ESSAY CEMETERY

Tomashevsky, Boris. "Thematics."   Russian Formalist Criticism: Four Essays . Comp. Lee T. Lemon and Marion J. Reis. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1965. 62-95. Print. About Tomashevsky Tomashevsky is a Formalist. (From Wikipedia: In literary theory , formalism refers to critical approaches that analyze, interpret, or evaluate the inherent features of a text. The formalist approach reduces the importance of a text’s historical, biographical, and cultural context.) Introduction to Tomashevsky's Approach The introduction to “Thematics” by Tomashevsky states that Tomashevsky’s essay is a proposal of how to analyze a narrative. A narrative must have a theme and enlist the readers’ emotions. Tomashevsky makes a distinction between Plot and Story. Tomashevsky deals with many aspects of narrative, including motif and how to distinguish between those which are and aren’t necessary to the action. He explores the parts  of narratives and their purpose. “The motif-...

Chatman, Seymour Benjamin. "Introduction."   Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film . Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1978. 15-21. Print. Seymour Chatman Different famous personalities have tried to analyze what makes a narrative. Emphasis is put on Aristotle's Poetics .  Fairy and folk tales had relatively simple plots and structures; modern narratives are more complex. Dictionary definition of poetics: literary criticism treating of the nature and laws of poetry. =literary theory Literary structuralistic theorists/poeticians deal not with evaluating  a poem but with defining, analyzing, categorizing it. Poetics, as Todorov states, should strive not to provide a mere description of the work, but to go outside of the constraints of the work in order to draw conclusions about it, and go beyond it. Literary theory is a study of the nature of literature. Works of literature often are of mixed genres, and are never perfect representation of the ...

Todorov, Tzvetan. "Chapter 4: Reading as Construction."  Genres in Discourse . Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1990. 39-49. Google Books. Web. 22 Aug. 2012. Tzvetan Todorov Todorov will discuss the reading of classical fiction or representative texts. While reading this type of text a construction unfolds to the reader. Novels do not imitate a pre-existing reality. Instead, they construct a new, imaginary universe. There are techniques the author employs to get readers to construct this world. Referential sentences and no others induce construction. Sentences that create a clear picture are referential and sentences that are general, abstract or vague are not. Different referential sentences contribute in differently to the construction of the world. They can contribute to mode, time, and point of view. Mode – verisimilitude of fictional world Time - Sentences can help place events in time for the reader Point of view - sentences can help the reader picture the...

Booth, Wayne C. "Chapter III: All Authors Should be Objective."  The Rhetoric of Fiction . Chicago: University of Chicago, 1961. Print. In the 20 th century, the consensus has been for authors to be objective. Objectivity is characterized by neutrality, impartiality, and impassibilité. Neutrality and the Author’s Second Self Neutrality in an author means adopting the same attitude towards all values, good and evil. It is however impossible for an author to remain entirely neutral in his writing. Instead, the author should remain neutral toward a set of values, depending on the sort of work he is writing and his aim for the text. Some works are improved by subjectivity and some are harmed by it. The fewer biases the author utilizes, the more his readers are likely to find his work agreeable. However, when reading a work, the reader always gets a sense of the implied author (or “official scribe”), and he is always distinguishable from other authors. He is ne...

Ricoeur, Paul. "Narrative Time."   Narrative Dynamics: Essays on Time, Plot, Closure, and Frames . Ed. Brian Richardson. Columbus: Ohio State UP, 2002. 35-45. Print. 1. Presuppositions Narrativity and temporality are closely related. Language refers constantly to temporality, and temporality is necessary for narrative. Time is not, in regards to narrative, simply a linear succession of moments. On a superficial level, time is that "within" which events take place. On a deeper level, time is historicality- emphasis placed on the weight of the past. Plot is the "intelligible whole that governs a succession of events in any story". As such the plot is characterized by temporal complexity. 2. What occurs happens "in" time We will present an analysis of time and an analysis of narrativity, and relate them. Time must be considered by what happens "in" it. Time is subjective, according to the importance we attribute to the e...

Gerard Genette is a French structuralist. Genette suggests approaching narrative as though it is a discourse (a discussion, or dissertation on a topic). He discusses time in relation to narrative in terms of order, duration and frequency of events within the narrative. Order In most works of literature the order in which events are related in the text is different from the chronological succession of events. Instead there are flashbacks or flash forwards. The story may go back and forth between relating events chronologically or achronologically.  Anachronisms may be repetitive if the event has already been related in the narrative, or completive if they fill in an earlier blanks in the narrative ( recalls ) or later blanks in the narrative ( announcements ). These anachronisms are used to enhance or create meaning in the narrative or foreshadow occurrences. There are variations on these, retrospections within anticipations etc. There are also achronic events, ...