什么是文學(xué)完整版本

什么是文學(xué)?Whatisliterature?Literatureislanguageartisticallyusedtoachieveidentifiableliteraryqualitiesandtoconveymeaningfulmessages.英語中l(wèi)iteracy(讀寫能力)一詞在19世紀(jì)末剛剛出現(xiàn)，在此之前，literature(文學(xué))代替literacy指代一種既能夠閱讀的能力(讀)又能被閱讀的能力(寫)，具備這種能力的人也就是人們通常所說的“有文化”的人。而我們現(xiàn)在所說的這種“文學(xué)”，即由詩歌、小說、戲劇、散文、寓言、講演等文類(體裁)構(gòu)成的藝術(shù)樣式，則始終由“詩歌”來指代。作為“文學(xué)”的這種讀寫能力從古代出現(xiàn)伊始就具有功利性。比如，人們擔(dān)心忘記了做過的事情，就把它刻在巖石上或洞穴的墻上；當(dāng)人們打了勝仗回來，聚集在篝火周圍歡快地唱著、舞著的時候，第一首戰(zhàn)爭歌曲誕生了；當(dāng)人們感到某種沖動，要向冥冥中某種超自然的力量表示感激、恐懼、祈福、懺悔等各種情感和內(nèi)在需求時，祈禱也隨之出現(xiàn)了；而當(dāng)這種祈禱一代一代地接續(xù)下去，關(guān)于神的故事也便口傳下來，古老的神圣經(jīng)典形成了。據(jù)說基督教《圣經(jīng)》中記載的大洪水的故事在公元前4000年時就發(fā)生了，最初是迦勒底人用“楔形文字”刻在泥匾上的，后來經(jīng)過多少世紀(jì)的銘刻和抄寫，才以最后的形式進(jìn)入《圣經(jīng)》。世界上最早的“書”在摩西誕生2000年之前就出現(xiàn)了，比荷馬史詩和所羅門的《箴言》還早2500年，比印度的《吠陀經(jīng)》早2000年，這就是古埃及人寫在卷軸上的《卜塔一霍特普的箴言》。埃及的蘆葦、歐洲的牛皮、中國的竹簡和絲綢都是用來制作古書的原材料。當(dāng)中國的造紙技術(shù)和活版印刷(比西方的活版印刷早300年)出現(xiàn)之后，我們才有了現(xiàn)在的紙制書。但是，即使在古代，也并非所有的書都是“文學(xué)”。古埃及人寫了大量的書，但大部分屬于宗教、道德、法律、修辭、代數(shù)、測量、幾何、醫(yī)學(xué)、旅游等，只有少數(shù)屬于“文學(xué)”，而我們上面提到的那本《箴言》卻是以小說的形式寫成的，或許可以稱為世界上最早的一部小說。文學(xué)的功利性不僅體現(xiàn)為人對神的祈禱，以期過上更好的生活或度過一次平安的旅行，而且有更大的用途。柏拉圖認(rèn)為詩歌(文學(xué))是模仿之作，離他所說的現(xiàn)實(理念)隔了兩層，是對模仿的模仿，因此詩人是說謊者，有害于社會的倫理道德，所以他才要把這些說謊者逐出他的“理想國”。到了賀拉斯時代，詩歌的功用被規(guī)定為娛樂和教化，但和柏拉圖一樣，無論是娛樂還是教化，詩歌的真正目的在于傳達(dá)真理。在這個意義上，文學(xué)始終是手段，是傳達(dá)思想的一種方式，而文學(xué)的目的則在別處，即我們現(xiàn)在所說的文學(xué)的倫理性、意識形態(tài)性、政治性等。文學(xué)作為一種藝術(shù)，從一開始就不是純粹的“為藝術(shù)而藝術(shù)”，它必然有某種其他用途。在歐洲中世紀(jì)的宗教法庭上，如果犯人可以背誦幾句《圣經(jīng)》里的詩篇，便可以因為“有文化”而保住性命。而在21世紀(jì)的今天，據(jù)說哪怕是在商務(wù)談判席上，深厚的文學(xué)修養(yǎng)也能幫助促成大筆的生意。文學(xué)的這種功利性既阻礙又促進(jìn)了‘文學(xué)的發(fā)展，因為恰恰是這種功利性使社會／國家建立了文學(xué)審查制度。有學(xué)者把歷史上的兩次“焚書”事件看做是最早的文學(xué)審查運(yùn)動：一次是中國秦始皇的“焚書坑儒”，另一次是古羅馬愷撒的“焚書”，他于公元前48年燒毀了藏于亞歷山大圖書館的部分書籍。文學(xué)的審查制度衍生于政治的審查制度，從根本上說是文學(xué)政治眭和意識形態(tài)性的具體體現(xiàn)和克星——文學(xué)作品之所以要經(jīng)過審查，是因為它具有“顛覆性”，因此需要克服。這種“顛覆性”雖然是漫長的，但它對社會權(quán)力關(guān)系的破壞有時比暴力反抗和武力征服還要徹底。所以，世界史上歷代統(tǒng)治者都為了維護(hù)自己的政權(quán)而壓制包括文學(xué)在內(nèi)的“新學(xué)”的發(fā)展。除上面提到的秦始皇和愷撒的“焚書”外，還有古希臘對政治家、哲學(xué)家、藝術(shù)家的迫害，古羅馬對猶太人、基督徒的迫害等，這些迫害都是由于被迫害者的著作被認(rèn)為具有顛覆當(dāng)下權(quán)威和世俗習(xí)慣的危險。然而，這種審查也可能是由于對文本的不同理解和解釋造成的：如印度佛教中大乘、小乘之爭，猶太人關(guān)于托提法典的解釋，基督教徒對教義的闡釋，伊斯蘭教關(guān)于《古蘭經(jīng)》的詮釋等。這種審查制度一旦落實到具體的文學(xué)創(chuàng)作上來，原本自由的文學(xué)創(chuàng)造便有了限制，如道德和習(xí)俗對文學(xué)內(nèi)容的限制。從這個意義上說，文學(xué)對現(xiàn)實的反映和表現(xiàn)只能是部分的、偏頗的，而不是全面的、徹底的。文學(xué)也因此往往受到了不公正的待遇。文學(xué)的審查制度顯然與統(tǒng)治階級的利益直接相關(guān)，這只從一方面使文學(xué)具有了鮮明的社會性和階級性。文學(xué)的社會性和階級性還以社會階層的分化為體現(xiàn)。在18世紀(jì)，文學(xué)基本上是一個社會概念或階級概念，是教育的標(biāo)志，屬于受過完好教育的高雅社會的特權(quán)只有上層社會識文斷字的男人們和女人們才能讀懂那些“印刷成冊的書”。文學(xué)并不是社會各階層所共同擁有的財產(chǎn)。隨著工業(yè)革命的發(fā)展，劇烈的資本主義競爭促成了帝國主義的掠奪和殖民地的占領(lǐng)，以濃厚的民族意識為基礎(chǔ)的民族主義應(yīng)運(yùn)而生。換言之，大工業(yè)對農(nóng)業(yè)和手工業(yè)的改造也促成了文化的改造和進(jìn)步，這在文學(xué)上體現(xiàn)為用本族語言寫作，用普通大眾的語言寫作，或者，科學(xué)技術(shù)的進(jìn)步提高了社會的文化和教育水平，從而使文學(xué)走出高雅文化的殿堂，進(jìn)入了大眾文化的領(lǐng)域。其實，這種轉(zhuǎn)變并不是在現(xiàn)代才開始的。但丁、薄伽丘和喬叟就是歐洲文藝復(fù)興之前和之初的例子。實際上，從高雅向通俗的轉(zhuǎn)變涉及到文學(xué)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的制定，“識文斷字”(讀寫能力)和“印刷成冊的書”顯然不是判斷文學(xué)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。