Focalisation in Literature Quiz
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Questions and Answers

What is the definition of narrative according to Russian formalists and French structuralists?

They have been arguing over decades about the precise definition of the term.

What are the two levels in a narrative text according to narratologists?

Something happens and this something is related in a certain way.

What is the difference between story and discourse in a narrative text?

The WHAT of the narrative is called a story, the HOW is called a discourse.

What is the term used to indicate the ratio of knowledge between the narrator and the characters?

<p>Focalisation.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between direct and indirect characterisation?

<p>Direct characterisation occurs when the narrator explicitly tells what a character is like, while indirect characterisation occurs when the narrative reveals a character’s traits implicitly, through his or her speech, behaviour, thoughts, appearance, and so on.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the ways in which characters can be described in a narrative?

<p>Characters can be described implicitly or explicitly by the narrator, another character in the narrative, or even by the characters themselves (self-characterisation).</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the seven standards of textuality according to De Beaugrande and Dressler?

<p>cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, informativity, situationality, and intertextuality.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is self-characterisation?

<p>Self-characterisation is when characters describe themselves in a narrative.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the debate surrounding text type and why does it exist?

<p>The debate surrounds the interpretation of the notion of text-type function, as opinions vary from 'rhetoric function', through 'communicative function' to 'communicative purpose'. It exists due to conceptual confusion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of text according to Halliday and Hasan?

<p>&quot;Any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, that forms a unified whole.&quot;</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between internal and external focalisation in narrative?

<p>Internal focalisation restricts the narrator's knowledge to the character's perspective, while external focalisation allows the narrator to know more than the character.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between diegesis and mimesis in narrative mode?

<p>Diegesis is the verbal representation of events, whereas mimesis is the direct presentation of speech and action. Diegetic writing makes readers feel distant, while mimetic writing makes readers feel as though they are eyewitnesses.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is Free Indirect Speech and how is it used in literature?

<p>Free Indirect Speech is a discursive conflation in which a third-person narrator approximates a character's own words without letting them speak directly. It is used as a powerful writing tool by writers such as Jane Austen, James Joyce, and D. H. Lawrence.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between round and flat characters in literature?

<p>Round characters are 'complex' and undergo a change in the course of the story, while flat characters are stable and exhibit nothing surprising.</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to De Beaugrande and Dressler, a text must meet how many standards of textuality?

<p>Seven</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main focus of Text Linguistics?

<p>Linguistic units larger than sentences</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main reason for the conceptual confusion surrounding the notion of text-type function?

<p>The absence of agreement on how to interpret the notion of text-type function itself</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of indirect characterisation?

<p>The character's actions reveal their impulsive nature.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between direct and indirect characterisation?

<p>Direct characterisation is when the narrator explicitly tells what a character is like, while indirect characterisation is when a character's traits are revealed implicitly through their speech, behavior, and appearance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is self-characterisation?

<p>When a character describes themselves using positive adjectives.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used by formalists to distinguish between the events in a narrative and the way they are told?

<p>Syuzhet</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between homodiegetic and heterodiegetic narrators?

<p>Homodiegetic narrators are characters in the story, while heterodiegetic narrators are not.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the term used to describe a narrator who causes the reader to view the account of events with suspicion?

<p>Unreliable narrator</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between story and discourse according to structuralist terminology?

<p>Story refers to the events in a narrative, while discourse refers to the manner in which a story is told.</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to EM Forster's distinction, what is a 'round' character?

<p>A character who undergoes a change in the course of the story and is capable of surprising the reader</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between diegetic and mimetic narrative modes?

<p>Diegetic narrative tells or reports information, whereas mimetic narrative shows or performs information</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between internal and external focalisation in narrative?

<p>In internal focalisation, the narrator's knowledge and the character's knowledge are equal, whereas in external focalisation, the narrator knows more than the character</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is Free Indirect Speech in literature?

<p>A speech in which a third-person narrator approximates as closely as possible a character's own words without letting it speak directly</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some attempts to define literature?

<p>One attempt is to define literature as fictional writing, while another argues that literature uses language in peculiar ways.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a prototypical literary text?

<p>A prototypical literary text is written in a literary genre (poetry, prose fiction, or drama), marked by careful use of language, including features such as creative metaphors, well-turned phrases, elegant syntax, rhyme, alliteration, meter etc.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How is literature different from everyday speech?

