Introduction to Literary Studies
Vorlesung von Heyl + Altklausurfragen - Die Altklausuren liefen immer nach dem selben Schema ab: 4. Fragen (auf 3 davon kann man sich gut vorbereiten). 1. Frage - Wissen zu Sonetten, Shakespeare, Metrum, Reimschema etc.; 2. Frage - Wissen zu Quellen / Portalen auf denen Literatur zu finden ist (z.B. ECCO, JSTOR etc.); 3. Frage - Erzählperspektive / Erzählsituation bestimmen (nach Genette und/oder Stanzel); 4. Frage - zusätzliches Wissen auf der Vorlesung — Viel Erfolg! :)
Vorlesung von Heyl + Altklausurfragen - Die Altklausuren liefen immer nach dem selben Schema ab: 4. Fragen (auf 3 davon kann man sich gut vorbereiten). 1. Frage - Wissen zu Sonetten, Shakespeare, Metrum, Reimschema etc.; 2. Frage - Wissen zu Quellen / Portalen auf denen Literatur zu finden ist (z.B. ECCO, JSTOR etc.); 3. Frage - Erzählperspektive / Erzählsituation bestimmen (nach Genette und/oder Stanzel); 4. Frage - zusätzliches Wissen auf der Vorlesung — Viel Erfolg! :)
Name the most reliable and fastest digital resource for finding secondary literature on Paradise Lost by John Milton, including instant access to PDFs of articles.
JSTOR
Name the most reliable and fastest digital resource for finding a full PDF of the first edition of Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667). Give both the abbreviated and the full name of this resource.
EEBO: Early English Books Online
What part of the human body gave the dactyl its name?
Dactyl is Greek for "finger".
Why is the iambic pentameter the most common in English-language poems?
The iambic pentameter is the most common in English -language poems because of the high number of people who could not read in the Shakespearean age and therefore it was easier to memorize it.
Please identify the type of narrator according to Genette found in this excerpt from a novel (you need to find the correct two terms here). (2) Explain your choice, giving one quotation each from the text showing why the terms you chose apply. (8) Then identify the narrative situation (according to Stanzel). (2) Comment on the consequences this particular narrative situation has for the narrator’s abilities, giving two examples (supported by one short quotation from the text for each one). (8) (Up to 15 lines)
According to Genette, the narrator is a hetereodiegetic narrator as well as a covert narrator. For the hetereodiegetic you can see it with “She had been thinking all morning about how to tell her, how to put this into words [...]“ (ll. 7-8) because the narrator is outside the story and therefore it is a third-person narrative. For the covert narrator with “A hot, sunny Saturday in the city. Elizabeth Barrett was taking a walk through the park with Laura Bruce.“ (ll. 1-2) because the narrator is only reporting and not visible. According to Stanzel, this narrator is an authorial narrator. With this narrative situation, the narrator has the ability to look into all characters and read their minds as well as know everything concerning the present, the past and the future. “That is what Laura kept thinking as they were walking through the park, while Elizabeth was thinking how much she was enjoying the company of her best friend.“ (ll. 9-10) and “At the same time, just one and a half miles away, a burglar was breaking into her flat. [...]“ (ll. 11-12)]
Please identify the type of narrator according to Genette found in this excerpt from a novel (you need to find the correct two terms here). (2) Explain your choice, giving one quotation each from the text showing why the terms you chose apply. (8) Then identify the narrative situation (according to Stanzel). (2) Comment on the consequences this particular narrative situation has for the narrator’s abilities, giving two examples (supported by one short quotation from the text for each one). (8) (Up to 15 lines)
[The type of narrator which is used here is a homodiegetic narrator and an overt narrator. He is inside the story and tells us what the character, so himself, feels and thinks (“I was hoping to make friends soon” l. 2-3). Also, he is an overt narrator, so he refers to himself while telling the story (“I was a young man in my early twenties” l. 1-2). The narrative situation is the first person narrator, the “I-as-protagonist”, where the narrator is the central character. He knows and can talk about what he thinks and feels (“I somehow managed to really annoy my next door neighbour” (l. 3-4). But he does not know what the other characters feel, think and experience (“I still have no idea where he came from, no idea of his past, no idea how he spent his days” l. 4-5).]
How does Iser distinguish between literary and non-literary texts?
Wolfgang Iser's reader reception theory says that a literary text consists of gaps and blanks, which are inviting the reader to think about the text. While reading non-literary texts, the reader does not have to think and interpret.
What is literature? Give two possible answers discussed in the lecture, explaining how each is answer is relatetd to the concept of the canon.
