Thinking Activity

Thinking Activity: The Setting of 20th Century Literature 

▶️Fantasy Literature:

   

Fantasy literature is literature set in an imaginary universe, often but not always without any locations, events, or people from the real world. Magic, the supernatural and magical creatures are common in many of these imaginary worlds.Fantasy is a subgenre of speculative fiction and is distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the absence of scientific or macabre themes, respectively, though these genres overlap.

A large number of fantasy novels originally written for children and adolescents, such as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit also attract an adult audience.

📌What Is the Fantasy Genre in Literature? 

Fantasy is a genre of literature that features magical and supernatural elements that do not exist in the real world. Although some writers juxtapose a real-world setting with fantastical elements, many create entirely imaginary universes with their own physical laws and logic and populations of imaginary races and creatures. Speculative in nature, fantasy is not tied to reality or scientific fact.

📌How Did Fantasy Originate As a Genre? 

Modern fantasy began in the nineteenth century, following a period of chivalrous European romances and tales whose fantastical elements were still considered somewhat believable. Scottish author George MacDonald, whose novel Phantastes (1858) features a young man drawn into a dream world where he has a series of adventures, is credited with writing the first plainly fictitious fantasy for adults. Englishman William Morris, who’s known for medieval fantasy and specifically his novel The Well at the World’s End (1896), subsequently broke ground in the genre by completely inventing a fantasy world that existed beyond the known world.

Building upon the legacies of MacDonald and Morris, J. R. R. Tolkien penned the first high fantasy, The Lord of the Rings (1954-1955). Both creatively and commercially successful, the epic ushered the genre into the mainstream and influenced countless writers, making Tolkien the undisputed father of modern fantasy. 

In subsequent decades, fantasy has continued to evolve, diversify, and grow in popularity, with Terry Brooks’ The Sword of Shannara (1977) becoming the first fantasy novel to appear on The New York Times trade paperback bestseller list; J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels (1997-2007) becoming the best-selling book series of all time; and Hollywood adapting many fantasy stories into hit films and television shows.

📌What Are the Sub Genres and Types of Fantasy?

Fantasy includes a robust and ever-growing number of subgenres, some of which writers combine in their works. There are a few essential subgenres of fantasy:

🔅High or epic fantasy :

Set in a magical environment that has its own rules and physical laws, this subgenre’s plots and themes have a grand scale and typically center on a single, well-developed hero or a band of heroes, such as Frodo Baggins and his cohorts in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (1954).

🔅Low fantasy :

 Set in the real world, low fantasy includes unexpected magical elements that shock characters, like the plastic figurines come to life in Lynne Reid Banks’s The Indian in the Cupboard (1980).

🔅Magical realism :

While similar to low fantasy, magical realism characters accept fantastical elements like levitation and telekinesis as a normal part of their otherwise realistic world, as in Gabriel García Márquez’s classic One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967).

🔅Sword and sorcery:

 A subset of high fantasy, it focuses on sword-wielding heroes, such as the titular barbarian in Robert E. Howard’s Conan pulp fiction stories, as well as magic or witchcraft.

🔅Dark fantasy :

 Combining elements of fantasy and horror, its aim is to unnerve and frighten readers, like the gargantuan, otherworldly monsters in H. P. Lovecraft’s universe.

🔅Fables:

 Using personified animals and the supernatural, fables impart moral lessons, like the stories in Aesop’s Fables and Arabian Nights.

🔅Fairy tales:

 Intended for children, these fairy tales and folk tales are typically set in distant magical worlds (with beginnings like “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”) where trolls, dragons, witches, and other supernatural characters are an accepted truth, as in the Brothers Grimm’s Grimm’s Fairy Tales (1812).

🔅Superhero fiction:

Unlike stories in which a hero acquires special abilities through scientific means, such as exposure to radiation, these protagonists’ powers are supernatural.

🔅Mythological:

Fantasies that involve elements of myths and folklore, which are typically ancient in origin and often help to explain the mysteries of the universe and all of its elements—weather, the earth, the existence of creatures and things, etc—as well as historical events. The most well-known are Greek and Roman mythology; for example, stories about the Greek Gods and heroes like Hercules have been retold countless times through fantasy films. Major examples include Homer’s epic tales The Iliad and The Odyssey.

📌Examples of Fantasy Literature:

➡️Alice in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll

➡️The Hobbit (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien

➡️The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955) by J. R. R. Tolkien

➡️The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950) by C. S. Lewis

➡️One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) by Gabriel García Márquez

➡️The Princess Bride (1973) by William Goldman

➡️The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger (1982) by Stephen King

➡️The Golden Compass (1995) by Philip Pullman

➡️A Game of Thrones (1996) by George R. R. Martin

➡️Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (1997) by J. K. Rowling

🔶Example 1

Fantastic stories of kings and queens, princes and princesses, knights and dragons have been entertaining people for centuries. One of the oldest and most important pieces of English literature is the epic fantasy poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. In this medieval tale, a green knight challenges King Arthur in a match that involves each opponent taking one stroke of an axe to their neck. Below is a selection from the tale, when one of Arthur’s knights steps up to take the challenge in place of the king, and the Green Knight goes first…

    

The Green Knight adjusts himself on the ground, bends slightly his head, lays his long lovely locks over his crown, and lays bare his neck for the blow. Gawayne then gripped the axe, and, raising it on high, let it fall quickly upon the knight’s neck and severed the head from the body. The fair head fell from the neck to the earth, and many turned it aside with their feet as it rolled forth. The blood burst from the body, yet the knight never faltered nor fell; but boldly he started forth on stiff shanks and fiercely rushed forward, seized his head, and lifted it up quickly.

Here, we see the extent of the Green Knight’s supernatural abilities—he is decapitated by the axe and picks up his own head, otherwise seemingly unharmed. King Arthur and his knights, however, are humans, without supernatural abilities. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a classic example of a medieval fantasy featuring human protagonists and supernatural antagonists.

