Function of Literature and Reading Demands
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Function of Literature and Reading Demands

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Questions and Answers

What does literature primarily communicate according to the content?

  • Living experience and a spectrum of values (correct)
  • Tidy little object lessons
  • Abstract lessons and ethical precepts
  • Simplified moral judgments

    • How does the author suggest a reader's approach to literature should change?

  • By reducing literature to simple catchphrases
  • By memorizing moral lessons from the text
  • By strictly evaluating the author's ethical stance
  • By becoming aware of the author's methods and choices (correct)

    • Which statement about moral lessons in literature is true?

  • Only fables and parables are intended to teach moral lessons (correct)
  • Literature is always constructed around a single moral statement
  • All literature delivers clear moral lessons or judgments
  • Great literature is defined solely by its ethical teachings

    • What happens when literature is reduced to a single moral statement?

    <p>It diminishes the complexity of the work</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is a fundamental aspect of literature’s function, as presented in the content?

    <p>To allow readers to draw their own conclusions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a way the author indicates that literature conveys meaning?

    <p>Through a strict formula for storytelling</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What misconception does the author address about literature?

    <p>That literature can be summarized by simple phrases</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is suggested as a consequence of mastering the mental processes related to literature?

    <p>Reading becomes a more fulfilling and satisfying experience</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What must a reader do to fully appreciate the relationship between an author's method and the subject matter?

    <p>Develop a recognition of design and technique</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why is reading serious literature different from reading everyday materials like newspapers?

    <p>Literature heavily relies on complex rhetorical devices</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What contributes to the challenge of interpreting non-realistic works for inexperienced readers?

    <p>Difficulty understanding stylised language and distortion of reality</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What kind of response is needed to engage with both the emotional and structural aspects of a literary work?

    <p>A combination of emotional and intellectual reactions</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the act of fictionalizing a real event affect the representation of that event?

    <p>It necessitates distortion or selective refocusing of details</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of language use differentiates literary expression from everyday language?

    <p>Literary expression is usually grammatically incorrect</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is essential for a beginner reader to develop an appreciation of literature?

    <p>Formal instruction and practice in writing</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What happens if a reader is unfamiliar with compositional techniques when approaching literature?

    <p>They can miss the significance and excellence of literature</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the main purpose of distortion in constructing a complex plot?

    <p>To create a coherent pattern and ordered progression.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does imaginative literature differ from the portrayal of real-life events?

    <p>It often creates entirely new worlds and events.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What role do animal or insect names play in West African folk tales?

    <p>They provide a distancing effect to comment on human traits.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is highlighted as a challenge in both illusion and conscious distortion in literature?

    <p>Understanding the author's intention through form and texture.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does the perception of a painting contrast with that of literature?

    <p>A painting is perceived instantaneously as a unified whole.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What does the passage suggest about the relationship between literature and imagination?

    <p>Literature relies heavily on imaginative expression and distortion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of literature does the passage imply is important for understanding its value?

    <p>The author's choice of structure and language.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What function does distortion serve in both literature and art?

    <p>To provoke thought about deeper meanings.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What aspect of visual art allows viewers to readily understand it?

    <p>Recognizable objects arranged in composition</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between realism and painting?

    <p>Realism is incidental to artistic composition and execution.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does sculpture differ from painting in terms of viewer experience?

    <p>Sculpture's effects can only be experienced from multiple viewpoints.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the common approach of artists creating abstract works?

    <p>They experiment with light and perspective.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What type of art is described as having a unity of effect through imaginary recreation?

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

    In what way is literature more closely tied to reality than painting?

    <p>Words carry inherent meaning.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which aspect of visual art can be described as not necessarily desirable in the creation process?

    <p>Imitation of real life</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characteristic of visual art allows for an exploration of technical elements?

    <p>The abstraction and simplification of forms</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is one limitation of music compared to other arts in terms of meaning?

    <p>Music lacks inherent association with the human condition.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why might literature's meaning change over time?

    <p>Historical perspectives and societal conventions evolve.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What characterizes pure art according to the content?

    <p>An exploration of the uncombined elements of the medium.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What led to the rediscovery of the Metaphysical Poets?

    <p>The early modernist poets adopted similar themes and methods.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How do cultural conventions impact the study of literature?

    <p>They can differ between ethnic groups, influencing literary assessment.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following reflects a characteristic of music as described?

    <p>It has an intellectual, mathematical sense of pattern.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What distinguishes the Metaphysical Poets from their contemporaries?

    <p>Their direct presentation through disjointed images and subjective themes.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Why might African, Caribbean, and Black American literature be of interest to European or American writers?

    <p>Cultural backgrounds provide context for comparative literature study.</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Function of Literature

    • Literature aims to both instruct and entertain, but not through direct lessons or proverbs.
    • Literature communicates through lived experience, providing a spectrum of values and attitudes rather than formulated judgments.
    • Readers are left to form their own conclusions and evaluate the work's truthfulness and relevance.
    • While literature can explore moral conduct, it doesn't always deliver a moral lesson.
    • Reducing literature to a single moral statement diminishes its complexity and essence.
    • Fables and religious parables are unique in their explicit aim to teach moral lessons.

    The Demands of Reading Literature

    • Engaging with literature requires multiple levels of consciousness.
    • Readers need an emotional response to the surface level of the story, as well as an intellectual understanding of the form and language.
    • Literary language often differs from everyday usage, employing subtle comparisons, contrasts, rhetorical devices, and musical effects.
    • Reading serious literature demands instruction and training beyond casual reading.
    • Understanding compositional techniques is crucial for appreciating the overall significance and excellence of literature.
    • Stylization and distortion of reality in literature can challenge inexperienced readers.

    Fiction and the Recreation of Reality

    • Any fictionalization inherently involves distortion or falsification of reality.
    • Selecting and ordering details within a narrative reflects a specific interpretation and refocusing of their importance.
    • Complex plots further distort reality by shaping events and their interpretation into a coherent pattern.
    • Fiction can create illusions of everyday reality, but it can also express ideas and states of being with little reference to recognizable events and actions in the real world.

    Literary Conventions and Distancing Devices

    • Distancing devices, like using animal or insect names for characters in West African folk tales, allow for humor, critique, and metaphorical understanding without direct confrontation.
    • Imaginative literature can create entirely fantastical worlds and events.
    • Familiar or real events can be combined in new and original ways.
    • Both realistic illusions and conscious distortions in literature demand understanding of the author's vision through careful analysis of the form and texture of the work.

    Comparison with Other Art Forms

    • Painting is primarily visual, offering immediate unity and structure, whereas literature unfolds through time and requires active re-creation by the reader.
    • Realistic representation in painting is not always necessary for meaning; art can also explore form and texture independently of mimetic representation.
    • While painting can depict recognizable objects and "stories," literature is bound to language and meaning.
    • Sculpture, like literature, requires progressive viewing and imaginative re-creation over time.
    • Music, with its abstract nature, is less capable of sustaining meaning or realism compared to other art forms.
    • All art forms can express human emotions and states of mind, but they can also explore their own internal structures and patterns.

    Historical and Cultural Perspectives

    • Literature's meaning and relevance to society are open to reinterpretation over time.
    • Works can fall out of fashion and become relevant in different periods.
    • Cultural conventions and values influence the understanding and appreciation of literature across various ethnic groups within a single historical period.

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    Lecture 1: The Nature of Literature

    Description

    Explore the intricate relationship between literature's purpose and the demands it places on readers. This quiz delves into how literature instructs and entertains while leaving readers to form their own interpretations. Understand the complexities of literary language and what is required to engage with it fully.

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