Genre Studies- Unit- IV Notes
1. HEROIC
COUPLET
Introduction
The Heroic couplet consists of two iambic pentameters (lines of ten
syllables) rhyming together. The following is the example:
We think| our fa| thers fools, so wise| we grow,
Our wi| ser sons| no doubt, will think
| us so. (Pope)
It is called “heroic” because ten-syllabic iambic verse, whether it
rhymes or not, is the usual form for epic verse in English, celebrating heroic
exploits.
Characteristics
· There is a pause at the end of the first line,
indicated by a comma, signifying partial completion of the sense.
· There is a pause at the end of the couplet
indicated by a full stop, signifying full completion of the sense.
· The couplet is closed, not requiring the aid of
either a predecessor or o successor to complete its meaning.
· The rhyme is single, the rhyming parts of each
line, “grow” and “so”, being single syllables.
· The number of syllables is ten, the odd ones
unaccented or short, the even accented or long.
Variations
·
The
use of the heroic couplet has varied from time to time and from poet to poet.
It was practiced most correctly by Pope, and even he does not always conform
strictly to its rules, for, as he himself aptly remarks,
Whoever
thinks a faultless piece to see
Think
what ne’er was nor is, nor e’er shall be.
·
The heroic couplet was first used in
England by Chaucer, who probably derived it from older French verses. Many of
his Canterbury Tales are related in Heroic couplets. He was followed by
Spenser, who employed it for his Mother Hubbard’s Tale, a satirical
narrative in verse.
·
The Elizabethans used it with equal
skill in their poetry and drama. Shakespeare and Ben Johnson, employed it for
the sake of variety.
·
Dryden and Pope gave
the Heroic couplet quality it had never possessed before. They imparted to it
the easy vigour, and strength. They used it for various compositions – drama,
epic, satire, didactic verse – which it served with remarkable
adaptability. With the coming of the Romantic poets,
the couplet structure was changed. It became enjambed. It became, in other
words, a verse paragraph, Metrical variations were also introduced.
Conclusion
By this time the
heroic couplet had gone out of fashion. It was replaced by other stanza forms
that afforded greater freedom to the writer. The romantics, who aimed at
natural diction and were lyrical poets, had little use for it.
2.
BALLAD
Origin
The Ballad arises
out of folk literature. It is one of the oldest forms in English, older than
Chaucer. Originally it was sung from village to village, to the accompaniment
of a harp or a fiddle, by a strolling singer or a band of singers, who earned a
living in this way. Ballad etymologically means a dancing song. English ballads
were collected in Bishop Percy’s Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, published
in 1765.
Features
·
The Ballad is a short story in verse
originally intended to be sung to an audience. It is developed at an early
stage in man’s cultural evolution. Its subjects are deeds rather than
thoughts. The tale is usually fierce and tragic
and frequently introduces the supernatural.
·
The form may be summarized as follows:
The poem is written in the Ballad Measure, a quatrain in which the first and
third lines are four-foot iambic (a short syllable followed by a long), and the
second and fourth three-foot iambic.
·
The tale opens abruptly, without any
attempt at a systematic introduction. Sometimes it begins with questions and
answers, which do not state who the speakers are but make the situation quite
clear.
·
It is impersonal in treatment, with
nothing to show the writer’s identity or personality. It is as though the tale
told itself.
· Often the same lines are repeated from stanza to
stanza as a refrain, and stock phrases are freely used. The following stanza
from “The Douglas Tragedy” illustrates the former.
O
they rode on and on they rode,
And
all by the light of the moon,
Until
they came to the wan water,
And
there they lighted down.
O
they rode on and on they rode,
And
all by the light of the moon,
Until
they came to his mother’s hall,
And
there they lighted down.
·
There is no attempt at detail of time
or place, the Ballad belonging to a period when both could be ignored or left
vague in the interest of the story.
Kinds of Ballad
Ballads are
primarily of two kinds: The Ballad of Growth or the Authentic Ballad and the
Ballad of Art or the literary Ballad.
The one is genuine,
having grown up naturally among a primitive race, and the other initiative,
being a conscious attempt at the Ballad matter. Some of the best known among
the Authentic Ballads are “Chevy Chase”, “The Wife of Usher’s Well” and “Sir
Patrick Spens”
Among the Literary
ones, Scott’s “Eve of St. John”, Coleridge’s “Rime of Ancient Mariner” and
Keat’s “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”
A minor form in the
Ballad or the literary Ballad of Art is the Mock Ballad.
3.
Sonnet
Origin:
It was
originally a short poem, recited to the accompaniment of music- the word
"sonnet". Being a derivative of the Italian "Sonetto"
meaning a little sound or strain.
The Italian Sonnet
The Italian
Sonnet is often known as the Petrarchan Sonnet but it is sometimes called
"the classical", as being the model which other countries followed
later. It is a short poem of fourteen lines, expressing one single thought or
feeling. It is composed of two parts- the octave, a stanza of eight lines and
the sestet, a stanza of six. The octave has two rhymes (say a and b) arranged
according to the following scheme : a b b a, a b b a. The sestet
sometimes has three rhymes in various ways as follows: c d e, c d e or c d
c, d c d ; or c d e, d c e. The octave may be divided into two
stanzas of four lines each called quatrains; and the sestet into two or three
lines each called tercets.
The English Sonnet
The sonnet
was introduced into England in the first half of the 16th century by Sir Thomas
Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. The English Sonnet in three quatrains,
in alternate rhyme, followed by a concluding couplet: a b a b, c d c d, e f e
f, g g. Since it is divided into four parts, it has no pause and turn of
thought at the end of the Eighth line.