🔶Example 2

   

With his creation of The Hobbit and the subsequent The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien changed fantasy literature as the world knew it. The most influential part of his writing is the fact that the stories take place in a fantasy world—a world completely external to our own—now known as high fantasy or epic fantasy. In such a setting, elements of fantasy are a standard part of that world. 

Before Tolkien, the genre of fantasy was composed of stories that took place in our world, but included fantastic elements. Middle Earth is not part of the human earth, and it is home to races, creatures, languages, histories, and folklore that were completely created by Tolkien. In his world, things we see as fantastic are natural parts of the universe he developed. Tolkien also developed a full geography, history, mythology, ancestry, and fourteen languages of Middle Earth.

📌Examples of Fantasy in Pop Culture:

Fantasy has a particularly large presence in popular culture, much more so than most other genres. Many now-famous books and films have developed massive fan bases seemingly overnight, from fantasy classics like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, to modern day favorites like the Harry Potter series, the Twilight saga, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

🔶Example 1

   

Literally sold by the billions, the most popular series of books ever written to date is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. In fact, the size of the Harry Potter universe within popular culture is immeasurable. The fan following of these fantasy books is both historical and remarkable, as is the resulting relationship between the author and her fans. Rowling even made a special dedication to her fans with Harry’s last journey in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

 

As a result of their popularity, the seven Harry Potter books have been made into eight blockbusters (some of the most successful in cinematic history), which led to an expansive merchandise and videogame business, and then further to the opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios—to name a few things. Furthermore, the dedication and enthusiasm of her fan base led Rowling to develop Pottermore, an online interactive world set within the storyline of the Harry Potter series, where fans can become virtual wizards and students at Hogwarts, and is still releasing content years after the publication of the final book. When it comes to fantasy in popular culture, Harry Potter is a powerhouse.

  

    

🔶Example 2

One of the most watched series on television is HBO’s Game of Thrones, based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George Martin. Like J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, Game of Thrones is set in an imaginary world. These stories are unique, however, because the elements of fantasy that are part of the books—dragons, white walkers, giants, etc—are all mentioned, but are thought to have become extinct or ceased to exist years and years before. Thus, the dragons are even more magical and terrible to behold because people believe they are gone from the world.

📌Conclusion:

In conclusion, fantasy is one of the most popular and significant genres in both popular culture and literary history. From its dozens of subgenres, to its compatibility with other genres, to its ability to be adapted into any form of media, fantasy’s influence cannot be compared to many other styles.

⭐2, Science fiction (Sci-Fi)

 

Science fiction is one of the most creative genres in literature. Sci-fi novels take readers on adventures from faraway galaxies to underwater worlds and everywhere in between, introducing them to otherworldly characters and technologies along the way.

Science fiction (sometimes shortened to sci-fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. It has been called the "literature of ideas", and it often explores the potential consequences of scientific, social, and technological innovations.

Science fiction can trace its roots back to ancient mythology, and is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction, and contains many subgenres.

According to Isaac Asimov, "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology."

Although examples of science fiction can be found as far back as the Middle Ages, its presence in literature was not particularly significant until the late 1800s. Its true popularity for both writers and audiences came with the rise of technology over the past 150 years, with developments such as electricity, space exploration, medical advances, industrial growth, and so on. As science and technology progress, so does the genre of science fiction.

📌What Is Science Fiction Literature?

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that contains imagined elements that don’t exist in the real world. Science fiction spans a wide range of themes that often explore time travel, space travel, are set in the future, and deal with the consequences of technological and scientific advances.

📌The History of Science Fiction Literature:

The science fiction genre dates back to the second century. A True Story, written by the Syrian satirist Lucian, is thought to be the first sci-fi story, which explored other universes and extraterrestrial lifeforms. Modern science developed during the Age of Enlightenment, and writers reacted to scientific and technological advancements with a wave of sci-fi stories like New Atlantis by Francis Bacon (1627), Somnium by Johannes Kepler (1634), and Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon by Cyrano de Bergerac (1657).The most influential science fiction stories to date are undoubtedly the George Lucas’s Star Wars films; further examples include the TV series Star Trek and novels like H.G. Wells’ The War of the World’s and Douglas Adams’ series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

📌Science fiction is divided into two broad categories: Hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi.

🔅Hard sci-fi novels are based on scientific fact. They’re inspired by “hard” natural sciences like physics, chemistry, and astronomy.

🔅Soft sci-fi novels can be two things: Either they are not scientifically accurate or they’re inspired by “soft” social sciences like psychology, anthropology, and sociology.

📌Sub-genres and Related Genres of Science Fiction:

🔅Fantasy fiction:  

Sci-fi stories inspired by mythology and folklore that often include elements of magic.

🔅Supernatural fiction:

 Sci-fi stories about secret knowledge or hidden abilities that include witchcraft, spiritualism, and psychic abilities.

🔅Utopian fiction: 

Sci-fi stories about civilizations the authors deem to be perfect, ideal societies. Utopian fiction is often satirical.

🔅Dystopian fiction: 

 Sci-fi stories about societies the authors deem to be problematic for things like government rules, poverty, or oppression.

🔅Space opera: 

A play on the term “soap opera,” sci-fi stories that take place in outer space and center around conflict, romance, and adventure.

🔅Space western:

 Sci-fi stories that blend elements of science fiction with elements of the western genre.

🔅Cyberpunk:  

Sci-fi stories that juxtapose advanced technology with less advanced, broken down society.

🔅Steampunk: 

Sci-fi stories that blend technology with steam-powered machinery.

📌Examples of Science fiction novels:

➡️20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (1870): features underwater exploration and a technologically advanced submarine—two things that were primitive at the time the novel was written.

➡️The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells (1898): tells the story of Martians invading Earth and includes themes of space, science, and astronomy.

➡️Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (1932): set in a futuristic dystopian world with many scientific developments where people are genetically modified.

