Trang 2 ANH - *1.2021.ENG170* Trang 3 PREFACE The textbook is designed with the hope to provide English majors of Hutech with preliminary theoretical knowledge of literary analysis as
INTRODUCTION INTO LITERATURE
After finishing unit 1, students should be able to:
- Define the term versification used in English literature.
- Explain the literary terms in poetry and fiction
- Describe the figures of speech and musical devices
- Demonstrate their knowledge of versification in scanning the lines in a poem
- Interpret the figurative meaning in a poem
- Analyze the key elements in a short fiction
Versification is the art of making verses The most essential characteristic of verse, as compared with prose, is that it has meter and rhyme Meter is verse rhythm determined by the prevailing, or predominant foot and the number of feet in a line
The word meter comes from a word meaning To measure something, we must have a unit of measurement For measuring verse, we use the foot, the line and sometimes the stanza
THE FOOT: the basic metrical unit consists normally of one accented syllable plus one or two accented syllables The basic kinds of feet are as follows: a The Iamb or iambic foot: one unstressed followed by one stressed syllable as in along, delight, today b The Anapest or anapestic foot: two unstressed followed by one stressed syllable, as in understand, underneath, intervene, indistinct c The Trochee or trochaic foot: one stressed followed by one unstressed syllable, as in happen, lightly, daily d The Dactyl or dactylic foot: one stressed followed by two unstressed syllables, as in elephant, yesterday, tenderly
Besides, there are other kinds of feet as follows:
- The Spondee, or spondaic foot: a two-stressed syllable foot as in lighthouse
- The Pyrrhic: a two unstressed-syllable foot
- The Hypermetric foot: the extra final unstressed syllable in an iambic line: When
- The Catalectic foot: extra final stressed syllable in a trochaic line: Goddess excellently, bright
THE LINE: The secondary unit of measurement is measured by naming the number of feet in it The following names are used:
Monometer: one foot Dimeter: two feet
Trimeter: three feet Tetrameter: four feet
Pentameter: five feet Hexameter: six feet
Heptameter: seven feet Octameter: eight feet
THE STANZA: Repeated units having the same number of lines, the same metrical pattern, and often an identical rhyme scheme
1 Some classes of words, specifically content words, such as verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs are likely more eligible to receive a stress than others, but in scanning, we have to consider also the meaning of what being said and the natural English speech, so as not to distort the natural speech for the sake of meter Meaning and natural speech sometimes demand that monosyllabic words often classified as function words be stressed
To be or not to be, that is the question (Shakespeare)
=> Not, a monosyllabic function word, is stressed whereas the content words be and is are not
2 Of the stressed syllables, some are to receive a lighter stress (secondary stress) than others
Goddess éxcelléntly bright (Ben Jonson)
3 Sometimes there is a difference in scanning, it is only natural because there is legitimate room for personal interpretation and disagreement between qualified readers of poetry
QUIZZ Scan the following lines and identify the type of feet in each line
1 How small a part of time they share
2 My love is like a red, red, rose
3 Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
4 It was many and many a year ago
5 Queen and Huntress, chaste and fair
6 You that make a day of night,
7 When breezes are soft and skies are fair,
I steal an hour from study and care
8 She let her sewing fall, began to stare
Out of the window, at the trees, now bare
At a cold thrush, too cold and sad to fly
Figurative language language using figures of speech- is language that cannot be taken literally
Figurative language is any way of saying something other than the ordinary way FIGURES OF SPEECH a METAPHOR & SIMILE
Metaphor and Simile are both used as means of comparing things that are essentially unlike
- METAPHOR: The comparison is implied
The petals of the day have closed (Katherine Mansfield)
- SIMILE: The comparison is expressed by the use of words, phrases such as like, similar to, resemble, seem,
O my love is like a red, red rose (Robert Burns) b PERSONIFICATION: The representation of inanimate objects or abstract ideas as living beings
The startled little waves (Sylvia Plath) c APOSTROPHE: A device by which a writer turns away from the readers to address a person who usually is either absent or deceased, or an object or an abstract idea