The Spenserian Sonnet
Spenser had
evolved a new variety each of the quatrains linked to the other by an
intermixture of the rhymes. Shakespearean Sonnet are all unconnected with one
another : they have each their own rhymes and cannot, therefore, he said to be
related structurally, though they are united by their subject- matter. Earlier,
however, Spenser had evolved a new variety in which each of the quatrains was
linked to the other by an intermixture of the rhymes in the following manner:
abab, bcbc, cdcd, ee.
4.Lyric
Origin :
Greek song
was divided into two classes- melic or lyric song, which was sung by a single
voice to the accompaniment of a lyre; and choric song, which was intended for
collective singing to the accompaniment of instrumental music, supplemented,
probably, by a dance.
The two characteristics implied
in the above description:
a) it is an expression of a
single emotion.
b) it is a musical composition.
The Music in the Lyric
In ancient
times music provided by the minstrel's harp or lyre formed an external
accompaniment to a lyric. The subject- matter also was of little importance so
long as the later ages discovered the rhythmic emotional effect. Elizabethans,
in particular are past masters of the art of investing words with the highest
musical quality. Their lyrics are unrivalled for their word- music or verbal
melody.
The Subject- Matter of the
Lyric
The lyric
gives expression to a single emotion or feeling. It appeals more to the heart
than to the intellect, or, to be more precise it's appeal to the
intellect is through the heart. The songs we sing are usually not very lengthy,
so a lyrical poem is as a rule quite brief. When he chooses the lyric form the
poet does not intend to make any long flight: he wishes to convey his
impression swiftly, memorably, and musically.
Edgar Allan
Poe, the American poet who wrote several famous lyrics, declared that a long
lyric was not possible. Thus the term Lyric is usually understood to cover the
song, the ode, the sonnet, and such poems. The Lyric is a subjective poem,
expresses emotions and is intensely personal.
The structure of the Lyric
The Lyric can be divided into
three distinct parts, corresponding to the three moods when inspired by some
emotion.
I) States the emotion.
ii) Consists of the thoughts
suggested by the emotion.
iii) Marks the poet return to
his initial mood, the mood of reason.
Summed Up :
1) It is a short poem, dealing
with a single emotion;
2) It is a musical poem, word-
music being an important element in its effect;
3) It is a subjective poem,
expressing the varying moods of the author;
4) It is a well - knit poem,
possessing a definite structure.
5.Closet
Drama
A closet
drama is a play that is not intended to be performed on stage, but read by a
single reader, or sometimes, out louded in a small group. A related form, the
‘closet screenplay’, developed during the 20th century.
The closet
drama is a drama suited primarily for reading rather than production. Examples:
John Milton’s “Samson Agonistes” (1671) and Thomas Hardy’s “The Dynasts” (three parts,
1903-08). The closet drama is not to be confused with readers’ theatre, in
which actors read or recite without decor before an audience.
Form
Any drama in a written
form that does not depend to any significant degree, upon improvisation for its
effect can be read as literature without being performed. Closet dramas are
designed especially for reading and they do not concern themselves with stage
technique. Featuring little action but often rich in philosophical rhetoric,
they are seldom produced for the stage.
The
philosophical dialogues of ancient Greek and Roman writers such as Plato were
written in the form of conversations between ‘characters’ and therefore similar
to closet drama. Example: Myth about
Erotes.
Fulke Greville, Sir William
Alexander and Mary Sidney wrote
Closet Dramas in the age of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson.
Closet
Drama written in verse form, became very popular in Western Europe after 1800;
these plays were largely inspired by Classical models. Faust, Part I and Faust Part
2 by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe among the most acclaimed pieces in the
history of German literature were written as closet dramas. Nonetheless, both
plays are often performed onstage today in German and France.
6.
Comedy
Introduction
Literature
is the reflection of life and society. Human life is mixture of both tragedy
and comedy. Tears and smiles, shouts of joy, merry making and the grief of
funeral go side by side. Goethe, a German thinker says, “Human life is a tale
told in tears with smile.” So comedy and tragedy are the two important forms of
any literature.
Definition
of Comedy
Comedy is a
type of play which deals with some lighter events of human life and it amuses
the readers. Aristotle defines Comedy as “Comedy is an imitation of men worse
than the average; worse as regards one particular kind, the ridiculous.... The
ridiculous may be defined as a mistake or deformity of pain or harm to others.”
Horace Wolpole said, “ Life is a tragedy to those who feel and a comedy to
those who think.”
Function
of Comedy
The most important
function of comedy is to make people laugh. The primary function of literature
is to please the readers and this has been accomplished very well by comedy.
Comedy aims at social reform through laughter. The secondary function of
literature is to teach the readers, and this too is accomplished by comedy.
Types
of comedy
|
Types |
Works |
|
Classical
Comedy |
Roman
& Greek, ‘Platus Terence’ and ‘Aristophanes’ |
|
Romantic
Comedy |
Shakespeare’s
‘ A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ |
|
Comedy
of Humour |
Ben
Jonson’s ‘Everyman in his Humour’ |
|
Comedy
of Manners/ Anti-sentimental Comedy |
William
Wycherley, ‘The Country Wife’ |
|
Sentimental
Comedy |
Richard
Steele ‘The Conscious Lovers’ (1722) Oliver
Goldsmith’s ‘She stoops to conquer’ (1773) Richard
Sheridan’s ‘The Rivals’ (1775) |
·
Classical
Comedy is a kind of comedy, which was written by ancient Greek and
Roman writers. It follows Three unities of Time, Place and action. It does not
only aim at entertainment, rather, but it also aims at correcting the society.
