UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

FACULTY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LANGUAGES

Czech (with Slovak) Final Honour School Handbook

INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS WHO START THEIR FHS COURSE IN OCTOBER 2018 AND NORMALLY EXPECT TO BE TAKING THE FHS EXAMINATION IN TRINITY TERM 2021 This handbook gives subject-specific information for your FHS course in Czech (with Slovak). For general information about your studies and the faculty, please consult the Faculty’s Undergraduate Course Handbook (https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/site/:humdiv:modlang).

FINAL HONOUR SCHOOL (FHS)

FHS teaching in and literature – in the form of university lectures, college classes / seminars and tutorials – is coordinated by:

Dr James Partridge (Departmental Lecturer in Czech and Slovak) Dr Vanda Pickett (Czech Language Tutor)

Czech (with Slovak) is not available for ‘sole’ Honours. Most undergraduates take this part of their degree in combination with another language, and it is this pattern which is assumed below. (It is also possible to take the subject in Joint Schools with English, Modern History etc., for which the regulations are slightly different.)

☛ Extensive local and external web resources for students of Czech and Slovak language and literature are available at: http://czech.mml.ox.ac.uk

The Year Abroad in the Czech Republic

The third year is normally spent abroad. Most students taking two languages divide their time between the Czech Republic and a country appropriate for their other language.

Students may spend a term at a university in the Czech Republic, find work placements or teach English at school or college level. Past work opportunities have also included short internships with the English service of Radio . Students will sometimes combine more than one of these possibilities. Your year abroad coordinator can discuss your options with you in more detail, and further information is available at https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/site/:humdiv:modlang:year_abroad under ‘Guidance for specific languages’.

It is essential that students continue to read daily in Czech throughout this year, as well as speaking as much as possible to build up their fluency. They should maximise their exposure to the Czech language, through radio, TV, films, DVDs etc. as well as through their personal contacts and studies.

1 HONOUR PAPERS IN CZECH (WITH SLOVAK) LANGUAGE

During the FHS course, undergraduates continue their language work in a wide variety of ways. This includes translation from and into Czech, oral and aural work, Czech prose classes and acquisition of a reading knowledge of Slovak. Some part of the third year is spent studying or working in the Czech Republic (see above).

☛ Students will find James Naughton, Colloquial Slovak (Routledge, 2011) useful for their study of Slovak in the final year. Please see http://czech.mml.ox.ac.uk/czech-and- slovak-language-resources#textbooks for other Slovak language material.

The following language examinations are taken by all students for their Finals:

ORAL COMPREHENSION, DISCOURSE AND CONVERSATION The exam is in two parts. – Comprehension: Students will listen to a reading of a passage of Czech; this passage will be of five minutes’ duration at normal reading speed. They will then have 25 minutes to answer (written) questions on this passage. – Discourse and Conversation: Before the exam, students will be given three topics, one of which they must choose and prepare a short (approx. 5 minute) discourse on. This will be followed by a discussion (in Czech) lasting no more than 10 minutes.

PAPER I: Translation into Czech (or Slovak) and essay in Czech (or Slovak) One unseen passage of prose for translation in Czech (or, if a candidate prefers, into Slovak). The passage may be either fiction or non-fiction and is usually between 250-300 words in length. There is a choice of five language essay topics (the essay may be written in either Czech or Slovak). Suggested essay length is approximately 500 to 750 words. Equal weight will be given to both tasks.

Paper IIA and IIB: Translation from Modern Czech and Modern Slovak – IIA: One unseen passage of modern Czech, fiction or non-fiction, to be translated into English. Length of passage: approx. 350 words. – IIB: One unseen passage of modern Slovak, fiction or non-fiction, to be translated into English. Length of passage: approx. 350 words.

2 LITERATURE

In addition to the language papers, all students of Czech take the one Period Paper available: – Paper VIII: Period of Literature (iii): 1774 to the Present And either ONE or TWO further courses, chosen from: – Paper IV: The History of Czech and Slovak – Paper IX: Medieval Prescribed Texts – Paper X: Modern Prescribed Authors

The following are brief descriptions of each of these papers, starting with Paper VIII, as this is taken by all students.

