World Literature.docx

World Literature Show knowledge of the different genres of literature and the elements and conventions characteristics of each genre. Apply interpretive and analytical skills in reading selected works in world literature . Display knowledge and understanding of figures of speech and figurative language. Point out the literary techniques and devices employed by the authors. Identify the theme/s and/or universal insights conveyed by different literary works in world literature. Define some literary concepts evident in particular texts (e.g. in medias res, arche type, tragic flaw, etc.) Sumerian, Egyptian, and Hebrew Literature (3000 B.C.-100 B.C.) Gilgamesh. The epic poen Gilgamesh is the first great heroic narrative of the world literature. It origins date back to the margins of prehistory, and its evolution spans millennia. Tablets containing portions of Gilgamesh have been found at sites throughout the Middle East and in all the languages written in cuneiform characters, wedge-shaped characters incised in clay stone. The epic developed over a period of nearly a thousand years. The version discovered in the city of Nineveh amid the ruins of the great library of Assurbanipal, the last king of the Assyrian Empire – what modern scholars call the Standard Version—circulated widely throughout the ancient Middle East for a millennium or more. The epic narrates the legendary deeds of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, but it begins with a prologue that emphasizes not his adventures but the wisdom he acquired and the monuments he constructed at the end of his epic journey. It also tells us that Gilgamesh was endowed by his divine creators with extraordinary strength, courage, and beauty. He is more god than man—2/3 god and 1/3 human. 73 Gilgamesh is an epitome of a bad ruler: arrogant, oppressive, and brutal. The people of Uruk complain of his oppression to the Sumerian gods, and the gods’ response is to create Enkidu as a foil to Gilgamesh. The goddess Aruru creates Enkidu to contend with Gilgamesh and absorb his energies. Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight savagely and for a long time, but no one emerges as the winner for both are strong and a match for each other. Later Enkidu becomes a faithful friend of Gilgamesh. Together they set off to destroy Humbaba, the giant who guards the cedar forest. Both of them also kill the bull Ishtar sends to punish Gilgamesh for rejecting her advances. Enkidu is destined to die for helping to kill the bull and Humbaba. When he dies, Gilgamesh is so grief stricken that he embarks on a quest not for glory but for everlasting life. The death of Enkidu reveals to Gilgamesh the hollowness of mortal fame, and this leads him to undertake a solitary journey in search for immortality. He travels far and wide in search of the plant of immortality. When he finally gets it, he loses it to a snake which ate it while Gilgamesh sleeps. Ancient Egyptian Poetry. The literature of ancient Egypt has survived only in scattered fragments, and because of the difficulty of the Egyptian language and writing system (a complex system of stylized pictographs called hieroglyphics), it is far less well known than either the art of the architecture. The ancient Egyptians possessed a poetry that was rich and varied in both its subjects and its forms. The largest and earliest group of poems comes from the pyramids that were constructed in the period of the Old Knigdom (ca. 2575-2130 B.C.). They include narratives, incantations, and invocations designed to help the pharoah’s soul on its journey to the other world. There were also lyrics and devotional poems that were composed 74 during the millennium that includes all the dynasties of the Middle and New Kingdoms (ca. 2130-1200 B.C.). The flowering of ancient Egyptian culture came between 1570-1085 B.C., the time of the New Kingdom in Egypt. One type of poetry that emerged in the New Kingdom is the pastoral poem which deals with the pleasures of simple rural life or that treats the longings and desires or simple people. The word pastoral comes from the Latin word for shepherd—pastor—but pastoral poetry is not merely about shepherds. Sample of Egyptian poetry (excerpt only) What inferences do you make about the speaker? How does the speaker portray God (line 3), the father of Pharoah Akhenaten? What lines or words would support your answer? What figure of speech is used in ‘you have flooded the world with your beauty? What does it mean? Below is an excerpt from an Egyptian love poem. Point out the lines that show the use of simile and metaphor. What do they mean? Why are they used by the speaker? The Bible: The Old Testament. The religious attitudes of the Hebrews appear in the story that they told of the creation of the world and humankind. The most important example of Hebrew literature is the Jewish Bible called by Christians as the Old Testament in contrast to the New Testament). The word Bible came from the Greek word biblia, meaning a collection of writings. Despite the diversity of the Bible, it is unified by a few constant themes. Among these are power, goodness, and mercy of one