<p>Literature deviates systematically from everyday speech and transforms and intensifies ordinary language, making it a 'special' kind of language in contrast to the 'ordinary' language we commonly use.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of weak implicatures in literary texts?

<p>Literary texts often contain many weak implicatures, deliberately leaving the interpretation somewhat open.</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Roman Jakobson, what is literature?

<p>Roman Jakobson described literature as a kind of writing which represents an 'organized violence committed on ordinary speech'.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some characteristics of literary language?

<p>Some characteristics of literary language include creative metaphors, well-turned phrases, elegant syntax, rhyme, alliteration, and meter.</p> Signup and view all the answers

How has defining literature been a challenge?

<p>Defining literature has been a challenge because of its various attempts to define it, including its fictionality and peculiar use of language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of literary theories and criticism?

<p>To provide frameworks and approaches for analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating literature.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is formalism and how does it approach literature?

<p>Formalism emphasizes the intrinsic elements of a literary work, such as form, structure, language, and style. They claim that all information essential to the interpretation of a work must be found within the work itself.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is structuralism and how does it approach literature?

<p>Structuralist critics analyze the underlying structures and patterns within a text, looking at the relationships between elements and how they form larger systems of meaning. They explore the binary oppositions, narrative structures, and cultural codes embedded in the text, highlighting the interplay between language and culture.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the psychoanalytic theory and how does it relate to literary studies?

<p>Psychoanalytic theory had an impact on literary studies both as a mode of interpretation and as a theory about language, identity, and the subject, author’s psychological state or the psychology of the text itself. Freud interprets literature in terms of psychological patterns found in texts. Carl Jung finds deep structures in literature based upon archetypal patterns and myths deriving from our collective unconscious.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the different types of non-fictional literature and what are their definitions?

<p>Biography (A narrative account of a person's life written by someone else), Autobiography (A personal account of one's own life) or Essay (A short piece of non-fiction writing that explores a specific topic or presents an argument or opinion).</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between drama and other forms of literature?

<p>Drama refers to literature intended for performance, encompassing plays and theatrical works. It often involves dialogue, stage directions, and the portrayal of conflicts and characters.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the major theories of literary criticism?

<p>Some of the major theories of literary criticism include formalism, structuralism, psychological and Marxist theories, and feminist approach.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the characteristics of literary language and how do they differ from ordinary language?

<p>Literary language is characterized by the use of figures of speech or tropes, which deviate from or distort ordinary language. Ordinary language is thought to use more literal language, calling things as they are.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the two fundamental structures of language according to Roman Jakobson?

<p>Metaphor and metonymy are the two fundamental structures of language. Metaphor links by means of similarity, while metonymy links by means of contiguity.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is metaphor and why is it important in literary language?

<p>Metaphor treats something as something else, linking them by means of similarity. It is a version of a basic way of knowing, which is seeing something as something else.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some examples of literary figures other than metaphor and metonymy?

<p>Some examples include anthropomorphism, alliteration, apostrophe, and assonance.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the three broad classes of literary genres according to the Greeks and how are they divided?

<p>The three broad classes are poetic or lyric, epic or narrative, and drama. Poetic or lyric involves the narrator speaking in the first person, epic or narrative involves the narrator speaking in his own voice but allowing characters to speak in theirs, and drama involves the characters doing all the talking.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some examples of subgenres within fictional literature?

<p>Some examples include novel, short story, and novella. Novel is a long narrative work of fiction that explores complex characters, plots, and themes. Short story is a brief work of fiction that typically focuses on a single event or character. Novella is a shorter narrative work that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the modern categories of literary genres and how are they defined?

<p>The modern categories are fiction, poetry, drama, and non-fiction. Fiction consists of imaginative and invented stories, while poetry uses artistic and rhythmic language to evoke emotions and create vivid imagery.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the main areas of literature that Marxist critics examine?

<p>Marxist critics examine the portrayal of social classes, labor, and economic structures in literary works, as well as the ideologies and values embedded within them.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of Marxist criticism in literature and what theories does it draw on?

<p>Marxist criticism focuses on the social, economic, and political aspects of literature, analyzing how literary works reflect and critique the existing systems of power and class struggle. It draws on Marxist theories, particularly the concepts of capitalism, class consciousness, and ideology, to analyze how literature portrays social relationships, inequalities, and the dynamics of power.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main merit of feminist approaches in literary studies?

