1. 1. Why We Study Literature? What is literature? Literature is a permanent expression in words of some thought or feeling or ideas about life and the world
2. 2. Kind of Literature Verse literature : Wordsworth ; Upon Westminster Bridge Prose literature : London
3. 3. Differences of Literature Literature is writing which expresses and communicates thoughts, feeling and attitudes towards life. - What about advertisement? - journalist - novelist
4. 4. Good or Bad Literature Creative literature Serious literature Imaginative literature
5. 5. Good or Bad Literature Most of the literature produced in the world is mediocre, some is bad, some is good and a very very little is good.
6. 6. Good Literature Psychology truth or holding the mirror up to nature Technical skill or craftsmanship Originality Consciousness of moral value
7. 7. Literature can be helpful to the foreign student or visitor who wishes to learn something about a particular region, and to understand how human character and emotion are influenced by natural surroundings.
8. 8. Most of the worlds greatest literature can only be enjoyed fully after repeated reading and much thought. Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. Francis Bacon
9. 9. Reasons why students study literature: To appear cultured or well read To pass an examination Trains students to pay attention to printed words and think deeply about the meaning of what is written To enjoy oneself To make oneself a better person
10. 10. Plato The purpose of literature is to instruct. Sir Philip Sidney Samuel Johnson
11. 11. The total knowledge of life which any one person can get through his own experience is extremely small. Through literature he can use the experience of other people as well, so becoming what Bacon called a full man tolerant, understanding and perhaps even wise. Literature helps us toward a better understanding of ourselves and our fellow human beings so the phrase Humanities is used
12. 12. Studying literature can lead to 2 dangers: The habit of thinking too much about the literature of the past It often takes a century or more to judge what position any piece of literature is The books that stood the test of time are now accepted as great The habit of spending too much time with books about books, and not enough with original books However, if we do not have time or skill to read a whole book, a shorten or simplified version is fine Books about books do not make us lazy to read the original books, instead, they encourage us to do so
13. 13. English Literature : an introduction for Foreign Readers R.J. Rees Chapter 2: Ballad, Epic and Other Narrative Poetry p.20-35
14. 14. A ballad is a poem or song that tells a story in short stanzas and was originally a musical accompaniment to a dance. Clerk Saunders Child ballad collected 69/305 Source: www.bartleby.com/101/371.html
15. 15. Most compose in dialect , many strange words, but its adds to their charm because: Dont compare poetic-value of Ballad with sophisticated poetry because Ballads have a strange poetic quality of their own It is a narrative poem. It tells story
16. 16. Characteristics unknown authorship, Particular poetry and song of the British Isles passed on orally from one generation to the next language use: Middle English to Early Modern English Themes & subjects - Sex & Violence - Supernatural: Ghost, Magic, witchcraft, superstition - Tragic - Historical - Romantic - Comic Best Ballads came from Northern England & Southern Scotland
17. 17. Popular subjects Sex and Violence Children throw from castle walls on to the sharp spears of besieging soldiers (Edom 0 Gordon) Guilty lovers surprised in their beds and bloodily murdered Women who poison their husbands and sell their children Men butchered in family quarrels and left on the road to be eaten by dogs and crows Girls seduced and cruelly murdered
18. 18. Examples Edom 0 Gordon (1571) from Child ballad collection 178/305 A terrible story of Gordons attack on the castle of the Rodes while only his wife and her small children are at the castle. ->She will not surrender. ->Gordon sets fire. ->The little girl is frightened by the flame and smoke and begs her mom to wrap her up in sheets and throw her over the castle wall ->but Gordon raise the point of Spear to pierce her to death
19. 19. Examples of violence Hugh of Lincoln Edom 0 Gordon Examples of supernatural the return of the dead to claim the love one Clerk Saunders Child ballad collected 69/305 The daemon lover -Child ballad collected 243/305 Wife of Ushers Well -Child ballad collected79/305 Examples of historical, romantic, hero Robin Hood -Child ballad collected 38/305 Less tragic and more humorous which is attractive to young readers
20. 20. Balladwillnever ever die! Unknown author: traditional ballad Medieval English till 15th Century - collected by Francis James Child known author: with traditional ballad style -Ballad of reading Goal by Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) -Barrack Room ballads by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) - Victor and Miss Gee by W.H Auden (1907- 1973) Modern Ballad - Present Century -The 1960s pop groups made ballad famous with slow sentimental and romantic songs - Passing from person to person by word of mouth, not by the printed page. - Every life and the news of the day are popular subjects. Strong characters
21. 21. Tell a Story - in a very direct manner, and do not have to be about love at all. Use Imagery - Ballads often use vivid and expressive imagery in a detached manner to relay the tale. Put to Music - A prominent characteristic of ballads is that they can often easily be put to music. For example: Modern Ballad UnchainedMelody by theRighteous Brothers I Can'tHelp Falling in Love With You by Elvis Presley God Must Have Spent A Little More TimeOn You by Nsync Candle inthe Wind by Elton John Faithfully by Journey Hard to SayI'm Sorryby Chicago More ThanA Feeling byBoston bridge Over TroubledWater by Simon and Garfunkel
22. 22. Source: http://listverse.com/2008/07/06/top-10-greatest-epic-poems/
23. 23. What is an epic? The great Epic poets It is a poem like Virgil-Aeneid and Milton- paradise lost 1908 - 1974 70B C- 19B C
24. 24. Balla d EPIC Born in a quiet, country place Simple form Has stayed there simple story Keep all the charm of her natural simplicity Add melody to live Heroic Poetry (Folk)Gone to larger city Longer journey, many adventurous, war-like Meet news people Having more characters, a background of Gods, Spirits who join in action from time to time still keeps proud of Nationalistic and Tribal feeling, Also is in sense public poetry . Change in talking style Have the line rather than stanza which epic use elaborate and formal language Diff Grow to
25. 25. Characteristics Long poem about the doing of one or more characters from history or legend Themes & subjects - Hero - involve a large number of secondary character eg. Heros Assistants - War-like - God and Spirit joining in the action from time to time - story line is digressions and description High seriousness of poets : high sense of duty and dedication => politician, religious. Paradise lost reflects Milton religion and philosophy; language use is difficult The poet is not only writing to express his own thoughts and feelings but represent large group or community like - Dante in Divine comedy =>Medieval Christianity - Milton for English & European Protestantism
26. 26. after Milton.. EPIC began to die ! Hero Achilles, Agamemnon, Hector or Odysseus represented the highest ideals of the Greek culture => These great heroes of traditional epic poetry were once identified with their respective national cultures.
27. 27. EPIC began to die ! after Milton to write an epic poem, MUST > begin with an Invocation to either a God or a Muse. > use the epic or Homeric simile. "like a __ when it ____." > be a description of athletic contest or games, either in commemoration of a dead hero or in celebration of a great victory. > mentioned a long and dangerous journey undertaken by the hero Convention Style
28. 28. Modern Writers love FREEDOM Modern Readers love Simpler and more direct narrative poetry Time to look at a simpler and direct narrative poetry in the shape of the ballads Other Narrative Poetry