God; the covenant, or solemn agreement, into which God enters with the Hebrew people; the tendency of humans to commit sins; and the forgiveness they win from God. The Bible has also been of major importance for Muslims and Christians. One famous translation of the Bible was the English version done by a committee of scholars of King James (1611). From Genesis 1 (King James Version) The Bible: The New Testament. The collection known to Christians as the New Testament was formed by combining the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with another book by Luke. The Acts of the Apostles, which is an account of Paul’s missionary journeys to the cities of Greece and Asia Minor. The Gospel of John draws on different sources and also has greater theological density than the other three. Persian and Arabic Literature (c.a. A.D. 600 – A.D. 1400) Arabic Literature By the time of Muhammad’s birth, the Arabs alreadr possessed a large body of poetry. For centuries, poets from all over Arabia had gathered to recite odes (qasidas) praising their own tribe or making fun of others. Even after the rise of Islam, Arabs continued to appreciate poetry. Arabic prose also began to develop, although the earliest works were religious in nature and dealt, directly or indirectly, with the text of Koran. Islamic Arabs also enjoyed listening to fables and folktales. The Thousand and One Nights (also known as The Arabian Nights) is by far the most famous. This collection of stories puts together tales into one long narrative. One of the simplest and oldest tales in the The Thousand and One Nights is “The Fisherman and the Jinnee.” Persian Literature The form of literature for which Persia is best known is poetry. In the 9th and 10th centuries, several poets attempted to write epic poems describing Persian history. The most famous of these poems is The Shah-nama, or “Epic of Kings,” by Firdawsi. This epic is still considered a national treasure in Iran. The Shah-nama is presented as a history of Persia form the beginning of the world until the conquest of Iran by the Arabs. The most important hero is the warrior Rustam. Another Persian poet is Omar Khayyam, who is also a mathematician and a scientist. He is probably the best known. He is probably the best known Islamic poet in the West. A collection of poetry called The Rubaiyat is attributed to him. His poems are written in a literary form known as the rubai. This form takes its name from the Arabic word for ‘four,’ because each poem consists of four lines, the first, second, and fourth of which rhyme with one another. The poet must use concise and vivid imagery to convey his message to the reader through the use of elaborate metaphor. Indian Literature (c. 1400 B.C. – c. A.D. 500) Ancient Indians had no literary genres like the novel or the short story. Except for poetry and drama, most Sanskrit texts imitated the Rig-veda in attempting to convey general and timeless truths. Hinduism, an Indian religion, claims the Vedas as the source of all truth and the basis of its religious beliefs. The earliest and most influential of these sacred texts is the Rig-veda. Compiled around 1400 B.C., the Rig-veda is a collection of 1,028 hymns composed by different authors at different times. It also contains poems like the “Creation Hymn” which speculates about the origin and nature of the universe. 78 The Mahabharata is the world’s longest epic. The myths and tales in this epic are woven into the fabric of its main story: the account of a fight over the rights to a kingdom. Two branches of a family, the Pandavas and the Kauravas, are involved in this dispute. When the five Pandava brothers are banished or exiled to the forest, they meet various characters who tell them instructive and entertaining stories. One such story is “Sibi” about how righteous behaviour is rewarded. The Panchatantra (The Five Books or The Five Strategies) attributed to Visnusarman, is the best known collection of folktales and animal fables in Indian literature. It aimed to teach the young princes of India in the ancient times about political matters and interpersonal relationships in general. Each of the five books of the Panchatantra begins with a frame story, whose characters tell each other stories illustrating the conduct appropriate to diverse social and political situations. The characters within the illustrative tales tell each other stories as well and so on, until the nested tales eventually lead back to the frame of the story. From the Panchatantra – Book V III – Considered Action Let the well-advised be done; Ill-advised leave unbegun; Else, remorse will be let loose, As with lady and mongoose “How was that?” asked Jewel. And they told the story of The Loyal Mongoose There was once a Brahman named Godly in a certain town. His wife mothered a single son and a mongoose. And as she loved little ones, she cared for the mongoose also like a son, giving him milk from her breast, and salves, and baths, and so on. But she did not trust him, for she thought: “A mongoose is a nasty kind of creature. He might hurt my boy.” Yes, there is sense in the proverb: A son will ever bring delight, Though