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Art is long, and Time is fleeting
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
From the myths and songs in primal cultures to modern poetry and fiction, artists have created literary structures that please and delight those who read or listen. All works of art, no matter how different they may seem, have one thing in common: the writers have deliberately arranged the elements so that the effect produced in the reader or audience is one of pleasure.
In this respect, literature is like other art forms. They all please us, or at least have as their purpose to please. One of the characteristics of the aesthetic pleasure that art gives us is this: a work of art bears repetition. We listen to music we like over and over. We may go back to see again a movie we especially enjoyed. We hang paintings or posters on our walls and look at them, or at least see them, almost everyday. So it is with literary writing. We can reread a poem or a story many times and derive at least as much pleasure from it each
time we read it.
It is the arrangement of words in literary writing that appeals to our aesthetic sensibilities. The literary structures created by the various combinations of words and images please us when we read them. Literature is most commonly classified by genre: poetry, drama, the short story, and the novel. Although we can't discuss all of the literary structures that have been the subject of literary study, we can identify some of the ones most frequently used, especially those that illustrate the concepts we have developed in this textbook.
A major distinction in the types of literary writing is usually made between poetry and prose. Poetry is traditionally defined as a rhythmical use of language. Everyone is familiar with the rhythms and rhymes
of traditional verse, a regular repetition of stresses and sounds. Prose, on the other hand, more closely resembles the patterns of ordinary, everyday speech and is the kind of language used in fiction.
In modern literature, however, the distinction between prose and poetry has diminished. Modern poetry relies less on strict metrical rhythms and modern fiction has become increasingly poetic.
General Characteristics
Literary writing has the following general characteristics:
- Language structures are used that help the reader identify
with the experience depicted by the writer.
- Tension is created.
- Connotative language is used.
- Imagery, symbolism, rhythm, and/or sound patterns are used.
Language Structures
The author of a literary work presents events or scenes by using a
variety of literary devices that shape the reader's perception of
the experiences recorded in the work. Elements such as setting, dialogue,
and characterization are used to create a plot or a scene.
Tension
The structure of literary writing creates tension. Some elements,
such as dramatic action, create tension through conflict. A character
in a story may be involved in any combination of physical, social,
or psychological conflict. A physical conflict is usually external,
with another character or the forces of nature. A social conflict
occurs when a character is pitted against the conventions or mores
of society. And psychological conflict is internal, caused by a dilemma
in the mind of the character.
Tension is also created when two contrasting elements are juxtaposed,
when two things that are different are put side by side. For instance,
when two characters, very different from each other, are put into
a plot together, they serve to create such a contrast. Even if no
overt physical conflict is developed, the difference between the two
characters creates tension.
Connotative Language
Connotations are the associated, emotional meanings of words. (Denotations are the literal dictionary meanings.) Authors of literature are very sensitive to the connotations of words and deliberately select language
that will have the desired effect on the reader. Some words have positive connotations; that is, they create good feelings in most readers. Others, that have negative connotations, create unpleasant feelings in the reader. For instance, the words thrifty, stingy, and economical, although they have similar meanings, have very
different connotations.
Imagery, Symbolism, Rhythm, and Sound Patterns
The deliberate selection of words that produce an aesthetic effect in the reader is the hallmark of literary writing and is especially apparent in the author's use of imagery, symbolism, rhythm, and sound patterns.
Imagery
Imagery involves choosing a word or phrase that engages the senses. When we read an image in a work of literature, that image involves us in the work in a way that is different from our objective understanding
of the meaning of the word or words used to create the image. Images are of two types: literal and figurative.
Literal Images
As the word implies, these images mean exactly what they say. In literary
writing, however, the writer presents them to the reader in an unusual
way. They are graphic and vivid and take advantage of the connotations
of the words used to create them. Instead of saying, "I saw a beautiful
sunset," the literary artist might say something like, "I saw a brilliant
orange sunset streaked with clouds of rose and plum." Instead of saying,
"I touched a tree," the literary artist might say, "I rubbed the rough
bark of the tree, fingering the tiny bits of it that crumbled in my
hand and inhaling the pungent aroma." Notice that even though images
are literal, the second wording is more concrete and vivid. The images
of the second version in each case engage our senses with more specific
detail and take advantage of the connotative meanings of the words.
