Problems: up to 19th Century factual text subsumed as ‘literature’ (times change/ opinions vary- was might have been considered factual then could now be fiction/ or depending on how it is interpreted)

2.) LITERATURE USES LANGUAGE IN A SPECIFIC WAY, DEVIATING FROM EVERYDAY SPEECH

- defines literary texts on the basis of aesthetic criteria (formal characteristics, exceptional language)

Problems: Uniform ‘normal’ language, What is normal?/ There are many literary text in everyday speech (conscious imitation)/ texts that deviate from everyday speech but arent considered Literature (Jokes, newspaper headlines etc)

3.) LITERATURE = NON-PRAGMATIC DISCOURSE

-unlike texts such as manuals recipes, literary texts do not have any immediate practical purpose

Problems: Literature may serve practical purposes (how somebody reads and uses a text and not on characteristics of what is written)

Literary Canon

4.) LITERATURE = TEXTS OF GOOD QUALITY

Problems: judgments may be highly subjective and historically variable

CONCLUSION: Definitions are shaped by historical and cultural contexts, all texts display cultural values and norms, being embedded in social power structures: polyvalent

-Literary studies is the analysis of formal, structural, aesthetic features of literary texts as well as at a cultural and historical contextualisation; decoding

-mimesis- reflect the world accurately

-creating versions of the world, trying to give ideas of the world for us to reflect, analyse

1.2 Genres

- three main literary genres (prose, poetry, drama) (Hybrid genres)

-as well as numerous subgenres (generally identified on the basis of a description of features)(evolve)

1.3 Literary history

-literary periods

-(Era - share certain themes and/or formal features) Various socio-historical factors may help to explain similarities between literary works from one and the same period

cultural, historical, political and philosophical developments

-a division of literary history into distinct periods is always a construct and a simplification of largely gradual changes within literature(literary works from the same period aren't always homogenous)

Literary periods- centuries, reigns, historical events, literary or cultural currents

2.) Poetry

-a word means more in a poem than in a narrative

-usually shorter

-song like text

-subjective

2.1 The communication model of poems

- author of a poem is not per se identical with the fictional speaker (‘lyrical I’ or fictional voice)

- distinction between the external communication level (author – reader) and the internal one (fictional speaker – fictional addressee).

-text-internal -‘lyrical I’ addresses a fictional addressee that can be either implicit (= not referred to directly) or explicit (“Come not when I am dead,/To drop thy foolish tears upon my grave”

2.3 Meter, stanzas and rhyme patterns

iambic (noun: iamb): an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one

examples: “tonight”, “destroy”

trochaic (noun: trochee): a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one

examples: “meaning”, “function”, “sentence”

anapaestic (noun: anapaest): two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one

examples: “understand”, “engineer”

dactylic (noun: dactyl): a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables

examples: “commonly”, classify”

2.3.2 Rhymes

- end rhyme: words rhyme from their last stressed vowel onwards

- masculine rhyme: the rhyming lines end with a stressed syllable each

- feminine rhyme: the rhyming lines end with an unstressed syllable each

- internal rhyme: words in the same line rhyme

- half rhyme / imperfect rhyme / slant rhyme:

consonance: only the consonants of the rhyming words match but not the vowels (example: “loads” and “lids”)

assonance: only the vowels of the rhyming words match but not the consonants (example: “foam” and “moan”)

identical rhyme: a rhyme formed by the repetition of the same word at the end of the rhyming lines

rhyming couplet: aa bb cc

alternate rhyme: abab cdcd

embracing rhyme / enclosed rhyme: abba cddc

tail rhyme: aab ccb / abc abc

chain rhyme: aba bcb cdc

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Subgenres Poetry

The sonnet: focus more on individual expression of emotions, attitudes and reflexions, thus evincing rather lyric qualities

-popular during the Renaissance

-characterised by 14 lines, consistent meter and a structural division

The ballad: characterised by distinctly narrative elements in that they tell stories, present characters and a plot. (transmitted orally) (typically tells a story of tragic love, death and/or the supernatural)

- it originated in the late Middle Ages and remained popular until the 19th century

-song like structure

The ode: individual expression of emotions, attitudes and reflexions, thus evincing rather lyric qualities/ a long lyric poem characterised by a serious subject, elevated style and rather formal language

The dramatic monologue: the entire poem is a monologue given by a single speaker in a moment of crisis (all of the information is filtered through the poetic speaker’s consciousness)-subjective

Lecture - 29.11.23

Shakespeare plays

classical (5 acts)

not open from

also not closed form

=combination

dramatic structure

no unity of plot, place, time

verses /exposition

-vibe of play

concrete information given at beginning

(isolated - long monolog at beginning explaining)

Hamlet- no info given at beginning (long integrated exposition)

what doesn't give us info gives us a vibe about the play - atmosphere of the play

→ to be or not to be

Hamlet- revenge tragedy

only after the ghost appears information is given

ghost of hamlets dead father explains

Hamlet known for its Monologs

hamlet has 8 long monologs

Madness

Hamlet characterised

-only wears black clothes, murmuring to himself, melancholic

describe the difference between prose and vers Language

hamlet has to die at the end because he overthinks everything

he looses control over his life after killing the wrong person

Hamlet

murdering the king is unspeakable- some does this, causing disorder

hamlet can set it right but isnt able to, hes failing by killing the wrong people out of revenge

personalfaliure has to die so that next character can set things right

tragedy: order disturbed →

someone comes to restore order

Hamlet

1599-1601

Elizabethan Era

daughter of King Henry 8 (only heir)

first queen (strange for this time) (fight hard to create image and keep it ) good in reigning

virgin queen- never married had children-no heir

Killed her cousin

heir her nephew (king of scotland and Britain)

reign was never secure, she was constantly in danger that someone might kill/ overthrow/ backstab

"Hamlet" is a five-act play that follows the traditional structure of a Shakespearean tragedy.

The play is written in blank verse and prose,

featuring Shakespeare's characteristic use of iambic pentameter

no adherence to the ‚three unities

the first scene represents a strong dramatic introduction: establishing an atmosphere of insecurity, fear, instability

the successively integrated exposition runs over the whole first act

Why is Hamlet Famous

germans love hamlet, because they are insecure in regard to national identity

sin revenged

hamlet personification of german young intellectuals thinking about the future of germany

complex characters

universal themes

iconic soliloquies

intricate plot

language and poetry

adaptability

cultural impact

exploration of human condition

historical significance

Context

Atmosphere of hamlet the same as to the time(Elizabethan era, right before she is going to die / unsettling because she is the most powerful and has no heir

political climate (ending reign) (in the end restored)

social hierarchy and class structure

religious and philosophical influences of the Renaissance

cultural believes about ghosts

gender roles

theatre as a social institution (play within the play!)

Overall, the socio-political climate during Shakespeare's time was marked by a mix of stability and change, cultural renaissance, political intrigue, and social hierarchies. These factors, among others, influenced the themes and characters in Shakespeare's plays

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ELIZABETHAN VIEWS ON MADNESS

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Übung Intro Literary/ Cultural Studies

📚HW- Read chapter 1-2⁠

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`HW- Read chapter 1-2`⁠