·
Romantic
Comedy is a type of comedy, wherein the playwright does not follow
the rules. Its only function is to provide entertainment to the readers.
Comedies of Shakespeare are romantic in nature. This genre of comedy combines
themes of romantic love with humour.
William
Shakespeare popularized a new kind of comedy- Romantic Comedy- during the
Elizabethan Age. His romantic comedy does not make an appeal so much to our
intelligence as to the heart of man. Its primary aim is neither satire nor
correction of the evils of the society. Its aim is just to give pure pleasure
and joy. Unlike classical comedies, romantic comedies do not follow the unity
of time, place, and action. Shakespeare has his own norms of writing romantic
comedies. Let’s examine the chief characteristics of Romantic comedy.
·
Fanciful world of Imagination
·
Element of Realism
·
Element of Humour
·
Subject matter of love
·
Light mood
·
Music and songs
·
Comedy
of Humours is centred on the four liquids- Blood (Sanguine), Phlegm, Choler (Yellow
bile), Melancholy (Black bile). These four liquids are not creating any
humour but these four liquids have association with the Medical science. These
four liquids were the invention by Hippocrates (Greek Philosopher). Comedy of
Humours was developed by Ben Jonson in his Play ‘Everyman in his Humour’ (first
used in this play).
‘Ralph Roister Doister’ (1566) by
Nicholas Udall was the first comedy of English Literature. But
towards the end of the 16th century, Ben Jonson came out with his
new innovative concept of comedy which was known as Comedy of Humour.
The Term ‘Humour’ comes from the ancient Greek Physicians.
It is a medical term. As per the ancient medical system, there are four major
humours of elements in human body.
1.
Blood or fire (heat)
2.
Phlegm or air (cold)
3.
Choler or Yellow Bile or earth (dryness)
4.
Melancholy or Black bile or water (moisture)
These four elements represent the quality of our health.
When there is an imbalance of all any one of these four in our nature,
behaviour, and health.
·
Comedy
of Manners is a type of realistic, satirical comedy of the
Restoration period (1660-1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and
social conventions of a greatly sophisticated, artificial society. it is also
known as the anti-sentimental comedy. It is in opposition to the romantic
comedy of William Shakespeare.
Beginning
of Comedy of Manners
With the
arrival of King Charles II, the theatres were reopened and new theatrical
performances began which were later on named as Comedy of Manners. These plays
presented the manners and ideals of the aristocratic society. Contemporary
topics like religion, politics, love affairs etc. were focussed in this type of
play. It appealed and entertained the servant class, middle class and
aristocratic class of England. John Dryden was the first writer to write Comedy
of manners with his ‘Wild Gallant’ which was a failure. He wrote several other
comedies of Manners also which were more successful.
Characteristics
of Comedy of Manners
1.
Rich with wit and satire, appeals to our
intellect.
2.
Heroines are more interesting than heroes.
3.
Fashion of the time is reflected.
4.
The manners of only the upper class people are
presented realistically.
5.
Realism, social analysis and satire
6.
Politics, religion, and love affairs.
7.
Witty dialogues were given much importance than
plots.
Sentimental
Comedy
During the
18th Century, a new form of drama emerged in English Literature
which was later on known as The Sentimental Comedy. It was a reaction against
the comedy of manners which was popular during the Restoration period (17th
Century). In this Comedy, laughter and humor were completely driven out and in
place of comedy, sadness was introduced. The Sentimental comedy lacked the true
spirit of comedy, comparatively.
Characteristics
of Sentimental Comedy
Humor was
replaced by pathos and humorous situations in pathetic situations. Middle-class
life is characterized by virtue without vices. The writers of sentimental
comedy were moralists and wanted to teach morals through the medium of their
plays. It provided moral lectures in place of entertainment. It appeals our
heart more than the mind. It was characterized by emotions of pity and sympathy
and lacked wit or humor. It was serious from beginning to end and was entirely
removed from the realities of life. Its characters were not real men and women,
but the production of minds of playwrights. The keen observations and realistic
touches which had always brightened the earlier comedy completely disappeared.
Farce
Farce is a
literary genre and type of comedy that make use of highly exaggerated and funny
situation aimed at entertaining the audience. It is a subcategory of dramatic
comedy, which is different from other forms of comedy as it only aims at making
the audience laugh.
Farce, a
comic dramatic piece that uses highly improbable situations, stereotyped
characters, extravagant exaggeration, and violent horseplay. The farce is a
dramatic work designed solely to produce laughter.
In a nutshell, a funny drama for theatre full of ridiculous
situations.
The term “farce” is derived from the French word “farcire”
means “to stuff”.
It is a subgenre of comedy in English Drama, popular during
the Elizabethan Age (1558-1603). It is considered the low type of comedy. It is
low quality of comedy.
The first popular farce was The Rehearsal by the Duke of
Buckingham.
Functions
of farce
·
The basic purpose of a farcical comedy is to
evoke laughter.
·
It uses elements like physical humour,
deliberate absurdity just to make people laugh.
·
We usually find farces in theatre, films and sometimes
in other literary works too.
Examples
of Farce
The
Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar wilde)
The most
absurd things is that Miss Prism commits a blunder by leaving her manuscript in
the pram, and puts her child into her handbag.