There is a narrow and. Broad definition of literature. The narrow understanding focuses on special texts of highest quality, where the canon (in the past) consisted of dead, white, male authors. The broad understanding goes beyond the old canon. The broadest understanding means any text at all.
In our discipline, the answer to a question often consists of knowing that there is a debate about this answer and being able to position oneself in that debate.
Give two reasons why it is a very good idea to use a critical edition for studying a play by Shakespeare.
Since no original manuscript of any play written by Shakespeare has survived, every printed version of them is a reconstruction. We must work with critical editions here because they provide
- a reconstruction of the text
- extensive annotations
- variant readings
Name the most reliable and fastest digital resource for finding a full PDF of the first edition if the First Folio of Shakespeare's works (1623). Give both the abbreviated and the full name of this resource.
EEBO: Early English Books Online
Name the only country in which a "Nationallizenzen" password is available.
A "Nationallizenzen" password is only available in Germany.
Name the most reliable and fastest digital resource for finding a biography of an author, including a reliable research bibliography. Give both the abbreviated and the full name of this resource.
ODNB: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
Name the most reliable and fastest digital resource for finding a full PDF of the first edition of Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World (1726) by Jonathan Swift. Give both the abbreviated and the full name of this resource.
ECCO: Eighteenth Century Collection Online
Which pentameter is most common in spoken English as well as in English poetry?
Why does poetry have a musical dimension?
Poetry has a musical dimension because it frequently plays with sounds. In addition, poems were sung in the past because many people were unable to read and write.
Write down a dactylic pentameter, using the notätion explained in the lecture.
-UU -UU -UU -UU -UU
Write down an anapestic pentameter, using the notätion explained in the lecture.
UU- UU- UU- UU- UU-
Write down a trochaic pentameter, using the notätion explained in the lecture.
-U -U -U -U -U
Write down an iambic pentameter, using the notätion explained in the lecture.
U- U- U- U- U-
What is the key difference between poetry and prose?
The key difference is that poetry is artificially structured and more structured than prose.
Who wrote Dracula?
Bram Stoker
Who wrote Beowulf?
An unknown author.
Who wrote "Waiting for Godot"?
Samuel Beckett
Who wrote "The House at Pooh Corner"?
A.A. Milne
What is an Autodiegetic narrator?
Tell the story of their own life.
What should you use to find an authors biography and their works?
- The Oxford Companion to English Literature
- The Oxford Dictionary National Biograpgy (ODNB)
What is probably the most useful handbook on English literature?
The Oxford Companion to English Literature ( as a tool to get basic information on authors and works)
Is it enough to use the local university library catalogue?
No. Use multiple digital resources.
- Online bibliographies,
- Inter-library loans (Fernleihe)
- digital archives
- recent Ph.D. thesis on your topic
Which dictionary should you use only as a last resort?
Bilingual dictionaries
Which dictionary should you use for writing?
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
What dictionary should you use for in depth research about the meaning of words?
OED (available online)
What dictionary should you use for reading?
Concise Oxford English Dictionary
Why are there some books that you can't find online / for free?
Because interllectual property is protected by copyright (for books / in Britain: protection for 70 years after authors death)
Where can you find resources with external links to journals, books, websites and many other publications?
MLA International Library
Where can you find English texts printed after 1800?
- Www.archive.org
- JSTOR
Where can you find English texts printed before the year 1800?
- EEBO: Early English Books Online
- ECCO: Eighteens-Century Collection Online
- password from Nationallizenzen.de needed
What is Phrenology?
- The detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities
What is physiognomy?
- A person's facial features or expressions, especially when regarded as indicative of character or ethnic origin
What is the origin of the gothic genre?
Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto (1764)
the first gothic novel, therefore all later gothic novels are influenced by it
What kind of novel is "Dracula" by Bram Stoker (1887)
Gothic novel
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Lernkarten
What is a pentameter?
5 units per line
What is a tetrameter?
4 units per line
What is a trimeter?
3 units per line
What is a Dimeter?
2 units per line (rare)
What is a sonnet?
- 14 lines, iambic pentameter, tightly structured rhyme scheme
What is a limerick?
- Short poem, often times funny (aabba)
What is an elegy?
- Form of poetry in which the poet expresses grief, sadness or loss
What is an epigram?
- A short, satirical poem
What is a haiku?
- Japanese poem form (3 lines, 17 syllables)
What is an Ode?
- lyrical poem, meant to be sung or performed
- often used for praise
What is pattern poetry?