一方面，寫在紙上的不都是文學(xué)；另一方面，未寫在紙上的也未必不是文學(xué)。就前者而言，電話簿、菜單、說明書等不是文學(xué)；就后者而言，在文字出現(xiàn)之前，在印刷技術(shù)普及之前，就有悠久的口傳文學(xué)傳統(tǒng)，而且至今仍有一些口傳文學(xué)沒有文字記載。由此可見，我們不能根據(jù)特定階級、特定社會、特定歷史時代的需要來界定文學(xué)和制定文學(xué)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，而必須從文學(xué)的表現(xiàn)力、語言結(jié)構(gòu)和文學(xué)作為自治性客體的審美統(tǒng)一性來界定文學(xué)。這樣，文學(xué)的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)便具有了審美的維度：即審美趣味、審美感性、想象力、創(chuàng)造性，最后是經(jīng)典、傳統(tǒng)和文學(xué)制度的形成。這些是文學(xué)的本質(zhì)屬性，它們直接決定著文學(xué)的文學(xué)性。文學(xué)的文學(xué)性直接關(guān)系到文學(xué)對世界的認(rèn)識，它對這種認(rèn)識的再現(xiàn)，它用什么樣的語言進(jìn)行這種再現(xiàn)，以及這種再現(xiàn)創(chuàng)造了什么樣的文本或話語。文學(xué)的文學(xué)性在于它能使用某種創(chuàng)造性語言來表達(dá)人對世界的最深切感受，通過與世界的藝術(shù)性接觸，揭示亙古不變的真理。古典主義和新古典主義都把文學(xué)看做反映現(xiàn)實、照給自然的一面鏡子，文學(xué)與世界處于一種模仿與被模仿的關(guān)系；文學(xué)創(chuàng)造的資源是外部世界。表現(xiàn)主義認(rèn)為文學(xué)表達(dá)人的內(nèi)在感受，揭示人的內(nèi)心世界，把作者對外部世界的認(rèn)識、洞見、智慧甚至先見通過文學(xué)手段表達(dá)出來；在此，文學(xué)創(chuàng)造的資源是內(nèi)心世界和內(nèi)化了的外部世界。這是看待文學(xué)的兩個不同視角——模仿論和表現(xiàn)論，如果把這兩個視角與說教的視角結(jié)合起來，我們就可以給文學(xué)一個簡單的概括：文學(xué)既描寫外部世界又反映內(nèi)在世界，通過這種描寫和反映來傳播思想和抒發(fā)感情。如果說這樣一個簡單概括回答了文學(xué)是什么的問題，但卻沒能回答人為什么寫作、為什么創(chuàng)作文學(xué)和藝術(shù)的問題。從人的本體角度來看，人是展示世間萬物之本；沒有人，世間萬物就無法被認(rèn)識，被揭示，人也因而無法認(rèn)識和揭示自身。古典主義向來認(rèn)為人對世界的認(rèn)識就是認(rèn)識人自身，人通過揭示世界而揭示自身。從這個意義上說，人是認(rèn)識工具、感知工具，而認(rèn)識和感知的結(jié)果都是對自然和存在的揭示，都是在個別的獨立存在和無序中建立某種關(guān)系和秩序，都是給多樣性的世界強(qiáng)加某種統(tǒng)一性。在人與世界的關(guān)系上，人顯然把自己放在一個關(guān)鍵的、主導(dǎo)的、決定一切的位置。人想要成為這個世界的主宰，或者，人要感覺到自己是世界的主宰，要成為這個無序世界的組織者，或者成為新世界的締造者，于是，人便有了創(chuàng)造的沖動。而歸根結(jié)底，這股沖動是“一種充滿激情的要說話的自由，【是]作者僭取自由的結(jié)果”(薩特語)。作家要揭示世界，向其他人揭示自身，從而使自己和他人承擔(dān)在世的某種責(zé)任，在愛、恨、憤怒、恐懼、快樂、尊嚴(yán)、贊賞、希望和絕望等情感狀態(tài)中揭示真理。由此看來，寫作純?nèi)皇且环N倫理行為，這種倫理行為本身就是有約束的。如上所述，文學(xué)的偉大性首先在于它的創(chuàng)造性，但創(chuàng)造本身就意味著打破傳統(tǒng)的束縛，拋棄文學(xué)既定的語法、規(guī)則和律法，把現(xiàn)實的變成虛構(gòu)的，把“真經(jīng)正傳”變成“偽經(jīng)外傳”，把凝周的時間和地點變成流動的狀態(tài)，把普遍的和一般的落實在特殊的和具體的個人身上。歸根結(jié)底，文學(xué)描寫的是個體的人，講述的是瞬間發(fā)生的事件，呈現(xiàn)的是栩栩如生的生活世界。文學(xué)不是歷史。文學(xué)敘述過程中的現(xiàn)在，歷史敘述經(jīng)驗中的過去；文學(xué)參與流動的今日世界，歷史凝固于不變的昔日輝煌。然而，如果你仔細(xì)審視作家筆下的過去，不管它多么黃金和榮光，都免不了人生的困境，都躲不過痛苦和悲傷，即便是美好的記憶也是令人傷感的，即便是偉人的豐功偉績也只能面臨人類的普遍悲劇。所以，偉大的作家最終面對的只是現(xiàn)實問題戰(zhàn)爭、物欲、金錢、權(quán)力，人終究要被這些物質(zhì)的東西所毀滅。所以，真正的作家所必須描寫的，值得為之流血流汗的，如?？思{所說，必然是人與人的心靈的沖突，人與人的生存困境的沖突，這才是文學(xué)的內(nèi)涵，這才是為什么寫作的真正原因。我們必須在這樣一種理解的基礎(chǔ)上來“接近文學(xué)”，通過具體的閱讀和書寫體驗來理解文學(xué)，體味文學(xué)，鑒賞文學(xué)，實踐文學(xué)，這也正是accessliterature的真正意思。而accessliterature就是accesslife。小說家、詩人和劇作家用他們的作品展現(xiàn)栩栩如生的生活，那是一個既平凡普通又光怪陸離的世界。那里有天堂的極樂，也有地獄的景象；有燦爛的星光和月色，也有血腥的屠殺和死亡；有市井小民瑣碎的日常生活，也有英雄人物的廝殺疆場。在視覺、聽覺乃至嗅覺的感知中，作家筆下編織的是反映哲學(xué)問題、社會問題、心理問題、政治問題、倫理問題甚至作家的個人問題的一幅全景圖。如何理解文學(xué)、如何正確領(lǐng)悟作家所賦予其作品的內(nèi)在含義，并不能僅憑閱讀者自身的感覺來實現(xiàn)。普通大眾讀者對文學(xué)作品的理解常常流于作家在故事中所渲染的氣氛以及或喜或悲的結(jié)局，而無法深刻理解作家的思路和情感，從根本上說，這是因為普通讀者缺乏對作品中所運(yùn)用的文學(xué)手法、歷史背景、情節(jié)設(shè)計等等文學(xué)要素的把握能力。作為文學(xué)的學(xué)習(xí)者和研究者，文學(xué)專業(yè)的學(xué)生和教師必須脫離這一低級層次而進(jìn)入更高的境界，所以他們必須具備深刻理解文學(xué)要素的能力，從而準(zhǔn)確地把握作家所賦予其作品的或淺顯或深刻的意義。ActiveReadingTheexcitementandvarietyoflifeitselfismirroredintheexcitementandvarietyofliterature．Stories，poems，andplaysarefullofsurprisingcharacters，startlinglines，andunexpectedadventures．