Figurative Images
Figurative language is a prominent feature of much literary writing,
although literary works certainly can be written without using any
figures of speech at all. Still, the use of figurative language is
one of those features that tells us that we may be looking at a work
which has a primary literary aim. In contrast to literal images, figurative
images can be thought of as non-literal images because the images
they present to the reader are not intended to be realistic. The three
most commonly used figurative images (figures of speech) are the simile,
the metaphor, and personification.
A simile is a comparison between two different objects or concepts
using the word like or as. Look at the following example:
The clouds look like fluffy balls of cotton.
The comparison is figurative, not literal. Clouds and cotton balls are not in the same class of things, but the comparison seems appropriate because it calls our attention to the similarity in the appearance of the two things and deepens our response by allowing us to associate the image of clouds with the sense of touch, the feel of cotton balls.
The comparison made in the metaphor is more direct, as in the following example:
Look at those fluffy balls of cotton floating in the sky.
The effect of the metaphor is more startling than the effect of the simile, but the comparison is the same.
Personification gives human characteristics to animals, plants, objects, or abstractions, as in the following example:
The clouds are smiling at us.
Clouds don't smile; people do. The comparison is figurative.
Symbolism
A symbol is an object, a person, a place, or an action that stands for something else in addition to its literal meaning in the literary work. In other words, the symbol suggests a meaning beyond itself. There are universal symbols and symbols that are particular to the literary work itself. A universal symbol has the same meaning in a number of different literary works because of some qualities inherent in the symbol itself. For instance, the ocean is often used as a symbol of time or eternity. In literature almost anything can be a symbol, depending on how it is used in the work. John Keats, in his "Ode on a Grecian Urn," used the image of an urn with figures depicted on it to symbolize the timelessness of art.
Rhythm and Sound Patterns
Literary works, particularly poems, are characterized by the use of
sound patterns and rhythms that help create mood and tone. The following
excerpt from John Keats' "La Belle Dame sans Merci " illustrates how
rhythm and rhyme help create a feeling of sadness and despondency.
O what can ail thee, knight at arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither'd from the lake,
And no birds sing.
Although the regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
creates an even, emotional tone throughout the stanza, the shortened
last line makes the mood suddenly somber. Coupled with the words "alone,"
"palely," and "wither'd," this use of rhythm creates the impression
of a plaintive, mournful scene.
The rhyme scheme follows the traditional structure of the ballad stanza
the second and fourth lines rhyming. The repetition of the sound ing
focuses our attention on the words "loitering" (suggesting passivity)
and "sing" (suggesting activity). The last line, however, tells us
that the activity of singing is absent and this reinforces the dominant
impression of sadness.
An Example
The following example illustrates how the literary narrative creates tension and interest through conflict as well as through imagery, both literal and figurative.
He roused from his dreaming, vaguely aware of the sound of bells. Church, maybe a wedding, he thought, and drifted back into the oblivion of his sleep. Again the bells and again he roused, more awake now. The doorbell. Yes, he thought, that's it.
He moved to get up out of the cool leathery comfort of his chair, and staggered down the hall to the front door. He paused in front of it...reeling. Squinting through the peephole, he saw a woman, distorted and grotesque, staring at nothing. He opened the door.
She stood glaring at him, silhouetted against the late afternoon sun. "I've come for my things, Roger," she said as she brushed past him, wrinkling her nose, he thought, and as she turned toward the bathroom, she said, under her breath, "You're disgusting."
Disgusting? He self-consciously felt his three day growth and smelled his T-shirt.
He slumped against the wall like some obsolete ornament. He heard drawers opening and closing, a banging, a clang of something metallic and then he heard the click of her heels on the wooden floor.
She walked quickly past him without pausing, loaded with several bags and hangers of clothes. She stopped at the door, turned, and looked back at him. "You'll hear from my lawyer," she said, and as abruptly as she had entered, she went out the door, closing it quietly behind her.
He slid down the wall and sat heavily on the floor. The evening shadows crept through the windows into the quiet house. It was a sad day for Roger Footlash.
Notice how the author of this passage has carefully chosen words that evoke an emotional response that is associated with the normally simple acts the character performs. Rather than walk, he "staggers" down the hall and when he pauses in front of the door, he is "reeling." He then "squints" through the peephole, rather than simply looking through it. And the woman he sees there is "distorted and grotesque." The entire passage is unsettling. The author's choice of words has given a rather mundane sequence of events an air of eeriness and foreboding. We know that nothing happy is about to happen. And sure enough, the woman's behavior confirms this. When Roger "slides" down the wall and sits "heavily" on the floor, we know how he feels. The weight of the entire incident is on his shoulders and the author has used a variety of connotative and figurative words and phrases to help us feel it.
