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LITERARY ESSAYTHE ART OF ESSAY WRITING

As a form of literature the essay includes compositions ofa varied character: Bacon, Addison, Lamb, Macaulay, Mat-thew Arnold, for instance, all wrote “essays” though theircompositions that go by that name seem to have few fea-tures in common. But for examination purposes the term“essay” has a definite meaning. It is applied to a composi-tion in which the writer states his knowledge of, and giveshis opinion about, a certain topic. The essay, as thus un-derstood, may contain narrative or descriptive elements.But it will also include comments and criticisms represent-ing the writer’s own point of view. The essay thus becomesa test, not merely of knowledge, but of thought and imagi-nation of an examinee.THE FOUR STAGES IN ESSAY WRITINGIt is most important that essays should be written strictlyaccording to method. There are four stages to be gonethrough:(a) Think about the subject, and set down on paper all thefacts or ideas which occur to you. The title of the essaymust be read carefully so that the precise scope of thesubject and the point of view from which it is to be treatedmay be grasped.(b)Arrange these facts according to topics, and so con-struct an outline for the composition. When the facts havebeen arranged, it will be found that they group themselvesunder certain heads. Suppose there are five topics. Each ofthese topics will now form the subject of a paragraph, andthe essay will contain five paragraphs in all. It must be seenthat a due proportion of space is allotted to each aspect ofthe subject.(c)Write the essay. In writing the essay, one must payattention, of course, to grammar, punctuation and style. Inthe matter of style the following points should be particu-larly noted:1.Clarity is the first essential. Therefore words must bechosen accurately. Words, phrases, and clauses must beplaced in the right order. All pronouns must be clear in theirreference.2. Slangs must be avoided.3.The first person should not be used in any essay inwhich the subject can be treated impersonally, that is tosay, such expressions as “I think”, “in my opinion” shouldnot be used. To qualify a statement it is always possible touse impersonal expressions such as “it is generally agreedthat”, “it is probably a fact that”(d)Revise what you have written. It is most important thateverything that is written should be thoroughly revised. Inthis way the student will detect a number of errors whichcan be easily corrected, but which, if allowed to remain,would detract considerably from the value of his work.

COMMON MISTAKES TO BE AVOIDED1.The paragraphs must not be numbered.2.Headings must not be inserted in the body of the essay.3.Single sentence paragraphs should be avoided. In gen-eral, each paragraph should consist of several sentences.TYPES OF ESSAYS(a) Reflective EssaysA reflective essay consists of reflections or thoughts onsome topic, which is generally of an abstract nature, suchas Music, Romance, Proverbs, Cant, Personal Influ-ence etc.

(b)Narrative EssaysA narrative essay deals with a narration of some event, orseries of events. The narrative it relates should be treatedas a subject for thought and comment, and so the essayshould be more or less reflective. It may deal with historicalfacts or legends, biographies, incidents, journey or voyage,a story etc.(c)Descriptive EssaysIt deals with a description of some place or thing such asanimals, plants, minerals, towns, countries, aspects andphenomena in Nature etc.(d)Expository EssaysAn expository essay consists of an exposition or explana-tion of some subject such as institutions, industries, occu-pations, scientific and literary topics. Sometimes the topicset is a statement—Often a quotation or proverb—which isto be explained and illustrated.(e)Essays Involving DiscussionEssay subjects frequently require the writer to discuss acertain problem and to present a logical statement of hispoint of view, for example Co-education, The Influenceof Sea-power on History, The Finest Occupation in Life,Should All Censorship Be Abolished? etc.THE OPENING PARAGRAPH OF AN ESSAYIt is most important to devise a good opening paragraph foran essay. It may be said that writing an interesting intro-duction is half the battle won. When once you have struckout a sound and perhaps an original idea for your first sen-tence, the remaining sections of the essay follow naturally.On the other hand, few essays recover from a lame andhalting opening. It is, therefore, worthwhile to spend con-siderable thought on the introductory paragraph. The open-ing should not be unduly abrupt; it should introduce thereader to a perfectly definite idea bearing on the theme.THE CONCLUDING PARAGRAPHAs with the opening paragraph, so with the concluding para-graph examinees often experience difficulty. It is importantto give an essay a graceful conclusion, and not to bring thereader to an abrupt halt. In some essays the concludingparagraph presents no difficulty. In an argumentative com-position, for instance, the summing-up and the statementof the writer’s own opinion will naturally come at the end.Sometimes it is possible to conclude with a generalisationsuggested by the subject. Again, a quotation from somedistinguished person may fitly round off an essay.It is best to avoid beginning the concluding paragraph withstereotyped phrases like the following:

In conclusion, we may say...Summing up, we see that the advantages greatlyoverweigh the disadvantages...Finally, looking at the matter from both points ofview, we may conclude that...

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THE NATURE OF LITERATURELiterature grows out of life, reacts upon life, and is fed bylife. Yet to define literature is an extremely difficult task.The scope of literature is so vast that it is impossible toreduce it to a formula. Generally we can say that every-thing in print is literature. But this would be a very vaguedescription of literature. Literary study is related with thehistory of civilization but then such a study would not beexactly literary; it may be more historical and less literary.Then we can take up another distinction. The study of ev-erything that is historical will naturally out crowd the liter-ary values and the emphasis will be on values other thanliterary. The work of art in which information content is pre-dominant is mainly historical and not literary. And the workof art in which the emotion content is predominant is mainlyliterary and not historical or cultural. But even this distinc-tion is not water-tight. We can not say that a work of litera-ture in which emotion is predominant does not containthought, because every work of literature does containthought. The only difference is that the thought content insuch works is subordinate to the emotional content. Con-versely a history of civilization has mainly thought contentbut it does not mean that it cannot have emotional appeal.Only, the emotional appeal is subordinate.Then we can say that we should include only great booksof literature in the category of literature. This will not becorrect because great books are judged by aesthetic stan-dards and we cannot exclude the books with less aes-thetic values. The study of isolated great books may begood enough for beginners who should read atleast goodbooks, if not great books. If we limit imaginative literatureonly to great books, we shall forget the continuity of literarytradition and developments of literary genres. The aestheticpoint of view may be found even in books of history or phi-losophy when that historian or philosopher uses style andorganization of material at his disposal in an imaginativeway. For example, Gibbon’s History of the Decline and Fallof the Roman Empire has a number of literary qualities. Ithas been accepted by a number of critics as pure literatureand a great work of art, although it is a book of history. Butin the history of literature such a writer will be mentioned ina superfluous way.One other objection to such classification of literature isthat this imaginative literature is limited only to written lit-erature and it ignores oral literature like legends, folk tales,etc., which have literary values.Literary style gives literature its distinctive stamp. Litera-ture is the expression of written words. The best way tosolve the question ‘What is literature?’ is to notice the wayin which literature uses the language. “Literature is the per-sonal use or exercise of language.” The history of civiliza-tion uses the language because language is the raw mate-rial out of which literature is composed. When the languageis emotionally charged, it gives literature. When the lan-guage is concentrating or giving information or thought, itgives history and that is the scientific use of language.Literature is distinct from all other arts. It has no medium ofits own. Many mixed forms of literature exist; therefore it isfairly easy to distinguish between the language of literatureand the language of science. The main contrast is betweenthought and emotion. The language of science is domi-nated by thought and the language of literature is domi-nated by emotion but it does not mean that the language of