➡️Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell (1938): tells the story of an alien creature that’s a shape-shifter and has the gift of telepathy.

➡️Foundation by Isaac Asimov (1942): follows a galactic civilization after their empire collapses.

➡️1984 by George Orwell (1949): set in a dystopian version of the year 1984 where the world has succumbed to extreme levels of government interference in daily lives.

➡️Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1953): set in a futuristic dystopian society where books are banned and will be burned if found.

➡️Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein (1961): tells the story of a human who was born on Mars and raised by Martians who comes to live on Earth.

➡️The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1962): set 15 years after the end of World War II, offers an alternate history of what could happen if the Axis Powers had defeated the Allied Powers.

➡️Dune by Frank Herbert (1965): set in an interstellar society in the distant future.

➡️2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (1968): tells the story of ancient aliens who travel the galaxy and help develop intelligent life forms in other worlds.

➡️The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985): tells the story of the women who lose their rights after a totalitarian state overthrows the U.S. government.

📌Examples of Science Fiction in Literature:

🔶Example 1

A genre-defining piece of science fiction literature is H.G. Wells’ 1898 novel The War of the Worlds, which tells the story of an alien invasion in the United Kingdom that threatens to destroy mankind. The following is a selection from the novel’s introduction:

No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man’s and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinized and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinize the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. With infinite complacency men went to and fro over this globe about their little affairs, serene in their assurance of their empire over matter…No one gave a thought to the older worlds of space as sources of human danger.

Here, the narrator describes a time when mankind was naive. He is setting up for the story of when Earth was unexpectedly attacked by an alien race, and how they were completely unprepared and too proud to believe that any other force in the universe could threaten them. Though only a story, War of the Worlds addressed a scientific concern and possibility that is a mystery for mankind.

🔶Example 2

Published in 1949, George Orwell’s 1984 shows the future of mankind in a dystopian state. It is set in what is now the United Kingdom, and shows society under tyrannical rule of a government that has their population under constant surveillance and threat of imprisonment for having wrong thoughts. Throughout the novel is the constant theme that “Big Brother” is watching.

Outside, even through the shut window-pane, the world looked cold. Down in

the street little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into

spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there

seemed to be no color in anything, except the posters that were plastered

everywhere. The black-moustachio’d face gazed down from every commanding

corner. There was one on the house-front immediately opposite. BIG BROTHER

IS WATCHING YOU, the caption said, while the dark eyes looked deep into

Winston’s own.

This passage describes the story’s setting—dull, colorless, and monitored—and hints at society’s status. At the beginning, Winston is a citizen who wants to fight the system, but by the end, he falls victim to the government’s control tactics.

📌Examples of Science Fiction in Pop Culture:

🔶Example 

The Matrix is a sci-fi action film that thrilled audiences upon its release. It tells the story of a world where human existence is completely controlled, and life on Earth is actually only a simulation occurring in our minds. This simulation is called “the Matrix.” In the following clip, the audience and the main character learn exactly what Earth is actually like behind the simulation:

  

Here, the protagonist, Neo, is presented with the information that his life is all an illusion, and it is almost more than his mind can handle. Eventually, he is given the choice of whether to continue to live in the Matrix, or to live in reality and try to save mankind—a task that is almost impossible, and at times terrifying. 

📌What is the Difference between Fantasy and Science fiction:

🔅Fantasy 

 The genre typically has no basis in scientific fact or speculation. It includes implausible supernatural and magical elements, such as the wizards of J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, or the dragons, giants, and White Walkers of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones.

🔅Science fiction 

 By contrast, science fiction features technology and natural or technological scenarios that are currently possible or may realistically become possible in the future. For example, in his short story, “Burning Chrome” (1982) and novel Neuromancer (1984), sci-fi author William Gibson coined the phrase “cyberspace” and wrote about a complex network of computer databases sharing information, predicting the internet.

📌Conclusion:

In conclusion, science fiction is a genre of possibility, imagination, and innovation whose popularity rises in relation to advances in science and technology. Its authors use real science to create fictional stories that explore the possible future of mankind and the universe in a way that is both imaginative and realistic.

Thinking Activity

Bridge Course: T.S.Eliot's Tradition and Individual Talent

"Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality."

  -   T. S. Eliot (1888 - 1965)

   

"Tradition and the Individual Talent"

Tradition and the Individual Talent’ was first published in 1919 in the literary magazine The Egoist. It was published in two parts, in the September and December issues. The essay was written by a young American poet named T. S. Eliot (1888-1965), who had been living in London for the last few years, and who had published his first volume of poems, Prufrock and Other Observations, in 1917.  The essay was first published in The Egoist and later in Eliot’s first book of criticism, “The Sacred Wood”. The essay is also available in Eliot’s “Selected Prose” and “Selected Essays”.

While Eliot is most often known for his poetry, he also contributed to the field of literary criticism. In this dual role, he acted as poet-critic, comparable to Sir Philip Sidney and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. “Tradition and the Individual Talent” is one of the more well known works that Eliot produced in his critic capacity. It formulates Eliot’s influential conception of the relationship between the poet and the literary tradition which precedes them.

 The essay may be regarded as an unofficial manifesto of Eliot’s critical creed, for it contains all those critical principles from which his criticism has been derived ever since. The seeds which have been sown here come to fruition in his subsequent essays. It is a declaration of Eliot’s critical creed, and these principles are the basis of all his subsequent criticism.

A partial or complete break with the literary past is a danger. An awareness of what has gone before is necessary to know what is there to be done in the present or future. A balance between the control of tradition and the freedom of an individual is essential to art.

Eliot said elsewhere that by losing tradition we lose our held on the present. Hence, a writer should be aware of the importance of tradition.

Tradition and individual talent by T.S Eliot summary can The essay consists of three parts.

