什么是文學完整版本

什么是文學?Whatisliterature?Literatureislanguageartisticallyusedtoachieveidentifiableliteraryqualitiesandtoconveymeaningfulmessages.英語中l(wèi)iteracy(讀寫能力)一詞在19世紀末剛剛出現，在此之前，literature(文學)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。而我們現在所說的這種“文學”，即由詩歌、小說、戲劇、散文、寓言、講演等文類(體裁)構成的藝術樣式，則始終由“詩歌”來指代。作為“文學”的這種讀寫能力從古代出現伊始就具有功利性。比如，人們擔心忘記了做過的事情，就把它刻在巖石上或洞穴的墻上；當人們打了勝仗回來，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在需求時，祈禱也隨之出現了；而當這種祈禱一代一代地接續(xù)下去，關于神的故事也便口傳下來，古老的神圣經典形成了。據說基督教《圣經》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，后來經過多少世紀的銘刻和抄寫，才以最后的形式進入《圣經》。世界上最早的“書”在摩西誕生2000年之前就出現了，比荷馬史詩和所羅門的《箴言》還早2500年，比印度的《吠陀經》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。當中國的造紙技術和活版印刷(比西方的活版印刷早300年)出現之后，我們才有了現在的紙制書。但是，即使在古代，也并非所有的書都是“文學”。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、測量、幾何、醫(yī)學、旅游等，只有少數屬于“文學”，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。文學的功利性不僅體現為人對神的祈禱，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。柏拉圖認為詩歌(文學)是模仿之作，離他所說的現實(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真理。在這個意義上，文學始終是手段，是傳達思想的一種方式，而文學的目的則在別處，即我們現在所說的文學的倫理性、意識形態(tài)性、政治性等。文學作為一種藝術，從一開始就不是純粹的“為藝術而藝術”，它必然有某種其他用途。在歐洲中世紀的宗教法庭上，如果犯人可以背誦幾句《圣經》里的詩篇，便可以因為“有文化”而保住性命。而在21世紀的今天，據說哪怕是在商務談判席上，深厚的文學修養(yǎng)也能幫助促成大筆的生意。文學的這種功利性既阻礙又促進了‘文學的發(fā)展，因為恰恰是這種功利性使社會／國家建立了文學審查制度。有學者把歷史上的兩次“焚書”事件看做是最早的文學審查運動：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。文學的審查制度衍生于政治的審查制度，從根本上說是文學政治眭和意識形態(tài)性的具體體現和克星——文學作品之所以要經過審查，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，但它對社會權力關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)治者都為了維護自己的政權而壓制包括文學在內的“新學”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、哲學家、藝術家的迫害，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為具有顛覆當下權威和世俗習慣的危險。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，猶太人關于托提法典的解釋，基督教徒對教義的闡釋，伊斯蘭教關于《古蘭經》的詮釋等。這種審查制度一旦落實到具體的文學創(chuàng)作上來，原本自由的文學創(chuàng)造便有了限制，如道德和習俗對文學內容的限制。從這個意義上說，文學對現實的反映和表現只能是部分的、偏頗的，而不是全面的、徹底的。文學也因此往往受到了不公正的待遇。文學的審查制度顯然與統(tǒng)治階級的利益直接相關，這只從一方面使文學具有了鮮明的社會性和階級性。文學的社會性和階級性還以社會階層的分化為體現。在18世紀，文學基本上是一個社會概念或階級概念，是教育的標志，屬于受過完好教育的高雅社會的特權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”。文學并不是社會各階層所共同擁有的財產。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，以濃厚的民族意識為基礎的民族主義應運而生。換言之，大工業(yè)對農業(yè)和手工業(yè)的改造也促成了文化的改造和進步，這在文學上體現為用本族語言寫作，用普通大眾的語言寫作，或者，科學技術的進步提高了社會的文化和教育水平，從而使文學走出高雅文化的殿堂，進入了大眾文化的領域。其實，這種轉變并不是在現代才開始的。但丁、薄伽丘和喬叟就是歐洲文藝復興之前和之初的例子。實際上，從高雅向通俗的轉變涉及到文學標準的制定，“識文斷字”(讀寫能力)和“印刷成冊的書”顯然不是判斷文學的標準。一方面，寫在紙上的不都是文學；另一方面，未寫在紙上的也未必不是文學。就前者而言，電話簿、菜單、說明書等不是文學；就后者而言，在文字出現之前，在印刷技術普及之前，就有悠久的口傳文學傳統(tǒng)，而且至今仍有一些口傳文學沒有文字記載。由此可見，我們不能根據特定階級、特定社會、特定歷史時代的需要來界定文學和制定文學的標準，而必須從文學的表現力、語言結構和文學作為自治性客體的審美統(tǒng)一性來界定文學。這樣，文學的標準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，最后是經典、傳統(tǒng)和文學制度的形成。這些是文學的本質屬性，它們直接決定著文學的文學性。文學的文學性直接關系到文學對世界的認識，它對這種認識的再現，它用什么樣的語言進行這種再現，以及這種再現創(chuàng)造了什么樣的文本或話語。文學的文學性在于它能使用某種創(chuàng)造性語言來表達人對世界的最深切感受，通過與世界的藝術性接觸，揭示亙古不變的真理。古典主義和新古典主義都把文學看做反映現實、照給自然的一面鏡子，文學與世界處于一種模仿與被模仿的關系；文學創(chuàng)造的資源是外部世界。表現主義認為文學表達人的內在感受，揭示人的內心世界，把作者對外部世界的認識、洞見、智慧甚至先見通過文學手段表達出來；在此，文學創(chuàng)造的資源是內心世界和內化了的外部世界。這是看待文學的兩個不同視角——模仿論和表現論，如果把這兩個視角與說教的視角結合起來，我們就可以給文學一個簡單的概括：文學既描寫外部世界又反映內在世界，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)作文學和藝術的問題。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識，被揭示，人也因而無法認識和揭示自身。古典主義向來認為人對世界的認識就是認識人自身，人通過揭示世界而揭示自身。從這個意義上說，人是認識工具、感知工具，而認識和感知的結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系和秩序，都是給多樣性的世界強加某種統(tǒng)一性。在人與世界的關系上，人顯然把自己放在一個關鍵的、主導的、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在世的某種責任，在愛、恨、憤怒、恐懼、快樂、尊嚴、贊賞、希望和絕望等情感狀態(tài)中揭示真理。由此看來，寫作純然是一種倫理行為，這種倫理行為本身就是有約束的。如上所述，文學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，拋棄文學既定的語法、規(guī)則和律法，把現實的變成虛構的，把“真經正傳”變成“偽經外傳”，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。歸根結底，文學描寫的是個體的人，講述的是瞬間發(fā)生的事件，呈現的是栩栩如生的生活世界。文學不是歷史。文學敘述過程中的現在，歷史敘述經驗中的過去；文學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實問題戰(zhàn)爭、物欲、金錢、權力，人終究要被這些物質的東西所毀滅。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，這才是文學的內涵，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上來“接近文學”，通過具體的閱讀和書寫體驗來理解文學，體味文學，鑒賞文學，實踐文學，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、如何正確領悟作家所賦予其作品的內在含義，并不能僅憑閱讀者自身的感覺來實現。普通大眾讀者對文學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用的文學手法、歷史背景、情節(jié)設計等等文學要素的把握能力。作為文學的學習者和研究者，文學專業(yè)的學生和教師必須脫離這一低級層次而進入更高的境界，所以他們必須具備深刻理解文學要素的能力，從而準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