Readingcanalsobeawindowintootherculturesandothertimeperiods．PoetDonaldHallwrites(inTheContemporaryEssay)：Wereadtobecomemorehuman．WhenwereadGilgamesh—theoldestsurvivingnarrative，aBabylonianepicfrom2000B．C．——weconnectwithotherhumanbeings．Weraiseaglassacrossfourthousandyearsoftimeanddrinkwithourancestorstheoldwineoffriendship，courage，loss，andthewilltosurvive．(7)DonaldHallsayshepracticesactivereading--inotherwords，readingthatisnotpassive．Hesuggeststhatourcriticalthinkingabilitiesneedtobeatworkwhilereadingand，surprisingly,SOshouldourlipsandtonguesandsenseofhearing．AccordingtoHallt‘Acenturyago。evensixtyyearsago。silentreadingwasnoisiertothementalearbecausepeoplewereusedtohearingbooksreadaloud”(8)．Heexplainsthat“astheyreadalone，【readers】decidedinwhattoneorwithwhatfeelingtheywouldenunciateeachword．’“Mentalmimickry,”saysHall，“makesforactivereading”(8)．Anotherhelpfulthingtokeepinmindisthatweadjustourreadingstrategytofittheworkathand．Whilewemightreadashortstoryorplayonlyoncebeforeclassdiscussion，wetypicallyneedtoreadapoemmorethanonce．Theuseoflanguageinpoetryismorecompact，andusuallythepoethasinvestedagreatdealofmeaning(oftenmultiplemeanings)ineachline．Ofcourse，whenyouarebrain—stormingideasforwritinganessay,itwillhelptorereadtheworksyou"rewritingabout(see“11alkingandWritingAboutLit”inChapter32)．Whenwereread，wemakenewdiscoveries，andnewpossibilitiesformeaningarerevealed．Butdon’tleaveoutthepurepleasureofthestory,poem，orplay．Letyourselfenjoythereadingbeforeyoutrytoanalyzeit．It’Sgoodtohaveadictionarywithyouwhenyou7rereading(whetherit7Sahardbackcollegeeditiononyourdeskorapaperbackdictionaryyoutossinyourbookbag)．Whenyoulookupunfamiliarwordsandfindoutwhattheymean，youmakethosewordsyourown．Thisishowwebuildourvocabulariesandincreaseourmasteryoflanguage．Wordpower!It’Shardtobeanactivereaderunlessyouknowthemeaningofthewords．AsDonaldHallsays，“Wecannotsupplythetoneofawordunlessweunderstanditsmeaning”(8)．It7Salsogoodtouseadictionaryorencyclopediatoflowuponreferencestounfamiliarhistoricalpersonsorevents，placenames，orconcepts．Learntoreadclosely．LearningtoreadcarefullyandcriticallyiSusefultousineverydaylife．Ifweknowhowtobegoodcriticalreadersofthedailynewspaperpoliticalcampaignliterature，andotherformsofwritingweencounterdaily,we'llbemorewell—informedcitizens．Thismeansaskingquestionsofthetext，ratherthanpassivelyassumingoracceptingitsmeaning．Forhelpwith“questioning“l(fā)iterarytexts。refertothelistsofstudyquestionsattheendofChapter2，“QuestionstoAskaboutFiction，”Chapter13,"QuestionstoAskaboutPoetry,”andChapter24，“QuestionstoAskaboutDrama．”Inhistrademarkassertivestyle，DonaldHallrecommendsthatthereader“Puttheauthoronthewitnessstandandmakehimtellnotonlythetruthbutthewholetruth”(9)．AnnotatingandArguingWiththeText___BemorethanMarginalThebestwaytoreadcloselyandactivelyistoownthebookandtomakenotesforyourselfdirectlyonthepages．Thishelpsyoutogenerateideasandthinkcriticallywhilereading．Wesuggestyouhighlightorunderlinekeypassagesandmakenotesinyourmargins．Ifthebookisborrowed，youmighttakenotesonaseparatepieceofpaper,listingthepassagestorememberwheretheyare．Whenpossible，photocopypagesorwholechaptersofalibrarybookfromwhichyouwillquoteorparaphraseideas．