The
Taming of the Shrew (William Shakespeare)
The play
contains the stereotype characters that are typically farcical in nature, such
as Katherine. Although Kate is a stereotype and a boisterous shrew, Shakespeare
portrays her as an individual needing sympathy, because Bianca is the favourite
child of her father.
Melodrama
Melodrama was a debased
form of tragedy. Originally a prominent place in it was assigned to song but
now the term is reserved for a play of a crudely sensational type, relying for
its effect on physical action, purely theatrical language and behaviour and
naive sentiment.
It is a subgenre in drama just like
we have Tragedies, Romantic Comedies etc. In melodrama, we have characters,
plots that are sensationalised, exaggerated so much that it tries to appeal the
emotions of the audience and readers. It is made up of two words ‘Melo’+
‘Drama’. The stories that are told to us with the help of music are known as
Melodrama. This particular subgenre was popular during the Victorian period.
Among all the plays in the Victorian period, the most three popular works are Mary
Elizabeth Braddon’s ‘Lady Audley Secret’
Willie Collin’s ‘The Woman in White’
Jean Jacques Rousseau’s ‘Pygmalion’
It is a writing technique which a
lot of writers use to avoid because it is sort of writing where exaggerated
characters, sophisticated plots, or we can say sensational plots are introduced
which more or less fails to get the reader connected with the work. Readers
find it difficult to correlate these exaggerated characters and plots to their
real life.
7. Tragedy
Tragedy
is dealing with the dark side of life. It aims at inspiring us with pity and
awe. In Tragedy, characters are involved in circumstances that impel them
towards an unhappy fate. The word ‘tragedy’ is derived from Greek term
‘tragoidia’ meaning ‘goat song’. It refers to the ancients sacrifice of a goat
associated with the god of the fields.
A
form of drama in which the events lead to the downfall of the main character is
called as Tragedy.
Development of tragedies
Authors in the middle Ages lacked
direct knowledge either classical tragedies or of Aristotle’s Poetics “The
Poetics”. Medieval tragedies are simply the story of person of high status.
Deservedly or not, he is brought from prosperity to wretchedness by an
unpredictable turn of the wheel of fortune.
The tragedies of the Elizabethan age
owed much to the native religious drama, the miracle and the morality plays,
which had developed independently of classical influence, but with a crucial
contribution from the Roman writer Seneca whose dramas got to be widely known
earlier than those of the Greek tragedies.
Senecan Tragedy was to be recited rather than acted. English playwrights
thought that those tragedies had been intended for the stage. They provided the
model for an organized five-act play with a complex plot and an elaborately
formal style of dialogue. Senecan drama in the Elizabethan age had two main
lines of development. One of these consisted of academic tragedies written in
close imitation of the senecan model, including the use of a chorus, and
usually constructed by Italian critics of 16th Century. The earliest
English example was Thomas Sackville and
Thomas Norton’s “Gorboduc” in 1562.
The second important development is
called the revenge tragedy or the tragedy of blood. This type of play is
derived from Seneca’s favourite materials of murder, revenge, ghosts,
mutilation and carnage. Thomas Kyd’s “The
Spanish Tragedy” established this popular form. Its subject is a murder and
the quest for vengeance. It includes a ghost, insanity, suicide, a play-within-a-play,
sensational incidents, and bloody endings.
Many
Major tragedies between 1585 and 1625 by Marlowe, Shakespeare, George Chapman,
Webster, Sir Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. They deviate from the
Aristotlean norm. It is a non-Aristotlean form.
8. Tragi-comedy
Distinguishing Features
Tragi-Comedy is half tragedy and
half comedy, mingled harmoniously together. It is distinct from Tragedy that
contains comic relief and from comedy that has a potentially tragic background.
Tragi-comedy stands on a different
footing altogether. It is a complete tragedy up to a certain point, and a
complete comedy thereafter. The complication sets forth a tragic theme, the
Denouement turns it into comedy. To put it in another way, the Rising Action
(growth of the plot) is tragedy, the falling action (its downward course) is
comedy. The climax separates the one from the other. Examples- Shakespeare’s
“Cymbeline”, “Winter’s tale” and “The Tempest”.
Origin
Tragi- Comedy was unknown to Greeks,
whose Unity of Action definitely forbade a mixture of the tragic and the comic.
Platus, the latin comic dramatist, arose in the reign of James I under Italian
and Spanish influences. Beaumont anfd Fletcher’s “A King and No King”
established it on the English stage, and Shakespeare handled the form magnificently
towards the end of his career. Tragi- Comic elements was indispensable to the
Sentimental comedy of the 18th century and the serious play of
modern times.
Arguments
Tragi-Comedy
was always opposed by “those who judge by principles rather than perception.”
Milton condemned it in the preface
to Samson Agonistes “to vindicate tragedy from the small esteem, or rather
infamy, which in the account of many it undergoes at this day, with common
interludes;”
Addison later called it “one of the
most monstrous inventions that ever entered into a poet’s thoughts.”
There is the strongest argument of
all on behalf of Tragi-Comedy- the fact that Shakespeare and other dramatists
created in that form some of the greatest masterpieces of English
Literature.
9. Idyll
Distinguishing Features
In English verse the Idyll is not a
distinct species by itself. It may sometimes be a lyric; sometimes a longer
poem; and sometimes a passage in an elegy, play, epic or ballad.
