Word Lit

Introduction to the Literatures of the World

• This is an introduction to the study of various literature from around the world

What is Literature?

• Literature is the collected body of written works

Hallmarks of Literature

• There are seven hallmarks used to determine if a literary work is literature or not

Artistry

• Literature that is aesthetically appealing
• Showcases hidden truth and beauty

Suggestiveness

• Literature relies on what is not written
• Inspires and invokes understanding and emotions

Intellectual Value

• Literature is morally gray/nuanced
• Compels its readers to exercise critical thinking

Spiritual Value

• Literature invigorates the spirit and the soul
• Has the ability to inspire readers

Permanence

• Literature is able to stand the test of time

Universality

• Literature contains themes that are resonant regardless of one's culture and background

Style

• Literature contains its own distinct way of expressing their ideas

Literary Forms/Genres of Literature

• These are different categories of literature based on their content, style and technique

Fiction

• These are conceived or imagined literary works
• Examples include The Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Non-Fiction

• Literary works that are predominantly made from facts
• Examples include On the Road by Jack Kerouac and The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Poetry

• Literature that uses a specific language, and is chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound and rhythm

Drama

• Literary works that are suitable for both reading and performing

Different Literary Devices

• These are techniques used to convey meaning

Symbol

• A symbol is a stand-in for something
• People, places, things in Literature can usually refer to something greater than themselves

Allegory

• Unlike the more flexible symbols, allegories in literary works usually represent a specific idea / abstraction

Irony

• A technique that reveals a contradiction between what appears to be and what is actually true

Imagery

• Describing something with figurative language
• Should appeal to the five senses

Allusion

• Literary references to well-known people, characters, places, or events

Love in the Time of Cholera

• By Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• Also known as Gabo
• A Colombian journalist and novelist
• A part of the Latin American writers' boom during the 1960s and 1970s
• Received the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature
• Regarded as one of the most important writers of the 20th century, especially in the Spanish language
• Notable works are One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera

Plot Summary

• In their youth, Florentino Ariza develops feelings for Fermina Daza
• She rejects him for Dr. Juvenal Urbino
• Fermina weds Dr. Urbino, with whom she has a family.
• Florentino loves her from a distance and never gives up
• Dr. Urbino passes away fifty years, nine months and four days later
• Florentino proposes to the recently widowed Fermina, and they end up living together in old age

Literary Genre

• The literary genre of this book is Fiction

Hallmarks of Love in the Time of Cholera

Artistry

• Gabo's prose masterfully hides the fact that Florentino Ariza treats love and longing like a disease akin to Cholera

Intellectual Value

• Gabo plays with his flawed characters to showcase a love story unlike any other
• Despite their inherent flaws, one cannot help but root for them

Spiritual Value

• A meditation on the universal themes of love and longing, Love in the Time of Cholera is inspiring for lovers and friends
• "It was time when they both loved each other best, without hurry or excess, when both were most conscious of and grateful for their incredible victories over adversity. Life would still present them with other moral trials, of course, but that no longer mattered: they were on the other shore." - Gabriel García Márquez, Love in the Time of Cholera

Permanence

• The novel remains relevant up to now considering that people from back then and people now still harbor the feelings of love and longing

Universality

• The novel will always be universal as most, if not all, races and cultures experience the human experience of love and longing

Literary Devices of Love in the Time of Cholera

Symbols

• Flowers symbolize love
• Florentino frequently sends Fermina a white camellia
• Fermina returns the camellias that Florentino sends her after rejecting the first one he offers her from his lapel
• By turning down the camellias, Fermina rejects Florentino's pledge of love and any commitment to him

Irony

• Florentino's Actions
• Despite declaring his love for Fermina as something "pure" and "eternal", Florentino Ariza has 622 affairs with different women, including a 14-year-old teenager

Imagery

• Gabo's Prose
• Like One Hundred Years of Solitude, the imagery presented in Love in the Time of Cholera is enthralling
• From the first sentence of the first chapter, Gabo hooks you in for the long run

Allusion

• Cholera
• "It was a time of many madnesses, and that was the story's beauty and poetry. "Love is a disease just as cholera is a disease."
• For Florentino, love was a sort of illness, and he infected the women around him in different ways