• Concept of tradition

• Theory of impersonality

• Conclusion

Tradition and individual talent by T.S Eliot summary goes ahead in this way the essay involves the discussion about the tradition of creative and poetic work. He contains all the principles regarding the tradition and the poetic work of the artist.

1, How would you like to explain Eliot's concept of Tradition? Do you agree with it?

Yes, I Agree with it Eliot is of the view that no poetic work can be ideal if there is no glimpse of tradition. The artist must follow the traditional path of his ancestors in order to create the best work. The significance of the poetic work lies in tradition. No one can create the best work if he remains aloof from his tradition. He cannot do anything in isolation. He considers the individuality of the work of the poet or artist if he follows the traditional path. The best part of their work is regarded which reminds the literature of the past. The literature of the past must be the essence of the artist’s work. it will be present in the bones and the soul of the artist if he will follow the path of his ancestors. He must be addicted to gain the influence of his ancestors through the poetic work, The best and the fundamental part of the work will have a history about the past of ancestors and their work.

2, What do you understand by Historical Sense? (Use these quotes to explain your understanding)

"The historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence"

The historical sense is the sense of the timeless and the temporal, as well as combination of both. This sense makes a writer traditional. One, who has the historical sense, feels the whole of the literature of Europe from Homer down to his own day. It includes the literature of one’s own country which forms one continuous literary tradition.

This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional. 

In this regard he says, “Tradition is not anything fixed and static. It is constantly changing and becoming different from what it is.” The function of tradition is, the work of a poet in the present is to be compared and contrasted with work of the past and judged by the standard of the past. Because the past helps us to understand the present and the present throws light on past. Thus we can shift tradition from the individual elements in a given work of art.

3, What is the relationship between “tradition” and “the individual talent,” according to the poet T. S. Eliot?

Individual talent does not cut himself away from the tradition. Tradition for Eliot is an already an existing monument and the individual can only marginally add a bit, extend a bit. According to Eliot Individual is adding a brick in the minarates. Tradition is not dead but a living thing and every new artist extends a bit in the tradition. And individual makes his /her own place in the long history called tradition. At this time he is criticizing the Romantics because of their great deal of emphasis on individual. So Eliot was carrying a thread forward from Matthew Arnold that no individual has sense of his own, One has to compare with the best that is available. Thus Eliot explains the interdependence of the tradition and individual talent.

"Some can absorb knowledge, the more tardy must sweat for it. Shakespeare acquire essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British museum."

T.S.Eliot demands wide reading from the poet as well as from his readers because he himself was the very scholar, highly intellectual and well read person.( Nobel Prize winner!!!!!!) he says that everyone should be well read but what he finds is Shakespeare is an exceptional. If we study Shakespeare’s biography then we will find that there is no mention that Shakespeare went to any university. And dr. Samuel Jonson also says that it seems that Shakespeare was not knowing any other language than English. But then even his works, characters, theme has universal appeal. So what Eliot anticipated is that some body will question him that you are telling that poet should be well read but Shakespeare is not fitting into the principle what you are giving, so he says that he is an exceptional. It seems that Shakespeare has absorbed the knowledge, lived through his age, not through the systematic learning. This is how he is a individual talent. If he (Eliot)can’t do like that then Shakespeare might have become true individual what Romantics were speaking about. So what he does, he says Shakespeare is an exceptional. So he says some can absorb knowledge, And others (tardy) must sweat it.

Conclusion

Eliot concludes the essay by making his judgment about the process of poetic creation. He lays due to stress to the impersonality of the poet. He must surrender himself to the work created by him. He can gain the artistic touch only when he will surrender himself to the literary work. he must consider the individual part of his work as the best one. The impersonality by an artist is only achieved when he resigns himself to his work only. He does not consider his own emotions and ideas. Now, Tradition and individual talent essay by T.S Eliot summary is ended up here with this hope that we have done our work according to readers hopes.

Thinking Activity

Bridge Course: Wordsworth's Preface

Wordsworth's Preface to Lyrical Ballads

     

Introduction:

In Preface to Lyrical Ballads Wordsworth expresses his opinion about the function of a poet and the subject matter of poetry. He rejects the classical concept in his attitude towards poet and poetry. He holds a romantic view in both the cases.

Much before William Wordsworth started writing,the early Romantic poets like James Thomson (1700-48),Oliver Goldsmith (1728-74),Thomas Chatterton (1752-70),Thomas Gray (1716-71),William Collins-59),William Cowper (1731-1800),George Crabbe (1754-1832),Robert Burns (1759-95), and William Blake (1757-1827) deviated from the neo-classic insistence on rules. However, Wordsworth is perhaps the only romantic poet who made his poetic experiences the locus of his critical discourse. Unlike Coleridge, he was not a theorist. Instead he unravelled before us the workings of the mind of the poet, and therefore, Wordsworth’s literary criticism ceases to be criticism in its most literal sense. It comes out as the matrix where the poet’s mind generates emotions and feelings with that much of intensity and passion required for transmitting them into poetic experience which forms the basis of poetic composition. From this perspective, Wordsworth’s Preface to the second edition of Lyrical Ballads in 1800 can be seen as a poetic "manifesto," or “statement of revolutionary aims.”

William Wordsworth:

 

William Wordsworth was born on 7, April, 1770 in cokermouth, a town on the edge of the Cumberland into a lawyer's family. He studied at Cambridge and completed his graduation there. He was a leader of the Romantic Movement in England. Wordsworth was a major English romantic poet but not a critic. However his views on poetry are extremely important and can be found in the preface to the lyrical ballad 1802. He is the most representative poet of English literature. Wordsworth has written a series of poem collaboration of Coleridge entitled "Lyrical Ballad". He gave definition of 'poet' and 'poetry' in his "Lyrical Ballad". His first two collection of poetry would be published in 1793, five years after his first published poem. By the time of his death in 1850 he had produced some of English poetry's greatest work and influenced by future generation of poets.

