fandomhigh | Introduction to Western Literature, Lesson One

Tuesday, October 24, 1:00PM FST

[Professor Chaucer is sitting on the instructor's desk, which has been pushed back against the wall. Once everyone is seated, he addresses the class.]

Welcome to Introduction to Western Literature. As this looks to be a fairly small class, I see no use in having you scattered around the room, so I'd like to ask you to find seats near the front. If you don't care for the way the room is arranged, feel free to move things around until you're comfortable.

I realize that the syllabus for this course seems rather daunting. I want to assure you that if things seem to be moving too quickly, we'll slow down. I'd rather read three works and have you understand and enjoy them than get through the entire reading list without you remembering a single thing about what we've covered.

Today, we're going to spend most of the class getting acquainted and talking a bit about the common forms found in western literature. Next week we'll begin discussing the first item on your reading list.

So, I'd like to begin with basic introductions: tell me who you are, why you signed up for this class, and what you hope to learn from it.

[Once the introductions are done, he moves on to the discussion on forms. As he speaks, he walks back and forth in the empty space at the front of the room.]

There are five basic types of literature: poetry, drama, prose fiction, prose nonfiction and essay.

1. Poetry is composition usually written in verse. Poems rely heavily on imagery, precise word choice and metaphor. They may conform to specific patterns of stresses or syllables, and they may -- but do not always -- utilize rhyme. The characteristics of poetry are greatly varied, but poetry as literature typically makes significant use of the formal properties of the words it uses.

2. Drama is generally comprised chiefly of dialogue between characters and is usually intended for theatrical performance rather than reading. "Plays" cover anything written for performance by actors, and even some things not intended for performance: many writers have taken advantage of the dialogue-centred character of plays as a way of presenting literary work intended simply for reading rather than performance.

3. Prose fiction consists of writing that tells a story but does not adhere to the formal structures of poetry. Prosaic writing simply says something without necessarily trying to say it in a beautiful way, or using beautiful words. It can of course take beautiful form; but less by virtue of the formal features of the words. Prose fiction generally takes one of two narrative forms: the novel or the short story. An epic work of verse may also bridge the gap between prose and poetry to be considered prose fiction.

4. Prose nonfiction includes those prosaic writings that intend to present factual information rather than tell a story. This includes most writings on philosophy, history, journalism, science, and law.

5. Essay consists of a discussion of a topic from an author's personal point of view, written in a much less structured prose form, and usually shorter in length than most prose literature. The essay can take a variety of forms, from reflective musings to subjective arguments. Essays can also take the form of memoirs, presenting the story of the author's life from a personal point of view.

What I'd like to ask each of you to do is give me an example of one of these forms, and explain how it meets the criteria for that form.

**Assignment for next week: If you haven't already, begin reading Beowulf and come prepared to discuss the first section -- particularly the battle of the warrior Beowulf and the monster Grendel. Also, please contact my voicemail if you're interested in interviewing for the position of Teaching Assistant. Interviews will be conducted late this week.**

Current Enrollment:

notcalledlizzie

soniabelmont

___lily_evans_

miss_thomasina

the4thsister

((Please help me preserve my poor brain and enter your comments under the appropriate thread below.))

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[Comment here to participate in the discussion on literary forms.]]

Elizabeth softly recites a poem.

"Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you plann'd:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad."

"Rossetti utilizes rhyme, but it's not the main driving piece behind it," she says. "It's more about the pattern and how the words... fit together."

"Very good, Elizabeth. You're exactly right. For poetry, the sound pattern of the words can be even more important than the meaning.

And you chose a lovely piece to illustrate your point, by the way. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Paige is all too aware that the only thing she really knows much about is poetry, but she really doesn't want to get into all that now, having a breakdown in class is not how she wants her crappy day to go

"erm The Vampire Lestant by Anne Rice would be an example of prose fiction, it's written in the 1st person as if it's a true story, so I guess it's written as non-fiction but it isn't" Paige sighs god I'm stupid!

"You make a good point, Paige. The lines between fiction and nonfiction can sometimes be intentionally blurred. Why do think the author might what to do this?

"erm, as a plot devise, to make us treat the book more as it were real or could happen and so that we sympathise more with the central character, the vampire Lestat, who may appear to be a heartless monster, but as it's written as if it's real the read feels more sympathy towards him because they can see what is driving him to carry out his actions"

Paige takes a deep breath, omg, that made sense!

Excellent! It's a little early, really, to bring this up, but you may have hit upon a good topic for your project.

Paige smiles up at him "I'm just glad you understood what I meant" and I didn't sound like a total cretin

After Paige's comment, Sonia tentatively raises her hand.

"You mentioned epic verse- something like Homer's Odyssey vould fall under this heading. I've seen it translated into both prosaic and poetic forms- the latter isn't as easy to read, but it has a greater lyrical quality, which is especially enhanced if you read the text aloud, as the original Homeric storytellers vould have done."

So Athena vowed
and under her feet she fastened the supple sandals,
ever-glowing gold, that wing her over the waves
and boundless earth with the rush of gusting vinds.

Good choice, Sonia. Can you tell me why Homer's work is classified as prosaic or poetic fiction, rather than nonfiction, despite the fact that it depicts historical events?

"Vell, even as it is depicting a historical event, the characters and situations are those of myth. Gods valk among men, influencing their thoughts and actions- vhether through detaining them on an island, or something as small and seemingly insignificant as changing the target of a thrown object. Homer has written the characters so vell, though, that even if though we know their tales to be fictional, ve still believe that these men might have vunce lived. For the most part, they are not archetypal- they have motivations, and conciences, strengths and flaws..."

Sonia stops herself, realizing she's rambling off subject, and colors slightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wander. Short answer? The setting- the Trojan War- has a base in history, but the characters and events are fictional."

That's an excellent answer, Sonia. And don't feel embarassed about waxing poetic -- this is a literature class, after all. We're interested in the long answer.

Thomasina thinks for a moment, before deciding on something to give as an example. Then she recites:

The barge she sat in, like a burnish'd throne,
Burn'd on the water: the poop was beaten gold;
Purple the sails, and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them; the oars were silver,
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made
The water which they beat to follow faster,
As amorous of their strokes. For her own person,
It beggar'd all description: she did lie
In her pavilion--cloth-of-gold of tissue--
O'er-picturing that Venus where we see
The fancy outwork nature: on each side her
Stood pretty dimpled boys, like smiling Cupids,
With divers-colour'd fans, whose wind did seem
To glow the delicate cheeks which they did cool,
And what they undid did.

She pauses at the end, then adds. It's Shakespeare - from the play Antony and Cleopatra - and, by definition, drama, as it is composed of dialogue intended for performance. But my tutor once set me this speech, translated into Latin, as an unseen translation exercise, and in that tongue it was poetry. My translation did not meet that standard. She smiles, self-deprecatingly.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

That's a beautiful choice for an example. And I'm glad to see how you're all picking up on the interconnectedness of the literary forms. Drama can be poetry, history can become fiction... literature doesn't exist in a vacuum, and we'll encounter this again as we progress through the class.

Introduction to Western Literature, Lesson One

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