My love, my love, my love, why have you left me alone (James Joyce) d SYNECDOCHE & METONYMY: They are both alike in that both substitute some significant detail or aspect of an experience for the experience itself
- SYNECDOCHE: The use of the part for the whole
O word of fear, Unpleasing to a married ear (Shakespeare)
- METONYMY: the use of something closely related for the thing actually meant
The hostess kept a good table
Note: They are so much alike that it is hardly worthwhile to distinguish between them, and the latter term is increasingly coming to be used for both e SYMBOL: A word, a phrase or an object which is used to evoke a concrete reality, suggesting a range of meaning beyond itself It is something that means more than what it is
The dove is a symbol of peace
A red rose stands for love f PARADOX & OXYMORON
- PARADOX: An apparently absurd or contradictory statement which when it is explained, proves to be logically sound and meaningful It is used to attract attention or to emphasize
Men work together whether they work together or apart (Robert Frost)
I must be cruel to be kind (Shakespeare)
- OXYMORON: a compact paradox in which 2 successive words seemingly contradict each other
True lies, pleasing plague, provoking charm, sweet sorrow g OVERSTATEMENT & UNDERSTATEMENT
- OVERSTATEMENT (or Hyperbole): an exaggeration in the service of truth
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till the seas gang dry (Robert Burns)
- UNDERSTATEMENT (or Litotes): saying less than one means h IRONY
- VERBAL IRONY: saying the opposite of what one means The discrepancy between what is said and what is meant
- DRAMATIC IRONY: the discrepancy between what the speaker says and what the author means
- IRONY OF SITUATION: the discrepancy between actual circumstances and those that would seem appropriate or between what one anticipates and what actually comes to happen
Ancient Mariner finds himself in the middle of the ocean with
Water, water, everywhere but not a drop to drink
- ROMANTIC IRONY: The author builds up the illusion of representing reality only to shatter it later It is the discrepancy between what seems real and what actually is i IMAGERY may be defined as the representation through language of sense experience The word perhaps most often suggests a mental picture, something seen in the eyes, and visual imagery is the most frequently occurring in poetry But an image may also represent a sound, smell, taste, a tactile experience, such as hardness, wetness or cold, an internal sensation, such as hunger, thirst or nausea; a movement or tension in the muscles or joints
- Denotations: the dictionary meaning of a word
Home: a place where one lives
- Connotations: what the word suggests beyond its dictionary meaning
Home suggests the idea of security, love, comfort, family,
MUSICAL DEVICES a RHYME: The repetition of the accented vowel sound and all succeeding sounds The rhyme is found in two positions
- End - rhyme: at the end of the line
At daybreak on the hill they stood a
And then they saw the bridge of wood a
- Internal rhyme: within the same line
For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams, (Edgar Allan Poe)
Note: The rhyme should be determined with the ears (the sound), not with the eyes
(spelling) Bead and tread, blood and food are only eye rhymes, eyes and rise, quay and sea make perfect rhymes while not spelled alike b ALLITERATION: The repetition of initial consonant sounds or the stressed ones of nearby words
Looking and loving our behavior pass
The stones, the steels and the polished glass
The civic slander and the spite
The love and belief c ASSONANCE: The repetition of vowel sounds in a line or a series of lines so all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling- my darling - my life and my bride (Edgar Allan Poe) d CONSONANCE: The repetition of final consonant sounds
- but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage (Shakespeare) e ONOMATOPOEIA: The use of sounds that could supposedly echo or suggest the meaning, like buzz, crash, twitter, hum,
The moan of doves in immemorial elms
Fiction has five characteristics. a It is fiction in the broad literary sense It is something invented by the writer b It is non-dramatic c It is narrative d It is descriptive e It is prose
In this narrow literary sense, fiction - on the basis of length - is divided into three kinds: Novel, Novella and Short Stories
THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF FICTION
A CHARACTERIZATION: The portrayal of characters:
- Indirect: when the characters are displayed in action.