Poetry that is arranged in a certain way that is looks like something. For example the poem "Needles" by Brian Bilston resembling a Christmas tree with falling needles.
Define "poetic".
"When the words command our attention, because they got a certain rhythm, beat, etc."
Define "conative".
Focuses on the receiver of the message (meant to get attention)
Define "meta lingual".
Self aware, talking about language itself
Define "phatic".
Addressing the thing.
Define "emotive".
Emotional
Define "referential".
Referring to smt.
What is an epic poem?
- Very long poem that tells a story
- about heroes, fights, before and after the fight
What is Anglo Saxon and when was is used?
- Over 1000 years ago
- also known as old English
- Germanic language - uses a few characters from the runic alphabet
What is the "Celtic fringe"
- The highland Scots, Irish, Welsh, and Cornish in relation the the rest of Britain
- 2000 years ago: British Isles inhabited by Celtic tribes (15th to 16th c.)
What is intertextuality?
It means that all texts are influenced by other, earlier texts.
This is why a good knowledge on the history of English Literature (history in general) is needed.
What levels make up poetry?
- Structures on the visual level
- the level of sounds and rhythms
- the level of ideas
What are th key characteristics of Poetry?
- Structured over and above the level of what you would find in everyday communication
- in analyzing poetry, one thing to do is to look for structures
- structures: usually based on the repetition / variation of similar elements
- basic difference between poetry an prose: lines arranged by author
- further structures: repetitions of sounds and rhythms
What is the musical dimension of poetry?
- Poetry frequently plays with sounds
- lyrics: Liedtext
- Poetry can make sense on two levels: the level of meaning and the level of sounds. Both can be connected.
What is the etymology of the word "poetry"?
The word "poetry" comes from the Greek word "poiein" - to make
What two types of poetry are there?
- Lyric poetry
- narrative poetry
What has sometimes been regarded as a forth main genre of lit.?
Epic poetry
Fill out the blanks.
.
What are the three main genres of literature?
- Poetry
- Drama
- Narrative
"There is an intimate link between language and ..."
"Power"
- the way we use language can make things happen,
- there is a link between your ability to understand and use language and the way people will treat you
Why is literature so important?
- Plays key role in school and University curicula
- Is a crucial form of self reflection
- helps us think about very basic questions (Who am I? Who and what do I want to be? What is right or wrong?)
- Human beings are able to imagine what it would be like to be another person, they are able to imagine what my happen in the future
- the "What if/ what does the other guy think" game helped us survive ("theory of mind")
- literature is among those thinks that make us human (no other animal tells stories)
- literature supplies a highly complex archive of key cultural themes
- is a form of imaginary time travel
- lit studies help acquire key qualification needed in any demanding work environment
- researching complex topics
- collecting, evaluating and combining information from different sources and media to form an adequate picture
- arranging and formulating results for a specific audience
What is the etymology of the word text?
- Derived from the lat. texere ( to weave), which implies something that has been artificially structured
- this is why textiles are called "textiles"
- Texts can be written down or printed but they can also be transmitted orally:
- oral literature (tradition of storytelling)
What information does the OED provide?
- Articles on all words in the English language, past and present
- variants (various ways of spelling the word)
- when did the word first appear in the English language? How has it been used? How has its meaning developed?
- examples on all of this
What is a register?
A form of a language used in a specific social setting or for a particular purpose.
What are "Literaturwissenschaftler"?
People doing literary criticism.
English literature exists in various genres. Give one example discussed in the lecture course (one text, with correct full author’s name and correct full title) for each of the three major genres. (2+2+2). Name two ways in which the genres can overlap, i.e. in which texts belonging to different genres can share certain characteristics.
Poetry: Linton Kwesi Johnson, “Inglan is a Bitch”
Drama: William Shakespeare, The Tempest
Prose: Bram Stoker, Dracula
Dramatic texts can be written in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter). A narrative poem can tell a story like a narrative prose text.
Will you find the full text of English and American Literatures by Michael Meyer (2011) in Archive.org?
No,archive.org only contains material that is out of copyright.
Will you find the full text of English and American Literatures by Michael Meyer (2011) in The ODNB?
No, the ODNB contains Biographies.
Will you find the full text of English and American Literatures by Michael Meyer (2011) in ECCO?
(2) No, ECCO contains primary texts of the eighteenth century.
Will you find the full text of English and American Literatures by Michael Meyer (2011) in The Oxford Companion to English Literature?
No, The Oxford Companion is a handbook containing information on English literature.