It has no set form. It derives its
name from a Greek word meaning “a little picture”. In poetry, it is associated with
relative brevity and pictorial effect. The poet presents a picture in a few
words or a series of pictures composing a longer poem. The pictorial effect is
achieved by graphic description, as colour is used in a painting. Every Idyll
must aim at a vivid visual presentation of its theme. Often it is used to give
a concrete image of an abstract idea. Milton’s “L’ Allegro” is a picture of the
happy life. Wordsworth’s “Lines Written in March” depicts a spring scene in
England after the rain is over and gone. The pastoral scene in Shakespeare’s
“As you Like it” form an Idyll of country life. Tennyson used the term for the
short and pleasing narratives in his “English Idylls” and Browning wrote a
series of “Dramatic Idylls”.
Style and Treatment
The
Idyll is not a mere objective description of persons, places, or things. It is
the poet’s own version of what he has seen or felt. A mere description of facts
would not constitute a successful Idyll; it is a poetic colouring. The language
is usually carefully chosen to given the desired pictorial impression. It may
be direct and straightforward.
Wordsworth’s
“Lines Written in March”
The cock is crowing,
The stream is flowing,
The small birds twitter,
The lake doth glitter,
10. Epic
The Classic examples of the Epic in
European literature are the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey” by the ancient Greek poet
Homer, which have served as models to all later Epic poets.
Conventions of the Epic
The theme of the epic is stated in
the first few lines, accompanied by a prayer to the Muse. The statement of the
theme is technically called the “proposition”, and the prayer the “invocation”.
Virgil’s “Aeneid”, which is an imitation of Homer’s “Iliad”.
The epic employs certain
conventional poetic devices such as the Homeric Epithet- a term or phrase,
sometimes quite lengthy, applied again an again to a particular person, place
or thing- and the Homeric simile, which setting out to make a comparison
between two similar objects develops into a piece of elaborate description, a
word-picture almost a short poem in itself, designed to capture the reader’s
imagination.
The action of the epic is often
controlled by supernatural agents. In Homer and Virgil these are the classical
gods and goddesses.
The epic contains a number of thrilling
“episodes”, such as the mustering of troops, battles, duels, wanderings,
ordeals. In this respect they are all modelled upon Homer or Virgil.
The Epic is divided into books,
usually twelve in number, though the Iliad and the Odyssey have twenty-four
books each. The reduced number was first adopted by Virgil, who was followed in
this by later European writers. Spenser’s “Faerie Queene” was planned in twelve
books, though never completed, and “Paradise Lost” was raised to that number
from the original ten.
11. Mock
Epic or Mock Heroic epic
Introduction
Mock
epic is also known as Mock heroic epic. It is a type of poem written in the
epic style but aims to ridicule at the follies or vices of the society. Mock
epics are full of satire. This kind of poetry became popular during the Neo-
classical age of Alexander Pope.
Mock epic is a long narrative poem
written in mock-heroic style, intended to be humorous. It is a parody of the
epic style in which trivial subjects are treated seriously.
Features
v Invocation
in epic tradition.
v Elaborate
description of battles, warriors and their weapons.
v Use of
supernatural elements.
v Long
speeches.
v Use of
grand and exalted style of the serious epic.
v Use of
epic or Homeric similes or elaborate comparisons.
v Division
of the work into books and cantos.
History of mock epic
Mock
epic flourished and developed in England during the late 17th and 18th
century Neo-classical period as a reaction against the traditional epic poetry.
This form of literature was used by the Neo-classical poets to expose the
follies and vices of the contemporary English society.
John Dryden is one of the earliest
poets to popularize this genre with his “Mac Flecknoe”. This poem is a direct
attack on Thomas Shadwell, a contemporary of Dryden.
Alexander pope is considered as the
greatest exponent of the mock epic during the 18th century. His “The
Rape of the Lock” is deemed to be the finest example of mock epic in English
Literature. The poem presents the story of the stealing of a lock of hair of a
pretty young lady that resembles the kidnapping of Helen of Troy portrayed in
“The Iliad”.
The “Dunciad” is another famous
mock-epic by pope having many qualities of an epic.
Conclusion
In this way, we may sum up by saying
that mock Heroic epic is a type of poem which imitates the style and features
of epic poem but aims at laughing at the society. Full of satire and irony,
mock epics were popular during the 18th Century in English
literature.
Mock
Epic or Mock Heroic epic
Italy and France set the fashion for
a parody of the Epic form, which later found imitators in England. There was a
classical precedent in the “Battle of the Frogs and Mice”, a Greek parody of
the Iliad. The finest example in English verse is Pope’s “Rape of the Lock”,
which celebrates an absurdly trivial theme- in the epic manner.
As Hazlitt remarks, “the little has
been made great, the great, the great little.”
The
invocation,
“ This
verse to Caryl, Muse! Is due;
This
ev’n Belinda may vouchsafe to view:”
Belinda
is represented as a mystic religious rite in classical fashion:
“Each
silver vase in mystic order laid.
First,
rob’d in White, the nymph intent adores,
With
head uncover’d, the cosmetic pow’rs,
A
heavenly image in the glass appears.”
Homeric scene of battle are imitated
in the card game of ombre, and the mock fight between the lords and ladies
towards the close.
The
game:
Behold, four kings in majesty
rever’d,
With hoary whiskers and a forky
beard;
And four fair Queens whose hands
sustain a flow’r,
Th’ expressive emblem of their
softer pow’r;
The
Fight:
See fierce Belinda on the Baron
flies,
With more than usual lightning in
her eyes:
Nor fear’d the Chief th’ unequal
fight to try,
Who sought no more than on his foe
to die.
12. The
Satire
The satire is found in both poetry
and prose. It has no set form. A verse satire might be written as an ode, an
elegy, a ballad, or anything else.