Types of characters a Flat character: simple, unchanged
It is a type rather an individual: typifying a social or economic class
It may typify a virtue or vice
It is not liable to change throughout the story b Round character: complex, changing
It is not dominated by a single psychological mood
It must go through changes of fortune
A round character can sometimes be flat at a certain moment c Static & Dynamic character: Flat characters are nearly always static and Round characters dynamic
Note: The nature and use of characters in the story are determined by the purpose of the writer
- It is the structure of actions having cause and effect relationship and not mere simple sequence of chronological events
- A plot consists of 4 major parts, namely Complications, Conflict, Climax and Ending
Complications or Exposition: events or actions that establish the conflict(s) in the story
Conflict: a struggle between internal and external forces in the story: o Internal conflict happens within the individual o External conflict happens (1) between individuals, (2) between individual(s) and social force, (3) between individual(s) and natural force
Climax: the turning point, often signified by a making a significant decision or taking action to solve a conflict
Ending or Resolution: the ending which often shows the effects of the climactic action
A more detailed analysis of a plot may also include the Rising action and Falling action which happen before and after the Climax respectively as shown in the figure below
Closed plot: It runs the customary course of the four major parts described above Open plot: It has little or no resolution
- It is the central, unifying concept of the story, a generalization
- There is no one way of stating the theme
- It is the time and place of the story, the background for the c actions
- Setting can be used to emphasize the idea of the story, accentuate the theme, to bring all the characters into proper perspective
Flashback: an interruption in the chronological order of the story by description of earlier occurrences
E NARRATIVE MANNER or POINT OF VIEW
It is how the story is narrated or to put it in a simple way, it is who the narrator is His view or description of the events may influence the response, and consequently, is a very important aspect for the analysis of a story
- First-person narrator: The narrator is the author First-person narrators can report their own thoughts but not the thoughts of the others They may offer evaluations and judgements of other characters and events a First-person narrator actor: autobiographical method b First-person observer: The narrator is not the main character but an observer of the experience acting as a foil or contrast to set forth the characteristics of the characters
- Third-person narrator (or Objective point of view): The narrator who, like a camera, shows external events and conversations but cannot look inside the minds of characters or offer evaluations and judgements
- Limited omniscient narrator: The narrator who can report external actions and conversations as well as the inner thoughts of only one character He may offer evaluations and judgements of other characters and events
- Omniscient narrator: The narrator who can report both external actions and conversations as well as the inner thoughts of all characters and who often provides evaluations and judgements of other characters and events
- A short story is a narrative that can be read at one setting and is limited to a certain single effect to which every detail is subordinate (Edgar Allan Poe)
- It is a brief piece of fictional narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end
- It is a brief piece of fictional narrative with a middle but no beginning and no ending
- A short piece of fiction in which the protagonist is confronted with a conflict and is forced to bring that conflict to some sort of resolution
The short story is a short fictional narrative which aims to produce a single effect
How short is a short story?
There are various answers, such as
- It is short enough to be read at one sitting
- It is from two to three pages long
- It could be read in about 15 minutes
However, there are stories of one page only and many of more than three pages
To foreign readers, it may take longer time to finish reading a story
Besides, to produce one major effect or point, a short story must have unity because everything in it should contribute to achieving the goal which the writer had in mind.