science will have no “emotion” or the language of literaturewill have no “thought.” No literature can exist without thoughtbut the predominant characteristic is “emotion.” Similarly,the predominant characteristic in scientific language is“thought.” That is why scientific language is precise or de-notative.The language of literature is often vague and full of ambigu-ities. It is full of antecedents and other connections. There-fore the language is connotative. In connotative languagethe writer does not merely express what he says; he wantsto influence the attitude of the reader and persuade him. Inthe literary language the sound symbolism of the word isstressed and all kinds of devices and patterns of sound areused.In scientific language the distinction may be made in a dif-ferent way. The sound pattern will be less important in anovel than in a lyric. It means that the expressive elementwill be less important in a novel than in a lyric. The poeticalelement will play a large part in a novel or a satirical poem.Even here there are a number of variations. For example,there are philosophical poems which are almost equivalentto the scientific use of language. Yet literary language isfound far more deeply in the structure of language and itstresses the awareness and has the expressive side whichscientific language wants to minimize.It is difficult to trace exactly the difference between every-day language and literary language. In everyday languagewe often use the language of commerce, the language ofreligion and the slang of students. Everyday language hasits expressive function though it varies from ordinarycolourless statements to passionate pleas. Thus everydaylanguage is full of irrationalities and contextual changes. Itsometimes has the preciseness of scientific descriptionand has awareness of signs which appear in sound sym-bolism and puns. No doubt, everyday language wants toachieve results and influence actions but it would be wrongto limit everyday language to mere communication.The main difference between the every day and literary lan-guage is quantitative. In subjective poetry there is person-ality of the author which is far more important than the per-sons in every day situations. Poetry will use paradoxesand ambiguity etc. Thus poetic language organizes andtightens the resources of every day language. In highly de-veloped literature, the language is so polished by the use ofgenerations that the poet uses the established conventionsand the language poeticizes for him.Imagination and fictionality are the distinguishing traits ofliterature. In works like Plato’s “Republic” there is thoughtas well as imagination. The conception of literature is de-scriptive and when we talk of fictionality as a criterion ofliterature, we have to include even the worst novels simplybecause they are fictional.One misunderstanding must be cleared. Imaginative litera-ture need not use images. Poetic language is full of imag-ery but we have a number of good poems in which imagesdo not exist; therefore imagery should not be confused withimage making. One school of critics says that all art ispure visibility but a lot of great literature does not evokesensual images. Great novelists have created immortalcharacters but we know only their states of mind, not theirvisual images, and so a novelist suggests a physical traitand creates a great character. But that does not mean thatwe have to visualize every metaphor in poetry. The psycho-

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logical question should not be confused with the analysisof the poet’s metaphysical devices. Metaphor is latent inmuch of our every day language. Poetry makes us aware ofthe metaphysical character of language.So the distinction between literature and non-literature isconfined to organization, personal expression, explanationof the medium, lack of practical purpose and fictionality.And we use for these distinctions terms like “unity in vari-ety”, “disinterested contemplation”, “aesthetic distance”,“invention”, “imagination”, “creation.” Each one displays oneaspect of the literary work. One fundamental fact emergesthat a literary work is not a simple object but rather a highlycomplex organization with multiple meanings; it stressesthe aspect of unity in variety. The idea of identity of contentand form in literature encourages the illusion that the analysisof any element of art, technique, etc., absolves us fromviewing the work of art as a whole.

THE FUNCTION OF LITERATUREWhenever any instrument or a piece is replaced by a laterinstrument or a piece, the utility, the function of the earlierpiece becomes obsolete. This has not happened in the caseof literature even though more than 2000 years have passed.The conception and function of literature have remained thesame through all the centuries. The history of aestheticscan be summed up so far as the function of literature isconcerned, in Horace’s words, “dulce” and “utile” or “sweet-ness” and “usefulness.” Each objective separately wouldgive us a misconception of the function of a poet. The viewthat poetry is pleasure is put against the view that poetry isinstruction. The view that poetry should be propaganda isanswered by the view that poetry is pure sound and emo-tion. These opposing arguments defined the basic functionof art as discussed in art versus play. The function of litera-ture with regard to “dulce” or “sweetness” or “pleasure” or“play” or “spontaneous amusement” or “purposelessness”describes the function of art to do justice to the “dulce”. Sothe Horatian formula of “dulce” and “utile” is good enoughas a helpful start remembering that precision in the use ofcritical terms is a very recent thing. The usefulness of artdoes not necessarily lie on the enforcement of such a morallesson that Homer found in the writing of the Iliad. The worduseful is equivalent to “not a waste of time”, “not a form ofpassing time”, “something deserving serious attention.”Can we use this sort of double standard for all types ofliterature? There are books which can be called great litera-ture and there are books which fall into the category ofgood literature or sub-literature. Can this literature be calleduseful or instructive or amusing? But one fact emerges thateven this type of literature has its appropriate readers and itis sweet as well as useful when a work of literature is asuccessful work. The two functions of literature should notonly co-exist but also coalesce. The pleasure and utilityshould be blended like a chemical compound. The plea-sure of literature is the highest type of pleasure because itis pleasure in a higher type of activity and the utility orseriousness becomes aesthetic seriousness.Has literature one function or more functions? Eliot speaksabout the variety of poetry and various functions that poetrycan do at different times. Nothing can be a substitute forpoetry. Literature can help us about travel in foreign landsor about history but the basic question is: Is there a usewhich literature can do better than any other art? The uniquevalue of literature is basic to any theory of literature. One

