Introduction to literary Studies

why produce literature?

to be remembered

4 criterias on how to identify literature (narrow definition)

1. fictionality
2. specialised language
3. lack of pragmatic function
4. ambiguity

1. fictionality

- the lines between fact and function are often blurred
- Fictionality is not inherent feature of literary texts, but part of the expectations...of what literature should be..

2. specialised language

Russian formalists & defamiliarization

Russian formalists

early 20th. C. literary texts make use of language in such a way that it becomes strange and unfamiliar in a given context (defamiliarization)

Defamiliarization

the technique of making the familiar seem new and strange, thus making us see more vividly

3. lack of pragmatic function

to criticize, to educate, to entertain, to connect, to draw emotions, to mock, to challenge, to incite action, to expose

4. ambiguity

unclear, foggy, undefined

what make a text ambiguous?

- the human/personal factor
- personal relevence, agenda
- motivation, political & cultural climate
- openness to interpretation
- express meaning on different levels

compare

similarities

contrast

differences

interdisciplinary

involving two or more areas of knowledge, relating to more than one branch of knowledge

literature

litteratura (Latin) - derived from littera = letter (the smallest element of writing)

the smallest element of writing

letter

text

derived from textile (fabric) - words and sentences are woven together to form a text (like the threads and stitches from a piece of cloth)

conversations can be adhered to or they can be disregarded or deliberately defied ... why?

innovation

innovation

- going a different way, change - not always positive
- time periods

the code of literary production and reception

production - author
reception/consumption/analysis - reader

literary studies: relationship

- author & text
- reader & text
- text
- how text is embedded in socio-historical and socio-cultural context

areas of literary studies

- literary history
- poetics & genre
- literary theory

Literary history: why do we divide history into periods and eras?

- to facilitate analysis, understanding & discussion
- to identify connections between literature and socio-historical/cultural developments and influences
- a way to group texts
- a way to compare and contrast texts within a period, or within other periods

Poetics & genre: Define genre

groups of texts with similar or correlated features

Prose

novels, short-stories

what are the 3 major generic groups in english literature?

1. prose fiction
2. drama
3. poetry

why do we assign literature into certain Genres

- enables better communication on structural and thematic features
- it allows us to discuss & analyse groups of similar texts
- it allows us to identify diachronic developments over time
- authors usually construct texts within or using genre g
conventions (defying : innovation)

diachronic

considering phenomena, such as languages, as they change over time

Literary Theory

is like wearing glasses
- sharpens our view
- identify previously unseen aspects
- glasses can be tinted to accommodate different readings
- try other pairs... they might suit you and help you to see more clearly or differently

literary competence

a person's ability to produce and understand/consume literary texts and their knowledge about literary texts in general

visual elements today

- film
- graphic novel

aural elements today

- radio
- audio books
- songs
- poetry slam

the visual & the oral

- drama
- film