INTRODUCTION INTO BRITISH & AMERICAN LITERATURE
After finishing unit 2, students should be able to:
- List major literary periods in British and American literature
- Describe salient characteristics of the periods
- Recognize major authors of the periods
449 The Germanic tribes invaded England and brought with them
Anglo-Saxon, the language which is the basis of Modern English
597 St Augustine brought Roman Christianity to England
1170 Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury was murdered
1066 The Norman Conquest led by William the Conqueror and the introduction of strict Norman feudal system
- to be chanted with harp accompaniment
- bold and strong, but also mournful and elegiac in spirit
- without rhyme, abundant use of alliteration
Beowulf: the first surviving epic written in the English language The single existing copy of the manuscript dated from the late tenth century, although some scholars believe it dates from the first part of the eleventh century It is found in a large volume that features stories involving mythical creatures and people There is no knowledge about the poet as well as the day of the composition
Beowulf is short, with 3182 verses, yet it is the longest as well as the richest of Old English poems The first great work of English literature is not set in Britain; Beowulf opens with the mysterious figure of Scyld, founder of the
Scylding dynasty of Denmark, who would have lived c.400, before England existed
Beowulf is about King of the Danes, Hrothgar and about a brave young man,
Beowulf, from Southern Sweden, who goes to help him The great hall, called Heorot, is visited at night by a terrible creature, Grendel, which lives in the lake and comes to kill and eat men One night Beowulf waits secretly for Grendel and attacks it and in a fierce fight pulls its arm off It manages to reach the lake, but dies there Then its mother comes to the hall and the attacks begin Beowulf follows her to the lake and kills her there In later days Beowulf, now king of his people, has to defend his country against a fire-breathing dragon
He kills the animal but is badly wounded in the fight and dies
Religious writings reflecting Christian doctrine: The dedicated Christian literature of Anglo-Saxon England is of various kinds There are verses paraphrases of Old Testaments stories, such as s: Genesis and Exodus, Daniel and Judith They emphasize faith rewarded There are lives of saints, historical lives of contemporaries, sermons, ect
Elegies: Short lyrical poems evoking the Anglo-Saxon sense of harshness of circumstance and the sadness of the human lot The Wanderer, The Seafarer and The Ruin are among the most beautiful elegies
- mainly religious works written in Latin
Ecclesiastical History of the English People written by Bede in 731
The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius is an Old English translation which is about Platonic philosophy adaptable to Christian thought, and is of great influence on English literature
1066 The Norman Conquest led by William the Conqueror
1215 King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta
1338 Hundred Years War with France began
1415 The victory over French at Agincourt
1453 Defeat in France to end Hundred Years War
1476 William Caxton set up first printing press in London
Extensive influence of French literature on native English forms and themes
The beginning of native English drama was closely associated with the church celebrations of traditional religious feasts Two major types are:
- Miracle or Mystery plays: cycles of religious dramas, performed by town guilds, craft associations of a religious kind
- Morality plays: these plays personified such abstractions as Health, Death, Sin, etc and showed the fate of the single human person, played by travelling companies
- Geoffrey Chaucer (c 1343 - 1400): Chaucer was a professional courtier, a kind of civil servant He was born into a family of wine-traders His work took him to Kent (which he represented in Parliament from 1386), to France, and twice to Italy first book, The Book of the Duchess, is a dream poem on the death of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster The simplicity and directness of the emotion, and the handling of dialogue, show capacity to bring language, situation and emotion together effectively The House of Fame is another dream poem, this time influenced by the Italian of Dante Other works are
Troylus and Cryseyde (1372 - 7?) is about the love of the two young people, and The Legend of Good Women (1385) last work The Canterbury Tales is today his most popular Its opening that April with his shoures is the first line of English verse that is widely known
The Canterbury Tales was first conceived in 1836 when Chaucer was in Greenwich, consisting of 24 stories in rhymed couplets, concerning a host of subjects: religious innocence, married chastity, villainous hypocrisy, female volubility - all illumed by great humour told by a group of about 30 pilgrims who set off from the Tabard Inn in Southwark, London, to visit the shrine of St Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury murdered in his own cathedral in 1170 They are representatives of most of the classes in medieval England Each of them has to tell four stories: two on the way, two on the way back The teller of the best story would be given a free dinner by the cheerful host of the Tabard In fact the collection is incomplete world in the Canterbury Tales brings together for the first time, a diversity of characters, social levels, attitudes and ways of life The tales themselves make use of a similarly wide range of forms and styles Literature, with Chaucer, has taken on a new role: a well as forming a developing language, it is a mirror of its time