Ifyouphotocopythem，thenyoucanmakenotesonthem，underlinekeypassagesandeven“argue“withtheauthorinthemargins．Yourinstructormayrequireyoutosubmitphotocopies(orprintoutsfromtheInternet)ofanymaterialsyouuseoutsideofyourtextbook．Asyoureadthroughaworkasecondtime，underlinethepassagesthatyoufeelareimportant．Noteideasthatcometomindaboutcharacters，plot，setting，orotherelementsoftheworkinthemargins．Askquestionsofthetextinthemargins，whetheritissimplyplacingaquestionmarknexttoapuzzlingpassageorwritinganabbreviatedquestiontobeconsideredlater．Keeptrackof“evidence”thatmightbeneededwhenwritingabouttheworkespeciallyquotationsthatcouldbepulledoutlatertoillustratekeypointsanddevelopanargumentforyourinterpretationofthepiece．Youmaywanttousemarkssimilartotheoneswe7veusedinthefollowingpagestocommentonGracePaley'Sstory,VictorHernandezCruz’spoem，andthescenefromWilliamShakespeare'S0thello．Or,youmayfinditmoreeffectivetodevelopadifferentshorthand，onethatfitsyourownwayofthinking．ElemrntsofPoetryTheelementsofpoetryaresimplythetechniques,strategies,andmethodsusedbypoetsinpracticingtheircraft.Inthecomingchapters,inthepoetryunitofthisbook,youwillfindexplanationsofhowthepoetusesfigurativelanguage(metaphor,simile,personifications,andsoon),linebreaksandotheraspectsofpoeticform,sound,rhyme,rhymeandmeter,symbolism,irony,imagery,andtone.Someofthisdiscussionwillsoundfamiliarbecauseitisrelatedtoourdiscussionoffiction,andsomeofthediscussionmightbenewtoyou.Someofthenewpartsofthediscussionarerhythm,rhyme,linebreaks,andstanzas.LangstonHughesusesallfourinhispoem”Evenin’AirBlues.”Wewillbeexploringalloftheseaspectsofpoetryinthefollowingchapters.DenotativeandConnotativeMeaningsMeaningsofwordsarethemselvescomplex.Everywordinalanguagehasadenotativemeaning,thatis,themeaningormeaningsasstatedinadictionaryofthatlanguage.Manywordshaveconnotativemeaningsaswell.Theconnotativemeaningofawordhastodowiththeassociationsthatwordcallsupinourminds,andtheseassociationsmayrangefarafieldfromtheactualdenotativemeaningoftheword.ThefollowingpoembyPuertoRican—AmericanpoetJudithOrtizCoferdescribesthealternatingjourneyandhomecomingsthataretheactualexperienceofthesailorandhisfamily,butthepoemisrichwithconnotative,orsuggested,meaningsaswell.Who’sTalking?TheSpeakerofthepoemAnotherthingthatinfluencesthepoet’schoiceofwordsinapoemisthenatureandperspectiveofthespeaker.Thespeakerofthepoemistheequivalentofthenarratorofaworkoffiction.Justasthenarratorisnotnecessarilytheauthor,thespeakerofthepoemdoesnotnecessarilyrepresentthepoetbutcan,instead,beanimaginedvoice.Whoisthespeakerofthepoem?Whosevoicearewehearingwhenwereadit?Fromwhoseperspectiveisthepoemspoken?InCofer’spoem,werecognizethevoiceofanadultspeakerlookingbackonachildhoodexperience.Theadultboicelooksbackinathoughtfulandsearchingway,inanalmostreverenttone,asshetriestodescribethenatureoftheexperienceasthechildofasailor.Incontrast,thespeakerofRobertBrowning’s“MyLastDuchess”istheDukewhodoesn’tgoinmuchforsoulsearchingorreverencebutismoreaccustomedtocommand.Carefulwordchoiceallowsthepoet,throughtheDuke’sownwords,tomakeachillingrevelationabouthislastmarriage,evenasthelistener(forreader)