Lyrical Ballads’ is a collection of poems generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature. The Preface to Lyrical Ballads is considered a central work of Romantic literary theory. The Lyrical Ballads was a manifesto for a radically new approach to the writing of poetry. Wordsworth declared that the most important thing in poetry was the poet's ability to record his spontaneous feelings. Poetry, he said, was "emotion recollected in tranquility".

Wordsworth's Preface to To The Lyrical Ballads:

Wordsworth’s ‘Preface to the Lyrical Ballads’ underwent a number of revisions till it had its present form. The Lyrical Ballads was first published in 1798. Wordsworth came to add a short Advertisement to it. He added a more detailed ‘Preface’ to the second edition of the Lyrical Balladsin 1800. It was extended and modified in 1802 edition of the Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworth aim in writing the ‘Preface’ was not to give an elaborate account of his theory of poetry or to make a systematic defense of his point-of-view. He wanted to introduce his poems with a prefatorial argument He added the ‘Preface’ because he felt that his poems were different in theme and style, and therefore, he should not present them without an introduction. It is a well observed phenomenon that every new poet struggles to carve a niche. That is what Wordsworth tried to do with the help of the ‘Preface’.

Over the years, Wordsworth’s “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads” has come to be seen as a manifesto for the Romantic movement in England. In it, Wordsworth explains why he wrote his experimental ballads the way he did. Unlike the highbrow poetry of his contemporaries, the late-Neoclassical writers, Wordsworth’s poems in Lyrical Ballads engage with the lives of the peasantry and are written in stripped-down, common language.

Wordsworth was alone in his effort; he penned the Lyrical Ballads with the help of his good friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge. With friends like Coleridge, Wordsworth hopes to produce a new class of poetry, which will focus on “low and rustic life”—Wordsworth finds that the common people are less restrained and more honest because they are in constant communion with the beauty of nature. This new class of poetry will also use the language of the common people, as this language carries a certain universality and permanence, having none of the fickleness of poetic diction.

Other than these larger ideas about poetry, Wordsworth also briefly digresses into the importance of meter. Wordsworth relates that he has chosen to write poetry and not prose because meter adds a certain charm to the work. Furthermore, the regularity of meter can help temper emotions that may grow to be too much if the work were written with the stylistic freedom of prose. Wordsworth ends the “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads” on the note that there is nothing more he can do except allow the reader to experience his ballads for themselves.

Aims of the Preface

• The primary object which Wordsworth proposed to propagate through the poems was to select incidents and situations from common life.

• The great innovation was to be in the language. The poetic diction of the eighteenth century, sought to substitute the selection of the language really used by men.The “Advertisement” included in the 1798 edition shows Wordsworth’s concern about the language of poetry. Wordsworth says that the poems in the volume are “experiments” since his chief aim is to see if the conversational language in use among the middle and lower classes of society can be employed expediently and fruitfully to write poems.

1, What is the basic difference between the poetic creed of 'Classicism' and 'Romanticism'?

Classicism and Romanticism

Classicism and Romanticism are artistic movements that have influenced the literature, visual art, music, and architecture of the Western world over many centuries. With its origins in the ancient Greek and Roman societies, Classicism defines beauty as that which demonstrates balance and order. Romanticism developed in the 18th century — partially as a reaction against the ideals of Classicism — and expresses beauty through imagination and powerful emotions. Although the characteristics of these movements are frequently at odds, both schools of thought continued to influence Western art into the 21st century.

Classicism

The name "Classical" was given to the Greeks and Romans retroactively by Renaissance writers. Artists and thinkers of the Renaissance, which literally means "rebirth," saw themselves as the heirs of that world following the Middle Ages. Its ideals continued to exert strong influence into the Age of Enlightenment in the 17th and 18th centuries.

In literature, Classicism values traditional forms and structures. According to legend, the Roman poet Virgil left orders for his masterpiece The Aeneid to be burned at his death, because a few of its lines were still metrically imperfect. This rather extreme example demonstrates the importance placed on excellence in formal execution.

Romanticism

Romanticism may be a somewhat confusing term, since modern English speakers tend to associate the word "romance" with a particular variety of love. As an artistic movement, however, it celebrates all strong emotions, not just feelings of love. In addition to emotion, Romantic artists valued the search for beauty and meaning in all aspects of life. They saw imagination, rather than reason, as the route to truth.

The treatment of emotion is one of the primary ways in which Classicism and Romanticism differ. The Romantics placed a higher value on the expression of strong emotion than on technical perfection. Romantics, however, were more likely to indulge in effusive emotional statements, as John Keats did in "Ode on a Grecian Urn": "More love! More happy, happy love!"

2, What is poetic diction? Which sort of poetic diction is suggested by Wordsworth in his Preface?

Poetic diction is the term used to refer to the linguistic style, the vocabulary, and the metaphors used in the writing of poetry.

The poetic diction is the essay as suggested by Wordsworth applies the “real language of men”. He has selected it to communicate and connect it with the other men and common people. He further adds that the selection of the common language can add “vivid sensation” and “pleasure” to the readers as each and every poem has its own “purpose” to share and evoke “pleasure” to the readers.

In addition to this, the selection of such poetic diction to impart the “incidents and situations from common life”. It is only possible for Wordsworth to impart these poetic themes in the poem only with the “real language of men”. He even stated that it will add a “certain colouring of imagination” on the readers so to evoke the ” state of excitement” which the common people share in their everyday lives. The “real language of men” will enable the other men can relate “the manner in which we associate ideas in a state of excitement”.

Moreover, he argues that the “language of men” is refined when the “humble and rustic” elements are used as a setting in the poem. He states that these moment of materials ensure a “plainer and more emphatic language” which become simple and the feelings “coexist” that ensure in more comprehensive and easy to communicate “because the manners of rural life germinate from those elementary feelings”.