- but a mirror which teases as it reveals, which question while it narrates, and which opens up a range of issues and questions, instead of providing simple, easy answers
Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer is the poem which introduces the Canterbury Tales
It is written in ten-syllable couplets and is 558 lines long Here at the beginning there is a sense of harmony between man and nature The stirrings of spring in nature are associated with the impulse among people to go on pilgrimages
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote The droughte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathes every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne, And smale al the nyght with opn ye (So pricketh hem nature in his corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on
A modern version of the Prologue
When in April the sweet showers fall And pierce the drought of March to the root and fall The veins are bathed in liquor of such power
As brings about the engendering of the flower, When also Zephyrus with his sweet and breath Exhales an air in every grove and heath
Upon the tender shoots, and the young sun His half course in the sign of the Ram has run And the small fowl are making melody
That sleep away the night with open eyes (So nature pricks them and their heart engages) Then people long to go on
- William Langland (c 1330 0 - c 1386): a married cleric in minor orders, Langland wrote Piers Plowman (or The Vision of Piers the Ploughman) in the form of dream visions, protesting the plight of the poor, the avarice of the powerful, the sinfulness of all the people
- Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1370? by anonymous author): a romance of knightly adventure and love of the general medieval type introduced by the French
- Sir Thomas Malory (? - 1471): He was probably the Sir Thomas Malory of Warwickshire who in the 1440s was charged with crimes of violence and spent most of the 1450s in jail, escaping twice In 1468 he was jailed again, on charges of plotting against Edward IV He wrote the book The Death of Arthur is, in a way, a climax of a tradition of writing, bringing together myth and history, with an emphasis on chivalry as a kind of moral code of honour
1485 Henry Tudor became king as Henry VII, ending the War of the
1509 The accession of Henry VIII
1534 Henry VIII became Supreme Head of the Anglican Church
1553 - 1558 The religious conflicts between the Roman Catholic and the
Protestant under the reign of Queen Mary I
1588 Elizabeth I ascended the throne and maintained social stability
1588 Spanish Armada defeated by the English fleet
1595 Sir Walter first expedition to South America
1603 Death of Elizabeth I: ascension of James I, the first Stuart King
The Renaissance: It was the revival of Greek and Roman studies that emphasized the value of the classics for their own sake, rather than for their relevance to Christianity In literature the Renaissance was led by humanists, scholars and poets The invention of printing contributed to the spread of ideas Among the notable writers of the Renaissance in England were Edmund Spenser, Sir Phillip Sidney, Shakespeare, and Sir Francis Bacon
Humanism is the term most often used to describe the cultural and literary movement that spread through Western Europe in the 14 th and 15 th centuries It was the greatest cultural achievement of the period There is no systematic theory of humanism, but any world-view which claims that the source of values in the world is man, or more loosely that man supplies the true measure of value, may be described as humanist
- In the late 15 th century there were plays with secular plots and characters in elaborate verse style
- The invention of short plays called
- The fusion of classical form with English content: more mature and artistic
- The coming of professional theatrical groups and plays written by professional playwrights; the first men were called University , so named since they were all university men, who, instead of going into the church or teaching turned to writing to earn their living
- The golden age of English drama with a lot of great playwrights such as Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare
- Generally less important than drama
- Two most important poets were Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spenser
- Three chief forms of poetry which flourished in the Elizabethan Age were:
Lyric, a short poem that expresses a personal emotions in a songlike style, Thomas Campion (1567 - 1620) wrote many beautiful lyrics in his Books of Airs (1601 - 1617)
The sonnet: a 14-line poem with a certain pattern of rhyme and rhythm
Narrative poetry: a narrative poem that tells a story