recognizesthathe’splanningtomarryagain.LevelsofdictionDependingonwhothespeakerofthepoemis,thepoetmighttouseacertainlevelofdiction.Wecanspealofformaldiction,middlediction,informaldiction,andmixeddictionaswaysofdiscussingdifferentlevelsofformalityorinformalityintheuseoflanguage.Forinstance,Browning’sDuke,in“MyLastDuchess,”speaksinformaldiction,usingsuchwordsas“countenance”and“munifivence.”Thepoemalsocontainssomearchaic(old_fashionedorout_of_date)diction(like“twas”and“durst”)sinceitwaswrittenin1842.Ontheotherhand,awell_knownpoemwrittenbyGwendolynBrooks,”WeRealCool”.isanexampleofinformaldiction,bothintermsofitsvocabularyanditsgrammar.WordChoiceTheconceptsjustdiscussedalsorelatetothelargermatterofwordchoice.Throughalloftheabovetechniques——andforalloftheabovereasons——thepoetchooseswordscarefullytoconveymeaningincompactandeffectiveways.ThefollowingIyriccomesfromacollectionofSanskritpoetrycompiledbytheIndianpoetVidyakaraaroundtheyear1100.Theoriginalpoet,Manovinoda,mayhavelivedinthe10thor11thcentury.KamaistheHindugodoflove.WordOrderInaddition,wordordercancontributetotherhythmofapoemaswellastoitsmeaning.InGwendolynBrooks’s“WeRealCool”,somuchwouldbelostifthepoethadusedamoreconventional,morepredictablewordorder_ifshehadbeguneachlinewiththeword“We”insteadofplacingmostoftheseattheendsofherlines.Lookforotherwaysinwhichthesepoetsusewordchoiceandwordordertoenhancesound,rhythm,andmeaning.Apoetwhoisratherwell_knownforhisinnovativeuseofwordchoiceandwordorder,aswellaspunctuationandothermechanicsofthelanguage,ise.e.cummings.Thispoetalsopreferredtohavehisnamerepresentedinlower_caseletters.Hispoem“inJust”isanexampleofthedeliberateuseofwordordertoconveymeaninginthepoem.Howdoestheunusualformofthepoemreflectthepoet’sthemeshere?What’stheTone-Sad?Sarcastic?Pathetic?Playful?Toneisoftendefinedastheauthor’sattitudetowardthesubject,andthisisagood.Practicaldefinition.Sonowweneedtoask,Howistheauthor’sattitudetowardthesubjectconveyedtothereader?Whatmightleadustodescribethetoneof“injust”forinstance,asplayful?Wordchoiceandwordordercancertainlycontributetooursenseofthespeaker’stoneinapoem.Incummings’splayfulpoem,thewordsarescatteredacrossthepage,justasthechildrenscatteracrosstheplaygroundattheendofwinter,andjustasthemarblesarescatteredacrosstheground.Theinnovativeuseofwordchoiceandwordorderincummings’smade-upwordssuchas“mud-luscious,”“puddle-wonderful,”andeven“eddieandbill”alsocontributetothefancifultoneofthepoem.Wordchoicecanbeusedasawayofestablishingtoneinapoem,anditcanalsobeusedasameansofshiftingthetone.Severalpoemsinthischapterillustratetheinterestingresultsthatcanachievedbythecoordinatedeffectsofwordchoice,wordorder,andtone.In“flowerFeet”RuthFainlightusescarefulwordchoiceattheoutsetofthepoemtoestablishatonethatconveyswonder,praise,andadmirationforthebeautifuldetailsofthetinyshoes.EvenmoneyusesimageryandsymbolismAlthoughfivedollarbillsmaypassthroughourhandsdaily,werarelystoptothinkabouttheimagesprintedonthem.ThevisualimagesonthedivedollarbillincludethefaceofAbrahamLincoln;hisfeaturesaresquare-jawedandcleareyed,andhisexpressionintheartist’srenderingontheliterallevel.Buttheimagehassymbolicmeaningforusaswell.Wearemeant,whenlookingatthischampioningofegalitarianideas,ofhisconductoftheCivilWar,oftheEmancipationProclamation,andGettysburgAddress.Inotherwords,theveryimageofLincoln’sfaceisintendedtosymbolizeAmericanvaluesandideals.OthersymbolicimagesonthefrontofthebillaretheeagleontheFederalReservesealandthescalesofjusticeontheTreasuryDepartmentseal.Therepresent-tationoftheLincolnMemorialonthebackofthebillismeanttosymbolizemanyofthesameideasandideals,andperhapsalsotoremindusofournation’scapitol.SymbolismThe“l(fā)adyacrobat”isanexampleofacontextualsymboloraliterarysymbol.Theacrobathasaparticularmeaningormeanings(freedom,mobility,power)withinthisparticularworkofliterature;although,inothercontexts,itmighthaveadifferentmeaning.Auniversalsymboloraconventionalsymbolwould,ontheotherhand,beonewhichisrecognizedbymostpeoplewithinaculturetohaveacertainmeaningwhereveritappears;forexample,aweddingring,aStarofDavid,oraChristiancross.Anyimage,object,orcharacterwithinapoemcanhaveasymbolicmeaninginadditiontoitsliteralsignificance;assymbols,theymayalsohavemultiplepossibilitiesforinterpretation.Inanallegoricalwork,ontheotherhand,eachobject,placeorcharacterhasexactlyonecorrespondingmeaning.Symbolsmaysuggest,however,variousmeaningbeyondtheliterallevel,asdoesDivakaruni’s“l(fā)ightedsignoftheladyacrobat.”WhatdoyouthinkarethemostinterestingimagesinDivakaruni’s“TigerMaskRitual”below?Doyouthinkanyelementsofthepoemaresymbolic?WhatAreFiguresofSpeech?Inthepreviouschapter,wetalkedabouthowmeaningcanoperatebothontheliterallevelandbeyondit（onthesymboliclevel）.Anotherwaypoemsmayhavemeaningbeyondtheliterallevelisthroughtheuseoffigurativelanguage,orfiguresofspeech..Wespeakofsuchanimageorphraseasbeingmeantfigurativelynotliterally.Figurativelanguageisoneofthewaysusedtoinfusepoemswithimagination,oftenwithemotion.PersonificationAnotherexampleofthefigurativeuseoflanguageispersonification.Whenthepoetassignshumanattributestoanobject,animal,orothernonhumanelement,werefertothisaspersonification.PersonificationisatworkwhenthespeakerofPlath’spoemsays,”Iamnotcruel,onlytruthful”and“Imeditateontheoppositewall”.Inthesecondstanza,thespeakersaysofthewoman,“thensheturnstothoseliars,thecandlesorthemoon,”andthereaderknowsthatliterallyingisnotbeingreferredto,butinsteadthatasofteningofthewoman’sappearanceinthedimlightmakesheragelessobvious.Thecandlesandthemoonaremetaphorical,notliteral,liars.ControllingMetaphor,ExtendedMetaphorPoetClaribelAlegriawasborninNicaragua,raisedinElSalvador,andeducatedintheUnitedStates.ShehaswrittenmanymovingpoemsaboutthecivilwarsinCentralAmerica..Thetitleofherpoem“IAmMirror”makesastatementwhichisbothametaphorandauseofpersonification.Inaddition,sincetheideaofthespeakerasamirrorrunsthroughoutthepoem,wecanalsocallitauseofextendedmetaphororcontrollingmetaphor.Thesetermsrefertoarecurringuseofametaphorthroughoutallofawork.HyperboleHyperboleisafigureofspeechwhichreliesonexaggerationtoachiveitseffects.InRobertBurn’s“Oh,MyLoveIsLikeaRed,Red,Rose”.Weencounterthefollowinguseofhyperbole.SynecdocheandMetonymyAlesswell-knownfigureofspeechisthesynecdoche.LindaHogan’spoem“TheTruthIs”begins,“InmyleftpocketaChickasawhand/restsontheboneofthepelvis./Inmyrightpocket/awhitehand.”Inthisuseoffigurativelanguage,thetwohandsrepresentthewholepersonandthespeaker’sdualheritage.Thussynecdocheisafigureofspeechinwhichthepartrepresentsthewhole.ApostropheandUnderstatementAnotherinterestinguseoffigurativelanguageistheapostrophe,whichisaspeedaddressedtoanabsentperson,ortoanidea,objectanimal,orothernonhumanelement.PabloNerude’s“Sweetness,Always”slipsintothedeviceofapostropheinthesecondhalf,whenheaddressfellowpoetsfromaroundtheworld:”Brotherpoetsfromhere/andthere,fromearthandsky,/fromMedellin,fromVeracruz,/Abyssinia,Antofagasta,/doyouknowtherecipeforhoneycombs?”RhymeInadditiontotheothersounddevicesmentioned,Toomer’spoemaboveusesendrhyme:“store…h(huán)ones,”“done…one,”“weeds…bleeds,”and“blade…shade.”Theuseofsuchapreciserhymeschemeenhancestherhythminthepoematthesametimeitcreatesapleasingsound.Thepoet’sschemeherecomprisesrhymingcouplets,pairsoflinesinwhichthelastwordsrhymewitheachother.Alloftherhymesinthisparticularpoemareexamplesofexactthymebecausetheendingsoundsarepreciselythesame.Whenapoetusesendingsthatarealmostthesame,butnotexactly,thisiscallednearrhymeorslantrhyme..InTheodoreRoethke’spoem“MyPapa’sWaltz”,foeinstance,mostoftheendrhymeisexact,butthepairsofendingsareexampleofnearrhyme:“dizzy…easy”and“pans…countenance.”TraditionalpatternsofrhymearediscussedatgreaterlengthinChapter18,whichexploresfixed-formpoetry.EtheridgeKnightusesalesscommontypeofrhymeschemein“AWattsMotherMournsWhileBoilingBeans.”RhythmandLineBreaksLinebreaks(thepoet’schoiceofwheretobreakeachlineandbeginanewline)canalsoinfluenceapoem’srhythm,establishingitordisruptingit,inwaysthatengagethereader’sattention,andoftenservingthetheme..In“MyHeartLeapsUp,”therearebothend-stoppedlinesandrun-onlines.Anexampleofanend-stoppedlinewouldbethethirdline:”Sowasitwhenmylifebegan;”andthefourthandseventhlinesareend-stoppedaswell.Thefirstlineofthepoem,ontheotherhand,isarun-onlinebecauseitisanunfinishedthoughtthatleansforward,drawingthereaderdownintothenextline:“MyheartleapsupwhenIbehold/Arainbowinthesky:”Therun-onlinecanalsobereferredtoasenjambment,adaptedfromaFrenchwordmeaning“tostraddle.”Thisis,infact,abetterwaytothinkofthedevice,sincethethought“straddles”twolines,InWordsworth’spoem,thefirstandsecondlines,thefifthandsixthlines,andtheeighthandninthareallexampleofenjambment.In“MyHeartLeapsUp,”itisevidentthatpoetfounditthematicallyusefultoestablishametricalpatternofrhythmandthendisruptit.InTheodoreRoethke’s“MyPapa’sWaltz,”ontheotherhand,thepoetdoesnotchoosetovaryhisrhythmicpatternbutinsteadmaintainsitthroughoutthepoem.reatFiction/LargeDosesofHumor,Wisdom,Irony0’Connor‘sfictionhasawayoflookinghumanfrailtyandevendepravitystraightintheface．However，balancingthesesometimesshockingscenesarethiswriter‘Ssenseofhumorandheraffectionforhercharacters，evenwhenshemocksthem．HersisatragicomicviewoftheworldthatmakespossibleashockandthenpossiblyasmileattherolereversalthattakesplaceforJoy／HulgaandManleyPointerattheendof“GoodCountryPeople．“ItalsomakespossibleadegreeofsympathywiththetattooedantiheroO．E．Parker(in“Parker'SBack”)whentheextraordinarymeasureshetakesforwinningtheloveandrespectofhisdevoutnewbrideironicallyhavetheoppositeeffect．