Focalisation in Literature Quiz

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

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

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

Focalisation.

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.

Characters can be described implicitly or explicitly by the narrator, another character in the narrative, or even by the characters themselves (self-characterisation).

cohesion, coherence, intentionality, acceptability, informativity, situationality, and intertextuality.

Self-characterisation is when characters describe themselves in a narrative.

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.

"Any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, that forms a unified whole."

Internal focalisation restricts the narrator's knowledge to the character's perspective, while external focalisation allows the narrator to know more than the character.

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.

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.

Round characters are 'complex' and undergo a change in the course of the story, while flat characters are stable and exhibit nothing surprising.

Seven

Linguistic units larger than sentences

The absence of agreement on how to interpret the notion of text-type function itself

The character's actions reveal their impulsive nature.

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.

When a character describes themselves using positive adjectives.

Syuzhet

Homodiegetic narrators are characters in the story, while heterodiegetic narrators are not.

Unreliable narrator

Story refers to the events in a narrative, while discourse refers to the manner in which a story is told.

A character who undergoes a change in the course of the story and is capable of surprising the reader

Diegetic narrative tells or reports information, whereas mimetic narrative shows or performs information

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

A speech in which a third-person narrator approximates as closely as possible a character's own words without letting it speak directly

One attempt is to define literature as fictional writing, while another argues that literature uses language in peculiar ways.

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.

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.

Literary texts often contain many weak implicatures, deliberately leaving the interpretation somewhat open.

Roman Jakobson described literature as a kind of writing which represents an 'organized violence committed on ordinary speech'.

Some characteristics of literary language include creative metaphors, well-turned phrases, elegant syntax, rhyme, alliteration, and meter.

Defining literature has been a challenge because of its various attempts to define it, including its fictionality and peculiar use of language.

To provide frameworks and approaches for analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating literature.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Some of the major theories of literary criticism include formalism, structuralism, psychological and Marxist theories, and feminist approach.

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.

Metaphor and metonymy are the two fundamental structures of language. Metaphor links by means of similarity, while metonymy links by means of contiguity.

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.

Some examples include anthropomorphism, alliteration, apostrophe, and assonance.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Feminist approaches highlight the differences between ‘male’ and ‘female’ writing in terms of style, topics and structures.

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.

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.

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.

Ideology refers to the system of beliefs, values, and ideas that justify and maintain the existing social, economic, and political order.

Literature portrays social relationships, inequalities, and the dynamics of power, reflecting and critiquing the existing systems of power and class struggle.

They are products of the writer's imagination

It transforms and intensifies ordinary language

A text that is written in a literary genre and marked by careful use of language

A reading that focuses on the emotional and sensory experience of the text

Implications that are deliberately somewhat open in interpretation

Literary language is a 'special' kind of language, in contrast to the 'ordinary' language we commonly use

Use of creative metaphors and well-turned phrases

Formalism

Structuralism

An essay

Psychoanalytic theory

A play

Structuralism

A sonnet

Metaphor links by means of similarity, while metonymy links by means of contiguity

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

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

Literary language uses more figures of speech and tropes, while ordinary language is more literal

Poetry is a form of literature that uses artistic and rhythmic language to evoke emotions and create vivid imagery

Anthropomorphism is the general term used to refer to the non-human as if it were human

Fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction

Examining the portrayal of social classes, labor, and economic structures in literary works

Marxist theories

Rediscovering a number of female authors who had been considered 'minor'

The differences between 'male' and 'female' writing

The portrayal of social classes, labor, and economic structures in literary works

A reaction against hitherto male-dominated literary studies

Capitalism, class consciousness, and ideology

Highlighting the differences between 'male' and 'female' writing

The portrayal of social classes, labor, and economic structures in literary works