- Translation works: Translation of Lives of the Noble Grecians and
ROBERT BURNS (1759-1796)
After finishing unit 3, students should be able to:
- List important events in Robert biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of Robert works
- Provide a literary analysis of the poem Red, Red written by Burns
Activity 1: Have you ever heard this song? Follow the links below and tell the name of the song What else do you know about it? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTCryF1J54Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PER8f7bQIlg
Born on January 25, 1759, in Alloway, Scotland, Poet Robert Burns is considered one of the most famous characters of Scotland's cultural history He is best known as a pioneer of the Romantic movement for his lyrical poetry and his rewriting of Scottish folk songs
He began life as a poor tenant farmer but was able to channel his intellectual energy into poetry and song to become one of the most famous characters of
Scotland's cultural history In July 1786, he published his first major volume of verse,
Poems, chiefly in the Scottish Dialect Critics praised the work, and its appeal spanned different classes of Scottish society With this sudden success, Burns decided to stay in Scotland, and that November, he set out for Edinburgh to bask in the glory There he wrote The Scots Musical Museum, a highly acclaimed collection of traditional music of Scotland
Tired of the urban life, Burns settled on a farm at Ellisland in the summer of 1788 and finally married Jean Amour The couple would ultimately have nine children, only three of whom survived infancy
In 1791, however, Robert Burns quit farming for good and moved his family to the nearby town of Dumfries There he accepted the position of excise officer essentially a tax collector and continued to write and gather traditional Scottish songs That year he published a slightly veiled autobiographical story of a - do-well farmer, which is now considered a masterpiece of narrative poetry In 1793 he then contributed to publisher George A Select Collection of Original
Scottish Airs for the Voice This work and The Scots Musical Museum make up the bulk of poems and folk songs, including the well-known pieces Lang
Red, Red and Battle of Sher
On the morning of July 21, 1796, Robert Burns died in Dumfries at age 37
Robert Burns was a man of great intellect and considered a pioneer of the Romantic movement Considered the national poet of Scotland, he is celebrated there and around the world every year on "Burns January 25 5
Listen to the reading of the poem and the song, following the links below
A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns Poetry reading https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJiJ_lND8kI
5 Source: https://www.biography.com/writer/robert-burns https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QK9WK0QhejA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1-PF2kt2jg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvrnVFaIxZY original version
O my luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June;
O my luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune
As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
O I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run
And fare thee weel, my only luve,
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile
O, my love is like a red, red rose, That is newly sprung in June
O, my love is like the melody, That is sweetly played in tune
As fair are you, my lovely lass,
So deep in love am I, And I will love you still, my Dear, Till all the seas go dry.
Till all the seas go dry, my Dear, And the rocks melt with the sun!
O I will love you still, my Dear, While the sands of life shall run
And fare you well, my only Love, And fare you well a while!
And I will come again, my Love, Although it were ten thousand mile!
Activity 3: Work in groups and answer the following questions
1 What is the symbolic meaning of a rose? What does the colour red suggest?
2 Explain the use of repetition in the poem
3 In what ways does the speaker compare his love to a rose?
4 In what ways does the speaker compare his love to a melody?
5 Explain the meaning of the use of will in the second stanza
6 Could man survive that day when the rocks melt with the sun or when all the seas are going dry What does the speaker want to say with this?
7 Explain the phrase the sands of life
8 What journey does he take in the last stanza? How far does he have to travel? What does he say to comfort his lover?
9 What figures of speech are used in the first stanza? Are they conventional or original?
10 What literary techniques are used in the third stanza? Are they conventional?
11 What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? Does this arrangement suggest anything?
12 What is the metrical pattern of the poem? Does this poem have a fixed form?
13 Explain the use of monosyllabic words Do they go well with the form of the poem?
1 Is his lover really like a rose and a melody or is it due to his poetic vision only?
2 How does the speaker express his everlasting love by the phrase While the sands of life shall run
3 Is there any evidence the trip is real or does it only take place in his imagination? What is the purpose in mentioning a separation?