Somesaythatiffictionistobesuccessful,thewritermustshowtheuniversalthroughtheparticular--toshowwhatistrueforallofUSthroughtheauthenticdetailsofafewwell—drawncharacters．Flannery0'Connorpossessedthisskillinabundance，andthoughherstoriesarefilledwithcharactersthatmanyrefertoas“Southerngrotesques，"’thesecharactersarebusyrevealingtoUSwhatWilliamFaulkner(inhis1950Nobelacceptancespeech)called“theproblemsofthehumanheartinconflictwithitself".Nothingcouldbemoreuniversalthanthat．TheWriter’sVoiceandtheReader’sResponseMaybeitseemstooobvioustosay,butwritersareveryfondofwords!Wordstoawriterarelikepainttothepainter．Thewriterarrangeswordsconsciouslyandcarefully,withanappreciationfortheirsoundsaswellasforthenuancesoftheirmeanings．Thispassionforwordsgrowsoutoforalstorytellingforsome，butformanywriters，itgrowsoutofaloveofreading．Thisideathatreadingcaninformandstimulatewritingisimportanttothestudyofliteraturegenerallyandtothestudyoffictionparticularly．Whenreadingaworkoffiction，Youshouldbewill—mgtoaskquestionsofthestory,whichOftenhelpsgenerateideasfordiscussionorwriting．Aswemovethroughourexplorationoffiction，interestingquestionsaboutthestorieswillcomemoreandmorereadilytoyourmind．Manyinterestingessaytopicsandideascomeaboutinjustthisway．AsyoureadthroughoneormoreofFlanneryO’Connor'sstoriesherethehabitof“questioningthetext”mightbecomemoreandmoreautomaticforyoujandpossibleanswerstothosequestionsmaypopintoyourmindtoo。0'Connor’sstowHGoodCountryPeople：lforinstancefmightbeapproachedbyanumberofdifferentpaths．Howhas0'Connordeliberatelywrittenthenarrativesothatweknowhowtheprincipalcharactersfeelandwhattheyarethinking?Fromwhoseperspectiveisthestowtold：Joy／Hulga'sand／orMrs．Hopewell's?Doesthenarrativeperspectivechangeduringthecourseofthestory?Howdoes0'Connor'scarefulchoiceofwordswhendescribingManleyPointergiveusahighlyvisualsenseofwhathelookslike?Andthenthere'sirony．Thisstorycontainsmanyironies—thefirstofwhichisthetitleitself(thoughwedon’tknowthatthefirsttimewereadit)．Agooddealhappenstowardtheendofthestorythatisnotatallwhatweexpecttohappen，andthatiscanedsituationalirony．Anotherwaytotalkaboutsituationalironyinthestoryistolookattheinstancesinwhichthereisadiscrepancybetweenappearanceandreality．Thatis，thingsappeartobeonewayonthesurfacetbutwhenwhat’sunderthesurfaceisrevealedtous。itisquitedifferentthanwhatwe'dfirstthought．Inotherwords，thingsarenotwhattheyappeartobe．WemightthinkaboutthiskindofironyintermsofManleyPointer'sbehaviorandworldview,forinstance．Asyoucantell，we’reavoidingthetemptationtogiveawaytheending．Ifyouhaven’treadthestoryyet，youmightberathersurprisedbywhathappens.TheElementsofFictionTheelementsoffictionarethetechniques，strategies，andmethods(plot，characterization，setting，pointofview,etc．)usedbythewritersinaparticulargenre(1nthiscase，fiction)．Theelementsalsoincludethoseconcepts(irony,theme，symbol，etc．)thathelpreadersgraspthewriter’scraftandhelpreadersdiscussthemeaningsthatarisefromagivenworkoffiction．Thecreationofashortstoryinvolvesagreatdealofeffort；ordinarily,thewriterhaslaboredlongtoinvesthisorherstowwithmeaning，usuallyrevising，rewriting，andfine—tuningitseffects．Readersthenrespo