bent on folly, passion, spite, Though shabby, naughty, and a fright. One day she tucked her son in bed, took a water-jar, and said to her husband: “Now, Professor, I am going for water. You must protect the boy from the mongoose.” But when she was gone, the Brahman went off somewhere himself to beg food, leaving the house empty. While he was gone, a black snake issued from his hole and, as fate would have it, crawled toward the baby’s cradle. But the mongoose, feeling him to be a natural enemy, and fearing for the life of his baby brother, fell upon the vicious serpent halfway, joined the battle with him, tore him to bits, and tossed the pieces far and wide. Then, delighted with his own heroism, he rsan, blood trickling from his mouth, to meet the mother; for he wished to show what he had done. But when the mother saw him coming, saw his bloody mouth and his excitement, she feared that the villain must have eaten her baby boy, and without thinking twice, she angrily dropped the water-jar upon him, which killed him the moment it struck. There she left him without a second thought, and hurried home… Sakuntala by Kalidasa is the most beloved of Indian plays. Rooted in the values of India’s classical civilization, and at the same time articulating a profoundly human vision, the play about lovers parted and reunited transcends cultural particularities. The plot, adapted from an older epic tale, is simplicity itself. On seeing the lovely maiden Sakuntala in the enchanting setting of the woodland hermitage presided over by the sage Kanva, Dushyanta inevitably falls in love with her. The young woman returns his passion. Circumstances cause the lovers to part. A sage’s curse and the loss of the king’s signet ring result in the king’s forgetting of his liaision with Sakuntala, and plunge her into further suffering, far away from her lover. Thre recovery of the ring jogs the Dushyanta’s memory, and now it is his turn to suffer, not knowing where to find Sakuntala. With the intervention of the sages and gods, the two lovers are reunited together with their young son. Chinese Literature (1000 B.C. – A.D. 1890) In contrast to other ancient literary cultures, which begin with epics, prose legends or hymns to the gods, the Chinese tradition begins with lyric poetry. The Classic Poetry (also known as the Book of Songs) is a collection of 305 songs representing the heritage of the Chou people. The earliest in the collection are believed to dat from around 1000 B.C. and the latest from around 600 B.C., at which time it seems to have reached something like its present form. There are temple hymns to the ancestors of the Chou ruling house, narrative ballads on the foundation and history of the dynasty, royal laments, songs of soldiers glorifying war and deploring war, love songs, marriage songs, hunting songs, songs of women whose husbands had deserted them, banquet songs, poems of mourning, and others. Many seem to have originated as folk songs, but these are mixed together with poems from the Chou aristocracy. However, simpe as the poems of the Book of Songs may appear on the surface, they embody the central values (if not the realities) or early Chinese civilization. Again and again the poems return to a fascination with timely action, to the need to speak out, to balances and exchanges, and to acts of explanation. For example, a young woman tosses a man a piece of fruit as a love gift, and the young man answers with an exchange: 80 The exchange is economically unequal, a jewel returned for fruit. But the young man acts at once to restore the exchange to balance, explaining that the jewel was not given as an object of value, but as a token and message, just as the fruit she threw had been a message. What do the plums represent in the poem? What does each of the last line mean? What does each imply? Along with poetry, the most highly valued Chinese literary works are philosophical texts. Of these books, the most notable are The Analects of Confucius and the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu—the principal works of Confucianism and Taoism, respectively. The Analects represents the memory of Confucius’ teachings and was probably not written down until many centuries after his death. In its present form the Analects consists of twenty “books” or chapters. It is a collection of terse and sometimes apparently innocuous sayings as well as a few longer anecdotes. Throughout the Analects the reader is reminded that wisdom comes in fragments and fractions; the burden of understanding is placed on the reader. At the heart of the Analects is the hope that the members of society behave with a natural decency toward one another, respecting age and hierarchy and adapting to their changing roles. What values or virtues are emphasized in the two teachings from the Analects? The Tao Te Ching is widely regarded to be the most influential Taoist text. The title means “The Classic of the Way and Its Power of Virtue.” It is a foundational scripture of central importance in Taoism purportedly written by Laozi. 