This course is an inquiry into the nature of literature, as opposed to a study of the means by which it achieves its effects. While we will look at theory and practice in several major genres and periods of literary production, our principal goal is to see how claims made about the function of a particular genre (or of literature in general) imply a view of the nature of literature and the place it occupies in human life and society.
While the following list of course units may make this course look like a survey, remember that we have fairly specific questions to ask in each unit and most units do not attempt any comprehensive treatment of the area. Here's the line up this semester:
1. Tragedy
2. Romantic Theory of Poetry
3. Theory of Prose Fiction
4. Phenomenology of Literature
5. Existentialism
6. Postmodernism
7. Hypertext Fiction
Descriptions of each unit follow:
After some background lecture material on Plato's views of drama, we will read Aristotle's Poetics, asking not so much whether good tragedy follows his guidelines, but what kind of an object the Poetics makes of literature. Then we'll compare two dramatic performances: an "historical approximation" of Oedipus Rex and a contemporary performance of Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman. (Unit begins: 1/19)
Readings
Aristotle. Poetics. New York: Hackett, 1987.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. (video)
Sophocles. Oedipus Rex Guthrie performance. (video)
1.What is the cathartic function of tragedy according to Aristotle and how is it achieved?
2.What is essential and what is variable in the representation of tragedy?
3.What do classical and contemporary views of tragedy tell us about the nature of reality?
While the Romantics may have made some extravagant claims for art in general, and poetry in particular, they definitely seized the "high ground" in the "ancient quarrel" between philosophers and poets. For that reason at least, we ought to look at the understanding of the nature of the poem implicit in their practice and pronouncements. We will focus on two very particular determinations of the nature of poetic practice in the Romantic period, Wordsworth's and Coleridge's statement and practice in Lyrical Ballads and Shelley's Defense of Poetry and his own practice in the well known poem, "Mont Blanc." (Unit begins: 2/4)
Wordsworth, William. "Preface to Lyrical Ballads." Lyrical Ballads. Ed. Owen, W. T. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1969.
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. "Selections from "Biographia Literaria"" Criticism: The Major Statements. Ed. Kaplan, Charles. 2. 1986.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "A Defence of Poetry." The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Ed. Ingpen, Roger; Peck, Walter. Vol. 7. New York: Gordian Press, 1965. 109-140.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe. "Mont Blanc." The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Ed. Ingpen, Roger; Peck, Walter. Vol. 1. New York: Gordian Press, 1965. 229-233.
1.Be prepared to state the project of Lyrical Ballads and illustrate the author's practice of that project in the poems collected under that title.
2.What view of reality is presupposed by Shelly's view of poetry?
3.Compare and contrast Wordsworth's and Shelley's poetic project in terms of their views of the nature of the literary object.
James' essay, "The Art of Fiction," is an important early theoretical statement of the nature of prose fiction. His thinking is also situated at an important juncture in the development of contemporary thought about the literary object. In fact, he stands at the door between old world suspicions of prose (and poetry and drama) and this century's elevation of that form. Also, I think we will also find his short story helpful in discussing phenomenology. (Unit begins: 2/25)
James, Henry. "The Art of Fiction." The Great Critics: An Anthology of Literary Criticism. Ed. Smith, James Harry; Parks, Edd Winfield. 3. New York: Norton, 1967. 648-670.
James, Henry. "The Real Thing." Classic Short Fiction. Ed. Bohner, Charles. Englewood cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1986. 497-513.
2.What is the value of fiction's representational power according to James?
3.Be prepared to analyze the theme of representation and reality in James' short story, "The Real Thing."
Phenomenology, sometimes called the "criticism of consciousness" is one of the most important theoretical developments in 20th century criticism (and philosophy) and it has profound implications for our understanding of the work of art as a cognitive artifact. In this short unit, we will primarily engage in a little bit of intellectual history. (Unit begins: 3/16)
Magnolia, Robert. Phenomenology and Literature. West Lafayette, Indiana: Purdue University Press, 1977. 1-80.
Eagleton, Terry. "Chapter 1: The Rise of English." Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota, 1983. 1-17.
Eagleton, Terry. "Chapter 2: Phenomenology, Hermeneutics, Reception Theory." Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota, 1983. 1-17.
1.Be prepared to explain the distinguishing features of a phenomenological approach to literature objects, discuss some of the presuppositions of that approach for our understanding of the cognitive activity of authors and readers, and evaluate the phenomenological approach to literature.
Tolstoy is not "officially" an existentialist philosopher. Like Dostoevsky, he is regarded as an immediate precursor of the existentialists. In any case our interest in reading him has more to do with his importance to the twentieth century than in his affiliation with existentialism. Also, we need to enrich our study by having at least one contemporary statement of the socio-political function of literature. (Unit begins: 3/23)
1.What view of communication is implicit in Tolstoy's understanding of art?
2.Does Tolstoy's demand that art improve society subordinate art to politics?
It is still too early to tell what lasting influence (if any) postmodernism will have on our conception of art and literature, but there can be little doubt that it poses significant theoretical and practical challenges to contemporary understandings of art and fiction. We'll read some theory and then look at a specific application of postmodern critical reading to a work of fiction, Melville's Billy Budd. (Unit begins: 3/30)
Eagleton, Terry. "Chapter 3: Structuralism and Semiotics." Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota, 1983. 1-17.
Eagleton, Terry. "Chapter 4: Post-Structuralism." Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minneapolis, Minn: University of Minnesota, 1983. 1-17.
Culler, Jonathan. On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism After Structuralism. Ithaca, New York: Cornell UP, 1982. Chapter 3.
Johnson, Barbara. "Melville's Fist: The Execution of Billy Budd." The Critical Difference: Essays in the Contemporary Rhetoric of Reading. Ed. Johnson, Barbara. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980. 79-109.
Melville, Herman. Billy Budd. Ed. Stern, Milton. New York: MacMillan, 1975.
1.Be prepared to show the emergence of postmodern thought from structuralism.
2.Why do you think literary critics were drawn toward postmodern criticism?
3.Assess Barbara Johnson's reading of Billy Budd.
While I don't feel comfortable predicting the future, a number of qualified practitioners and critics believe that the end of paper bound linear fiction is at hand. Some think the experimentation of the "experimental novel" (often called postmodern in its time) seemed to point toward this conclusion. Recently, a number of writers have produced "hypertext" fiction. Naturally, there is a theory to it as well. We'll have a look. (Unit begins: 4/20)
Landow, George. "Hypertext, Hypermedia, and Literary Studies." Hypertext: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and Tehnology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. 1-50.
This book address a variety of theoretical issues raised by hypertext including its relation to postmodernism, the conservation of meaning and the author, the nature of narrative, the effect of hypertext on literary education, and the politics of textuality. Specific discussion of major hypertext projects in the humanities.
WOE -a hypertext fiction
IZME PASS -a hypertext fiction
At the time of writing this guide, Foley Library was in the process of purchasing a number of examples of hypertext fiction. Instructions for browsing it will follow.
1.How does hypertext fiction change our experience and presuppositions about the work of fiction? Be prepared to assess this new experiment in fiction.