Understanding Genres and Literary Forms
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Socialist Fairy Tales, Fables, and Allegories from Great Britain
© Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. ■ Introduction In 1974, I visited the mining area of South Wales to make a short educational radio programme about the nationalization of the mines, which took place under the Labour government of 1945– 50. One miner and political activist, Chris Evans, gave me a long interview ranging across the history of locality, mining, work, and his hopes for a socialist future. In describing the nature of life and work, he moved into recitation mode and said: I go to work, to earn money to buy bread to build up my strength, to go to work to earn money to buy bread to build up my strength to go to work . We laughed wryly. I enjoyed the way in which he had reduced the whole cycle of life and work into one rhythmic account. In literary terms, it turns the intricate interactions of existence into emblems, single vignettes that flow one to the other, contrasting with each other. It is, then, a particular kind of storytelling used with the in- tent of revealing or alerting a reader or listener to what the speaker thinks is an unsatisfactory state of affairs. The fact that the story doesn’t end with a conclusion hits the button because through its never- ending form (rather than through words themselves) it re- veals the folly, drudgery, and wrongness of what is being critiqued. 1 For general queries, contact [email protected] © Copyright, Princeton University Press. -
The Ontology and Literary Status of the Screenplay:The Case of »Scriptfic«
DOI 10.1515/jlt-2013-0006 JLT 2013; 7(1–2): 135–153 Ted Nannicelli The Ontology and Literary Status of the Screenplay:The Case of »Scriptfic« Abstract: Are screenplays – or at least some screenplays – works of literature? Until relatively recently, very few theorists had addressed this question. Thanks to recent work by scholars such as Ian W. Macdonald, Steven Maras, and Steven Price, theorizing the nature of the screenplay is back on the agenda after years of neglect (albeit with a few important exceptions) by film studies and literary studies (Macdonald 2004; Maras 2009; Price 2010). What has emerged from this work, however, is a general acceptance that the screenplay is ontologically peculiar and, as a result, a divergence of opinion about whether or not it is the kind of thing that can be literature. Specifically, recent discussion about the nature of the screenplay has tended to emphasize its putative lack of ontological autonomy from the film, its supposed inherent incompleteness, or both (Carroll 2008, 68–69; Maras 2009, 48; Price 2010, 38–42). Moreover, these sorts of claims about the screenplay’s ontology – its essential nature – are often hitched to broader arguments. According to one such argument, a screenplay’s supposed ontological tie to the production of a film is said to vitiate the possibility of it being a work of literature in its own right (Carroll 2008, 68–69; Maras 2009, 48). According to another, the screenplay’s tenuous literary status is putatively explained by the idea that it is perpetually unfinished, akin to a Barthesian »writerly text« (Price 2010, 41). -
Alternate History – Alternate Memory: Counterfactual Literature in the Context of German Normalization
ALTERNATE HISTORY – ALTERNATE MEMORY: COUNTERFACTUAL LITERATURE IN THE CONTEXT OF GERMAN NORMALIZATION by GUIDO SCHENKEL M.A., Freie Universität Berlin, 2006 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (German Studies) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2012 © Guido Schenkel, 2012 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines a variety of Alternate Histories of the Third Reich from the perspective of memory theory. The term ‘Alternate History’ describes a genre of literature that presents fictional accounts of historical developments which deviate from the known course of hi story. These allohistorical narratives are inherently presentist, meaning that their central question of “What If?” can harness the repertoire of collective memory in order to act as both a reflection of and a commentary on contemporary social and political conditions. Moreover, Alternate Histories can act as a form of counter-memory insofar as the counterfactual mode can be used to highlight marginalized historical events. This study investigates a specific manifestation of this process. Contrasted with American and British examples, the primary focus is the analysis of the discursive functions of German-language counterfactual literature in the context of German normalization. The category of normalization connects a variety of commemorative trends in postwar Germany aimed at overcoming the legacy of National Socialism and re-formulating a positive German national identity. The central hypothesis is that Alternate Histories can perform a unique task in this particular discursive setting. In the context of German normalization, counterfactual stories of the history of the Third Reich are capable of functioning as alternate memories, meaning that they effectively replace the memory of real events with fantasies that are better suited to serve as exculpatory narratives for the German collective. -
AS and a Level English Literature