Lastly, he further argues about the poetic diction that the reduction of rhetorical devices in his poems has a typical reason. He tries to suggest that the reason behind it was to “bring my language near to the language of men”. He adds that the “pleasure” he imparted in the poems are very different from other sets of poetry and it is only possible to impart it only by the use of “language of men” to be the proper “object of poetry”.

Thinking Activity

Bridge Course: Dryden's Essay on Dramatic Poecy

Introduction:

Though he died in 1700, John Dryden is usually considered a writer of the 18th rather than the 17th century. Incredibly prolific, Dryden made innovative advances in translation and aesthetic philosophy, and was the first poet to employ the neo-classical heroic couplet and quatrain in his own work. Dryden’s influence on later writers was immense; Alexander Pope greatly admired and often imitated him, and Samuel Johnson considered him to have “refined the language, improved the sentiments, and tuned the numbers of English poetry.” In addition to poetry, Dryden wrote many essays, prefaces, satires, translations, biographies (introducing the word to the English language), and plays.

John Dryden:

John Dryden (1631- 1700), is regarded by many scholars as the father of modern English poetry and criticism. Dryden dominated literary life in England during the last four decades of the seventeenth century. He was a great poet, critic, dramatist, satirist and translator. Samuel Johnson in “the Lives of English Poets” calls him the father of English Criticism. He is also regarded as one of the chief founders of modern prose style- logical, exact, based on the exercise of reason rather than on the excitement of emotion. “An Essay on Dramatic Poesy” by Dryden marks the beginning of a new era in English literary criticism. In his estimate of Elizabethan dramas, he attains to the highest level of pure criticism. He judged the Elizabethans not by literary standard of a school but by the higher standards of literary judgement i.e. the appreciation of positive literary excellences.

An Essay on Dramatic Poecy:

An Essay of Dramatic Poesy” was probably written in 1666 during the closure of the London theaters due to plague. It can be read as a general defense of drama as a legitimate art form—taking up where Sir Philip Sidney’s “Defence of Poesie” left off—as well as Dryden’s own defense of his literary practices. The essay is structured as a dialogue among four friends on the river Thames. The group has taken refuge on a barge during a naval battle between the English and the Dutch fleets. The four gentlemen, Eugenius, Crites, Lisideius, and Neander (all aliases for actual Restoration critics and the last for Dryden himself), begin an ironic and witty conversation on the subject of poetry, which soon turns into a debate on the virtues of modern and ancient writers. While imitation of classical writers was common practice in Dryden’s time, he steers the group’s conversation towards dramatic poetry, a relatively new genre which had in some ways broken with classical traditions and was thus in need of its own apologia. The group arrives at a definition of drama: Lisideius suggests that it is “a just and lively Image of Humane Nature.” Each character then speaks in turn, touching on the merits of French and English drama, continuing the debate over ancient versus modern writers, and discussing the value of the “Unities” or rules of French drama. While French plays hew closer to classical notions of drama (adhering to the unities of time, place and action), Neander steps in to support English drama precisely because of its subplots, mixture of mirth and tragedy (in tragicomedy), and spirited, multiple characters. Drawing on Platonic dialogues for inspiration, Dryden’s characters present their opinions with eloquence and sound reasoning. The group discusses playwrights such as Ben Jonson, Molière, and Shakespeare with great insight, and has a final debate over the suitability of rhyme to drama. Crites objects to the use of rhyme because he believes it detracts from the verisimilitude of the scene, and cites Aristotle; Neander suggests a “natural” rhyme to serve the play’s meaning can add to its artistry. During this final speech, the barge docks at the Somerset-Stairs, and the four friends go their separate ways, content with their evening. 

The narrative of An Essay of Dramatic Poesy has four debaters among whom, Neander is the one who holds the views of Dryden. Unlike other characters, Neander does not diminish the arguments that are on contrary to his views. Though he himself favours modern drama, he does not blame others.

About the Essay on Dramatic Poecy:

The beginning of the narrative An Essay of Dramatic Poesy or Of Dramatic Poesie is as follows. A battle is going on between England and the Netherlands.

Four gentlemen namely Crites, Eugenius, Lisideius and Neander are travelling by boat to see the battle and start a discussion on modern literature. 

Crites opens the discussion by saying that none of his contemporaries (i.e. moderns) can equal the standards and the rules set by ancient Greeks and Romans. Eugenius restrains him from wasting time on finding demerits. He asks him to find relative merit in Greeks and Moderns.

Views of Crites:

Crites favours classical drama i.e. the drama of Aristotle who believed that drama is “imitation of life”. Crites holds that drama of such ancients is successful because it depicts life. He says that both classical and neoclassical favour rules and unities (time, place and action). 

According to Crites, modern dramatists are shadows of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Seneca and Terence. E.g. Elizabethan dramatist Ben Jonson borrowed from Classics and felt proud to call himself modern Horace. The classical is more skilful in language than their successors. At this, he ends up his conversation.

Views of Eugenius:

Eugenius favours modern dramatists. However, instead of telling about the virtues of moderns, he criticises the faults of Classical playwrights. According to him, the Classical drama is not divided into acts and also lacks originality. 

Their tragedies are based on worn-out myths that are already known to the audience and their comedies are based o overused curiosity of stolen heiresses and miraculous restorations.

There disregard poetic justice. Instead of punishing the vice and rewarding the virtue, they have often shown prosperous wickedness and an unhappy devotion. The classical drama also lacks affection.

The Heroes of Homer were lovers of appetite, food etc, while the modern characters of French drama gave up everything (sleep, water and food) for the sake of love.

Views of Lisideius:

Lisideius favours French drama of earlier 17th century. French drama led by Pierre Corneille strictly followed unities of time, pace and action. The French dramatists never mix tragedy and comedy.

They strictly adhere to the poetic justice i.e. reward the virtue and punishment the vice. For this, they even alter the original situation.

The French dramatists interweave truth with fiction to make it interesting bringing elements that lead to fate and borrow from history to reward the virtuous which he was earlier deprived of.  

