Workshop on Reading Literature in English
2017-I
Literature Literature comes from the Latin word Litteratura, which meant “instruction�; knowledge related to the art of writing and reading (until XVIII Century). Nowadays, it is considered a very complex, cultural, communicative and social fact. It plays in a sociocultural context, coexisting the author, the work and the receptive person (reader or listener) into a communicative system.
There are more elements that you can see in the diagram below:
4. Context 1. Teller
2. Message
3. Receptive person (reader or listener) 1
5. Code (language) 6. Means (written or spoken)
Literary Genres Genre is a French term derived from the Latin genus, generis, meaning "type," "sort," or "kind." It designates the literary form or type into which works are classified according to what they have in common, either in their formal structures or in their treatment of subject matter, or both. The study of genres may be of value in three ways. On the simplest level, grouping works offers us an orderly way to talk about an otherwise bewildering number of literary texts. More importantly, if we recognize the genre of a text, we may also have a better idea of its intended overall structure and/or subject. Finally, a genre approach can deepen our sense of the value of any single text, by allowing us to view it comparatively, alongside many other texts of its type.
Workshop on Reading Literature in English
2017-I
Classification by types While the number of genres and their subdivisions has proliferated since classical times, the division of the literary domain into three major genres (by Plato, Aristotle, and, later, Horace), is still useful. These are lyric, drama, and epic, and they are distinguished by "manner of imitation," that is, by how the characters and the action are presented. The chart briefly summarizes the main differences in the way action and characters are presented in the lyric, drama, and the epic.
Epic Narratives about the past. It is mixed with descriptions of places and objects or characters’ portraits. It is objective. This long narrative is primarily written in third person. However, the epic poet makes his presence known, sometimes by speaking in first person, as when the muses are appealed to for inspiration (the invocation) or by reporting the direct speech of the characters. Examples: Iliad and Odyssey by Homero El mundo es ancho y ajeno by Ciro Alegría.
Lyric Expresses personal emotion. The writings come from the author’s deep down. That is, lyric genre is more subjective and personal. The poet writes the poem as his or her own experience; often the poet uses first person ("I"); however, this speaker is not necessarily the poet but may be a fictional character or persona Examples: Coplas por la muerte de su padre by Jorge Manrique. Poemas humanos by César Vallejo.
Drama Actions through dialogues and movement of characters. It is conceived to perform in a theatre. It is objective and subjective. Examples: Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare. La señorita de Tacna by Mario Vargas Llosa.
Narrative In prose, develops real and imaginary events. Such as tales, novels, myths, legends, chronicles. It does not have a lineal way. Examples: Metamorphosis, In Cold Blood, etc.
The epic, in the classical formulation of the three genres, referred exclusively to the "poetic epic." It was of course in verse, rather lengthy (24 books in Homer, 12 books in Virgil), and tended to be episodic. It dealt in elevated language with heroic figures (human heroes and
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Workshop on Reading Literature in English
2017-I
deities) whose exploits affected whole civilizations or even, by implication, the whole of mankind. Its lengthiness was properly a response to the magnitude of the subject material. The lyric includes all the shorter forms of poetry, e.g., song, ode, ballad, elegy, sonnet. Up to the nineteenth century, the short lyric poem was considered the least important of the genres, but with the Romantic movement the prestige of the lyric increased considerably. The relative brevity of the lyric leads to an emphasis upon tight formal construction and concentrated unity. Typically, the subject matter is expressive, whether of personal emotions, such as love or grief, or of public emotions, such as patriotism or reverence or celebration. Drama presents the actions and words of characters on a stage. The conventional formal arrangement into acts and scenes derives ultimately from the practice in Greek drama of alternating scenes of dialogue with choral sections. From classical example also comes the standard subdivision into tragedy and comedy. Historically, many of the specific conventions of these two types have changed. We refer, for instance, to Greek tragedy, or to medieval tragedy, or to Shakespearean tragedy. This does not deny interrelationships between them; rather, it emphasizes the equal importance of their distinctive features. One thing that Greek tragedy and Shakespearean tragedy share is the "Tragic Vision." The epic, in the classical formulation of the three genres, referred exclusively to the "poetic epic." It was of course in verse, rather lengthy (24 books in Homer, 12 books in Virgil), and tended to be episodic. It dealt in elevated language with heroic figures (human heroes and deities) whose exploits affected whole civilizations or even, by implication, the whole of mankind. Its lengthiness was properly a response to the magnitude of the subject material. Narrative, we classify epics with other forms of the "mixed kind." That is, we see the classical epic as but one of the generic subdivisions of the epic or fiction. This broader classification can include many kinds of narratives, in prose as well as in verse. Thus the "mixed kind" now includes the novel, the folktale, the fable, the fairy tale, even the short story and novella, as well as the romance, which can be in either prose or verse. Of these, the novel and the romance tend to continue the epic tradition of length (we speak of the "sweep" of a sizeable novel).
