A Glossary of Literary Terms
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Samuel Beckett and Fyodor Dostoevsky
Metaphysical Comedy: Samuel Beckett and Fyodor Dostoevsky PhD English Literature Ekaterina Gosteva May 2019 I confirm that this is my own work and the use of all material from other sources has been properly and fully acknowledged. ABSTRACT This thesis investigates the connection between Beckett’s comedy and Dostoevsky’s novels in the light of René Girard’s theory of metaphysical desire. While focusing on Beckett’s prose of the 1930s, this study begins with the typology of laughter in Watt. With the help of this passage (employed as a critical tool), the subject of Beckett’s comedy is preliminarily defined as ‘The Unhappy Consciousness’. In Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, this term is stated with regards to the functions of laughter as a negative response to a threat from a hostile phenomenal world. ‘The risus purus’, which Beckett celebrates as ‘the laugh of laughs’, reveals itself as a satirical attack at Kant’s rational cosmology and Hegel’s phenomenology. A further investigation into this structure provides a link between the genre of comedy in general, Beckett’s comic form and Girard’s theory of mimetic desire, based on the works of Cervantes, Flaubert, Stendhal, Proust and Dostoevsky. The works of these novelists allowed René Girard to articulate a concrete theorization of desire, which binds together literary and anthropological questions. Beckett’s engagement with Dostoevsky remains a blind spot in Beckett studies. Although as early as Proust, Beckett attempted to link Proust and Dostoevsky as the writers whose technique he defined as ‘negative and comic’, the scarcity of his critical comments on Dostoevsky has been an obstacle for scholars trying to identify and analyse their relationship. -
MAX BEERBOHM AS a LITERARY CRITIC by BEVERLY JOAN
MAX BEERBOHM AS A LITERARY CRITIC by BEVERLY JOAN NORBY B.A., University of British Columbia, 1949 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of English We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA October, 1967 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and Study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by h.i>s representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of ENGLISH The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date October, 1967 ABSTRACT The purpose of this thesis has been to define Max Beerbohm's critical literary principles, to evaluate his con• tribution to aesthetic criticism and thereby to determine his place in the critical tradition. The methods of investi• gation have been: to study the formative influences on the development of his critical principles and to evaluate the results of their application in Max's essays and dramatic criticisms. From this study it is evident that as a man and as an artist Max was "formed" during the Eighteen-nineties. By nature he was an intellectual dandy who always preferred strong, narrow creative personalities like himself. He was detached, fastidious, witty, and humane, and he was noted for his wisdom and sound common sense, even as a very young man. -
Jonathan Greenberg
Losing Track of Time Jonathan Greenberg Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation tells a story of doing nothing; it is an antinovel whose heroine attempts to sleep for a year in order to lose track of time. This desire to lose track of time constitutes a refusal of plot, a satiric and passive- aggressive rejection of the kinds of narrative sequences that novels typically employ but that, Moshfegh implies, offer nothing but accommodation to an unhealthy late capitalist society. Yet the effort to stifle plot is revealed, paradoxically, as an ambi- tion to be achieved through plot, and so in resisting what novels do, My Year of Rest and Relaxation ends up showing us what novels do. Being an antinovel turns out to be just another way of being a novel; in seeking to lose track of time, the novel at- tunes us to our being in time. Whenever I woke up, night or day, I’d shuffle through the bright marble foyer of my building and go up the block and around the corner where there was a bodega that never closed.1 For a long time I used to go to bed early.2 he first of these