Paper VIII: Period of Literature (iii): 1774 to the Present

This course covers a range of literature from the Czech National Revival (Obrození) through various periods and literary movements of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, up to the present day. Familiarity with a certain corpus of classic and well-known texts will be expected, but there is also scope to pursue individual interests. The works read during this course, both in class and for tutorials, will be selected from writers such as (in roughly chronological order): Mácha, Erben, Němcová, Neruda, Zeyer, Hlaváček, Dyk, Hašek, Čapek, Durych, Nezval, Halas, Seifert, Vančura, Součková, Jedlička, Kundera, Škvorecký, Vaculík, Hrabal, Havel, Linhartová...

This is not an exhaustive list but is simply intended to give a general idea of which Czech authors are frequently studied, and about whom specific examination questions have been set in the past. Selected works from some of these authors are available in English translation, however many works are not translated and all candidates will be strongly encouraged to read in Czech.

For the examination, candidates are asked to write on three questions out of a choice of approx. fifteen (not counting ‘either... or’ questions and similar). They are not obliged to show a knowledge of both Czech and Slovak writers. A majority of questions will refer to prominent authors, or name a choice of authors, but there will also be questions without named authors.

☛ READING LIST

The list below shows authors and works that are typically covered by candidates during the four years of their studies. A few of these works are available in English, however most are not and all candidates will be expected to read widely in Czech.

19th-Century Prose:  Jakub ARBES: Svatý Xaverius  Vítězslav HÁLEK: Muzikantská liduška  K. H. MÁCHA: Pouť Krkonošská, Marinka, Křivoklad, Cikáni  Božena NĚMCOVÁ: Divá Bára, Babička  Jan NERUDA: Povídky malostranské, Arabesky 3  Karolína SVĚTLÁ: Kříž u potoka, Vesnický román  : Tři legendy o krucifixu, Dům „U tonoucí hvězdy“

19th-Century Poetry:  K. J. ERBEN: Kytice  Karel HLAVÁČEK: Mstivá Kantiléna, Pozdě k ránu  K. H. MÁCHA: Máj  J. S. MACHÁR: Zde by měly kvést růže  Jan NERUDA: Balady a romance, Zpěvy páteční, Prosté motivy  Antonín SOVA: Zlomená duše

20th-century Prose (pre-1989):  Karel ČAPEK: Boží muka, Trapné povídky, Povídky z jedné kapsy, Povídky z druhé kapsy, Hordubal, Povětroň, Obyčejný život  Jakub DEML: Zapomenuté světlo  Jaroslav DURYCH: Rekviem – Menší valdštejnská trilogie  : Krysař  Ladislav FUKS: Pan Theodor Mundstock, Spalovač mrtvol  Jan HANČ: Události  Jaroslav HAŠEK: Osudy dobrého vojáka Švejka za druhé světové války  Václav HAVEL: Zahradní slavnost, Pokoušení, Odcházení etc.  Egon HOSTOVSKÝ: Cizinec hledá byt, Listy z vyhnanství  Bohumil HRABAL: Ostře sledované vlaky, Příliš hlučná samota, Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále etc. [See also Paper X below.]  Josef JEDLIČKA: Kde život náš je v půli se svou poutí  Pavel KOHOUT: Katyně  : Žert, Směšné lásky, Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí etc.  Věra LINHARTOVÁ: Prostor k rozlišení  Karel PECKA: Motáky nezvěstnému  Milada SOUČKOVÁ: Amor a Psyche, Neznámý člověk  Josef ŠKVORECKÝ: Zbabělci, Bassaxofon etc.  Ludvík VACULÍK: Morčata, Sekyra  Vladislav VANČURA: Markéta Lazarová, Konec krásných časů, Pekař Jan Marhoul  Jiří WEIL: Život s hvězdou, Na střeše je Mendelssohn, Moskva–hranice  Richard WEINER: Netečný divák, Škleb