Origin
The satire is of classical origin.
The plays of the Greek Aristohanes are masterpieces. Its chief exponents in
Latin literature were Horace, Persius and Juvenal, who were imitated all over
Europe during and after the Renaissance. They set the model for Elizabethan and
Augustan satire in England.
Satire may be defined as a literary
composition whose principal aim is to ridicule folly or vice. Some of the
notable satires in English poetry are Dryden’s “Absalom and Achitophel”, “Mac
Flecknoe”, Butler’s “Hudibras”, Pope’s “Dunciad” and Byron’s “Vision of
Judgement”.
Essentials of a Good Satire
The satire may be inspired by either
a personal grievance or a passion for reform. It is an attack on a person or
group of persons or on social evil or foil. It is primarily light literature,
hovering at times on the confines of burlesque. It is intended to ridicule, not
to abuse.
The satire, like an arrow, has to
take the shortest route to its target. It must be terse and concise so as to
say a great deal in a brief space. Prolixity destroys its effect.
Subjects of the satire
The
satirist’s trade is censure. He condemns whatever he does approve, and each age
has had its own set of vices to ridicule. The satire, like the drama, holds the
mirror up to nature, and lashes out at contemporary follies and foibles.
Chaucer and Langland attacked corruption in the church and other vices such as
dishonesty on the part of traders and men of law. Victorian era was a great
period of verse satire. Personal attacks have gone out of fashion, but social
conditions and problems and every aspects of modern civilization, offer countless
subjects to the satirist, and the plays of Bernard shaw are as an example of
how widely and effectively a gifted writer.
13. The
Masque
It was of Italian origin, and was
introduced into England in the early years of 16th Century. The
earliest account of an English Masque occurs in Hall’s Chronicle for the year
1512 on the day of Epiphany at night, the King (Henry VIII) was disguised after
the manner of Italy, called a Mask.
Features
1.
The characters are deities of classical
mythology, nymphs and personified abstractions like Love, Delight, Harmony etc.
2.
The number of characters is restricted to six.
3.
The scenes are laid in ideal regions such as
Olympus, Arcadia, the fortunate Isles.
4.
Dances of various kinds are introduced at
appropriate places.
5.
The scenery and costumes are very elaborate.
Decline
The Masques was a costly form of
entertainment, designed either for presentation at court or to grace a festive
occasion at a nobleman’s house. Often it was performed as a part of the
celebrations at a wedding in a great family. The marriage of Ferdinand and
Miranda in Shakespeare’s “Tempest” is celebrated with a Masque, as that of the
Earl of Essex and Lady Frances Howard was in real life.
Attention was paid to elaborate
dresses and scenic affects, and less to literary qualities of the text, so that
there was nothing to give such productions and permanence. For these reasons,
the Masque had but a short period of glory and is now a historical
curiosity.
14. The
Dramatic Monologue
Characteristics
The Dramatic Monologue is intended
for presentation to an audience. It found particular favour with Browning, who
may be called its chief exponent, though Tennyson also used it in his “Ulysses”
and “Tithonus”. It is in the form of speech
addressed to a silent listener. Its aim is character study or
“Psycho-analysis”, without the other dramatic adjuncts of incidents and
dialogue. He may speak in the self-justification or in a mood of detached self
explanation, contended, resigned, impenitent, or remorseful.
Its Dramatic Nature
The
dramatic Monologue is part drama, part poetry. It is a speech in the poetic
medium with a dominant dramatic note. It could be recited on the stage before
an audience, with or without costume and scenic background. It is a study in
character. It courts comparison with the soliloquy, but it is quite different
because it is addressed to a passive listener, whose reaction to what is being
said is hinted at by the speaker. The soliloquy is not supposed to be heard,
the Dramatic Monologue is meant to be.
Robert Browning’s contribution
Occasionally,
Browning’s finest poetry is in the form of Dramatic Monologue. His masterpiece
“The Ring and the Book”, is a series of ten lengthy monologues, in which the
story of a famous trial in Italian history is told from a different point of
view, with a prologue and an epilogue.
15. Meter
It is a unit of rhythm in poetry,
the pattern of the beats. It is also called a foot. Each foot has a certain
number of syllables in it, usually two or three syllables. The difference in
types of meter is which syllables are accented and which are not.
Iamb
Meter has the first syllable unaccented and the second acceted.
Eg: Sonnet 18- That time/ of year/ thou mayst/
in me/ behold
Shall
I/ com pare thee to sum/mer?
Trochee has the first syllable
accented and the second unaccented.
Eg:
Henry Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha”
Tell
me/ not in/mournful/ numbers/
By the / shores of / gitche/ gumee,
By the/ shining/ big sea-/ water
Dactyl
meter has the first syllable accented and the second and third unaccented.
Anapest
meter has the first two syllables unaccented and the third syllable accented.
16. Burlesque
The term Burlesque has its roots in
Italian as well as French Language in which it was in use during the 16th
century. In French, it meant odd or grotesque, while in Italian it meant
ludicrous. It is a derivative of “burla” that means joke or fun.
In literature, it means to ridicule
the people to mock the low strata by becoming a low one, or mimic a great
person by becoming unlike him. During 19th
century, it was considered travesties and satire on the classic or accepted
ideas.
In literary terms, it means to mock
or make fun of a subject through imitation, irony, or sarcasm, resulting in
comedy.
Burlesque
is a comic imitation of a serious literary or artistic form that relies on an
extravagant incongruity between a subject and its treatment. A play or comedy
that exaggerates and makes fun of is called burlesque.