AS and A Level English Literature Literary terms: A guide for students Literary terms: A guide for students Literary terms: A guide for students Contents Introduction .............................................................................................. 2 Frequently misused words ........................................................................... 3 General terms: .......................................................................................... 4 Poetry ...................................................................................................... 8 Genres ................................................................................................... 8 Analytic vocabulary ............................................................................... 10 Drama .................................................................................................... 11 Genres ................................................................................................. 11 Analytic Terms ...................................................................................... 12 Prose ...................................................................................................... 13 Genres ................................................................................................. 13 Analytic Terms ...................................................................................... 14 1 Literary terms: A guide for students Introduction The terminology below may be used support your reading and response -
Notes Definition: a Parable Is a Story Which Indirectly Points to a Truth (Earthly Story with a Heavenly (Kingdom of God) Meaning
Notes Definition: A parable is a story which indirectly points to a truth (earthly story with a heavenly (Kingdom of God) meaning. With Jesus, he is teaching about a way of living, being in a kingdom, that can be chosen, that has no territory except where God’s sovereignty and will is honored. His stories provide insights, stimulate the conscience, and move one to action. They are concise and marked by simplicity (never more than two persons or groups in the same scene, like in Hebrew stories). Sometimes they reverse one’s expectations (just as God’s way is different from our way). They arise in a context so that they speak to the situation. Occasionally, they are grouped together for greater impact (e.g., the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost sons). They reflect the agenda of the gospel, and they are in the synoptic gospels and none in John. Interpretation: Hear them as stories from an oral culture, note their construction, consider the “gaps,” determine the function in the life and teachings of Jesus. Different parables: Parable of the sower (a parable about parables or the message of Jesus—importance in proclamation and the response) Three points: The kingdom is a kingdom of the word. The parable calls for attention and a reorientation of one’s life. The kingdom is presently at work—harvest is now and ahead. The unforgiving servant—the forgiveness of God must be replicated in the lives of the forgiven. (Similar to Luke 7—story told to Simon the Pharisee about the two who owed money, 1 one 500 pieces of silver and another 50. -
Epsitemology, Literary Genre and Knowledge Organisation Systems
Epistemology, literary genre and knowledge organisation systems PAULINE RAFFERTY Aberystwyth University Llanbadarn Fawr, Ceredigion, Wales [email protected] Abstract This theoretical paper considers genre as the epistemological foundation for fiction retrieval systems, in particular the relationship between the individual work and generic systems. It explores the characteristics of literary genres, and how they are determined, and examines ontological and historical aspects of genre. It considers the relationship between historically contingent generic transformations and literary genre as categorising principle. Finally, it offers some suggestions for future design of fiction KOS. Keywords: Fiction, Genres, Knowledge organisation systems, Tagging. 20 Años del Capítulo Español de ISKO. Actas del X Congreso ISKO Capítulo Español (Ferrol, 2011) Universidade da Coruña (España), 2012. ISBN: 978-84-9749-535-6 Pp. 553-565 EPISTEMOLOGY, LITERARY GENRE AND KNOWLEDGE ORGANISATION SYSTEMS 555 1. Preface Traditionally, where knowledge organisation systems (KOS) have dealt with fictional works, the approach has generally been through genre (see Beghtol, 1989, 1990, for an overview of fiction classification schemes). The notion of genre as categorisation principle comes to library science, relatively unexamined, from literary theory. It underpins many of the assumptions that fiction KOS has about fictional texts, even when the focus of the fiction retrieval system is predominantly based on user-warrant (e.g. The Book House, Pejtersen, 199, 59). Raymond Williams wrote “the recognition of the relation of a collective mode and an individual object …is a recognition of related practices. That is to say, the irreducibly individual projects that particular works are, may come in experience and in analysis to show resemblances which allow us to group them into collective modes” (Williams, 2001, 179). -
New Orlearis Review