20th-century Poetry:  František HALAS: Staré ženy, Kohout plaší smrt, Sépie  Josef KAINAR: Nové mýty  Vítězslav NEZVAL: Básně noci, Pantomima Valérie a týden divů, Absolutní hrobař  Jaroslav SEIFERT: Na vlnách TSF, Morový sloup  Milada SOUČKOVÁ: Mluvící pásmo  Jiří WOLKER: Host do domu (incl. Svatý kopeček), Těžká hodina

Prose (post-1989):  Jan BALABÁN: Možná že odcházíme  Emil HAKL: O rodičích a dětech  Jáchym TOPOL: Anděl, Chladnou zemí  Michal VIEWEGH: Báječná léta pod psa 4 Texts are available in the Taylorian Library and some college libraries, and some of the 19th- century texts are available on our website: http://czech.mml.ox.ac.uk/czech-and-slovak- literature-resources. You may also like to purchase new/second-hand books if you go to the Czech Republic (e.g. through a website such as http://muj-antikvariat.cz) as texts are often out of print, or difficult to obtain and expensive if purchased outside the country.

Paper IV: Linguistic Studies I – The History of Czech and Slovak

This introductory course aims to survey the historical development of Czech from the time when it became a distinct entity within the Slavonic group up to the present day.

The course will include introductory study of the historical phonology, morphology, syntax and vocabulary, and changes in written norms, with some reference to dialects as well as to the evolution of the most widespread non-standard spoken forms.

The history of Czech as a medium of literature is examined, from the written records of the late 13th and 14th centuries up to the period of the obrození. We also look at the creation of terminology, spelling reforms etc. The development of standard Slovak from the later 18th century onward is also studied in outline.

☛ Passages for commentary and translation will be taken from: Jaroslav Porák, Chrestomatie k vývoji českého jazyka (Praha, SNP, 1979), pp. 31-40, 54-64, 72-88, 115-18, 126-31, 383-7. [See also: http://czech.mml.ox.ac.uk/chrestomatie-k-vyvoji-ceskeho-jazyka]

The prescribed extracts focus on texts of the medieval period, as these contrast most distinctly with the modern language. They are studied in their original orthography.

For the examination, candidates are asked to translate a passage from one of the set texts (compulsory), write a commentary on another (also compulsory), and write two essay-type questions chosen from a range of six or seven, including questions on the general historical evolution of the languages, orthography, historical phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary, and growth of standard norms. A minority of the essay-type questions may be on Slovak, or require some reference to Slovak as well as Czech.

Paper IX: Medieval Prescribed Texts

The prescribed texts for the medieval course, focusing on works from the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, are: Dalimilova kronika (Nejstarší česká rýmovaná Kronika tak řečeného Dalimila) chapters 1-32, 41, 66-70, 102-6, Legenda o svaté Kateřině, Tkadleček. The set texts are studied from the literary and literary-historical point of view, with appropriate reference to social contexts.

The first text is an early fourteenth-century historical chronicle in irregular rhyming verse (habitually called ‘Dalimil’s Chronicle’ – though this was not the author’s name). It has 5 lively narrative qualities, and robust patriotic verve, and is one of the main sources for various traditional legends and tales of the earlier rulers of .

The second text, Legenda o svaté Kateřině, is a fourteenth-century verse legend of St. Catherine of Alexandria, known for its elaborate style and incorporation of elements of courtly love.

The third text, Tkadleček (‘The Weaver’), is an exuberant and elaborate prose text of circa 1407, a longer variation on the medieval German text Der Ackermann aus Böhmen. It takes the form of a dispute between a Lover (who is a ‘weaver’ of words) and Misfortune. Again, it includes notable courtly elements.

A modestly wider range of acquaintance with other Czech medieval writings and some knowledge of a few other medieval texts, e.g. in German, French or English, would also be beneficial.

For the examination, candidates will be asked to translate one of three (one will be set from each of the prescribed texts) and write a commentary on one of the other two. There will also be a pair of essay-type questions on each of the prescribed text, from which candidates will be asked to choose two questions on different texts, neither of these to be the text from which their commentary passage was taken.