Functions
It mocks and satirizes the people as
well as manners to show the readers how
much mannerisms in people make others smile and laugh. The authors who use burlesque
in their writings, often means to correct the people for those little follies
and foibles for the betterment of the society.
Example:
Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock”, Samuel Butler’s “Hudibras”
17. Chronicle
Play
Chronicle
play also called History play. It is a type of drama with a theme from history
consisting usually of loosely connected episodes chronologically arranged.
Plays of this type typically lay emphasis on the public welfare by pointing to
the past as a lesson for the present.
These plays are based on the
historical materials in the English Chronicles by Raphael Holinshed. “Holinshed’s
Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland” is a collaborative work by
Holinshed, William Harrison, Richard Stanyhurst, Edmund Campion and John Hooker.
It was a large, comprehensive description of British history published in three
volumes (England, Scotland, and Ireland). It was published in two editions, the
first edition in 1577, and the second in 1587. These plays achieved high
popularity late in the 16th century.
The genre came to maturity with
Edward II by Christopher Marlowe and Richard II, Henry IV part 1&2 and
Henry V by William Shakespeare. The Elizabethan chronicle plays are called as
historical plays. The University wits were the first of the Elizabethans to
popularise it, George Peele with his “Edward I”, Marlowe with his “Edward II”,
and Greene with his “James IV”.
18. Detective
Novel
A genre of fiction in which an
investigator or a detective investigates a crime is known as Detective novel.
Detective novel most of the time involves or solves murder cases.
Origin
The detective genre began in the
mid-nineteenth century. The first modern detective story is written by Edgar
Allan poe’s “The Murder in the Rue Morgue”, a short story published in
1841.
Famous Characters
Some of
the famous characters of detective novels are Auguste Dupin, Sherlock Holmes,
Hercule Poirot, and Misss Marple.
Famous Detective Novelist
Some of
the famous novelists of detective fiction are Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan
Doyle, Keigo Higashino and Wilkie Collins.
Characteristics
v A final
twist in the plot.
v House
Robbery or murder.
v There
will be a presence of skilled and professional investigator.
v Red
Herrings
v Detective
inquiries.
v Large
number of false suspects.
v A
reconstruction of the crime.
Elements
v Perfect
crime scene.
v Wrongly
accused suspect at who circumstantial evidence points.
v High
observation and superior mind of the detective.
v A rational
and intelligent detective.
v Unexpected
conclusion in the end.
Types
v Historical
Mystery
v Serial
killer Mystery
v Legal
thriller
v Locked
room mystery.
Examples
v The
Moon stone by Wilkie Collins
v The
mystery of a Hansom Cab by Fergus Hume
v The
hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Canon Doyle
v The
Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
19. Domestic
Tragedy
Domestic Tragedy, presented a
protagonist from the middle or lower social ranks who suffers a commonplace or
domestic disaster. A kind of tragedy in which the leading characters belong to
the middle class rather than to the royal or noble ranks usually represented in
tragic drama, and which the action concerns family affairs rather than public
matters of state. It is written in prose form. It was popularised in 18th
Century.
Example:
The London Merchant by George Lillo
A woman killed with Kindness (1607)
by Thomas Heywood
A Yorkshire Tragedy (1608) by Thomas
Middleton
20. Epistle
A letter in verse, usually addressed
to a person close to the writer. Its theme may be moral and philosophical or
imitate and sentimental. “Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot”, in which the poet
addresses a physician in his social circle. The epistle peaked in popularity in
the 18th century, through Lord Byron and Robert Browning composed
several in the next century.
Example
v Epistle to Augusta by Lord Byron
In the first line of the Epistle, the poet
clearly addresses the lines to his sister, August. He calls her “Sweet” and the
dearest and the purest person that he knows. These affectionate words are
followed by a number of how he feels about her, where he mentally and
emotionally and reflecting on everything.
21. Foot
The smallest unit of rhythm in line
of poetry is called foot. In English Poetry, a foot is typically one accented
syllable combined with one or two unaccented syllables. There are many
different types of feet. When the accent is on the second syllable of a two
syllable word (con- tort), the foot is an ‘iamb’; the reverse accentual pattern
(tor-ture) is a “trochee”. Other feet that commonly occur in poetry in English
are “anapaest”, two unaccented syllables followed by an accented syllable as in
in-ter-cept, and “dactyl”, an accented syllable followed by two unaccented
syllables as in su-i-cide.
22. Problem
Play
The problem play, the type of drama
that developed in the 19th century to deal with controversial social
issues in a realistic manner, to expose social ills, and to stimulate thought
and discussion on the part of the audience.
The problem play refers to a kind o
drama which emerged in the 19th century as a section of the
extensive realism movement in the arts. It handles contentious social problems
via debates between the stage acting characters, who characteristically signify
conflicting view points with an truthful social context. The play normally
focuses on handling a certain social issue in an accurate manner structured to
alter the public opinion. It is mostly employed to demonstrate a situation
where the main character in a play experiences religious, personal, environment
and social issues common to entire society. This concept of the problem play
has highly been illustrated in the play Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll’s house”.
The play “A Doll’s House” was
written in 1800s and it focussed on demonstrating social problems that existed
in the society during this time. This is the time when women were supposed to
be submissive and to live based on the social restriction. Women were required
to stay home and look after their children. Men on the other hand, supposed to
provide for their families. They could work hard and go out of their way to
satisfy the financial needs of the family. Women were considered weak and could
only subordinate their men.