They prefer emotions over plots. Violent actions take place off stage and are told by messengers rather than showing them in real.

Views of Neander:

Neander contradicts Lisideius’ arguments favouring the superiority of French drama. He talks about the greatness of Elizabethans. For him, Elizabethans fulfil the drama’s requirement i.e. imitation of life.

French drama raises perfection but has no soul or emotions as it primarily focuses on the plot. For Neander, tragicomedy is the best form of drama. Both sadness as well as joy are heightened and are set side by side. Hence it is closest to life.

He believes that subplots enrich the drama. This French drama having a single plot lacks this vividness. Further Samuel Johnson (who defended Shakespeare’s disregard of unities), he believes that adherence to unities prevents depth.

According to him, deviation from set rules and unities gives diverse themes to drama. Neander rejects the argument that change of place and time diminishes dramatic credibility in drama.

For him, human actions will seem more natural if they get enough time to develop. He also argues that Shakespeare is “the man who of all the modern and perhaps ancient poets, and largest and most comprehensive soul”. 

Francis Beaumont and John Fletchers’ dramas are rich in wit and have smoothness and polish in their language.

Neander says, “I am apt to believe the English language in them arrived at its highest perfection”. If Ben Jonson is a genius for correctness, Shakespeare excels him in wit.  

His arguments end with the familiar comparison, “Shakespeare was the Homer, or father of our dramatic poets; Jonson was the Virgil, the pattern of elaborate writing; I admire him, but I love Shakespeare.”  

Thus for him, Elizabethans are superior because they have a variety of themes, emotions, deviations, wit. They do not adhere to rules as well. Thus their drama is really an imitation of life.

Views on Rhyme in Drama:

At the end of the discussion, there is an argument between Crites and Neander over rhyme in plays. Crites believes that Blank Verse as the poetic form nearest to prose is most suitable for drama.  

On the other hand, Neander defends rhyme as it briefly and clearly explains everything. The boat on which they all were riding reaches its destination, the stairs at Somerset House and the discussion ends without any conclusion being made.

Argument between Crites and Neander on rhyme and Blank Verse:

After the discourse of four characters on the ancients, moderns, the French and the English Crites and Neander enter into an argument where rhyme and Blank Verse are discussed. Crites is speaking against rhyme and in favour of blank verse. Neander speaks in favour of rhyme.

👉Do you any difference between Aristotle's definition of Tragedy and Dryden's definition of Play?

Ans, Yes I find wide difference between Aristotle's definition of tragedy and Dryden's definition of play. Here I write both definition :

Dryden defines Drama as: “Just and lively image of human nature, representing its passions and humours, and the. changes of fortune to which it is subject, for the. delight and instruction of mankind.”

According to the definition, drama is an ‘image’ of ‘human nature’, and the image is ‘just’ and ‘lively’. By using the word ‘just’ Dryden seems to imply that literature imitates (and not merely reproduces) human actions. For Dryden, ‘poetic imitation’ is different from an exact, servile copy of reality, for, the imitation is not only ‘just’, it is also ‘lively’.

Aristotle's Definition of Tragedy is, “A tragedy is the imitation of an action that is serious and also, as having magnitude, complete in itself; in appropriate and pleasurable language;... in a dramatic rather than narrative form; with incidents arousing pity and fear,effecting the proper purgation- catharsis of these and similar emotions.”

Aristotle's definition is most of suitable for tragedy play. Aristotle use this word pity and fear in his definition , this word is most of related tragic drama , it is not related with any other type of drama.

Thinking Activity

Thinking Activity:

Here i am writing a blog as a part of Thinking activity. In this blog i   write about Aristotle's Poetics.

Aristotle Poetic 

Aristotle's Poetics begins with the definition of imitation. He thinks that poet is a creator, not a mere recording device (imitator). He/she creates things and teaches us to see something in his creation that we never saw before. For Aristotle, imitation is productive action. Imitation does not mean the sort of mimicry. It is the imitation of action, and action does not mean mere happenings.

Action signifies only to what consciously chosen and capable of finding completion in the achievement of some purpose. Imitation is the reproduction through imagination. It is a powerful human communication and the thing imitated is something that defines human realm. If there is no imitation, life is mere oblivion without traces. Aristotle states, "Imitation, then, is one instinct of our nature". Therefore, imitation is not a low kind of business as Plato says. Dramatic poetry is a natural mode of imitation through language, rhythm and music.

Over the years the Poetics has been both praised and disparaged. Some critics object to Aristotle's theory of poetics and regret that the work has held such sway in the history of Western literature. One contemporary critic argues that Aristotle "reduces drama to its language," and the "language itself to its least poetic element, the story, and then encourages insensitive readers...to subject stories to crudely moralistic readings that reduce tragedies to the childish proportions of Aesop-fables" (Sachs 1). Other critics have argued against such views and reclaimed the Poetics for their own times; often these critics emphasize the importance of reading the Poetics in its historical context - it was, after all, written an awfully long time ago - and stress that despite this historical barrier the insights contained in the work still hold true. Whichever side of the debate you end up on, it is important when studying the Poetics to take time to decode its dense text. The Poetics is widely considered one of Aristotle's most demanding but rewarding texts, requiring commitment in its study, but offering profound returns to the diligent reader.

Aristotle's ''Poetics'', differentiates many kinds of poetry. He also explained that the poetry has different structure of a good poem and division of a poem, its component parts. He defines poetry as a 'medium of imitation' that represents non-real life through character, emotion, or action. He illustrates poetry in a very profound ways, including epic poetry, tragedy, comedy, dithyrambic poetry and even some kind of music.Mainly in his book Aristotle wrote about three main forms :

1, Epic

2,Tragedy

3, Comedy

Firstly he wrote about poetry. And qualities and structure of poetry, and also noted that how to divide poetry in various parts. He give one vary famous definition of poetry,

"Poetry is an art of imitation".