☛ READING LIST

 Nejstarší česká rýmovaná kronika tak řečeného Dalimila, eds. Bohuslav Havránek a Jiří Daňhelka (Praha: 1958): Chapters 1- 32, 41, 66-70, 102-6,  The Chronicle of the : Cosmas of Prague, tr. Lisa Wolverton (Washington, D.C.: Catholic UP of America, 2009).  Legenda o svaté Kateřině, ed. Jan Vilikovský, (Praha: Vyšehrad, 1946) [Or other editions.]  Tkadleček: Hádka milence s neštěstím, ed. František Šimek (Praha: Česká grafická Unie, 1940). [Or other editions.]

Paper X: Modern Prescribed Authors

For this course, THREE author-topics are chosen for special study from the list given below. The choice includes a seventeenth-century author, one of the most highly admired twentieth- century Czech poets, and four recent authors of prose fiction – one internationally famous, one major female writer (yet to become internationally famous), and the other two outstanding contemporary Slovak writers:

 Jan Amos Komenský (Comenius), with a special study of the prose allegory Labyrint světa a ráj srdce (1623, 1631). Komenský is regarded as the outstanding Czech prose writer of the 17th-century Baroque.

6  Vladimír Holan, with a special study of the poem Terezka Planetová (1943). This is one of a series of narrative poems by Holan, mostly collected in Volume 7 of his collected works: Piíbéhy.  Bohumil Hrabal, with a special study of the novel Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále (1980, MS 1971). Hrabal’s name is well known to all reasonably knowledgeable readers of twentieth-century Czech fiction.  Daniela Hodrová, with a special study of the novel Podobojí (1991), part of her trilogy Trýznivé mésto (the other volumes are Kukly and Théta). She is one of the more admired women novelists of today, and also a literary academic.  Ján Johanides, with a special study of Marek koniar a uhorský pápež (1983), a historical novel by one of the most complex twentieth-century Slovak writers of fiction.  Dušan Mitana, with a special study of the stories collected in the volume Prievan (1996). This anthology gathers together a bundle of short stories – previously published in 1970, 1976 and 1993 – by this satirical, playfully entertaining and ingeniously mystifying contemporary Slovak writer.

Passages for commentary will be set from the texts listed above for special study. Questions will be set in addition on a wider range of the authors’ works. Students should also acquire a knowledge of the literary-historical background and the most useful critical literature on their selected authors’ texts.

For the examination, candidates will be asked to write a commentary on one passage from the set texts prescribed for their three chosen authors and answer an essay-type question on each of the other two authors. The paper will provide one extract for commentary from each of the authors being offered by candidates. The essay-type questions will enable candidates to write on a wider range of texts than the prescription for each author.

☛ READING LIST

 Vladimír HOLAN: ‘Terezka Planetová’ in Sebrané spisy Vladimíra Holana, sv. 7: Piíbéhy (Praha: Paseka, 2002). [Or other editions.]  Daniela HODROVÁ: Podobojí (Ústi nad Labem: Severočeské nakladatelství, 1991).  Bohumil HRABAL: Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále [any edition].  Ján JOHANIDES, Marek koniar a uhorskjý pápež (Bratislava: Slovenský spisovateľ, 1983).  Jan Ámos KOMENSKÝ, Labyrint svéta a ráj srdce [any edition, or http://czech.mml.ox.ac.uk/labyrint].  Dugan MITANA, Prievan (Levice: Koloman Kertész Bagala, 1996).

7 CZECH LITERATURE: OTHER READING

☛ Please see also the READING LIST in the 2017-18 Preliminary Course Handbook, which the list below supplements:

