Literature, Class 3: Period 3, Thursday, January 22

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

"Good morning, class," Miss Bennet said, as she removed her gloves and scarf and stomped the snow from her boots. "It is quite good of you all to come here, considering the quite hazardous conditions outside."

Glancing around the room, she noticed the quite unexpected fireplace, and the mugs of hot cocoa. "It would seem that the island is attempting to apologize for the intrusion," she smiled. "Very well. Who am I to stand against the roaring warmth of a fire? Please fetch a mug for yourself and follow me."

When they were all comfortably seated in a semi-circle around the fireplace, she continued. "We had plans for another discussion entirely today, but perhaps now is a good time to speak of storytelling, instead. All literature has its roots in this ancient practice, where folk would gather around a fireplace and tell tales to one another. The constellations in the sky above were shapes suggested by mythology. Homer's tales of Troy were part of an oral tradition, extending back generations before anyone thought to put pen to paper and record them permanently. A good storyteller can keep his audience's attention. A good storyteller might also embellish, might tell the story differently each time, depending on the particular audience before him. Storytelling is more fluid than a tale set permanently on paper could ever hope to be."

"Therefore," she said, taking a sip of her cocoa, "I should like to discuss storytelling, today. How it differs from such structured things as novels, plays, and the television that seems so prevalent in this time-period. What forms of storytelling each of you are familiar with. Why it is that we turn to stories to make sense of events that happened. And then, if all of you are willing to participate, I believe I should like for us to try our hand at that noble art."

Comments

Re: Discussion: The Art of Storytelling [LIT-3]

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

"I suppose my world is full of stories of the Ear-er, World-that-Was," Inara said, hastily correcting her slip. "They change depending on the point of the story--they can either point out how much more civilized it was, or how much more violent, or whichever suits the teller's purpose. It's very fluid. A good storyteller? Well, I suppose he or she would have to be animated and engaged in telling the story and watching his or her audience for their reactions. Plus, they'd have to believe the story they were telling, wouldn't they? Not that it was true, necessarily, but that it could be?"

Re: Discussion: The Art of Storytelling [LIT-3]

[clevermsbennet.livejournal.com]

"Do you believe that society was more civilized, or more violent?" Miss Bennet asked, curiosity piqued. "That's a very interesting point, that the storyteller must commit to the story, in some ways. If he cannot suspend his disbelief, it is hard to imagine anyone else being able to do so. It keeps him from veering off into implausible territory and ruining the reality for everyone else."

Re: Discussion: The Art of Storytelling [LIT-3]

[ambassadorinara.livejournal.com]

Inara smiled. This question she could answer based on her own experiences. "I believe that in some ways it is more civilized, but in other ways, it is more violent. The disparity between the classes doesn't seem to be as wide."