Three With the Moon and His Shadow

• By Li Po / Li Bai

Author: Li Po / Li Bai

• A Chinese romantic poet
• Competed with Du Fu for the title of greatest poet in China
• One of the most well-known wine drinkers in China's lengthy imbiber heritage, regularly extolling the virtues of drinking
• Wrote brilliantly about friendship, solitude, time, and the joys of nature

Summary of the Literary Work

• The persona of the poem ruminates about drinking accompanied by only the moon and his shadows
• The persona talks about forging a friendship with the moon and his own shadow

Literary Genre

• The literary genre of this poem is Poetry

Hallmarks in Three With the Moon and His Shadow

Artistry

• At its surface, the poem talks about the joys of drunken pleasure under the night sky
• If examined, the poem reveals the persona's loneliness in solitude

Spiritual Value

• The poem argues that loneliness is not a bad thing, supported in the lines that detail his merry-making with only his shadow and the moon as his companions

Permanence

• Since its inception, there have been forty-three (43) translations of the poem
• Throughout the ages, this particular work has been the subject of analysis and examination

Universality

• At the heart of the poem are the themes of solitude and loneliness
• Integral experiences as a whole of being human making them relatable to anyone regardless of nationality and culture

Suggestiveness

• ????

Literary Devices of Three with The Moon and His Shadow

Symbolism

• The persona states that his companions are the moon and his shadow
• This could very well be stand-ins for the themes of solitude and loneliness.

Irony

• Despite having an energetic, even frenetic, tone; the poem showcases a somber mood highlighting the loneliness the persona feels

Imagery

• Easily understood, the poem easily appeals to the senses as if we are an invisible to the persona's night drinking
• Ex: "I sing, and moon rocks back and forth; I dance, and shadow tumbles into pieces. Sober, we're together and happy. Drunk, we scatter away into our own directions:"

Gitanjali Verse 35

• By Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore

• A Bengali polymath
• Known for being the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature
• His most notable work is the Gitanjali, a collection of poems dedicated to the devotion of God

Literary Genre Of Gitanjali

• The literary genre of this poem is Poem

Summary of Gitanjali

• Verse 35, stylized as a letter to God, is the writer's aspirations for his country
• It can also be viewed as an ode to creativity and awakening

Hallmarks of Gitanjali 35

Suggestiveness

• Aside from the obvious references to being free, the poem also suggests the notions of creativity and hope

Style

• The public is the usual addressee when making nationalistic poems
• Tagore subverts this notion by addressing it to God instead

Permanence

• Despite being a product of its age, colonialism and imperialism still exist in the world stage
• This is commonly seen in bigger countries who attempt to secure a smaller countrey's resources and economic prowess

Universality

• The themes of freedom and awakening are themes resonant to everyone around the world

Literary Devices of Gitanjali 35

Symbolism

• The narrow walls mentioned in the poem could be a reference to the biases / prejudice or the Caste System prevalent in India

Irony

• The poem is nationalistic
• Instead of addressing the people, the poet addresses God instead

The Old Pond

• By Matsuo Bashō

Matsuo Bashō

• Known as the Father of Japanese Haiku
• A Japanese poet who popularized the Haiku
• His writing style focuses on a straightforward description between the comparison and contrast of two separate phenomena

What is a Haiku?

• Originating from Japan, the Haiku is characterized by its 5/7/5 syllable format
• Which adds up to a total of 17 syllables
• It is distinctly notable for primarily using nature as its subject matter
• Completely borrows its ideals from the Japanese aesthetic concepts of sabi, wabi, and yugen
• These aesthetic precepts value impermanence, imperfection, austere beauty, simplicity, and tranquility

Literary Genre

• The literary genre of this poem is Poetry

Hallmarks of The Old Pond

Artistry

• In essence, Haikus are "minimalist" art forms
• They are able to capture the beauty of a moment in brevity

Suggestiveness

• Due to its sparse nature, Haikus are easy to visualize and comprehend
• From the imagery presented, what does The Old Pond suggest?

Permanence

• ???

Universality

• ???