New Orlearis Review LOYOLA UNIVERSITY VOLUME 11 NUMBER 21$7.00 New Orleans Review Summer 1984 Editors John Biguenet, Art and Literature Bruce Henricksen, Theory and Criticism John Mosier, Film, General Editor Managing Editor Sarah Elizabeth Spain Design Vilma Pesciallo Contributing Editor Raymond McGowan Founding Editor Miller Williams Advisory Editors Richard Berg Doris Betts Joseph Fichter, S.J. Dawson Gaillard Alexis Gonzales, F.S.C. John Irwin Murray Krieger Wesley Morris Walker Percy Herman Rapaport Robert Scholes Marcus Smith Miller Williams The New Orleans Review is published by Loyola University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, United States. Copyright © 1984 by Loyola University. Critical essays relating to film or literature of up to ten thou sand words should be prepared to conform with the new MLA guidelines and sent to the appropriate editor, together with a stamped, self-addressed envelope. The address is New Or leans Review, Box 195, Loyola University, New Orleans, Lou isiana 70118. Fiction, poetry, photography or related artwork should be sent to the Art and Literature Editor. A stamped, self-addressed envelope should be enclosed. Reasonable care is taken in the handling of material, but no responsibility is assumed for the loss of unsolicited material. Accepted manuscripts are the property of the NOR. The New Orleans Review is published in February, May, Au gust and November. Annual Subscription Rate: Institutions $30.00, Individuals $25.00, Foreign Subscribers $35.00. Con tents listed in the PMLA Bibliography and the Index of American Periodical Verse. US ISSN 0028-6400. r CONTENTS POETRY AND FICTION Babies Are Cruel People fan Newman 31 The Reception Richard Easton 23 I J I I The Baker F. -
ELEMENTS of FICTION – NARRATOR / NARRATIVE VOICE Fundamental Literary Terms That Indentify Components of Narratives “Fiction
Dr. Hallett ELEMENTS OF FICTION – NARRATOR / NARRATIVE VOICE Fundamental Literary Terms that Indentify Components of Narratives “Fiction” is defined as any imaginative re-creation of life in prose narrative form. All fiction is a falsehood of sorts because it relates events that never actually happened to people (characters) who never existed, at least not in the manner portrayed in the stories. However, fiction writers aim at creating “legitimate untruths,” since they seek to demonstrate meaningful insights into the human condition. Therefore, fiction is “untrue” in the absolute sense, but true in the universal sense. Critical Thinking – analysis of any work of literature – requires a thorough investigation of the “who, where, when, what, why, etc.” of the work. Narrator / Narrative Voice Guiding Question: Who is telling the story? …What is the … Narrative Point of View is the perspective from which the events in the story are observed and recounted. To determine the point of view, identify who is telling the story, that is, the viewer through whose eyes the readers see the action (the narrator). Consider these aspects: A. Pronoun p-o-v: First (I, We)/Second (You)/Third Person narrator (He, She, It, They] B. Narrator’s degree of Omniscience [Full, Limited, Partial, None]* C. Narrator’s degree of Objectivity [Complete, None, Some (Editorial?), Ironic]* D. Narrator’s “Un/Reliability” * The Third Person (therefore, apparently Objective) Totally Omniscient (fly-on-the-wall) Narrator is the classic narrative point of view through which a disembodied narrative voice (not that of a participant in the events) knows everything (omniscient) recounts the events, introduces the characters, reports dialogue and thoughts, and all details. -
Workers in the Vineyard
Workers in the Vineyard This parable (Mt 20:1-16) is about several workers who are hired by a land owner, over different periods of time. In the evening, the workers who are hired first expect to be paid more than those hired later. But the owner pays all of the workers equally. Land Owner: Most of the productive land was held by large-scale elite owners. From the First Temple period through the Second, a pronounced shift in the patterns of land tenure took place, shifting from smallholders producing the Mediterranean triad of grain, grapes and olives for subsistence to large estates orientated to large-scale production and export crops. The owner in this parable is one of the wealthy sub-elites who owned large estates and converted the land to viticulture dedicated to the production of export crops. Laborers: The social order consisted of a patron-and-client society of unequal relationships with the estate owners assuming the role of patrons and those who have lost the land becoming their clients. In such a relationship the client’s wellbeing is determined by the closeness of rapport he maintains with the patron. The landless laborers in the parable did not belong to the ambit of such a relationship. They were outside of any assured protection and regular work opportunity and, hence, more vulnerable to be deprived of their basic wages even on rare occasions when they found a work to do. Early workers: The working hours of the Israelites were 12 and was counted from 6:00 A.M. -
Eden, Just Not Ours Yet: on Parable of the Trickster and Utopia