sentences begins Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2018 novelMy Year of Rest and Relaxation; the second, Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. More ac- T curately, the second sentence begins C. K. Scott Moncrieff’s translation of Proust, whose French reads, “Longtemps, je me suis couché de bonne heure.” D. J. Enright emends the translation to “I would go to bed”; Lydia Davis and Google Translate opt for “I went to bed.” What the translators famously wrestle with is how to render Proust’s ungrammatical combination of the completed action of the passé composé (“went to bed”) with a modifier (“long time”) that implies a re- peated, habitual, or everyday action. -
Gerard Manley Hopkins' Diacritics: a Corpus Based Study
Gerard Manley Hopkins’ Diacritics: A Corpus Based Study by Claire Moore-Cantwell This is my difficulty, what marks to use and when to use them: they are so much needed, and yet so objectionable.1 ~Hopkins 1. Introduction In a letter to his friend Robert Bridges, Hopkins once wrote: “... my apparent licences are counterbalanced, and more, by my strictness. In fact all English verse, except Milton’s, almost, offends me as ‘licentious’. Remember this.”2 The typical view held by modern critics can be seen in James Wimsatt’s 2006 volume, as he begins his discussion of sprung rhythm by saying, “For Hopkins the chief advantage of sprung rhythm lies in its bringing verse rhythms closer to natural speech rhythms than traditional verse systems usually allow.”3 In a later chapter, he also states that “[Hopkins’] stress indicators mark ‘actual stress’ which is both metrical and sense stress, part of linguistic meaning broadly understood to include feeling.” In his 1989 article, Sprung Rhythm, Kiparsky asks the question “Wherein lies [sprung rhythm’s] unique strictness?” In answer to this question, he proposes a system of syllable quantity coupled with a set of metrical rules by which, he claims, all of Hopkins’ verse is metrical, but other conceivable lines are not. This paper is an outgrowth of a larger project (Hayes & Moore-Cantwell in progress) in which Kiparsky’s claims are being analyzed in greater detail. In particular, we believe that Kiparsky’s system overgenerates, allowing too many different possible scansions for each line for it to be entirely falsifiable. The goal of the project is to tighten Kiparsky’s system by taking into account the gradience that can be found in metrical well-formedness, so that while many different scansion of a line may be 1 Letter to Bridges dated 1 April 1885. -
Reciprocity in Experimental Writing, Hypertext Fiction, and Video Games
UNDERSTANDING INTERACTIVE FICTIONS AS A CONTINUUM: RECIPROCITY IN EXPERIMENTAL WRITING, HYPERTEXT FICTION, AND VIDEO GAMES. A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2015 ELIZABETH BURGESS SCHOOL OF ARTS, LANGUAGES AND CULTURES 2 LIST OF CONTENTS Abstract 3 Declaration 4 Copyright Statement 5 Acknowledgements 6 Introduction 7 Chapter One: Materially Experimental Writing 30 1.1 Introduction.........................................................................................30 1.2 Context: metafiction, realism, telling the truth, and public opinion....36 1.3 Randomness, political implications, and potentiality..........................53 1.4 Instructions..........................................................................................69 1.41 Hopscotch...................................................................................69 1.42 The Unfortunates........................................................................83 1.43 Composition No. 1......................................................................87 1.5 Conclusion...........................................................................................94 Chapter Two: Hypertext Fiction 96 2.1 Introduction.........................................................................................96 2.2 Hypertexts: books that don’t end?......................................................102 2.3 Footnotes and telling the truth............................................................119 -
The Poetry Handbook I Read / That John Donne Must Be Taken at Speed : / Which Is All Very Well / Were It Not for the Smell / of His Feet Catechising His Creed.)