Four Kinds of Literary Writing
We can divide literary writing into four categories, regardless of the genre. These categories reflect theories of art, the principles a writer uses to select and organize the material in a literary work.
(Writers may or may not realize that they are using a particular theory.) Some writers consciously adhere to a theory, deliberately following its principles of construction; others simply follow the prevailing
literary conventions or imitate what other writers have done without ever consciously adopting a unified, consistent theory. The four theories (expressive, mimetic, objective, and pragmaticaddress different aspects of the question, "What is literature?"
Expressive Theory of Art
As the name suggests, the expressive theory of art produces a highly
personal kind of literature, similar in some ways to the expressive
writing discussed in Chapter 2. The expressive theory became important
in England in the nineteenth century when a group of writers that
we call Romantics began to emphasize the importance of recording emotional
responses in poetry.
The following characteristics are usually found in literature that
has been written according to an expressive theory of art:
- Personal experiences are recorded.
- Personal images and/or symbols are used.
- First person pronouns are used.
- Emotional reactions are expressed.
Personal Experiences
The writer creates the literary work out of personal experiences.
Those events that are most memorable to the writer are transformed
into literary language.
Personal Images and/or Symbols
The imagery and/or symbolism found in a literary work using the expressive
theory of art are based on the personal experience of the writer.
These personal images and symbols have meaning to the writer even
though they may be almost incomprehensible to the reader.
First Person Pronouns
Almost invariably, works using the expressive theory are written in
the first person. The use of first person pronouns is the natural
result of the personal focus of the expressive theory.
Emotional Reactions
The words the writer uses express emotional reactions to the experiences
recorded. As a result, such writing may seem similar to expressive
writing.
An Example
John Keats was one of those nineteenth-century English Romantics who
saw poetry as an expression of emotion. The following sonnet records
Keats' reactions when, at the age of twenty-one, he read George Chapman's
translation of Homer's "Iliad" and "Odyssey." (Chapman's translation
was published between 1598 and 1616.)
On First Looking into Chapman's Homer
by John Keats
Much have I traveled in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse had I been told
That deep-browed Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He stared at the Pacific--and all his men
Looked at each other with a wild surmise--
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
In this poem, Keats uses a traditional poetic form, the Italian sonnet
(rhyme scheme abba, abba, cdc, dcd). Usually a kind of poem associated
with themes of romantic love, Keats has transformed it into an expression
of his own love of poetry. Through his use of first person pronouns
and in his recounting of his personal experience with literature we
feel the presence of the poet. He expresses his emotional reaction
in his use of the word felt and in his sense of wonder when
he compares himself to a "watcher of the skies" who discovers a "new
planet ." He also expresses an emotional response when he refers to
the "wild surmise" of those who discovered the Pacific Ocean. (Keats
mistakenly thought that Cortez discovered the Pacific. It was actually
Balboa.)
Mimetic Theory of Art
The writer using a mimetic theory of art attempts to mimic or mirror
reality. A preponderance of modern fiction reflects the mimetic theory
of art as it is reflected in the use of the conventions of realism.
The following characteristics are apparent:
- Real life situations are presented.
- Realistic language is used.
- Realistic, often ordinary, people are depicted.
- Realistic settings are described.
Real Life Situations
Situations that have the feel of reality are presented. The writer
attempts to present the events of the plot in a way that seems to
be consistent with similar events that take place in everyday life.
The appearance of reality is created.
Realistic Language
Language used by characters in a literary work using a mimetic theory
of art seems appropriate to the character speaking it. In other words,
it is language the way we might expect such a character to speak if
we met him or her in reality. Even though the dialogue in a literary
work is not exactly the way people say things, it does give the reader
the impression that the characters are real.
Ordinary People
The characters are like those we might expect to meet in real life.
The physical descriptions of the characters add to an overall impression
of reality. The writer may make the reader aware of the thoughts of
the characters.
Realistic Settings
Settings are described in some detail with an eye toward accuracy.
These descriptions reinforce the impression that the characters and
events are like those we would expect to meet in our everyday existence.
An Example
Frank Norris was an early twentieth-century American writer whose
novels were influenced by naturalism, a literary movement that, among
other things, emphasized an accurate portrayal of human beings and
the environmental forces that shape them. The following excerpt illustrates
an attention to a mimetic presentation, writing that imitates life.
