1. A-210 Approaching Literature Lecture 1 Welcome to A210 Online Study Calendar Sem I – 2008-09 2008TMA 1 & 2 - Course Guide Specimen Exam Papers

2. Course aims The course has the following aims: –To introduce you to three current approaches to literature: through the concept of genre (The Realist Novel); through the idea of a great author in the canon of literature (Shakespeare and the Canon). (A210A) through period studies (Romantic Writings); (A210B)

3. The Genre Approach p:3-33 Are you acquainted with the following terms? Define briefly Genre Novel Poetry Plays Short stories Romance Realism Style Irony

4. Genre Genre is a type or class of literary work,like novels, poetry, plays, and short stories. These are classified according to the form, method and function used. For example, some of the obvious differences are: The novel is written in prose, and uses narrative techniques like 3rd person narration and 1st person narration. In the 3rd person narrative, the writer tells the story from outside, and in the 1st person narration, a character tells his/her own story. In poetry, we use poetic devices like metaphors, and rhyme. In plays, the action is carried along by the actors who tell the story through their dialogues. All these genres may have sub-genres.Thus, there are many types of novels, like detective, the novel of education or bildungsroman, the gothic novel, the romance, and the realist novel, which forms the first major part of your course.

5. Realist Novel The novels you have in your course were written in the 18th century and early 19th c., and are called “realist”. The people and events in these novels may be made up, imagined or fictional, but they are like real people or events the readers knew about. They reflect the values of the society of those times. For example, Austen in her novel, Pride and Prejudice, describes the important role of marriage in the life of women, and the fact that men were judged according to the wealth they had. Historical events affect the society and the characters described in these novels. Great Expectations describes the effect of the industrialization of England in forming two distinct classes of people---the few rich, and the many poor.Society respected the rich, and in the novel, the hero, Pip, struggles to be a wealthy person, in order to gain respect in the eyes of Estella, the girl he loves.

6. Narrative Techniques The writers of the Realist Novels, like Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, use certain techniques or methods to tell or narrate their stories. These are called narrative techniques. Most of the story in Pride and Prejudice is shown through Elizabeth Bennet's own 'speech'. This is called "showing" and is in direct speech. The narrator may sometimes tell the reader what Elizabeth is thinking or what her opinion is (telling) in indirect speech When the narrator (the writer) tells the story and describes the characters and their thoughts,it is in the third person(pronouns “he”, ”she” are used). Another technique used by Austen is focalization. In Pride and Prejudice, the writer often narrates the events of a story through the thoughts and speech of Elizabeth. Although it is the writer, who is speaking, it is the character, Elizabeth, who sees the events. Sometimes, the indirectly reported speech of a character, takes on the tone (for example, ironical ), of the character. Thus we know from Elizabeth's speech, that she thinks Darcy is proud of his rank and wealth.

7. Both Jane Eyre and Great Expectations are narrated as if the authors are speaking about themselves – they are 1st person narratives, and have an autobiographical element. Sometimes there can be a dual (two) focus or focalization. In Great Expectations and Jane Eyre, the hero or heroine tell their own story as adults, and often describe things as they saw and felt in childhood. Thus Pip, in Great Expectations begins his story by describing how he felt and saw things in early childhood. When he is turned upside down by the convict, he sees and thinks that the church is upside down and not he.

8. Romance Romance is a novel, story, or a poem, which tells of 'unreal' events and people, for example stories of brave knights and fairies, like the ones you will read in your text book entitled, 'Romantic Writings'. These poems and stories are based on myths and legends like," La Belle Dame Sans Merci" and 'Eve of St. Agnes'.

9. Bildungsroman This is a novel which tells the story of a hero or heroine's 'moral growth' from childhood to adult life. It relates their experiences and sufferings and how these change their character, that is, make them better or stronger. Both Great Expectations and Jane Eyre are such novels. Pip, the hero of Great Expectations, suffers as a child, because he is poor, and he wants to get rich to be respected in society. But when he is left a lot of money by an unknown donor, it makes him proud, and he does not behave well with his own family and friends. He becomes poor again, because he wastes the money. He then realizes his mistake and becomes humble. Jane Eyre, too, suffers as an orphan in childhood. She learns to revolt against her torturers, and to defend her right to be an independent and respected woman.

10. Literature and History: All through your course, you will have to relate your novels, stories and poems to the history of the times in which the poets lived and worked. For instance, you cannot properly understand the events and the way characters behave in Great Expectations, without discussing the Industrial Revolution, which made two classes in English society – rich and poor. Fathers and Sons is a story of Russia in the 19th century, when society was divided into the rich landowners and the very poor 'serfs' or farmers, who lived like slaves. The novel shows how the hero, Bazarov struggles to reform Russian society, and bring freedom to these serfs. Even poems, like those of the Romantic period, are related to history. The French Revolution inspired many English poets to write poems in which secret references are made against the corruption and lack of civil liberties in their country.