Introduction his book is for anyone who wants to read poetry with a better understanding of its craft and technique ; it is also a textbook T and crib for school and undergraduate students facing exams in practical criticism. Teaching the practical criticism of poetry at several universities, and talking to students about their previous teaching, has made me sharply aware of how little consensus there is about the subject. Some teachers do not distinguish practical critic- ism from critical theory, or regard it as a critical theory, to be taught alongside psychoanalytical, feminist, Marxist, and structuralist theor- ies ; others seem to do very little except invite discussion of ‘how it feels’ to read poem x. And as practical criticism (though not always called that) remains compulsory in most English Literature course- work and exams, at school and university, this is an unwelcome state of affairs. For students there are many consequences. Teachers at school and university may contradict one another, and too rarely put the problem of differing viewpoints and frameworks for analysis in perspective ; important aspects of the subject are omitted in the confusion, leaving otherwise more than competent students with little or no idea of what they are being asked to do. How can this be remedied without losing the richness and diversity of thought which, at its best, practical criticism can foster ? What are the basics ? How may they best be taught ? My own answer is that the basics are an understanding of and ability to judge the elements of a poet’s craft. Profoundly different as they are, Chaucer, Shakespeare, Pope, Dickinson, Eliot, Walcott, and Plath could readily converse about the techniques of which they are common masters ; few undergraduates I have encountered know much about metre beyond the terms ‘blank verse’ and ‘iambic pentameter’, much about form beyond ‘couplet’ and ‘sonnet’, or anything about rhyme more complicated than an assertion that two words do or don’t. -
Langston Hughes
Classic Poetry Series Langston Hughes - poems - Publication Date: 2012 Publisher: PoemHunter.Com - The World's Poetry Archive Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. He famously wrote about the period that "Harlem was in vogue." Biography Ancestry and Childhood Both of Hughes' paternal and maternal great-grandmothers were African-American, his maternal great-grandfather was white and of Scottish descent. A paternal great-grandfather was of European Jewish descent. Hughes's maternal grandmother Mary Patterson was of African-American, French, English and Native American descent. One of the first women to attend Oberlin College, she first married Lewis Sheridan Leary, also of mixed race. Lewis Sheridan Leary subsequently joined John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859 and died from his wounds. In 1869 the widow Mary Patterson Leary married again, into the elite, politically active Langston family. Her second husband was Charles Henry Langston, of African American, Native American, and Euro-American ancestry. He and his younger brother John Mercer Langston worked for the abolitionist cause and helped lead the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in 1858. Charles Langston later moved to Kansas, where he was active as an educator and activist for voting and rights for African Americans. Charles and Mary's daughter Caroline was the mother of Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was born in Joplin, Missouri, the second child of school teacher Carrie (Caroline) Mercer Langston and James Nathaniel Hughes (1871–1934). -
Poetry: Why? Even Though a Poem May Be Short, Most of the Time You Can’T Read It Fast
2.1. Poetry: why? Even though a poem may be short, most of the time you can’t read it fast. It’s like molasses. Or ketchup. With poetry, there are so many things to take into consideration. There is the aspect of how it sounds, of what it means, and often of how it looks. In some circles, there is a certain aversion to poetry. Some consider it outdated, too difficult, or not worth the time. They ask: Why does it take so long to read something so short? Well, yes, it is if you are used to Twitter, or not used to poetry. Think about the connections poetry has to music. Couldn’t you consider some of your favorite lyrics poetry? 2Pac, for example, wrote a book of poetry called The Rose that Grew from Concrete. At many points in history across many cultures, poetry was considered the highest form of expression. Why do people write poetry? Because they want to and because they can… (taking the idea from Federico García Lorca en his poem “Lucía Martínez”: “porquequiero, y porquepuedo”) You ask yourself: Why do I need to read poetry? Because you are going to take the CLEP exam. Once you move beyond that, it will be easier. Some reasons why we write/read poetry: • To become aware • To see things in a different way • To put together a mental jigsaw puzzle • To move the senses • To provoke emotions • To find order 2.2. Poetry: how? If you are not familiar with poetry, you should definitely practice reading some before you take the exam. -
Culture and Fantastical Fiction 1843-1973 Paul Mcadam