23. Soliloquy
A soliloquy, a literary device used
in drama, is a speech that reveals a character’s internal thoughts, motivation,
or plans. Characters usually deliver soliloquies while they are alone, the
audience has the benefit of hearing this speech, but the other character do
not. When delivering soliloquies, characters often seem to be, “thinking out
loud”.
The
word soliloquy is derived from the Latin word “solo”, which means “to himself”,
and loquor which means “I speak”, a soliloquy offers playwright a handy way of
keeping the audience aware of the play’s plot and progress.
Function
v A
soliloquy in a play is a great dramatic technique or tool that intends to
reveal the inner workings of the character.
v No
other techniques can perform the function of supplying essential progress of
the action of the story better than a soliloquy.
v It is
used, not only to convey the development of the play to the audience, but also
to provide an opportunity to see inside the mind of a certain character.
Example
In
a Soliloquy, the character makes a lengthy speech to himself or herself. In
Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, when Hamlet asks, “To be or not to be...?” he is speaking
to himself in a soliloquy.
24. Heroic
Drama
It was a form mainly specific to the
Restoration period, though instances continued to be written in the early 18th
century.
Characteristics
Ø Love
and valour- subject matters of the heroic tragedies.
Ø Highly exaggerated
actions and events.
Ø The
characters are of superhuman heights women possesses immortal beauty and men
are brave and noble.
Ø The
speeches are high sounding and the diction is grand.
Ø The
purpose of heroic plays is didactic and it always teaches virtues to mankind.
Ø The
action of the play takes place in far off.
Ø Heroic
couplet is used instead of blank verse.
Major Dramatists of Heroic Tragedies
John Dryden (161-1700) was the first
and foremost exponent of the heroic plays. He wrote five such plays.
Ø The
Indian emperor
Ø Titanic
love
Ø Conquest
of Granada Part 1&2
Ø Aurangzeb
Thomas Otway (1652-1685) contributed
greatly in the field of heroic drama by producing following popular plays. He
is known for skilful presentation of characters in his plays.
Ø Don Carlos
Ø The
orphan
Ø Venice
preserve (masterpiece)
Ø Tragedy
on a grand scale (his last play)
25. Stanza
A
stanza is a series of lines grouped together in order to divide a poem; the
structure of a stanza is often repeated throughout the poem.
Types of Stanza
Monostich- A one-line stanza. Monostich
can also be an entire poem.
Couplet- A stanza with two lines that rhyme.
Tercet- A stanza with three lines that either all rhyme or the
first and the third line rhyme- which is called an ABA rhyming pattern. A poem
made up of tercets and concludes with a couplet is called a “Terza Rima”.
Quatrain- A stanza with four lines with the second and fourth lines
rhyming.
Quintain- A stanza with five lines.
Sestet- A stanza with six lines.
Septet- A stanza with seven lines. This is called “Rhyme royal”.
Octave- A stanza with eight lines written in iambic pentameter, or
ten syllable beats per line.
Ottava Rima is an eight-line stanza with the specific rhyme scheme
in which the first six lines have an alternating rhyme pattern and a couplet as
the final two lines.
Isometric Stanza- Isometric stanzas have the same syllabic beats,
or the same meter, in every line.
Heterometric stanza in which every line is a different length.
Spensarian stanza named after Edmund spenser’s unique stanza
structure in his poem “The Faerie Queen”. A spenserian stanza has nine line,
eight in iambic pentameter- ten syllables in a line with emphasis on the second
beat of each syllable- and a final line in iambic hexameter- a twelve syllable
beat line (ABA,BBC, BBC).
Ballad stanza often used in folk songs, a ballad stanza is a
rhyming quatrain with four emphasized beats (eight syllables) in the first and
third lines, and three emphasized beats (6 syllables) in the second and fourth
lines.
26. Haiku
Haiku is a Japanese poetic form.
They are short poems that are based on syllables and not do rhyme. They are
centred on nature and two opposing ideas in a single moment in time. The
subjects of Haiku are beauty, seasons, and nature. The traditional subject
matter of a haiku is a description of natural phenomena, wildlife, common
everyday occurrences, or seasonal activities. It contains three lines, unrhymed
and totally 17 syllables (5 syllables in first and third line & 7 syllables
in second line).
Example
Nature and feelings,
Intertwined in a dance of,
Life, death and rebirth.
Na/ture /and/ fee/lings,- 5 syllable
In/tert/wined /in /a /dance /of,- 7
syllable
Life,/ death/ and/ re/birth.– 5 syllable
27. Interlude
An Interlude is a literary device
which is used by dramatists to provide some kind of comic relief to the
audience. It is a short dramatic piece especially of a light or farcical
character, formally introduced between the parts or acts of Miracle and
morality plays. The word ’interlude’ has been taken from the Latin word which
means “between a play”
Example:
Act
1 Interlude Act 2
In the beginning:
1.
It is very difficult to distinguish them from
the main plays.
2.
Developed from the morality play and hence were
called “Moral Interludes” as well.
3.
Performed to give the audience a break from
gloomy or tragic scenes.
4.
Used solely for the purpose of entertainment
5.
Originated in a sense of humor.
Later:
1.
They began to distinguish themselves from
Morality Plays
2.
Its development would pave the way for comedy.
John Heywood’s Interludes are
written between 1520 and 1540. His famous work is “The Four P’s”. It involves a
debate – more a competition in fact- between four men whose trades begin with
the letter “P”.- Pardoner, Pothecary, Palmer and Pedlar.
Comments
Post a Comment