contemporary theory says that the use and seriousness ofpoetry lies in its capacity to convey knowledge. Poetry is aform of knowledge. Aristotle had said that poetry is morephilosophical than history. History relates things which havehappened; poetry, such as might happen. In poetry we getthe general as well as the particular. Othellois not aboutjealousy but is about Othello’s jealousy.Literature stresses the type as well as the individual or thegenerality as well as the particularity. Literature is moregeneral than biography and more particular than sociology.This idea of particularity or individuality changes from ageto age. Characters in literature combine the type with theindividual. We recognize the type in the character books ofthe 17th century but the type also can be individual likeHamlet, the lover, the scholar, the fencer, etc. The charac-ter types can be flat characters whereas round characterare characters which developed in different stages of life.The novelist can teach you more about human nature thanthe psychologist. We can see this in Shakespeare, Ibsenand others. They reveal the introspective life of the charac-ter. We might say that the great novels are source booksfor psychologists because they show generalized types.Max Eastman, a minor poet, says that in the age of sci-ence a literary mind cannot lay claim to the discovery oftruth, because it is an unspecialized immature mind. Truthin literature is the same as truth outside literature. The imagi-native writer misunderstands himself if he thinks that hismain object is knowledge. His real function is to make usperceive what we see and imagine what we already know.Poetry is artistic insight. It makes us see what was thereall the time, but we had not seen it. It wants us to under-stand values or aesthetic qualities. One can understandwhy the aestheticians refuse to accept truth as a poetry ofart. One can attribute the supreme value to art. Imaginativeliterature is a fiction, an imitation of life as Plato has put it;the opposite of fiction is not truth but fact, and fact is strangerthan the probability with which literature deals. In art some-thing may be truer than other things. That truth is literature.Truth is the province of systematic thinkers and artists arenot thinkers. The whole controversy centres round the words‘Knowledge,’ ‘Truth’ and ‘Wisdom.’ If all truth is concep-tual, then the arts cannot be forms of truth. If all truth islimited to what can be verified, then also arts cannot beforms of truth. So there are truths and truths. There arevarious ways of knowing. Sciences use the discursivemodes and arts use the presentational mode. So presenta-tional truth takes care of religious myths as well as poetry.After that way, it is beautiful and true. A poem is equal topoetry and it possesses the equivalence of truth. Literatureis the presentational method of describing truth. So truth ofart or literature in a flash gives us the view of truth which ismore real and more vivid than the truth of science.Some critics declare that the artist is the persuasive pur-veyor of truth. The term propaganda is not correctly usedhere. The artist tries to convert the reader to his particularpoint of view because he wants to evoke in the heart ofreaders, the same responses that he has felt for himself; inthat sense we can say that some art is propaganda but notgreat art or good art can possibly be propaganda.According to Montgomery Belgian, the literary artist is anirresponsible propagandist. The purpose of the artist is toconvert the readers to his particular point of view by subtlyappealing to the emotions of the reader. The responsible

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artist does not want to confuse the emotion and thinking,experience and sincerity. The propaganda motive of the art-ist must stay as much in the background as is possible.Then there is the question of Catharsis. Catharsis is theword first used by Aristotle with reference to the function oftragedy. Similarly the function of literature is to relieve thereader from the pressure of emotions. At the end of theaesthetic experience the reader is left with “Calm of mind.”But then, does literature relieve us of the emotions or incitethem? Plato is of the opinion that literature nourishes andwaters our emotions. Are the emotions not wrongly dis-charged when they are wasted on poetic fiction? Again,should all art be cathartic?The question concerning the function of literature has beendiscussed from the days of Plato down to the modern times.Such questions are asked by people who take a utilitarianview of arts. They are looking for special values in art; whenchallenged in this way, Poets have to make a reasonedreply. They stress the use of art rather than the delight ofart but from the days of romantic poets, the poet has givenone standard answer for the function of poetry. A. C. Brad-ley calls it “poetry for poetry’s sake.” So using the word, wesay poetry has many possible functions but its prime andchief function is fidelity to its own nature. Literature, there-fore has a number of functions to fulfil.

LITERATURE AND BIOGRAPHYThe work of art and the author are intimately interconnected;hence the explanation in terms of the personality and thelife of the writer has been an old, established method. Biog-raphy can be judged in the context of the light it throws onthe production of poetry; that is why the study of the authorand his mental and intellectual development has its owninterest. Biography explains and illuminates the actual prod-uct of poetry. The interest of biography gets reflected in thepersonality of the author and is also reflected in the bookand biography. Biography is a material for the psychologyof artistic creation.Biography can be considered chronologically and logically;that becomes a sort of historical survey and can apply toanybody including an author From the point of view of thebiographer the poet is a man whose mental developmentcan be reconstructed with reference to standards of thesociety and the author’s works as events happen in the lifeof a man. So publications are published in the life of anauthor. If we accept this view the biographer is purely ahistorian of literary events basing his conclusions upondocuments, letters, statements, etc., about an author. Thisin its turn depends upon the chronological presentation anddiscreet selection of events.How far can a biographer be justified in using the evidenceof works in the construction of a biography. How far can abiographer use the results of a literary biography in under-standing the works themselves. Normally poets are highlysubjective people and therefore abundant evidence can befound in their works or a biography.Early literature did not possess documentary evidence onwhich a writer can draw. We have only public documentslike birth and death certificates etc. We can know aboutthe finances of Shakespeare but we have absolutely noth-ing excepting doubtful anecdotes regarding the author’s life.This has resulted in an expense of a vast amount of schol-arship. Therefore a good biography of Shakespeare is avery difficult problem to handle. We cannot use a state-

ment in a play as a valid document for use in the biographi-cal study. A writer need not be in a tragic mood to write atragedy nor should he be in a comic mood to write a com-edy. Similarly, we cannot say that a particular character ofhis play gives the personal views of Shakespeare. So therelation between the private life and the work of an author isnot a simple relation. Some supporters of biographicalmethod will argue that in our age plenty of biographical evi-dence is available regarding poets. Many have left autobio-graphical statements also; in such a case we can easilycheck the biographical approach by referring to the worksof an author in this respect. The romantic poets were veryvocal yet in poems like “The Prelude” by Wordsworth wefeel that we cannot take every statement at its face value.Poets are of two types: subjective and objective poets. Thoselike Keats and Hemingway are subjective and the oppositetype of a poet may not want to draw a self-portrait so as toexpress himself.But even with the subjective poets the distinction betweenthe statement of an autobiographical nature and the use ofthe statement for a motif in a work of art cannot be with-drawn. A work of art is quite different from a diary or a letter.Therefore it would be perversion of the biographical methodto use the intimate or casual documents of an author’s lifefor the central study or to interpret the poems in the light ofsuch documents. For example, Brandes criticizes Macbethbecause it is not very much related to the personality ofShakespeare. In some works there are elements which canbe identified as biographical. But we have to remember thatthese incidents are so transformed under the imaginationof the poet that they lose all their specifical personal mean-ing. The professedly autobiographical “Prelude” differs fromWordsworth’s actual life during that particular specific pe-riod.Even when a work of art contains biographical elements,these elements become so much transformed and inte-grated that they lose all their specific meaning. This wecan see in Wordsworth’s “Prelude” in which the actual lifeand the incidents used in the book look so very different.The view that all art is self-expression can be proved false.Even when the work of art represents author’s life it cannotbe a mere copy. The biographical approach obscures theproper understanding of a literary process because it triesto substitute the cycle of an individual. It also ignores thepsychological facts. This is because the work of art maybe a dream or a mask behind which the real person is hid-ing. Again experiences are not seen with a view to their usein literature. Therefore we must not take seriously some ofthe lives of authors in which the author takes every state-ment in the poem or a novel as literal truth. This is the typeof argument which has led people to say that Emily Brontemust have experienced the passion of “Heathcliff’ or thatbecause Shakespeare knows so much about a woman’sheart, he must have been a woman.This does not mean that personality can be ruled out inliterature. We know that behind the works of Dante or Tolstoythere is a person behind the work. Different writings of thesame author would have a family resemblance; for examplein works of Milton there is a quality which we call “Miltonic”but this quality can be deduced from the works of the au-thor and not from the life of the author.The poet’s work can be a mask or conventionalization ofhis own experience. This can be useful only if it is used

