“A long, written story, about imaginary people and events” Long: “War and peace” by Leo...
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What is a novel? “ A long, written story, about imaginary people and events” Long: “War and peace” by Leo Tolstoy = 1000 pages A short story or story is about eighty pages long Written: “not a poetry ” like the one we did of William Blake, but in prose Imaginary people and event: it does not strictly apply to historical novels (War and Peace for instance deals with the war between France and Russia and Napoleon)
“A long, written story, about imaginary people and events” Long: “War and peace” by Leo Tolstoy = 1000 pages A short story or story is about eighty pages
A long, written story, about imaginary people and events Long:
War and peace by Leo Tolstoy = 1000 pages A short story or story is
about eighty pages long Written: not a poetry like the one we did
of William Blake, but in prose Imaginary people and event: it does
not strictly apply to historical novels (War and Peace for instance
deals with the war between France and Russia and Napoleon)
Slide 2
18 th Century English Novel The modern novel was born in
England between the end of 17 th century and the beginning of the
18 th century due to big social and economic transformations or as
we say in English make-over. The first important novels were:
Robinson Crusoe (1719)(where he relates his shipwreck in minute
detail in a journal) and Moll Flanders (1722) by DANIEL DEFOE Tom
Jones (1749) by HENRY FIELDING Gullivers Travels (1726) by JONATHAN
SWIFT
Slide 3
The modern novel: becomes very popular with the middle class
for different reasons: Actual time (novels are stories of now) Man
in his true physical setting: poor or rich, Man who feel
sensations; Centered in the individual Emergence of the woman from
under the veil Conflict between bourgeois values (money,
advancement justice retribution) and traditional values of the
gentleman (manner, fashion, noblesse oblige)
Slide 4
The increase of literacy (alfabetizzazione) was also helped by
many factors: (p. 92) The expansion of commercial printing (the
most important from the time of Gutemberg (1450) The spread of
circulating libraries The popularity of bookselling (also
second-hand books) The Copyright Act (1709) which safeguard the
authors from having their work reproduced without their permission
and which enabled them to have some profits from sales, thus
becoming professional writers in the modern sense
Slide 5
First and third-person narrator First- person narrator: the
story is told by an I who may be the main character in the novel.
Vocabulary: Plot: what happens in it. A summary of a plot is called
synopsis Setting is the time and place, the where and when of the
plot. Third-person narrator: the story is told by a narrator
outside the story, who refers to the characters by their names, or
by he or she. An advantage over the first- person narrator is that
there is greater liberty to move around in time and place and to
include more characters.
Slide 6
Narrator the omniscient point of view: means that the narrator
knows everything about the events and the characters and knows
their thoughts and motives the intrusive narrator: tells the reader
things, commenting on the characters and explaining events. The
objective (or unintrusive narrator) simply shows things, without
commenting or explaining: he is more like a camera. Multiple
narrators and multiple points of view A writer may choose to let
several narrators tell the story from different points of view
Slide 7
Characters The people in a novel are referred as characters,
and the way the novelist presents them to us is called
characterization. Flat characters: are two-dimensional and do not
change during the course of a novel. They are often described
briefly, with one or two vivid details Round Characters: have
complex personalities and normally develop during the course of a
novel. Like people in real life they reveal themselves gradually,
they can surprise us. They tend to be a mixture of main characters,
to be round. Charles Dickens was able to create great flat
characters
Slide 8
Style Is a world that we use every day. We talk about different
styles of clothes, cooking, furniture, playing footballand
different styles of writing. Instinctively, we probably all agree
on identifying styles of writing such as romantic, simple,
journalistic, bureaucratic, scientific, and so on. But to talk
about the style, or styles, used in a novel, we need to be more
explicit. It is a useful first step to look at the syntax and the
vocabulary.
Slide 9
Style and symbols Plain style: simple syntax and vocabulary
Complex style: complex syntax and vocabulary which reflects the
philosophical, psychologicalpoint of view of the character. Similes
(explicit comparisons) and metaphors (implicit comparisons): can be
seen as ways of using denotations (refers to the literal meaning of
a word) and connotations (refers to the associations that are
connected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to
that word)of words to produce a special, powerful effect. Generally
speaking, symbols are signs _ words or pictures which represent
something else. The use of symbols is called symbolism.
Slide 10
What is a theme of a novel? The theme of a novel is its main
ideas. For instance, a main theme of the novel "The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is whether racism is correct or
not. A simile is a literary device where the writer employs the
words "like" or "as" to compare two different ideas. It can be a
strong word to use as a describing word in a simile or metaphor. He
flew like a dove He is acting like a clown.
Slide 11
Similes and metaphors A simile is a literary device where the
writer employs the words "like" or "as" to compare two different
ideas. It can be a strong word to use as a describing word in a
simile or metaphor. He flew like a dove He is acting like a clown A
metaphor is similar to a simile, however this literary device makes
a comparison without the use of "like" or "as". He has a hyena's
laugh. Her face is a garden.
Slide 12
Lamb to the Slaughter Roald Dahl Mary slowly heads to the
garage where she takes a frozen leg of lamb out of the freezer. She
brings it into the kitchen and unwraps it. When she returns,
Patrick is getting ready to leave. She hits him on the back of the
head with the frozen leg of mutton she has brought from the cellar.
the lamb, symbol of innocence is used as a murder weapon the lamb
is also an explicit religious symbol, and, here, instead of being
sacrificed on the altar of the Jewish Passover (Pasqua Ebraica) or
metaphorically in the person of Jesus Christ. As soon as Mrs.
Maloney puts the meat in the oven, the reader knows that the police
will never find the murder weapon.
Slide 13
The Open Window - Saki "The Open Window'' is Saki's most
popular short story Saki's wit is at the height of its power in
this story of a spontaneous practical joke played upon a visiting
stranger. The practical joke recurs in many of Saki's stories, but
"The Open Window'' is perhaps his most successful and best known
example of the type. Saki dramatizes here the conflict between
reality and imagination, demonstrating how difficult it can be to
distinguish between them. Not only does the unfortunate Mr. Nuttel
fall victim to the story's joke, but so does the reader. The reader
is at first inclined to laugh at Nuttel for being so gullible
(credulone).
Slide 14
William Blake- pre-romantic and romantic poetry O Rose, thou
art sick! The invisible worm That flies in the night, In the
howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark
secret love Does thy life destroy.
Slide 15
William Blake In William Blakes poem, The Sick Rose, the
narrator describes the devastating effects of addiction and
obsession. The term rose as used by Blake in this context is a
metaphor for a young, pure, innocent woman. The innocent rose, is
unaware of the dangers that the worm, her addiction, poses to her
life. The insidious worm, whether it be an older married man,
alcohol or heroin, manifests itself in the night while the world
sleeps. Once the worm enters the young womans bedroom, after flying
through the howling storm, she succumbs to its dark secret
appeal.