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Workshop on Reading Literature in English
2017-I
Workshop on Reading Literature in English Introduction When we make a brief study of the rich variety of novels, poems, and plays which constitute English literature we are reading works which have lasted for generations, or centuries, and they have lasted because they are good. These works say something worth saying, and say it with artistry strong enough to survive while lesser works drop into obscurity. Literature is part of our cultural heritage which is freely available to everyone, and which can enrich our lives in all kinds of ways. Once we have broken the barrier that makes studying literature seem frighten, we find the works can be entertaining, beautiful, funny and tragic. They stir us intellectually and emotionally, and deepen our understanding of our history, our society, and our own individual lives. We can gain a lot from literature in many ways, but the most rewarding experiences can come in those moments when we feel the author has communicated something personally to us, one individual to another. Such moments can help validate our personal experience at a depth which is rarely reached by everyday life or the mass media. Whether we choose to study it or read it for pleasure, when we look back over the literature we are looking back over incredible richness. Not just museum pieces, but living works which we can buy in bookshops, borrow from the library, or download from the internet and read today; right now. Why literature? We find little about the teaching of literature in the seventies or early eighties. There was little or no extended discussion of the role of literature teaching in a second or foreign language or even of the relationship between language and literature teaching. During the 1980s the situation has changed quite radically and literature is
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Workshop on Reading Literature in English
2017-I
experienced an extensive reconsideration within the language teaching profession, provoking a series of articles in professional journals, conferences, books, etc. Why teach literature? The
reasons
for
teaching
literature
necessarily
transcend
the
particular
circumstances, places and contexts in which literature is taught. According to Carter and Long, three main reasons for the teaching of literature have been advanced. These models (main reasons) are associated with particular pedagogic practices. The cultural model Literature enables students to understand and appreciate cultures and ideologies different from their own in time and space and to come to perceive tradition of thought, feeling and artistic form within the heritage the literature of such cultures provide. It is normally associated with a more teacher centred, transmissive pedagogic mode which focuses on the text as a product about which students learn to acquire information. The language model Some teachers use literature as instrument in connection with the teaching of specific vocabulary or structures or for language manipulation. It is normally associated with the language-based approaches. These aim to be learner-centred and activity-based and to proceed with particular attention to the way language is used. The personal growth model It is more student-centred, the overall aim being to motivate the student to read by relating the themes and topics showed in a literary text to his or her own personal experience. To encourage personal growth the teacher has to stimulate and enliven students in the literature class by selecting texts to which students can respond and in which they can participate imaginatively. The role of the teacher
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Workshop on Reading Literature in English
2017-I
The teacher should build bridges between the experience of the students and the experience described in the work of literature. The teacher will not try to impose his or her own interpretation of the text on the learners as being ‘correct’. It is the responsibility of the teacher, however, to ensure that the interpretation, which is produced, is valid. One component underlies successful engagement with the literature: This is a teacher’s enthusiasm for literature and his or her ability to convey this enthusiasm to the students and to help them to respond with the same enjoyment and pleasure. Does the literature represent events which are true to life or to a reader’s experience? The answer is complicated because several established literary texts deal with events which really happened. However, the existence of real-life events or characters does not guarantee a true-to-life literary representation.
The main
criterion here is the capacity of the author to create contexts with which readers can identify. On the other hand, writers can exaggerate the picture they draw. The work can contain information which cannot be true. The events or actions can even sufficiently imitate those we might identify as true and readers can make the imaginative jump necessary to recreate it as true. Processes of reading a. Sharing in the world the writer has created. b. Relating the experience of the text to experiences we ourselves have undergone or can imagine ourselves undergoing. c. Interpreting what the texts might mean.
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Workshop on Reading Literature in English
2017-I
Finding out about you What have you read? Write the names of at least two. If none, write none. 1. In your own language NOVELS: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ PLAYS: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ POEMS: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ SHORT STORIES: ________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ BIOGRAPHIES/AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: ______________________________ _________________________________________________________
2. In English NOVELS: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ PLAYS: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ POEMS: _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ SHORT STORIES: ________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ BIOGRAPHIES/AUTOBIOGRAPHIES: ______________________________ _________________________________________________________
What do you like best? Give a mark 0-5 next to the following literary forms (0 = I don’t like them. 5 = I like them very much). Novels Poems Short Stories Biographies Autobiographies
_______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________ _______________________
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Workshop on Reading Literature in English Plays Essays
2017-I
_______________________ _______________________
Discussion Work in groups. Do you agree with the following quotations? What are your feelings about reading literature? Literature is the art of writing something that will be read twice. Cyril Connolly (1903-1974) Literature is news that STAYS news. Ezra Pound (1885-1972) The greatest thing to be gained from the reading of books is the desire to truly communicate with one’s fellow man. Henry Miller (1891-1980) A good reader is one who has imagination, memory, a dictionary, and some artistic sense. Vladimir Nabokov (1899-1977)
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