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carefully. It may explain allusions to works in an author’swork. The biographical frame-work will help us to under-stand the gradual maturing and possible decline of anauthor’s work. Biography also gives us data for literary his-tory such as the poet’s reading, his travels, etc.So it is dangerous to ascribe critical importance to biogra-phy because no biographical data can change critical evalu-ation. If we try to judge literature in terms of biographicaltruth, literary sincerity would be thoroughly false. There isno relation between sincerity and value of art: for example,Byron’s “Fare Thee Well” is neither a better poem nor aworse poem because it dramatizes the poet’s relations withhis wife. The poem stands on its own merit.

LITERATURE AND PSYCHOLOGYAmong the Greeks the superior power possessed by a poetwas explained by the theory that the poet was inspired orpossessed by some god or spirit- And that is how he gotthe superior power of writing.There was a belief that some writers possessed extra sharpsenses because of certain physical handicaps. It was abelief that God compensated such men by giving them anadvantage in other senses. Milton was blind, Pope was ahunchback, and Byron had a club foot. God compensatedfor their defect by giving them some extra sensitive powerto their senses. But this belief has no scientific or rationalbase. The idea of being possessed is explained in differentways by saying that the writer is a neurotic but if the writeris a neurotic how his writing can be intelligible to otherpeople.Freud says that the writer is not quite steady. And the writeris a neurotic who, by his creative works, keeps himselffrom a crack-up. The artist converts a reality into a fantasyin his mind and then reconverts the fantasy into a work ofart. So the poet is a day-dreamer who publishes his fanta-sies. The artist’s contemplative results are alternations inthe outer world by readers of novelists. While the day-dreamer forms his fantasies in his mind, the actual writergives a local habitation and a name to the fantasies. Mostof the writers do not want to be cured of their neurosis be-cause if they are cured, they fear, they will lose their powerof writing. As Auden says, the artist should be as neuroticas possible.Is neurosis another name for imagination? As a child tells aromantic story so an artist converts the world of reality intoa fantasy of hopes and fears. Some novelists like Dickenssay that their characters speak to them and sometimestake control of the action of the stories. The artist thusretains the archaic trait of the race. He feels and sees histhoughts.Another gift assigned to the writer is synaesthesia or thecapacity of combining sensory perceptions. A writer maysee colour as well as the smell of an object. In fact, syna-esthesia is a literary technique. According to T. S. Eliot, apoet has in his subconscious mind the race history andalso the memory of his childhood. The artist is thus moreprimitive as well as more civilized than his contemporary.The pre-logical mentality persists in civilized men but itbecomes available to us only through a poet. In other words,beneath the individual lies the collective unconscious, theblocked off memory of our racial past. The extrovert andintrovert are two types of writers who are sub-divided on thebasis of thinking, feeling, intuition and sensation. All writ-ers are not necessarily introvert. Some writers reveal type

in their writing. Some do not.Subjective or objective writers are not necessarily singletypes; there are romantic poets who are lyric poets andthere are narrative poets who are dramatic and epic poets.In other words, the poets are subjective writers and thenovelists are objective writers or the poets can be called‘possessed’ and the novelists can be called ‘makers.’ Theprofessionally trained bards are the poets of the Renais-sance. And the makers of the neo-classical period layemphasis on the mechanical side of the work of creation.But in the case of great writers like Shakespeare orDostoyevsky, we find both elements of the maker and thepossessed in the same writer.Apollo and Dionysus are two art-gods of the Greeks. Theyrepresent the art of sculpture and the art of music or dreamand specially this corresponds to the classical maker andthe romantic possessed.Imagination has been divided by a French psychologist intotwo parts: ‘plastic’ (shape giving) and ‘different’ (symbolic).A symbolic poet is a writer of romantic tales who is entirelysubjective. Dante’s visual imagination has the same es-sential quality of Milton’s ‘auditory imagination.’Psychologists have divided writers into three divisions(1) ‘type sympathique’ (spontaneous)(2) ‘type demoniaque anarchic’ (demon-like anarchic)(3) ‘type demoniaque equilibre’ (demon-like equilibrium).This suggests sympathetic and anarchy which ends in thetensions being brought into equilibrium. There are examplesof Dante, Shakespeare, Dickens and others. The creativeprocess covers all stages of a work of art from the literaryorigin to revisions.There is the distinction between the mental structure of apoem and the composition of a poem. According to Croce,an object of art creates a vivid impression on the mind ofthe artist. Once the impression is created, the work of ar-tistic creation stops. When a writer tries to put his impres-sion on paper he is expressing his impressions and that isexpressionism.Can impression be induced? Can the writer become pos-sessed or go into a trance with the help of objects otherthan imagination? For example, Coleridge wrote ‘KublaKhan’ under the influence of opium. De Quincey was anopium eater but there is no true evidence that drugs help increative work. Others use ritualistic devices to induce thespirit of possession. ‘Mentors’ or ‘religious’ formality wasused for the same purpose. Schiller could write after put-ting rotten apples in his work desk. Balzac wrote dressedin the robes of a monk. Some people prefer night time forwriting. Dr. Johnson believed that a man can write at anytime if he is determined to write.Does the method of writing have any effect upon any liter-ary style? Does it matter whether you write with pen or youuse a typewriter? Actually speaking no such claim can bescientifically proved. We have only individual cases of writ-ers who prefer one thing to another; they cannot be usedfor general rules.On the creative side, not much has been found profitable toliterary theory. Some authors write analytically about theirart; psychologists try to find the common factor in original-ity, invention, philosophical and aesthetic creation. The pro-cess of creation will depend upon relative parts played bythe conscious and the unconscious mind. Romantic andexpressionistic periods depend upon the unconscious........