Spring Plowing
by Frank Norris
The plowing, now in full swing, enveloped him in a vague, slow-moving whirl of things. Underneath him was the jarring, jolting, trembling machine; not a clod was turned, not an obstacle encountered, that he did not receive the swift impression of it through all his body; the very friction of the damp soil, sliding incessantly from the shiny surface of the plowshares, seemed to reproduce itself in his finger-tips and along the back of his head. He heard the horse-hoofs by the myriads crushing down easily, deeply, into the loam, the prolonged clinking of trace-chains, the working of the smooth brown flanks in the harness, the clatter of wooden hames, the champing of bits, the click of iron shoes against pebbles, the brittle stubble of the surface ground crackling and snapping as the furrows turned, the sonorous, steady breaths wrenched from the deep, labouring chests, strap-bound, shining with sweat, and all along the line the voices of the men talking to the horses. Everywhere there were visions of glossy brown backs, straining, heaving, swollen with muscle; harness streaked with specks of froth, broad, cup- shaped hoofs, heavy with brown loam, men's faces red with tan, blue overalls spotted with axle-grease; muscled hands, the knuckles whitened in their grip on the reins, and through it all the ammoniacal smell of the horses, the bitter reek of perspiration of beasts and men, the aroma of warm leather, the scent of dead stubble--and stronger and more penetrating than everything else, the heavy, enervating odour of the upturned, living earth.
Norris's description focuses on details that create a vivid impression
of the real life actions associated with plowing a field. We become
aware of the scene from the perspective of a man plowing a field.
Norris engages each of our senses in turn. With the man we feel "the
jarring, jolting, trembling machine" and "the friction of the damp
soil." We hear the sound of the horse-hoofs "crushing down. . . into
the loam. . . the clinking of trace- chains. . .the click of iron
shoes," and "the voices of the men." We see the "glossy brown backs"
of the horse, "men's faces red with tan," and "knuckles whitened in
their grip of the reins. . . ." We smell "the ammoniacal smell of
the horses. . .the aroma of warm leather," and the "odour of the upturned,
living earth." These images make the scene seem real.
Objective Theory of Art
A writer who is influenced by an objective theory of art sees literature
as existing for its own sake. You may have heard the phrase Art
for Art's Sake used to characterize this theory. Edgar Allan Poe
made reference to it when he spoke of the dignity and nobility of
a "poem per se<196><196>[a] poem which is a poem and nothing more<196><196>[a]
poem written solely for the poem's sake." In England during the last
part of the nineteenth century, Oscar Wilde reflected the influence
of this aesthetic theory in his brilliantly witty dramas. In twentieth-
century American poetry the Imagists are a notable example of the
influence of this theory.
The objective theory of art has four characteristics:
- The focus on the experience depicted is sharp and limited.
- Structural unity is emphasized.
- The sound and/or appearance of words is focused on.
- Exact images are used.
Sharp and Limited Focus
The writer operating from the objective theory of art focuses on a
limited area of experience or on a very small part of the setting
with a single sharp image. There is a concentration of focus. The
work suggests, rather than offers, complete statements or descriptions.
Structural Unity
Everything in the work is unified. The writer strives to use words
and images that contribute to the overall aesthetic effect of the
work.
Emphasis on Sound and/or Appearance of Words
The writer pays special attention to each word, not only to its denotative
and connotative meanings, but also to its sound and perhaps even its
appearance on the page. Rhythms are often used to create a certain
mood.
Exact Images
The writer using an objective theory of art strives for concreteness
and exactness. All of the images presented support the aesthetic whole.
An Example
Haiku is a traditional Japanese form of poetry having three lines
and a set number of syllables: 5, 7, 5. Many haiku incorporate
references to a season of the year, and all haiku aim at pleasing
the reader through evocative imagery. Here are four examples.
I
Music from a flute
Asks me to stop and listen
To the soft spring rain.
II
Silver clouds touch earth--
My summer-tired feet and eyes
Must know more than dirt.
III
Rabbit disappears
Hiding among brittle weeds:
Small clouds drift away.
IV
A tree stands cold, still,
Reaches upward for the sky.
I know only now.
These four haiku illustrate how poetry can create a complex set of
meanings through a compressed structure. The connotations of the images
produce many connections with other images in each of the poems.
In the first haiku, for instance, the image of music is associated
with the flute and also, by implication, with the sound of the rain.