81 The earliest text of the Tao Te Ching that has been excavated (written on bamboo tablets) dates back to the late 4th century B.C. It has been used as a ritual text throughout the history of the religious Taoism. The Tao Te Ching is not thematically ordered. However, the main themes of the text are repeatedly expressed using variant formulations, often with only a slight difference. The leading themes revolve around the nature of Tao and how to attain it. Tao is said to be unnameable and accomplishing great things through small means. And the sharpness cannot be preserved What virtue or in this text? aphor is used Japanese Literature (500 B.C. – A.D. 1890) Poetry is one of the oldest and most popular means of expression and communication in the Japanese culture. Poetry has already existed for centuries as part of the oral tradition of the Japanese. The first anthology of Japanese potry is the Manyoshu, or the “Book of Ten Thousand Leaves.” This anthology, containing four thousand poems, includes the works by poets from a wide range of social classes, including the peasantry, the clergy, and the ruling class. The poems of the The Manyoshu were recorder using Chinese characters in three different ways: for meaning, for sound when read in Chinese, and for sound when read in Japanese. The anonymous poems in the collection, nearly two thousand, far outnumber those by any of the known poets. The collection includes poems that tell life in the wilderness, poems by fishermen, farewell poems, even poems by travellers to Korea. 82 The above poem is an example of a choka, a poem that consists of alternate lines of five and seven syllables with an additional seven-syllable line at the end. Unlike other Japanese verse forms, there is no limit to the number of lines in a choka. Another Japanese poetic form is the tanka which consists of five lines of five, seven, five, seven, seven syllables. This poetic form shows the Japanese preference for simplicity, suggestion, and irregularity. The most common subjects of a tanka are love and nature. Tanka poets generally exhibit restraint, relying on clear, powerful imagery to evoke an emotional response rather than using abstract words to directly express their feelings. The Japanese place more emphasis on the imagery used and the emotions evoked by a tanka than they do on the structure of the poems. Here is an example of a tanka: Still another Japanese poetic form is the haiku, which consists of three lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Originally, it is the opening verse (the hokku) of a renga, a form of collaborative poetry, but later the haiku developed into a distinct 83 literary form. Reflecting the dominant tastes of the Japanese culture, haiku are characterized by precision, simplicity, and suggestiveness. Almost all haiku contains a kigo, a seasonal word, such as cherry blossoms, snow, falling leaves. Here are two examples of the haiku: Appearing in the early part of the 8th century, the first works of Japanese prose, the Kojiki, or “Record of Ancient Matters,” and Nihon Shoki, or “Chronicles of Japan,” focused on Japanese history. Before Lady Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji appeared, there was The Tale of the Heike written by an unknown author during the 13th century. Another important work of prose produced during the age of feudalism is Essays in Idleness, a loosely organized collection of insights, reflections, and observations, written during the 14th century by a Buddhist priest named Kenko. The Nō, the classical theatre of Japan, is the world’s extant professional theatre. It is also among the world’s gravest and most stylized. The word nō may be translated as “talent,” “skill,” or “accomplishment.” Performed on an austere, undecorated stage of polished cypress, with no scenery and virtually no props, the ritual-like poetic dance-dramas of the Nō have been described as theatre free of the artifice of stagecraft. The small cast of actors, all males, wearing masks is accompanied by a chorus, and because the stage is bare with no trappings of representational theatre, the actor’s own talent or accomplishment (that is his nō) became paramount. Two other forms of drama emerged later: the Joruri (now called Bunraku) and the Kabuki. Joruri is staged using puppets. Kabuki involves lively, melodramatic acting and is staged using elaborate and colourful costumes and sets. Greek Literature (c. 800 B.C. -323 B.C.) and Roman Literature (c. 300 B.C. – A.D. 500) 84 The stories told in the Homeric poems are set in the age of the Trojan War, which archaeologists date back to the 12th century B.C. the poems preserve some of the faded memories of the Mycenean Age. This was the time of the final statement of the Greek peoples, an age of invasion perhaps and migration which saw the foundation and growth of many small independent cities. The geography of Greece—a land of mountain barriers and scattered islands—encouraged this fragmentation. Greek literature begins with two masterpieces, the Iliad, and the Odyssey which are attributed to the poet Homer, about whom nothing is known except his name. Revered as statements of cultural identity, the Iliad and the Odyssey center on heroes who embody the values of ancient Greek culture. The Iliad