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IMPORTANT MODAL QS. - ANS.OPTIONAL QUESTIONS ON CRITICISM

How does Aristotle defines tragedy ?In his Poetics Aristotle defines tragedy as "the imitation ofan action that is serious and also, as having magnitude,complete in itself; in language with pleasurable accessories,each kind brought in separately...in the parts of the work; ina dramatic not in a narrative form; with incidents arousingpity and fear, where with to accomplish its catharsis of suchemotions."What does Aristotle say about imitation in poetry ?Aristotle in his Poetics says that differs in terms of form,content and manner of imitation. In terms of the kinds ofmimitation they offer Aristotle differentiates between the threemain kinds of poetry known to the ancient Greeks - epic,dramatic poetry and lyric poetry. It was also on the basiosof imitatin that he distinguished comedy from tragedy : "theaim of comedy is to represent men as worse, that of tragedyas better, than in actual life."What does Aristotle mean by 'catharsis' ?Aristotle uses the term 'catharsis in the famous definition oftragedy in his Poetics. 'Catharsis' may be translated as'purification', 'correction', refinement', sublimation, etc. By'Catharsis', Aristotle seems to be simplicity suggesting thattragedy helps to keep pity and fear in their due proportionsby allowing for a find of ritual purgation of these emotions.According to Humphrey House. Aristotle says that 'catharsis'"directs our pity an fear towards worthy objects."What doe Aristotle say about the constituent elementsof a tragedy ?In Poetics Aristotle enumerates the elements that consti-tute the form of a typical tragedy : Plot, character, thuought,diction, spectacle and song. Of these, he asserts, "Plot isthe most important...since tragedy is a representation notof men but of action and life...there could be no tragedywithout action but there could be one without character."What is the Aristotelian principle of organic unity inliterature ?While taking about tragedy in Poetics Aristotle mentionsthat the action of a tragic plot musthave a begining, a middleand an end; all parts of the action must be equally essentialto the whole, so that it would not be possible to remove apart without damaging the whole; all parts must be propertyordered with an appreciable conherence. These perceptsadd up to what is usually known as the principle of organicunity in literature as Aristotle compares tragedy to a livingcreature.How does Aristotle contrast poetry and history ?While considering the kinds of truth poets tell, Aristotle inhis Poetics writes that "the difference is that one [a histori-cal writes about what has actually happened, while the other[a poet] deals with what might happen. Hence poetry ismorephilosophical and deserves more serious attention thanhistory for while poetry concerns itself with universal truths,history considers only particular facts."How does Aristotle distinguish simple and complexplots?In the Poetics Aristotle defines simple plot as being one inwhich change of foturne takes place without Reversal' or'Perpeteia', and a complex plot as one in which the changeof fortune is accompanied by a Reversal or by a Recognitionor Discovery or both 'Peripetela' and 'Anagnorisis', i.e.

'change from ignorance to knowledge'.What, according to Aristotle, should be the qualitiesof a dramatic character ?Poetics Aristotle speaks of the four points to aim at in thetreatment of dramatic characters : they should be good,ie,not depraved or odious but capable of arousing pity andsympathy; appropriate, ie., true to type, king kngly anwoman womanly; true to life, a normal person or of anintermediate sort; and consistent from begining to end.What does Aristotle mean by 'hamartia' ?According to Aristotle, a tragic hero is one who falls fromhigh state or fame not through vice or depravity but by somegreat 'hamartia'. Etymologically 'hamartia' means the 'miss-ing' of a mark with bow and arrow, an unskilful but not nor-mally culpable act'- or 'an error of judgement', an intellectualerror little concerned with the normal character of the man.Oedipus is an excellent example of such a tragic protago-nist.On what grounds does Sidney consider poetry supe-rior to philosophy ?Sidney in his An Apology for Poetry says that dealing withabstract rules and precepts, the philosopher is hard of ut-terance and misty to be conceived. But the poet takes upthe abstract rules and universal truths of philosophy andillustrates them by vivid and concrete examples which areintelligivle to everybody and so Sidney says, "the poet isindeed the right popular philosopher."Why according to Sidney, is poetry superior tohistory ?Sidney says that history is so tied should be, to particulartruths and not to general reason, that it cannot draw nec-essary consequences and therefore is a less fruitful doctrinethan poetry, which deals with universal considerations : Whatis fit to be said or done. Thus poetry transcents Naturewithout contradicting her. Poetry deals with 'what ought tobe' not 'what it is' and so is superior to history.How does Sidney criticize contemporary drama ?Sidney in his An Apology for Poetry points out that mostcontemporary dramas are "neither right tragedies nor rightcomedies". He is against the mixing of tragic and comicmaterial in one single play (as he says, 'mingling kings andclowns'). Another absurdity that he points out is the neglectof the Unities of Time and Place. According to him, it isimpossible to suppose the stagenow a garden, now a bat-tlefield, and to see a whole life story in a short-span of twohours.On what ground does Dryden defend the Englishtragicomedy ?Dryden, in the person of Neander, attempts to vindicate theEnglish practice of writing tragicomedies in his Essay onDramatic Poesy. According to him, the mixing of tragic andcomic elements brings variety in the play, and so imitatelife more closely. Dryden says that in tragiccomedies,comedy heightens the pathos of tragedy by contrast, andthus is simply more entertaining.What arguments are given in favour of rhymed versein Essay on Dramatic Poesie ?Dryden in his Essay on Dramatic Poesie defends the useof rhyme in serious plays saying that "in serious playsrhyme is more natural and more effectual than blank verse."He also says that 'heroic rhyme is nearest nature, as beingthe noblest kind of modern verse". Blank verse is too lowfor even a poem, and so much more for tragedy.

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hat according to Dryden is the chief function ofpoetry?Dryden emphasizes delight rather than instruction as thechief end of poetry. According to Dryden, "delight is thechief, if not the only, end of poesy; instruction can beadmitted but in the second place, for poesy only instructsas it delights". It is true that to imitate well is a poet's work;but to affect the soul, and excite the passions, and aboveall, to move admiration, a bare imitation will not serve.What does Dryden say, about heroic poetry in Essayon Dramatic Poesic ?Dryden regards the heroic poetry or epic "the greatest workof human nature". He considers Epic superior to Tragedybecause, according to him, its action is more extensive, itsheroes more perfect and its style more lofty and ornate.Due to the limited area the tragedy has to leave out manytings and thus fails to make that deep impression which ismade by epic.What view does Dryden put forward on satire in his ADiscourse Concerning the Origin and Progress ofSatire ?Dryden ragards satire as 'a species of heroic poetry' thatshould treat of one main theme with one particular moral.The function is to caution the reader 'against some oneparticular vice or folly'. Rejecting the burlesque 8 syllabledverse of Butler's Hudibras, Dryden champions the 10-syllabled verse or heroic couplet as the ideal verse from forwriting satires.What does Pope say about the poet and 'Nature' inhis An Essay on Criticism ?The key term in Pope's Essay is 'Nature', not as the Ro-mantics were to understand it, wild and mysterious, butsomething reflecting deep order, moderation and universallaws; it placed due limits on men's taste and writing, dictatingthat they should avoid excesses of enthusiasm and freakishoriginality. Pope suggests that the critics should study therules of classical thinkers because these rules are nonethan 'Nature methodized' ?What are Pope's views on criticism in An Essay onCriticism ?According to Pope, an aurhor can only be a good critic. Hewarns the critic against judging by parts rather than by thewhole. He is against those critics who consider only thediction, style or verse apart from the sense. He alsocondemns judgments based on popular notions and withouta proper understanding of the work itself. He furthercondemns extreme fastidiousness in criticism: "As all looksyellow to the Jaundic'd eye."What according to Pope, is required of the languageof poetry in An Essay on Criticism ?Regarding the language of poetry, Pope in An Essay onCriticism writes that the words selected should be neithertoo old nor too new: "In words, as fashions, the same rulewill hold / Alike fantastic, if too new or ole," and that theexpression should be according to the snese. For the beautyof an idea or image depends on its context, and it will notbe effective if we take it alone outside its context.What does Pope say on versification in his Essay ?Pope thinks that the poet should not rely on such devidesas equal syllables, open vowels, expletives, too much useof monosyllables and needless Alexandrine. The correctverse, according to him, is that which is in keeping with thethought and it should vary to suit the different ideas

