanzas, rhyme scheme. Example Imagination (From ‘New Year’s Eve’) By John Davidson There is a dish to hold the sea, A brazier to contain the sun, A compass for the galaxy, A voice to wake the dead and done! That minister of ministers, Imagination, gathers up The undiscovered Universe, “ Sir, a ballad-singer is a higher man, for he does two things; he repeats and he sings: there is both recitation and musick in his performance. . . .” Samuel Johnson A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 114 Like jewels in a jasper cup. Its flame can mingle north and south; Its accent with the thunder strive; The ruddy sentence of its mouth Can make the ancient dead alive. The mart of power, the fount of will, The form and mould of every star, The source and bound of good and ill, The key of all the things that are, Imagination, new and strange In every age, can turn the year; Can shift the poles and lightly change The mood of men, the world’s career. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 115 The Song The song is a short poem intended to be sung. It has great variety of metres and is generally divided into stanzas. The use of songs, dance, and mime accompanied by drum-beating enables the dramatist to compress many ideas precisely and effectively. Example: The Lion and the Jewel, By Wole Soyinka The test uses the following song: Whenever I have three pence Whenever I have sixpence It is always palm wine I would have been married by now But for the palm wine gourel. A special feature of the mime is dialogues or speeches between the shift of scenes. Example: They marked the route with stakes, ate Through the jungle and began the tracks. Trade, Progress, adventure, success, civilization, Fame, international conspicuousity...it was All within the grasp of Ilujinle... A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 116 Dramatic poetry Dramatic poetry presents a course of human events, and is generally designed to be spoken on the stage. Because such poetry presents human character in action, the term “dramatic” has come to be applied to any poetry having this quality. In the first sense of the word, dramatic poetry includes tragedy and comedy. Tragedy is a drama in which the diction is dignified, the movement impressive, and the ending unhappy. Comedy is a drama of a light and amusing character, with a happy conclusion to its plot. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 117 Blank verse A blank verse is a verse that does not rhyme. It is iambic pentameter,—the most common verse in great English poetry Example The following is verse from Bryant, William Cullen. The Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant is an example of a blank verse. “Two brothers had the maiden, and she thought, Within herself: ‘I would I were like them; For then I might go forth alone, to trace The mighty rivers downward to the sea, And upward to the brooks that, through the year, Prattle to the cool valleys. I would know What races drink their waters; how their chiefs Bear rule, and how men worship there, and how They build, and to what quaint device they frame, Where sea and river meet, their stately ships; What flowers are in their gardens, and what trees Bear fruit within their orchards; in what garb Their bowmen meet on holidays, and how Their maidens bind the waist and braid the hair.’” A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 118 Poetic Prose The prose poem essentially appears as prose, but reads like poetry. While it lacks the line breaks associated with poetry, the prose poem maintains a poetic quality, often utilizing techniques common to poetry, such as fragmentation, compression, repetition, and rhyme. The prose poem can range in length from a few lines to several pages long, and it may explore a limitless array of styles and subjects. Return to My Native Land By Aimé Césaire my negritude is not a stone nor a deafness flung against the clamor of the day my negritude is not a white speck of dead water on the dead eye of the earth my negritude is neither tower nor cathedral it plunges into the red flesh of the soil it plunges into the blaxing flesh of the sky my negritude riddles with holes the dense affliction of its worthy patience. NOTE Poetry is poetic whether it is put in simple language or freely adorned with images and rich phrases. Exercise Critically read the poem the Wasteland by T. S Elliot then attempt the following questions: 1. Under which form would you classify the poem? 2. Identify any symbols, themes, and other literary devices used in the poem. “For poetic effect rely wholly on the power of your substance, the magic of rhythm and the sincerity of your expression. Write always from the inner heart of emotion and vision. Similarly, Avoid frequent inversions or turns of language that belong to the past poetic styles. Modern English poetry uses a straightforward order and a natural style, not different in vocabulary, syntax, etc., from that of prose. An inversion can be used sometimes, but it must be done deliberately and for a distinct and particular effect.” Sri Aurobindo, Letters on Poetry and Art A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 119 “An image is a complex emotional unit, involving the whole of the reader’s mind. It compels attention by its sound as well as its visual element. It conjoins thought and emotion, making a unified impression. In the very best poems, images lodge deep in the mind, where they cannot be easily removed.” Jay Parini, In the introduction to the Wadsworth Anthology Tonal devices of poetry Poetry is made to be spoken. It is essentially an oral kind of literature, and even in written form the sound of poetry is a very important part of its meaning. Alliteration The repetition of the same consonantal sound in several words placed close together or stressed syllables eg on the same line of a poem, to create an image and sound effect, either gentle or harsh. Assonance The echoing or repetition of vowel sounds – a e i o u (rather than consonants) to create an image. The creation of a sound effect by combinations of vowel sounds. Rhyme This is repetition of the final sound of a word. This can be at the end of a line or within the line. Onomatopoeia Sound is matched to meaning of the words. The word sounds like the action– resembles the sound it describes. In other word this are, Words which imitate natural sounds. Other literary devices Imagery in poetry The linking of the strange with the familiar through the image or even through well-placed line breaks is perhaps what makes poetry so powerful. Images express one thing in the terms of another thing. The art of poetry appeals to our bodies most directly when it uses images to cause us to see, touch, taste, hear, and smell the world with which the speaker of the poem would like to bring us into contact. A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 120 Poetry is the language of emotion. Under the heat and pressure of emotion, things alter their shape and size and quality, ideas are transformed into concrete images, diction becomes impassioned, plain speech tends to become metaphorical. every man who uses metaphors is for the moment talking like a poet—unless, as too often happens both in prose and verse, the metaphor has become conventionalized and therefore lifeless. The poet has to think in ‘figures,’ in ‘pictured’ language. For example In the poem ‘The Eagle’ Tennyson instead of describing an eagle, as a: “A rapacious bird of the falcon family, remarkable for its strength, size, graceful figure, and extraordinary flight” represents these facts by making a picture: “He clasps the crag with crooked hands; Close to the sun in lonely lands, Ring'd with the azure world, he stands. The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls; He watches from his mountain walls, And like a thunderbolt he falls.” NOTE The use and the effectiveness of figures depend primarily upon the mood and intentions of the writer. I wish to end this book with what I consider to be among one of the greatest inspirational poem of all time. It is a poem that has been my companion since my teens and still continues to put things into perspectives every time I recite it. I hope many more are going to benefit from its eternal philosophical truths as I have and continue to do. Enjoy: A Brief Introduction to English Literature Draft Copy ©@CMK 2014 121 Desiderata Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism. Be yourself. Especially, do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass. Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth. Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be, and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.