Marquette University e-Publications@Marquette English Faculty Research and Publications English, Department of 1-2019 Eden, Just Not Ours Yet: On Parable of the Trickster and Utopia Gerry Canavan Marquette University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://epublications.marquette.edu/english_fac Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Canavan, Gerry, "Eden, Just Not Ours Yet: On Parable of the Trickster and Utopia" (2019). English Faculty Research and Publications. 533. https://epublications.marquette.edu/english_fac/533 1 Gerry Canavan (Associate Professor, Marquette University) [email protected] // 414-899-7799 Eden, Just Not Ours Yet: On Parable of the Trickster and Utopia The last chapter of Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Talents (1998) sees an aged Lauren Olamina in 2090, surrounded by several of her most devoted disciples at the launch of the first Earthseed mission, the beginning of the extrasolar colonization project to which she has devoted her entire adult life. We are told very early on in Parable of the Sower (1993), when Olamina is still a young teenager, that “The Destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars” (Butler Sower 85)—and by the end of Talents that dream seems to have been achieved, though it has personally cost Olamina nearly everything else in her life, including her daughter, her husband, her brother, and her personal safety. She herself is now much too old to go on such a mission, a Moses permanently denied her own Promised Land—though she imagines her ashes someday being brought to one of the Earthseed colonies after her death. -
Parable of the Sower Created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon
Octavia E. Butler’s Parable Of The Sower Created By Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE THE SHOW Design for Sharing Demonstration Performance UCLA Royce Hall March 6, 2020 ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE The company is a unique collective of artists whose Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Sower Created by Toshi Reagon and Bernice Johnson Reagon Based on the novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler, this genre-defying work of theater features a powerhouse ensemble of 20 singers, actors, and musicians. It harnesses 200 years of black musical tradition to bring Butler’s acclaimed science fiction books to life in song. Written by singer, composer and producer Toshi Reagon in collaboration with her mother, Bernice Johnson Rea- gon (song leader, composer, scholar, social activist, and founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock), Parable of the Sower is a mesmerizing theatrical work of rare power and beauty. At this special performance for youth audiences, Toshi and members of the cast will perform selected songs from the production, as well as other songs connected to the themes of community and social action. About the Creators Toshi Reagon is a versatile singer-songwriter and producer, drawing on the traditions of uniquely American mu- sic: rock, blues, R&B, country, folk, spirituals and funk. Toshi has been performing since she was 17 years old. Her career really launched when Lenny Kravitz chose her, straight out of college, to open for him on his first world tour. Some of Toshi’s proudest moments include playing for her godfather Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday cele- bration at Madison Square Garden, and performing with the Freedom Singers at the White House, in a tribute to the music of the civil rights movement. -
History As Rhetoric, Fable, and Literary Genre
International Journal of Literature and Arts 2014; 2(1): 16-23 Published online February 20, 2014 (http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ijla) doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140201.14 History as rhetoric, fable, and literary genre Alejandro Cheirif Wolosky Museum of natural history, Luxemburg, Luxembourg Email address: [email protected] To cite this article: Alejandro Cheirif Wolosky. History as Rhetoric, Fable, and Literary Genre. International Journal of Literature and arts . Vol. 2, No. 1, 2014, pp. 16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijla.20140201.14 Abstract: This article provides an insight into the notion of history as a literary genre. It argues that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the concept of “history” was mostly employed in its plural form: “the stories” and not “history” were the predominant form of the concept of history. These “stories” were related to the ancient Ciceronian rhetorical and moral tradition of history as Magistra Vitae (history as life's teacher) and were considered part of the so-called belles-lettres or “literature”. Keywords: History, Literature, Rhetoric, Fable designated the “subjective” aspect of history with the word 1. Introduction Historie -- the account or narration of what has happened -- In the fifth edition of the Dictionary of the French and with the word Geschichte its objective aspect: the Academy ( Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française ), events of the past themselves. Towards the end of the published in 1798, in the entry for the word histoire, written eighteenth-century, the word Geschichte , derived from the in the singular and feminine form, we find the following verb geschehen (to occur), merged both meanings into one definition: “Narrative of actions and events worth of single word (Geschichte).