recounts only part of a long series of events in the Trojan War, which was fought, according to the legend, because of a quarrel among the gods and the resulting betrayal among mortals. All the action in the Iliad is, more or less directly, the consequence of Achilles’ anger at being dishonoured. ‘…Achilleus of the sweet feet spoke: how shall any one of the Achaians readily obey you from the Trojans. You forget all this or else you care nothing… for whom I labored much, the gift of the sons of the Achaians. Why d of the Trojans, do I have a prize that is equal to your prize…’ eech is evident in the line ‘you with the dog’s eyes’? ‘there is much that lies between us/ the shadowy mountains and the echoing sea’? The Odyssey is concerned with the peace that followed the war and in particular with the return of the heroes who survived to their own kingdoms. Its 85 subject is the long drawn-out return of Odysseus to Ithaca. He was destined to spend ten years wandering in unknown seas before he returned to his own kingdom. It celebrates return to ordinary life after all the excitement, toil, and danger. The Odyssey offers a more positive meditation on the nature of civilization and of the structure of political daily life as the Greeks experienced it. It does so by showing what a community has to lose by the absence of those structures and to gain by their affirmation. they were already in the grip of death. but glaring under his brows Odysseus answered: bid for my wife while I was still alive. “Not for the whole treasure of your fathers, What doe support your ans The Greek lyric is Sappho out, or run for it, if you think you’ll escape death. I doubt one of your skins by.” lines will come.’? of the n the lyre. The musical quality of her poems heightens their emotional quality. Here is an example of a lyric poem by Sappho: 86 Greek drama reached its peak in the 5th century Athens. During that time, tragedies and comedies were performed in conjunction with the worship of Dionysus and fertility rituals connected with the seasons and the staple crops of the community. Tragedies dealt with universal issues and indirectly with contemporary politics, but the plots were taken from the same cycle of legends found in the Homeric epics. Themes such as war, incest, and murder were treated seriously. One of the great Greek tragedians, aside from Aeschylus and Euripides, is Sophocles. He wrote the trilogy of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone. Oedipus: What is this? How sad you are now that you have come! of day my troubles, mine—rather than call them yours. What does Teiresias really want to say in line 1-4? What is his attitude towards Oedipus? What line/s support your answer? Certain conditions must exist in tragedies. First, the character must be of high birth or noble status in society. Second, they must experience a series of events that threaten their positions. Finally, the tragic character must suffer a tragic fall through his/her own actions. The gods interfere to some extent, but they never direct the plot or the characters’ actions. Characters are responsible for their own actions—that is what renders tragedy tragic. Tragic characters choose their destinies. It is their choices that cause their downfall. Oedipus Rex is famous for its dramatic irony, which is the contradiction between what the character thinks and what the audience knows to be true. 87 Sophocles’ use of dramatic irony brings out the play’s knowledge motif. The knowledge Oedipus relentlessly seeks causes his downfall. Roman Literature The Romans as well as the Greeks venerated the Homeric epics, the most ancient texts of Greek literature. To take his place alongside Homer, Virgil situates this story at the time of the fall of Troy, and adopts conventions such as invoking the muse, involving Olympian gods in the action, and beginning the story in medias res. The Aeneid recombines and transforms the major works of Greek and Roman treadition to make a new, original, and fundamentally Roman work. From The Aeneid by Virgil (This is the part where Aeneas is about to leave Dido. Aeneas has to fulfil the duty he is destined to do—to found Rome) What do y ‘At this abruptly she broke off and ran In sickness from his sight and the light of day Leaving him at loss, alarmed and mute With all he meant to say. The maids in waiting Caught her as she swooned and carried her To bed in marble chamber. Duty-bound, Aeneas, though he struggled with desire To calm and comfort her mind from grief, And though he sighed his heart out, shaken still With love of her, yet took the course heaven gave him And went back to the fleet. . .’ ‘I crossed many lands and a lot of osed to passion? This situation Roman and a husband. Conflict is a str internal, or within a ch the character and som Another Roman poet whose polished v Sappho. A key element emotions real in his lyr Here is a sample ocean to get to this painful ceremony, my brother, so I can finally give you gifts for the dead, and waste time talking to some silent ashes being that you’re not here yourself with me. Fate did wrong, my brother, to tear us apart. But I bring you these offerings now anyway, after the old custom our parents taugh us. Take them, soaked with your brother’s tears, and forever more, my brother, gDoowondlobadyeed .by Rizjoe villacruz ([email protected]) ing a dutiful s this struggle is nal, or between poems. He is a ors, including y to make the What is the overall mood of the passage? What lines or words will support your answer? The Middle Ages (A.D. 450 – 1300) The Song of Roland (Chanson de Roland)—this long historical poem about a medieval knight, Roland, who is the nephew of King Charlemagne, is by far the best known and most studied of all medieval poems. Central to the medieval epic are the deeds, or gestes, of heroic figures. The Song of Roland is an example of a chanson de geste, or song of deeds. This epic treats one of the greates themes of medieval heroic literature: the deeds surrounding Charlemagne and his court. The Nibelungenlied is one of the great works of German literature. This epic of murder and revenge highlights the relationship between Kriemhild and Siegfried. It is an epic which is a tragedy in two parts: the first describes the life and death of Siegfried and the second features the story of the vengeful Kriemhild. The Divine Comedy by Dante—this epic is a poetic journey of a man struggling to reconcile himself to a bitter political exile through the triumph of love. It takes the reader to a journey that symbolically begins in a despairing world not yet redeemed by Christ’s Crucifixion and ends with the poet’s return as a man, renewed in hope, having beheld the beatific vision of divine grace. The Renaissance (1300 – 1650) The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales, mostly in verse, although some are in prose, are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of St. Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return. Chaucer uses the tales and descriptions of the characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, and particularly of the Church. 89 Downloaded by Rizjoe villacruz ([email protected]) Francesco Petrarca or Petrarch was the greatest Italian poet of the 14th century. He was both well-versed in Italian and Latin. He wrote lyric poems, especially the sonnet and the canzone, lyrics with intricate stanzas. Majority of his poems is dedicated to Laura. His poems contain a lot of oxymoron, a phrase that joins two logically contradictory terms like ‘pleasant pain’ or ‘cruel kindness.’ He also uses allegory, or extended metaphor; for instance, in one poem he compares his love to a dangerous voyage on a stormy sea, guided by a blind pilot. From a Petrarchan Sonnet ‘She used to let her golden hair fly free For the wind to toy and tangle and molest; Her eyes were brighter than the r From Hamlet by William Shakespeare The Decame half a millen encompassin young peoplf ridden Floren decameron Boccaccio cr story from th The Advent famous work ‘To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles. And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to? ‘Tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish’d. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub;’ Sonnet XXIX writers for ame story by ten plague- rd ly, ne famous dra is one a, the knight and th er in pursuit of the knight’ relationship The most im wrote sonnet the second h to Coriolanus are now calle with element When in disgrace with fortune and men’s eyes I all alone beweep my outcast state, And trouble deaf Heaven with my bootless cries, And look upon my self, and curse my fate, Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, Featur’d like him, like him with friends possess, Desiring this man’s art, and that man’s scope With what I most enjoy contented least; Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising Haply I think on thee,-- and then my state (Like to be the lark at break of day arising From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven’s gate; For thy sweet love rememb’red such wealth brings, That then I scorn to change my state witgh Kings. the peare he r work in lius Caesar ays which comedy Downloaded by Rizjoe villacruz ([email protected]) The Age of Rationalism The age was a time of progress and betterment in human affairs. Literature profited from rationalism, which left its mark on poets, essayists, playwrights and journalists. Francis Bacon was an English essayist, philosopher, and statesman. His collections of essays are written in clear English, and contain memorable maxims on such subjects as friendship, studies, truth and adversity. Gulliver’s Travels is Jonathan Swift’s famous work. Swift was a master craftsman of irony and satire. His other works are A Modest Proposal, A Tale of the Tub, and The Battle of the Books. Irony is the general name given to literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions. Satire is writing that ridicules or holds in contempt the faults of individuals and groups. Romanticism, Realism, and Naturalism (1800-1890) Romanticism was a literary movement that emerged in the late 1700s out of the revolutionary spirit fuelled by the uprisings in America and France. The Romantics tended to be inspired by their imagination, inner feelings and