11. Cultural Stereotype Sometimes we believe in something because our parents, society and teachers handed these beliefs down to us. We never questioned whether these ideas had become meaningless with time. This is called a cultural stereotype. For example, in most societies, it is believed that the real role of women, is to take care of their family and home, and they do not need to get an education. In many societies, this view was never challenged. But, some writers have been challenging this view, and say women should also be educated and must be allowed to work outside the home, and can do a job as well as men can. These writers called feminists fight for equal rights for women. They also question the stereotyped depiction of women in literature as modeled on the biblical Eve as a type of femme fatale or destructive woman. For example, Elaine Showalter, the feminist writer, has written a book entitled, A Literature of their Own. In this she describes the many women writers who have written successful novels. In fact, Showalter says, women can best describe the feelings and desires of women in their writings. You will also study about women poets, like Mary Tighe, Charlotte Smith and Dorothy Wordsworth, who wrote very fine poetry, full of feeling.

12. Gothic : The word comes from gothic architecture or building style. These buildings in medieval Europe were castles, with an isolated and frightening atmosphere. This idea was used later to mean that a novel, story or poem has elements which create negative feelings of fear and anxiety. This is done by introducing descriptions of an unfriendly atmosphere, and characters like ghosts and supernatural beings (unreal and beyond normal explanation).For example, in Jane Eyre, the orphan child, Jane, lives in a cold and unfriendly house, and is often locked up in a red room. She can hear the laughter of the mad woman, Bertha. This is what we call gothic atmosphere. In the Romantic poem, "La Belle Dame Sans Merci ", the beautiful fairy that the knight sees in his dream, is a destructive woman ('femme fatale' in French). She has cast a spell on the knight. She is not real, but only a hallucination or vision. She disappears, leaving the knight isolated (in an alienated state). This is the gothic element in the poem. In 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner', the guilty mariner sees a ship with two skeleton figures. In the story, In 'The Sandman', the boy Nathaniel has frightening visions of a person who will tear out his eyes. These are examples of the gothic.

13. Irony : This is a style of writing used in Pride and Prejudice. The first sentence of the novel is a good example. "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man in possession of wealth and property must be in need of a wife.“ The sentence means that a rich young man will certainly look for a suitable match for marriage. Now this is not a view that the author, Jane Austen, agrees with. She is actually showing the reader what is uppermost in the mind of the Bennets, who have five daughters to get married. In fact,Austen is making fun of the common belief of her society, that the most important happening in a woman's life is marriage. Mrs. Bennet symbolizes this, as she has no other business in life, but to look for rich young men to marry her five daughters. The sentence is an example of irony, that is, saying something that seems to have a positive feeling, but actually is meant to be the opposite. The readers can understand that the writer’s intention is not to agree with this view. In the same novel, Elizabeth's character is shown as strong and independent. She continually uses irony in her speech to make fun of men and traditional customs. Look out for these examples while reading the novel. There is an example of irony in the play, Julius Caesar. At Caesar's funeral, Antony, during his speech, repeats the sentence,,"And Brutus is an honourable man." He does this in an ironical sense. to make the listeners feel that he means the opposite. Brutus cannot be honorable for having killed Caesar.

14. Characterization: The way and techniques used by writers to describe their characters may differ. We have read under 'irony', how this is the chief quality of the heroine, Elizabeth. There are according to E.M. Forster, two types of characters – 'flat' and 'round'. Mrs. Bennet, as described above, never changes throughout the novel. She represents a type of person, who only has one interest in life – marriage of her young daughters. She is a flat character. But Elizabeth is a round character. She undergoes change in her character, as she experiences and discovers her mistakes through her interaction with others. At first, she is prejudiced about people without giving deep thought to her opinions and judgments. She considers Darcy proud because he does not mix easily. Later she discovers that she is mistaken. So she learns to be careful not to judge people by first impression or appearance. Similarly, you will find in your reading of the other novels, how Pip and Jane Eyre are round characters changing with experience. In 'Fathers and Sons', Bazarov is both a type and an individual character. He represents the type in European society who wanted to change their societies, and make them progressive. He is also an individual, because in his particular society,he has a desire to replace the Russian feudal system with modern European ways.

15. Cult of Separate Spheres: 'Cult' means a belief, and 'spheres', types of activity. Here, in your course, it refers to a belief held by society in Austen’s times, that by nature and birth, men and women were set apart to play different roles in society. Any change in these roles was unnatural. Thus women were to take care of the household, and not to take up any profession outside the home, For example, they were not to be writers. Any activity outside the domestic would make them lose their balance of mind, as they were physically unfit for this. This topic comes up for discussion in different chapters of 'The Realist Novel', when the writings of women are considered.

16. Cult of Sensibility Again cult means a belief, held by a group or section of society. 'Sensibility' is the quality of being 'sensitive' to, or feeling the pain and joys of others. This quality was much praised in writers in the Romantic Period. Poets showed this quality much in their works. Thus, Wordsworth 's poems describe the feelings of the poor rural people. But it was not a quality only male poets had. Even women poets, like Wordsworth's sister, Dorothy, show this in their poetry. These female poets show they understood the suffering of women best.