Durham E-Theses Negotiating the real: Culture and fantastical ction 1843-1973 McAdam, Paul How to cite: McAdam, Paul (2005) Negotiating the real: Culture and fantastical ction 1843-1973, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2864/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk McAdam 1 Abstract Paul McAdam Negotiating the Real: Culture and Fantastical Fiction 1843-1973 This dissertation examines the growth and practice of two distinct reading techniques, with reference to fantastical fiction from 1843 to 1973. While acknowledging that specific reading practices are not exclusive to particular groups or individuals, it is proposed, broadly, that readers fall into two categories: those who tend to be distanced from the text and approach it analytically; those who tend to embrace the text and immerse themselves in its narrative. -
The Comic in the Theatre of Moliere and of Ionesco: a Comparative Study
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1965 The omicC in the Theatre of Moliere and of Ionesco: a Comparative Study. Sidney Louis Pellissier Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Pellissier, Sidney Louis, "The omicC in the Theatre of Moliere and of Ionesco: a Comparative Study." (1965). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 1088. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/1088 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 66-744 PELLISSIER, Sidney Louis, 1938- s THE COMIC IN THE THEATRE OF MO LI ERE AND OF IONESCO: A COMPARATIVE STUDY. Louisiana State University, Ph.D., 1965 Language and Literature, modern University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan THE COMIC IN THE THEATRE OF MOLIHRE AND OF IONESCO A COMPARATIVE STUDY A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Foreign Languages btf' Sidney L . ,') Pellissier K.A., Louisiana State University, 19&3 August, 19^5 DEDICATION The present study is respectfully dedicated the memory of Dr. Calvin Evans. ii ACKNO'.-'LEDGEKiNT The writer wishes to thank his major professor, Dr. -
Max Beerbohm Prints
Max Beerbohm Caricatures A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives, Delaware Art Museum Acquisition Information Gift of Helen Farr Sloan Extent 5 items Access Restrictions Unrestricted Contact Information Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives Delaware Art Museum 2301 Kentmere Parkway Wilmington, DE 19806 (302) 571-9590 [email protected] Preferred Citation Max Beerbohm Caricatures, Helen Farr Sloan Library & Archives, Delaware Art Museum 1 Biography of Max Beerbohm Max Beerbohm was born in London, England on Aug. 24, 1872. He was educated at Charterhouse and Merton College, Oxford. He was a critic, essayist and caricaturist. He contributed to the famous Yellow Book while still an undergraduate at Oxford. As a half brother of the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, Max was a brilliant dramatic critic of the Saturday Review from 1898 to 1910, succeeding George Bernard Shaw. In 1910 he married an American actress, Florence Kahn and went to live in Rapallo, Italy (except for the duration of the two World Wars). A charming, witty, and elegant man, Beerbohm was a brilliant parodist and the master of a polished prose style. His works include A Christmas Garland (1912), a collection of parodies on such authors as Joseph Conrad and Thomas Hardy; Zuleika Dobson (1911), an amusing satire on Oxford; Seven Men (1919), stories; and And Even Now (1920) and Mainly on the Air (1947), essays. Beerbohm was accomplished at drawing, and he published several volumes of excellent caricatures, including The Poet’s Corner (1904) and Rossetti and His Circle (1922). He was knighted in 1939 on his return from Italy, where he had lived from 1910. -
Filatelicfiesta.Org April Fools' Or All Fools' Day Quarterly Notice Easter
Whole number 204 April 2014 Easter April Fools' or All Fools' Day aster, which celebrates Jesus Christ’s lthough not a holiday in its own E resurrection from the dead, is A right, is a notable day celebrated Christianity’s most important holiday. It in many countries on April 1. The day has been called a moveable feast because is marked by the commission of hoaxes it doesn’t fall on a set date every year, and other practical jokes of varying as most holidays do. Instead, Christian sophistication on friends, family members, churches in the West celebrate Easter on enemies, and neighbors, or sending them the first Sunday following the full moon on fool’s errand, the aim of which is to after the vernal equinox on March 21. embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in Therefore, Easter is observed anywhere some countries, the jokes only last until 9 - 11—WE WILL NEVER FORGET between March 22 and April 25 every noon. If you play a trick on someone 2015 Club Officers year. Orthodox Christians use the Julian after this time you are the April Fool . calendar to calculate when Easter will Elsewhere, for example in Ireland or President occur and typically celebrate the holiday France, the jokes may last all day. Brian Jones. 408.927.6861 [email protected] a week or two after the Western churches, The origin of April Fool's Day is obscure. which follow the Gregorian calendar. One likely theory is that the modern Vice President The exact origins of this religious feast holiday was first celebrated soon after the David Occhipinti .