emotions. They wished to discard the dominant forms and approaches of the 18th century writers. They also showed a deep interest in ordinary people and favoured the use of simple, common language. Realism and Naturalism emerged during the middle of the 19th century. Realism sought to depict life as faithfully and accurately as possible. The Realists confronted many of the harshe realities of the 19th century world, often presenting pessimistic visions of the world. Naturalism grew out of Realism. The Naturalists frequently depicted characters whose lives were shaped by forces of nature or society they could not understand and control. The naturalists believed that a person’s fate is determined by heredity, chance, and the environment. William Blake’s poems have a charming simplicity that reveals his childlike imagination. He was a lover of flowers and animals as well as his fellowmen. Many of his poems show an appreciation of nature that marks him as a romanticist. From Auguries of Innocence ‘To see the world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower; Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour. The short stories of Guy de Maupassant show a realistic depiction of life, its underlying pessimism, inescapable irony, surprise ending. His 92 more popular works are The Necklace, A Piece of String, The Jewels, and Madame Sauvage. Henrik Ibsen, a Norwegian writer, was the creator of the modern, realistic prose drama. He was also one of the first writers to make drama a vehicle for social commitment. He wrote the following dramas: A Doll’s House, Ghosts, An Enemy of the People. The last one is about a man who comes into conflict with the people in the village because of a truth he wants to reveal, but he is pressured not to do it for political reasons. Leo Tolstoy was regarded as the greates 19th century Russian writer. He is remembered most for his short stories like God Sees the Truth but Waits; Where Love is, There God is Also; and How Much Land Does a Man Need? Which probed human nature and its strengths and weaknesses. Edgar Allan Poe is noted not only for being the greatest American short story writer, but also for having first standardized the short story as a literary type. His subjects were weird, often supernatural, with no bearing whatever on life as it is normsally lived. The Raven, The Bells, and Annabel Lee are some of his popular poems. His popular short stories are The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, Tell-Tale Heart, The Purloined Letter, and The Pit and the Pendulum. The Modern World (1890 – 1945) The time that ushered in the coming of modernism saw many changes and developments: technological revolution (the airplane, the automobile, the radio and television, electricity, movies and new medical remedies), scientific breakthroughs (Mendel’s work of heredity, Marie and Pierre Curie’s breakthrough concerning readioactivity, Einstein’s theories), World War I, the rise of Nazism, attack on Pearl Harbor, the Holocaust. Many writers turned away from the dominant literary forms and approcaches of the past and began experimenting with new themes and techniques. The modernist writers tried to capture in their works the essence of modern life in both the form and content of their works. Luigi Pirandello was both a dramatist and short story writer. His works dealt with the difficulties of achieving identity and questioned the distinction between appearance and reality. He is famous for his plays Six Characters in Search of an Author and It is So (If You Think So). His short stories include A Breath of Air, The Jar, and War which particularly reflected his views on human nature and the emotional effects of war on people. 93 Rabindranath Tagore showed a deep awareness of the poverty and other hardships faced by so mane of his people. He was also a vocal supporter of human and personal freedom. He was best known for his collection of poems called the Gitanjali or Song Offerings. Robert Frost is ranked as one of the best modern American poets. His popular poems are Mending Wall, The Road not Taken, Fire and Ice, Birches, and Stopping by Woods on Snowy Evening. His collection of poems includes North Boston, A Boy’s Will, and A Further Rage. (for the poem below) Why does the persona stop in the woods? What figure of speech is used in lines 5-6? What is the central irony of the poem? a shake the sweep can e was part of the so-called ‘lost generation’ of writers who became preoccupied with the macabre, suffering, death, and loss of value. He wrote about people’s struggles to maintain a sense of dignity while living in a seemingly hostile and confusing world. His works include novels such as Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bells Toll, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Movable Feast. He also wrote numerous short stories like Hills Like White Elephants, The Killers, A Clean, Well Lighted Place, Cat in the Rain, and In Another Country. Anton Chekhov is considered one of the greatest writers of the short story. He received a medical degree at the University of Moscow in 1884, but he soon neglected his medical practice in order