expressed. If one follows Pope's formula he is sure to getease in writing: "True ease in writing comes from Art, notchance."What are the scheme and purpose of Pope's Essay onMan ?The first epistle of Pope's Essay on Man is concerned withthe nature of man and his place in the universe; the secondwith man as an individual; the third with man in society;and the fourth with man and the pursuit of happiness. Thepurpose is to demonstrate, the essential rightness of theworld as ordered by God: man's inability to realizedered byGod; man's inability to realize this is the fault of limitedperception.How does Dr. Johnson defend tragicomedy ?Dr. Johnson regards the tragicomedy as more representativeof actual life and a better source of instruction; "That themingled drama may convey all theinstruction of tragedy andcomedy cannot be denied". Dr. Johnson puts forward a lib-erating defence of Shakespeare's 'mixed' style of dramawhich does not impair the emotional effect because hethinks, "all pleasure consist in variety".How does Dr. Johnson defend the violation of unitiesby Shakespeare ?Dr. Johnson believes that "the unities of Time and Place...arealways to be sacrificed to the nobler beauties of variety andinstruction." He says, "the truth is that the spectators arealways in their senses and know...the stage is only a stageand that the players are only players." So there is no needof the unity of Place. According to Dr. Johnson, "Time is...most obsequious to the imagination". and so the unity ofTime isnot essential for drama. Thus he defends the violationof unities by Shakespeare.What are Dr. Johnson's views on the Metaphysical po-ets and their poetry ?In his Life of Cowley Dr. Johnson writes."The metaphysicalswere men of learning and to show their learning was theirwhole endeavour." Metaphysical poetry is "great labour di-rected by great abilities" and metaphysical poets are witsrather than poets because they neither limitate nature norlife. It has "more propriety though less copiousness of sen-timent" and is only "useful to those who know their value."Why does Dr. Johnson advocage that the poet shouldcollect only good things for his poetry ?In his Preface to Shakespeare, Dr. Johnson writes : "Theend of writing is to instruct : the end of poetry is to instructby pleasing...Poetry pleases by exhibiting an idea moregraceful to the mind than things themselves afford". it is forthis reason that he suggests that the poet should selectonly beautiful and good things and reject all that is ugly orbad.What defects of Shakespeare does Dr. Johnson point out ?According to Dr. Johnson Shakespeare "sacrifices virtue toconvenience and is so much more careful to please than toinstruct, that he seems to write without anh moral purpose".Further he dinds faults with the plots and ending in Shake-spearean plays, with the comic scenes and the narrativesin tragedies. Dr. Johnson is so put off by Shakespeare'spuns and word-plays that he says : "A quibble was to himthe fatal Cleopatra for which he lost the world, and wascontent to lose it."..........

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IMPORTANT POINTSENGLISH LITERATURE AT A GLANCE

MAIN PERIODS OF ENGLISH LITERATUREC. 450-C. 1066 Old English (or Anglo-

Saxon) PeriodC. 1066-C.1500 Middle English PeriodC. 1500-1660 The Renaissance1558-1603 Elizabbethan Age1603-1625 Jacobean Age1625-1649 Caroline Age1649-1660 Commonwealth and

Protectorate PeriodC. 1660-C. 1800 Neo-classical Period1660-1700 The Restoration AgeC. 1700-C.1745 The Augustan Age or The

Age of PopeC. 1745-C. 1798 Age of Sensibility or The

Age of JohnsonC. 1798-C. 1832 Period of the Romantic

Revival1832-1901 Victorian Age1901-1918 Edwardian Age1918-1939 Modern Age1939- The Present AgeTABLE OF THE SOVEREIGNS SINCE THE CONQUEST

[1066]I. THE NORMAN KINGS1. William I [1066-87] 2. William II [1087-1100] .3. Henry I [1100-35] 4. Stephen [1135-54]II. PLANTAGENET KINGS5. Henry II of Anjou [1154-89] 6. Richard I [1189-99]7. John [1199-1216] 8. Henry III [1219-54]9. Edward I [1272-1307] 10. Edward II [1307-27]11. Edward III [1327-77] 12. Richard 11[1377-99]III. THE HOUSE OF LANCASTER13. Henry IV [1399-1413] 14. Henry V [1413-22]15. Henry VI [1422-61]IV. THE HOUSE OF YORK16. Edward IV [1461-83] 17. Edward V [1483]18. Richard III [1483-85]V. THE TUDOR EYNASTY19. Henry VII [1461- 1509] 20. Henry VIII [1509-47]21. Edward VI [1547-53] 22. Mary [1553-58]23. Elizabeth I[1558-1603]VI. THE STUART DYNASTY24. James I [1603-25][Commonwealth [1689-1702]; Protectorate (1653-60)]25. Charles I (1625-49)26. Charles II (1660-8527. James II (1685-88)28. William and Mary (1689-1702)29. Anne (1702-14)VII. THE HOUSE OF HANOVER30. George I (1714-27) 31. Geroge II (1727-60)32. George III (1760-1820) 33. Geroge IV (1727-60)34. William IV (1831-37) 35. Victoria (1837-1901)36. Edward VII (1901-10) 37. George V (1910-36)38. Edward VIII (1936) 39. George VI (1936-52)40. Elizabeth II (1952-)

ENGLISH LITERATURE AT A GLANCETHE AGE OF CHAUCER (1340-1400)

POETRY

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400)The Romaunt of the Rose (1360-65?); The Book of theDuchesse (1369); The Parlement of Foules; Troilus andCriseyde (1379-83); The House of Fame (1383-84); Thelegend of Good Women (1385-86); The Canterbury Tales(1386 onward).William Langland (1330-1386)The Vision of william Concerning Piers the Plowman (136290).John Gover (?1330-84)Speculum Meditantis(1378?), Vox Clamantis(1382),Confessio Amantis(1390)John Barbour (1320-95)Bruce(1375).