In English:  Anthology of Czech Literature, ed. by W. E. Harkins (New York: King’s Crown Press, 1953, 1966).  Lubomír Doležel: Narrative modes in Czech literature (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973).  Alfred French, Czech writers and politics, 1945-1969 (New York: Columbia UP, 1982).  Alfred French, The Poets of Prague: Czech Poetry Between the Wars (London: OUP, 1969).  William E. Harkins, The Russian Folk Epos in Czech Literature, 1800-1900 (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1951).  Arne Novák, Czech Literature [1946], translated by Peter Kussi, with a supplement by William E. Harkins, Michigan Slavic Publications (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1976). [Originally published as: Dějiny českého písemnictví, 1946.]  Thomas Ort, Art and Life in Modernist Prague: Karel Čapek and his Generation, 1911-1938 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).  Alfred Thomas, Anne’s Bohemia: Czech Literature and Society, 1310- 1420 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1998).  Alfred Thomas, The Labyrinth of the Word: Truth and Representation in Czech Literature (Munich: Oldenbourg, 1995).  Traveller’s Literary Companion to Eastern and Central Europe, ed. James Naughton (Brighton: In Print Publishing, 1995).  Thomas G. Winner, The Czech Avant-Garde Literary Movement Between the World Wars, ed. Ondřej Sládek & Michael Heim (New York: Peter Lang, 2015).

In Czech:  Avantgarda známá a neznámá, sv. 1–3 (Praha: Svoboda, 1970-1972): http://ucl.cas.cz/edicee/antologie/avantgarda-znama-a-neznama  Česká literatura od počátků do dneška, ed. Jan Lehár et al (Prague: Lidové noviny, 1998).  Čeští spisovatelé počátku 19. a 20. století (Praha, Československý spisovatel, 1982): http://ucl.cas.cz/edicee/prirucky/slovnikove/141-cesti-spisovatele-19-a-pocatku-20- stoleti  Dějiny české literatury 1945-1989, ed. Petr Čornej et al (Praha: Academia, 2007- 2008).  Dějiny české literatury, sv. 1-4 (1959-1961, 1995): http://ucl.cas.cz/edicee/dejiny/dejiny-ceske-literatury  Pavel Janoušek (ed.), Dějiny české literatury 1945-1989.  Lexikon české literatury, ed. V. Forst (Prague: Academia, 1985-2008).  Dobrava Moldanová, Česká literatura 1890-1948.

8  Arne Novák, Přehledné dějiny literatury éeské od nejstartích dob až po nate dny. [Classic work from the 1930s; available in PDF from: http://arne-novak.phil.muni.cz.]  Vladimír Papoušek (ed.), Dějiny nové moderny: éeská literatura v letech 1905-1923 (Praha: Academia, 2010).  Slovník básnickj5ch knih. Díla éeské poezie od obrození do roku 1945, ed. Miroslav Červenka et al. (Prague: Československ' spisovatel, 1990). [Available online at http://ucl.cas.cz/edicee/prirucky/slovnikove/140-slovnik-basnickych-knih.]  Slovník éeské prózy 1945-1994, ed. Blahoslav Dokoupil et al. (Ostrava: Sfinga, 1994).  Slovník éeské literatury [Available online at: http://www.slovnikceskeliteratury.cz/.]  Dalibor Tureček, Oeská literatura národního obrození.  V souřadnicích volnosti & V souřadnicích mnohosti. Česká literatura devadesát'ch let / Česká literatura první dekády jednadvacátého století, v intepretacích. [Two separate but related volumes on contemporary Czech literature.]  Z dějin éeského mytlení o literatuře: Antologie k Dějinám éeské literatury 1945- 1990 (Praha: Ústav pro českou literaturu, 2001-2005): http://ucl.cas.cz/edicee/antologie/z-dejin-ceskeho-mysleni-o-literature

Many further resources may also be found via the web pages at: http://czech.mml.ox.ac.uk

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When drawing up this handbook we have tried to be as accurate and clear as possible. The texts prescribed for study for individual papers are now listed in this handbook.

The Examination Conventions, detailing the structure of each examination paper, including rubrics, are also available as a separate document at: https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/site/:humdiv:modlang:czech:fhs

The revised edition of the University’s Examination Decrees and Regulations lists the examination papers and their permitted combination for your degree course. (For further details, refer to the handbook and the examining conventions.) See: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/examregs/2018-19/hsofmodelang/studentview/

Courses and regulations are constantly under review, so always check also with your college tutor to confirm what is written here and in the Examination Conventions.

In addition, do not hesitate to ask for clarification about the course from any member of the Sub-Faculty who is lecturing to you or tutoring you; we will always do our best to help.

Last revised: May 2018

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