to write. His numerous stories and plays gave him a commanding position in literary Russia. He gave a poignant illumination to such human experiences as loneliness, grief, hunger, and misery. Among his famous works are the plays The Bear and the Cherry Orchard, and one of his most famous short stories is The Lady with the Dog which depicts what at first seems a casual liaison between a married man and a married woman. Neither expects anything lasting from the encounter, but they find themselves drawn back to each other, risking the security of their family lives. James Joyce was an Irish author of the 20th century. He is best known for his novels Ulysses (1922) and Finnegan’s Wake (1939), as well as the short story collectionDubliners (1914) and the semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). Some of his popular short stories are Eveline, Araby, and Boarding House. What figure of speech is used in ‘… watching the evening invade the avenue’? What is the mood of the persona? What words / passages point to this? The Contemporary World (1946 – to present) William Faulkner wrote from the background of his native Mississippi where he lived most of his life. He is generally regarded as the most innovative American novelist of his time. He experimented with narrative chronology, explored multiple points of view, and delved deeply into the minds of his characters. His more notable novels are The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, and Sanctuary. His short story, A Rose for Emily, is one of his unforgetable works. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a Colombian writer, is one of the most innovative writers of the time. His style combines realistic storytelling with elements of folklore and fantasy. This style enabled him to depict the realities of Colombia. He wrote many novels and shorts stories. Among his novels, the most famous is One Hundred Years of Solitude. His short stories include The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, and Big Mama’s Funeral. the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda drew the inspiration for some of … This best poems from objects that other hardly notice. Much of Neruda’s later work expresses political sentiments. In 1971 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. One of his famous poems is The United Fruit Co. (for the poem below) Why does Neruda use a biblical allegory in the first three lines? What tone does he want to achieve in using such allegory? der e for Literature in 1936, the first African to be so honoured. He is known for the following works: Telephone Conversation (a poem), Ake: The Years of Childhood (a memoir), and The Interpreters (a novel). 96 Why does the persona have to confess over the phone that he is African? Why is the landlady silent as soon as the persona confessed that he is African? The Indonesian writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer wrote novels, short stories, essays and histories of his homeland and his people. His works span the colonial period, Indonesia’s struggle for independence, the Japanese occupation during WW II, as well as post-colonial authoritarian regimes of Sukarno and Suharto. Two od his best know works are The Fugitive (a novel) ion, How would you characterize Inem’s mother? What is she really worried about? Siew Yue Killingley was a Malaysian poet, dramatist, teacher, and linguist. A Question of Dowry and Everything’s Arranged published in Twenty- Two Malaysian Stories (1968) brought her immediate recognition and probably urged her to cultivate a literary career alongside her professional teaching and research duties. (for the excerpt below) How would you characterize Mr. Ramachandran? What is Mrs. Ramachandran’s concern after learning they could not pay for the dowry? From A Question of Dowry by Siew Yue Killingley There was much excitement in Mrs. Ramachandran’s household. The daughter of the house, Sivasothie, was going to be engaged. The festive air was laden with the spice smell of curries and wades sizzled in the kwali saucepan. The young lady of the house, as befitted her present condition, assumed a calm pose amidst the general bustle and noise. Mrs. Ramachandran flew here and there, as fast as her hundred and sixty pounds would allow her, and helped with her commanding suggestions. ‘Don’t put too much coconut milk in at once, Ayah! It’s got to go in by stages. The last bit—the richest part, must be kept to the last! Now, Tamby, go out and play—but don’t dirty your shirt. What will Uncle Thiruchelvam think if you’re dirty? … ‘We have to return the necklace.’ ‘Return it? Why, what will Thiruchelvam’s mother and—‘ Mr. Ramachandran raised his hand. ‘There’s something which I’ve wanted to tell you for some time, but I didn’t want to worry you. We can’t pay for the necklace. Do you remember the land we were going to sell to get the dowry and money for the necklace?’ ‘Oh, be careful, you old man! Do you want people to think that we have no money for our daughter?’ Mrs. Ramachandran hissed in fierce whispers… Downloaded by Rizjoe villacruz ([email protected])

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