PROSESir John Mandeville (died 1372)Mandeville’s Travels (1356).John Wycliffe (1320-84)Wycliffe’s Bible (1380).Sir Thomats Malory (died 1471)Le Morte D’ Arthur (1469).

FROM CHAUCER TO ‘TOTTLE’S MISCELLANY’(1400-1557)

POETRYGeoffrey Chaucer(1340-1400)The Tale of Melibeus, The Parson’s Tale.James I (1394-1437)The King’s Quair (1423-1424).Sir David Lyndsay (1458-1555)The Dreme(1528), The History of Squyer Meldrum(1549),The Testment and Compleynt of the Papyngo,(1530), Satyreof the Thire Estaitis(1540).Robert Henryson(1430-1506)Lament for the Makaris (1508), The Testament of cresseid(1593), Orpheus and Eurydice; Robene and Makyne;Garmond Qf Gude Ladies.William Dunbar(?1456-?1513)The Goldyn Targe (1503), The Dance of the Sevin DeidlieSynnis (1503-1508), Tua Mariit Women and the Wedo(1508), Lament for the Makaris (1508).Gawin Douglas(?1474-1552)The Palice of Honour (1501),published (1533),King Hart(first printed 1786).John Skelton(?1460-1529)Garlande of laurell (printed 1523),Dirge on Edward Iv, TheBowge of Court(1499).John Lydgate(1370-1451)‘Iroy Book (1412-1420), The Falls of Princes(1430-1438),The Temple of Glass; The Story of Thebes(1420), LondonLickpenny.Thomas Occleve(1368?-1450?)The Regement of Princes (1411-12), La Male Regle (1406);The Complaint of Our Lady, Occleve’s Complaint.Stephen Hawes (?1474-1530)The Passtyme of Pleasure (1509), The Example of Virtue(1512), The Conversion of Swerers; A Joyfull Medytacyon.Alexander Barclay (?1475-1552)Ship of Fools (1509), Certayne Ecloges (1515).

PROSEReginald Pecock (?1390-?1461)The Repressor of over-much Blaming of the Clergy (1455),The Book of Faith (1456).Willism Caxton (?1422-91)

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Recuyell of the Historie of Troye(1471), (?1422-91) Gameand Playe of the the chesse (1475), The Dictes andSayengis of the Philosphers (1477).John Fisher (1459-1535)Tracts and sermons; The Ways to Perfect Religion.Hugh Latimer (?1485-1555)Sermons (1562).Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)Utopia (1516); The Lyfe of John Picus (1510), The Historieof Richard III (1543).Sir Thomas Elyot (?1478-1535)The Boke named the Governour (1531), The Doctrine ofPrinces (1534)John Capgrave (1393-1464)The Chronicle of English History extending to A. D. 1417.Sir John Fortescue (?1394-?1476)On the Govenance of England, A Delcaration upon CertainWrytinges (1471-73).

DRAMAJohn Heywood (?1494-?1580)The Four p’s (?1545), Play of the Wether (1533), A Play ofLove (1433).Thomas Norton (1532-84) and T. Sackville (1536-1608)Gorboduc (1561).Thomas Preston (1536-1608)A Lamentable Tragedy mixed full of Mirth Containing thelife of Cambyses, King of Percia (1569).WIlliam StevensonGammer Gurton’s Needle (1562).Nicholas Udall (1505-56)Ralph Roister Doister (written 1553, published 1567)THE ELIZABETHAN AGE (1558-1603) THE JACOBEANAGE (1603-1625) THE AGE OF SHAKESPEARE (1558-

1625)POETRYGeorge Gascoigne (?1525-77)Jocasta Jocasta (1566), Supposes (1566).Edmund Spenser (1552-99)The Shepherds Calendar (1579), Mother Hubberd’s Tale(1591), The Ruins of Rome (1591), Amoretti (1595);Epithalamion; Colin Clout Comes Home Again (1595), FourHymns (1596), Prothalamion (1596), The Faerie Queene(Book I-III, 1589, IV, 1596).John Donne (1573-1631)Satires (1590-1601), The Songs and Sonnets (1590-1601),The Elegies (1590-1601), Of the Progress of the Soule (1601)Holy Sonnets (1617).Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503-42)In Tottel’s Miscellany (1557), Included in Songs andSonnetts (1557) ed.Tottel.Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1517-47)Certain Bokes of Virgiles Aeneis turned into English Meter(1557)his poems; in Tottle’s Miscellany (1557).Thomas Sackville (1536-1608)The Induction (1563), The Complayment of Henry, Dukeof Buckingham, (1563).George Gascoigne (1534-77)The Steele Glas, A Satyre (1576)Sir Philip Sidney (1554-86)Astrophel and Stella (1591).Michael Drayton (1563-1631)The Harmonie of the Church (1591), Englnad’s HeroicallEpistles (1597), The Baron’s Wars (1603), Polyolbion (1622),

. Nymphida (1627).Thomas Campion (1567-1620)A Book of Ayreas (1601), Songs of Mourning (1613), TwoBooks of Ayres (1612).Phineas Fletcher (11582-1650)The Purple Island, of The Isle of Man (1633).Giles Fletcher (11588-1623)Chirst’s Victorie and Triumph (1610).Samuel Daniel (1562-1619)Delia (1592), The Complaynt of Rosamond (1592), The CivilWars (1595).William Shakespeare (1564-1616)The Rape of Lucrece (1594), Venus and Adonis (1593). ACollection of Sonnets, (1609), The Passionate Pilgrim(1599).