<p>The main merit of feminist approaches was that they rediscovered a number of female authors who had been considered ‘minor’ and allocated them a more central place in literary history.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between male and female writing according to feminist approaches?

<p>Feminist approaches highlight the differences between ‘male’ and ‘female’ writing in terms of style, topics and structures.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between feminist approaches and the women's rights movement?

<p>Feminist approaches emerged along with the women’s rights movement in the late 1960s and were initially a reaction against hitherto male-dominated literary studies, which neglected literature produced by women and which had perpetuated clichés and stereotypes about women.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of capitalism according to Marxist theories?

<p>Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods and services for profit in a market economy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the concept of class consciousness in Marxist theories?

<p>Class consciousness refers to the awareness of one's social class and the recognition of shared interests and common struggles among members of that class.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of ideology according to Marxist theories?

<p>Ideology refers to the system of beliefs, values, and ideas that justify and maintain the existing social, economic, and political order.</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of literature in Marxist theories?

<p>Literature portrays social relationships, inequalities, and the dynamics of power, reflecting and critiquing the existing systems of power and class struggle.</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a defining characteristic of literary texts?

<p>They are products of the writer's imagination</p> Signup and view all the answers

According to Roman Jakobson, how does literature use language?

<p>It transforms and intensifies ordinary language</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is a prototypical literary text?

<p>A text that is written in a literary genre and marked by careful use of language</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the aesthetic reading of a literary text?

<p>A reading that focuses on the emotional and sensory experience of the text</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are weak implicatures in literary texts?

<p>Implications that are deliberately somewhat open in interpretation</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between literary language and ordinary language?

<p>Literary language is a 'special' kind of language, in contrast to the 'ordinary' language we commonly use</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are some features of literary language?

<p>Use of creative metaphors and well-turned phrases</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following literary theories focuses on the intrinsic elements of a work, such as form, structure, language, and style?

<p>Formalism</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which literary theory views literature as a system of signs and symbols that create meaning?

<p>Structuralism</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of non-fictional literature?

<p>An essay</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which literary theory examines works through the lens of psychology, looking either at the psychological motivations of the characters or of the authors themselves?

<p>Psychoanalytic theory</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of fictional literature?

<p>A play</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which literary theory explores the interplay between language and culture, highlighting the binary oppositions, narrative structures, and cultural codes embedded in the text?

<p>Structuralism</p> Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a literary genre?

<p>A sonnet</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between metaphor and metonymy in literary language?

<p>Metaphor links by means of similarity, while metonymy links by means of contiguity</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between epic, lyric, and narrative genres in literature?

<p>In epic genre, the characters do all the talking, in lyric genre the narrator speaks in his own voice but allows characters to speak in theirs, and in narrative genre the narrator speaks in the first person</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the difference between a novella and a short story in fictional literature?

<p>A novella is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, while a short story is a brief work of fiction that typically focuses on a single event or character</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main difference between literary language and ordinary language?

<p>Literary language uses more figures of speech and tropes, while ordinary language is more literal</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of poetry in literature?

<p>Poetry is a form of literature that uses artistic and rhythmic language to evoke emotions and create vivid imagery</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the definition of anthropomorphism in literary language?

<p>Anthropomorphism is the general term used to refer to the non-human as if it were human</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the most practicable categories of literature used by modern literary theorists?

<p>Fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main focus of Marxist criticism in literature?

<p>Examining the portrayal of social classes, labor, and economic structures in literary works</p> Signup and view all the answers

What does Marxist criticism draw on to analyze literature?

<p>Marxist theories</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main merit of feminist approaches in literary studies?

<p>Rediscovering a number of female authors who had been considered 'minor'</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do feminist approaches in literary studies highlight?

<p>The differences between 'male' and 'female' writing</p> Signup and view all the answers

What do Marxist critics examine in literary works?

<p>The portrayal of social classes, labor, and economic structures in literary works</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the initial reaction of feminist approaches in literary studies?

<p>A reaction against hitherto male-dominated literary studies</p> Signup and view all the answers

What are the concepts that Marxist criticism draws on to analyze literature?

<p>Capitalism, class consciousness, and ideology</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the focus of feminist approaches in literary studies?

<p>Highlighting the differences between 'male' and 'female' writing</p> Signup and view all the answers

What is the main focus of Marxist criticism when analyzing literature?

<p>The portrayal of social classes, labor, and economic structures in literary works</p> Signup and view all the answers

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