 In other words, as per many documents in the history of philosophy and literary theory, Aristotle wrote ''Poetics''. He adopted two major works, they are:

1. Rhetoric

2. Poetics

Aristotle's defense to Plato's theory of 'Mimesis':

   In Plato's theory of 'Mimesis', he says that all art is mimetic by nature. In other words, art is an imitation of life; it is nearer to ultimate reality. Thus, to explain this idea he gives an example of a carpenter and a chair. He believed that art is twice removed from reality. He gives first importance to philosophy, because it deals with the ideas and poetry deals with illusion-all these things which are twice removed from reality. So that he believed that art is twice removed from reality. In short Plato rejected poetry as it is mimetic in nature on the moral and philosophical virtues. Aristotle who believes that poetry as it is mimetic nature. He gives his views that poetry is an imitation of an action, and he neither in favor of philosophical nor moral.

Aristotle gives the definition of tragedy

   '' Tragedy , is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of certain magnitude; in the language embellished each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play ; in the form of an action, not of narrative; through pity and fear effecting the proper purgative-catharsis of these and similar emotions''.

Poetry as Imitation

The first scandal in the Poetics is the initial marking out of dramatic poetry as a form of imitation. We call the poet a creator, and are offended at the suggestion that he might be merely some sort of recording device. As the painter’s eye teaches us how to look and shows us what we never saw, the dramatist presents things that never existed until he imagined them, and makes us experience worlds we could never have found the way to on our own. But Aristotle has no intention to diminish the poet, and in fact says the same thing I just said, in making the point that poetry is more philosophic than history. By imitation, Aristotle does not mean the sort of mimicry by which Aristophanes, say, finds syllables that approximate the sound of frogs. He is speaking of the imitation of action, and by action he does not mean mere happenings. Aristotle speaks extensively of praxis in the Nicomachean Ethics. It is not a word he uses loosely, and in fact his use of it in the definition of tragedy recalls the discussion in the Ethics.

Following his definition, Aristotle begins to introduce the six constitutive components of a tragedy. The first in the discussion is spectacle, which includes the costuming of the actors, the scenery, and all other aspects that contribute to the visual experience of the play.

The Elements of Tragedy

Aristotle presents these components in order of importance, expanding a little on the significance of each to the tragedy as a whole.

Plot

Emphasizing that tragedy is first and foremost the representation of actions, and not of characters, Aristotle makes the remark that many contemporary tragedies do not succeed in their characterizations, but are still tragedies. The tragic effect comes from the plot, and especially from the peripeteia–the reversal of the situation in which the characters find themselves– as well as from scenes of recognition.

Character

Character is second in importance after plot; tragedies depict characters as they relate to the action which is the main object of representation. Characters represent their moral qualities throught the speeches assigned to them by the dramatist.

Thought 

 Thought comprises both the rational processes through which characters come to decisions, as represented in the drama, as well as the values put forward in the form of maxims and proverbs.

Diction

Diction has already been defined as the metrical composition of the play, the way language is used to convey the representation.

Song

Music is described as an embellishment of language. The lines assigned to the chorus in a tragedy are usually conveyed in song accompanied by rhythmical movement.

Spectacle

Aristotle lists spectacle last in order of importance, pointing out that the power of tragedy is not fully dependent upon its performance (we can read a tragedy and still appreciate its message), and that the art of the spectacle really belongs to the set designer and not to the poet.

Aristotle Compares epic and Tragedy

Aristotle’s view of Epic

After thoroughly discussing six component parts of tragedy, Aristotle concludes the Poetics by reflecting on the questions:

• "Which is better genre of literature, tragedy or epic?"

• “Which is the higher form of literature, tragedy or epic poetry?”

The argument in favor of epic poetry is based on the principle that the higher art form is less vulgar and addressed toward a refined audience. Tragedy is performed before large audiences, which results in melodramatic performances or overacting to please the crowds. Epic poetry is more cultivated than tragedy because it does not rely on acting/gesture at all to convey its message.

Aristotle's view of Tragedy

All art is representation (imitation) of life, but none can represent life in its totality. Therefore, an artist has to be selective in representation. He must aim at representing or imitating an aspect of life or a fragment of life.

Action comprises of all human activities including deeds, thoughts and feelings. (so, soliloquies, chorus etc is also Action).The writer of ‘tragedy’ seeks to imitate the serious side of life just as a writer of ‘comedy’ seeks to imitate only the shallow and superficial side. The tragic section presented on the stage in a drama should be complete or self contained with a beginning, middle and an end. A beginning is that before which the audience or the reader does not need to be told anything to understand the story.

The language of our daily affairs is not useful here because tragedy has to present a heightened picture of life’s serious side, and that is possible only if elevated language of poetry is used. According to need, the writer makes use of songs, poetry, poetic dialogue, simple conversation etc is various parts of the play.

Aristotle answers this argument by noting that the melodrama and overacting are faults of the performance and not of the tragic poet himself. The recital of epic poetry could similarly be overdone without reflecting poorly on the poet. Further, not all movement is bad—take dance, for instance—but only poorly executed movement. Also, tragedy does not need to be performed; it can be read, just like epic poetry, and all its merits will still be evident.

Further, he advances several reasons for considering tragedy superior. First, it has all the elements of an epic poem and has also music and spectacle, which the epic lacks.

Second, simply reading the play without performing it is already very potent.

Third, tragedy is shorter, suggesting that it is more compact and will have a more concentrated effect.

Fourth, there is more unity in tragedy, as evidenced by the fact that a number of tragedies can be extracted from one epic poem.

Aristotle concludes by suggesting that different genres produce different kinds of pleasure. The pleasure of the epic lies in its episodic, diverting story, while the more intense–and "higher" in terms of social value–pleasure produced by the tragedy is catharsis, the mysterious "purging" of our emotions of pity and fear when we witness the unfolding of a tragedy.