The music "asks" the poet to "stop and listen." We become aware of
both action (listening) and inaction (stopping). In the same moment
of realization we discover that the sound of "the soft spring rain"
has an aesthetic quality and that it is something to be appreciated
as we would enjoy hearing the music "from a flute."
In the second poem "silver clouds" exist in contrast to the heat and
the "dirt "of summer. And yet the contrast is overcome because the
clouds "touch the earth" forming a kind of bond between clouds and
earth. The poet is allowed to transcend the oppressiveness of the
summer.
The third haiku presents us first with the image of a rabbit disappearing
and "hiding among the brittle weeds." The disappearance of the rabbit
is somehow connected to the drifting away of the small clouds. The
image of "brittle weeds" reinforces the impression that the situation
is transitory, and may suggest the coming of autumn, the season of
transition from summer to winter.
In the last haiku the impression of yet a fourth season, winter, is
suggested by the image of cold. The tension between earth and sky
is emphasized by the image of the tree reaching "upward for the sky."
Confronted with the image of the barren tree, the poet is struck by
the importance of being aware of the present moment.
Pragmatic Theory of Art
The pragmatic theory of art (also known as the didactic theory) is
generally discounted in modern literature; nonetheless, modern literary
criticism recognizes its existence by acknowledging the tendency of
literature to focus on theme. Certainly, the theory has been important
in the history of literature. Aesop's fables are a notable example.
Allegories, like John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, for
instance, are frequently didactic.
The characteristics of this theory are:
- A lesson is taught or a theme is drawn from the experiences
reported.
- The experience presented is related to the theme.
- A value system is adopted and/or rejected.
- Harmony is achieved.
A Lesson or Theme
The lesson in a pragmatic literary work may actually be appended to
the story or poem in the form of a moral which confirms or rejects
social mores. In Paradise Lost, John Milton says that his purpose
in writing the poem is to "justify the ways of God to man." Such a
statement reflects the universal scope of the work and reinforces
many of the religious tenets of Milton's society.
Relation of Experience to Theme
The theme is often presented by references to moral principles or
codes of behavior. If characters are involved, it is through the actions
of the characters that the writer shapes our attitudes.
A Value System is Adopted
The lesson or moral of a pragmatic work of literature reflects a referenced
value system. Part of the intent of the work is to give support to
the values expressed in the work. Satire, making fun of some set of
values, is often used to debunk something, frequently some custom
or social institution that the writer finds offensive or ridiculous.
Harmony
Harmony means that in the resolution of the narrative, order is restored
or maintained. Even though harmony may be disrupted, the ultimate
conclusion of works based on a pragmatic theory is a restoration or
maintenance of a world consistent with the lesson being taught.
An Example
Written in 1838, the following poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
reflects the poetic values of his age. By following a pragmatic theory
of art, he was able to express in his poetry what Americans wanted
and yearned for. He delivered moral statements and uplifting sentiments
exalting the work ethic and family relationships.
A Psalm of Life
What the Heart of the Young Man Said to the Psalmist
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!--
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returneth,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like, dumb, driven cattle!
Heart within, and God o'er head!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints in the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
The poem's title makes its didactic purpose evident. Longfellow's
intention is to give the reader some moral lesson. His attention to
the reader is evident throughout the poem in the use of first person
plural pronouns (we, us, our) and the imperative mood (commands).
Many of the lines in the poem sound like proverbs or bits of advice
given to the reader; indeed they sound like the advice a parent might
give to a child. In addition, the values expressed in the poem, extolling
the work ethic, were values held by many people in American society
at the time the poem was written.
Combinations
As with the other aims (Expressive, Persuasive, and Referential),
finding a work of literature that embodies only one of the theories
of art is rare. Even a highly expressive work may reveal a realistic
view of the world.
The Process of Literary Writing
If you plan to write a literary piece, there are some things to consider
before you begin. Go through your memories, your childhood and adolescence,
people you remember. Try to recall an outstanding event and think
it through--when it began, what happened, how it ended. Or
if you prefer, invent something entirely out of your imagination.
Here are some discovery questions that might help you get started:
- What is your story about?
- What are the major events?
- Who are the characters in the story?
- What do the characters look like?
- What conflict is occurring?
- What is the moment of crisis?
- How is the conflict resolved?
- Where does the conflict take place?
- What are the physical details of the setting?
- Over what period of time does the story take place?
Questions? For answers, send an e-mail to Dr. Write.
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