DRAMAGeorge Peele (1558-98)The Araygnement of Paris (1584), The Famous Chronicleof King Edward the first (1593), The Old Wives’ Tale(159194). The Love of King David and Fair Bathsabe (1599).Robert Greene (1558-92)Alphonsus, King of Aragon (1587), Friar Bacon and FriarBungay (1589), Orlando Furioso (1591), The ScottishHistorie of James of Fourth (1592).Thomas Nashe (1567-1611)Summer’s Last Will and Testament (1592).John Lyly (11554-1606)Alexander and Campasye (1584); Endymission (1591),Midas (1592), The Woman in the Moon (1597)Thomas Lodge (1558-1625)Henry VI (1591-92), The Woundes of Cicil War, Rosalynde,Euphues Golden Legcie (A Romance) (1590), ScillaesMetamorphosis (1589).Thomas Kyd (1558-94)The Spanish Tragedy (1585), Cornelia (1593), Soliman andPerseda (1588), First Part of Jernimo (1592).Christopher Marlowe (1564-93)Tamberlaine the Great (1587), The Second Part ofTamberlaine the Great (1588), Edward II (1591), The Jew ofMalta (1589, Docator Faustus (1592), The Tragedy of Dido,Qween of Carthage (1593). The Massacre of Paris (1593).William Shakespeare (1564-1616)1. Henry VI (1591-92) 2. Henry VI (1591-92), 3. Henry VI(1591-92), Richard III (1593), The Comedy of Errors (1593),Titus Andronicus (1594), The Taming of The Shrew (1594),Love’s Labour’s Lost (1594), Romeo and Juliet (1594), AMidsummer Night’s Dream (1595), The Two Gentlemen ofVerona (1595), King John (1595), Richard II (1596) TheMerchant of Venice (1596), Henry IV (1598),Much Ado AboutNothing(1598), Henry V (1599), Julius Caesar (1599),TheMerry Wives of Winsor (1600), As you Like It (1600), Hamlet(1601), Twelfth Night (1601), Troilus and Cressida (1602),All’s Well that Ends well (1602), Measure for Measure (1604),Othello (1604), Macbeth (1605), King Lear (1605), Antonyand Cleopatra (1606), Coriolanus Timon of Athens (1607),Pericles (1608), Cymbeline (1609), The Winter’s Tale (1610),The Tempest (1611), Henry VIII (in part) (1613)...........

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ELECTIVE-IIIINDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH AND

INDIAN LITERATURE IN ENGLISH TRANSLATIONINDIAN WRITING IN ENGLISH FICTION

1. INTRODUCTIONWho was the first story teller ? A lonely hunter consolinghis fellows on a cold northern evening far from home ? Amother calming a frightened child with takes of god anddemigods ? A lover telling his intended of fantastic exploits,designed to foster his courtship ? The reader can multiplythe number of possibilities, but we shall never know theanswer, for the impulse to tell stories is as old as the devel-opment of speech, older than the invention of writing. It hasdeep psychological springs we do not fully comprehend,but the need to make up characters, and to place them inworlds that are parallel to our own or are perhaps wildly atvariance with it, is part of the history of all peoples, cul-tures, and countries; there is no-known human group thathas not told tales.Oral cultures are great sources for students of the theory offiction. Researchers have established that in those that stillexist, the storyteller (or bard) is highly revered for the abil-ity to relate from a memory a number of verse narratives ofenormous length, told within the regularities of meter andconventional figures of language that aid the memory, con-taining the stories of characters known to listeners whoshare in a common folklore and myth. These stories, about,familiar characters in recognizable situations, do not en-gage their audience in the mysteries of an unresolved plot,for the listeners know that story already, have heard it toldbefore, and are often as familiar with its events as they arewith events in their own lives. Then why do they listen ?Beyond the story itself, the audience concerns itself withthe voice and manner of the taller of the tale; the textureand density of the story's material; the fit of the characterswith the audience's expectations about how human beings,gods, demigods, and mythic heroes behave in a world some-thing like their own. For such people- just as for ourselves-fictions have an extraordinary explanatory power, they makeclear why, for instance, there are seasons, why there is anunderworld for the spirits of dead ancestors, why there isone royal line of descent and not another.We begin this collection of essays on the theory of fictionwith a discussion of so-called primitive origins because webelieve that the impulse to tell takes and listen to them isakin to the impulse in " literature" cultures to writes storiesand read them, and as Claude Levi- Strauses has shownus in the Savage Mind (Lapensee sauvage) the science ofprimitive peoples is as sophisticated in its own purposesas the science in literate cultures; so too are the fictions.Tribal members in oral cultures may or may not have de-tailed discussions of the nature and forms of their func-tions, but clearly they do make judgements as to the ad-equacy of the telling of stories, and the act of judgement is,after all, an act of criticism. Questions of judgement andinterpretation, in fact, inform human discourse everywhere.While we do not claim that the theory of fiction occupiesmuch of the attention of tribal scholars, we do claim thatthe interpretation of works of literature, and in particulars offictional creation, is part of the written record of all literatecultures. It has constituted an extremely large and impor-tant part of literature since the times of the ancient He-brews and Greeks, with its beginnings in Midrashic texts

and in the writings of Plato and the sophists and, ultimately,in the most important literary critical text of Western antiq-uity, the Poetics of Aristotle.The study of literature and literary theory-by which we meanthe use of rhetorical, linguistic, and structural analysis as ameans of interpreting texts-has, therefore, a long traditionin Western intellectual history, one employed quite heavilyduring certain periods and certainly appearing during thecurrent century as a principal form of literate intellectual ac-tivity.In its forms of analysis, literary theory has been defined toa great extent by the kinds of texts to which it has beenapplied. In the Poetics Aristotle was concerned primarilywith discussing the epic poem and the two dominant forms ofdrama, comedy and tragedy. For the most part, these werethe most important forms, along with lyric poetry, writtenby the ancient Greek authors that Aristotle studied. Thefictions about which Aristotle could have written were, there-fore, composed in verse dialogue, not in prose, and theforms were not the prose fictional forms that dominate ourtime: the novel, the novella, and short story.Historinas of literature have argued at length about whichprose fictions might qualify as the first novels. There werecertainly prominent examples of lengthy prose fictions inthe ancient world with The Golden Ass of Apuleius andPetronius's Satyricon coming conspicuously to mind. Butwhile these are extended narratives in prose, they do not;for most critics, fulfill the criteria for defining a novel for-mally in terms of the development of plot and character.Both tales are products of the early Christian centuries andwere followed by more than a millennium in which the longfictional forms consisted mainly of verse epics and ro-mances whose subject matter was the relatively conven-tional material of shared folklore and myth. Indeed, withsome exceptions such as the Icelandic sagas andBoccaccio's Decameron, extended prose fictions did notbegin to flourish in England and on the European continentuntil the sixteenth century, in the writings of Nashe andLyly in England, Rabelais in France, and Cervantes in Spain.Some critics have called Cervantes' Don Quixote, publishedduring the early years of the seventeenth century, the firstEuropean novel, and while the adventures of the man of LaMancha have been extraordinarily influential on later formsof prose fiction - Lionel Trilling finds its theme of illusion andreality to be the essence of the novel - Don Quixote did notfound a tradition in which those writers who came after himself-consciously thought of themselves as writing "novels."Rather, Cervantes's book summed up and parodied the tra-dition of medieval and Renaissance romance, with all itschivalric and courtly conventions. The self-conscious es-tablishment of a tradition of novel writing did not come aboutwith any lasting force until more than a century later, in anincreasingly mercantile and industrial Europe where themiddle classes were rapidly rising. The rising literacy thatalways accompanies trade and technology created an ex-panded reading public hungry for stories of people like them-selves, in prose like that of the newspapers, journals, andscientific treatises that had come to dominate the new tech-nology of print For the middle classes poetry was identifiedwith the aristocracy, except for such didactic verse as theysang in church...........