Activity 4: Write a paragraph of about 150 -200 words on one of the following topics
1 Is there any contradiction when the speaker uses the image of a rose - something perishable, to compare to his everlasting love? How does he make up for that discrepancy by various effective means?
2 What do you think about his assertions of love? Are they convincing?
3 It is also argued that words are not assertions about external reality but expressions of his state of mind What is your argument?
STUDENT SHARE i tôi yêu h ng th m,
N b ng lên trong tháng sáu p i tôi yêu ví làn giai u, Vang ng t ngào rung ng gi a hòa âm
Em p l m, cô em tôi xinh x n, Tôi yêu em sâu th m vô b ;
Và tôi v n s còn yêu em mãi n khi nào bi n c hóa c n khô n khi bi n c c n khô, em h i,
Và m t tr i nung ch y c kia;
Và tôi v n s còn yêu em mãi,
D u th i gian cát b i c trôi qua
T m bi t em, i tô yêu duy nh t!
T m bi t nàng dù ch m t thoáng qua
Tôi s quay v , này em yêu h i,
D u nghìn trùng có cách bi t ta
Translated by Ly, Hoàng Phú, Tiên, Kim Thanh, Xuân Thùy, Anh Thiên Trang, Minh Trí - Class 98C, Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature,
University of Social Sciences & Humanities Vietnam National University
Tình anh cánh hoa h ng, tháng sáu s c h ng mang
Du âm khúc i u mê say
H i i thi u n trang Yêu em sâu n ng tình này anh mang
Lòng anh s mãi yêu nàng,
Mai kia bi n c n bao u x y ra r i v tan ra, Ánh gay g t tình ta v n còn
Cát vàng t ng kh c mòn, Tình trao em s t son tr n i
Gi tình t m cách hai Nghìn trùng xa cách v n v cùng em!
Translated by Ph m Tr n Minh H i - Class: 96C, Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences & Humanities Vietnam National University
A E HOUSMAN (1859-1936)
After finishing unit 4, students should be able to:
- List important events in s biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of s works
- Provide a literary analysis of the poem I was one-and- written by Housman
Alfred Edward Housman was born in Fockbury, Worcestershire, England, on March26, 1859, the eldest of seven children A year after his birth, Housman's family moved to nearby Bromsgrove, where the poet grew up and had his early education
In 1877, he attended St John's College, Oxford and received first class honours in classical moderations
Housman took a position as clerk in the Patent Office in London for ten years During this time, he studied Greek and Roman classics intensively, and in 1892 was appointed professor of Latin at University College, London In 1911 he became professor of Latin at Trinity College, Cambridge, a post he held until his death
Housman only published two volumes of poetry during his life: A Shropshire Lad
(1896) and Last Poems (1922) The majority of the poems in A Shropshire Lad, his cycle of 63 poems, were written after the death of Adalbert Jackson, Housman's friend and companion, in 1892 These poems center around themes of pastoral beauty, unrequited love, fleeting youth, grief, death, and the patriotism of the common soldier After the manuscript had been turned down by several publishers, Housman decided to publish it at his own expense, much to the surprise of his colleagues and students
A third volume, More Poems, was released posthumously in 1936 by his brother,
Laurence, as was an edition of Housman's Complete Poems (1939)
Despite acclaim as a scholar and a poet in his lifetime, Housman lived as a recluse, rejecting honors and avoiding the public eye He died on April 30, 1936, in Cambridge 6
Activity 1: Listen to the reading of the poem and the song, following the links below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7khogsRMrI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gIVA8u7pYE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjO66RrpQ0I (recommended) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XX7B9H3V08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekViCVH1n1k
6 Source: https://poets.org/poet/e-housman
When I was one-and-twenty
BY A.E HOUSMAN When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say, crowns and pounds and guineas But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies But keep your fancy
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me
When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again, heart out of the bosom Was never given in vain; paid with sighs a plenty And sold for endless
And I am two-and-twenty, And oh, true, true
Activity 2: Work in groups and answer the following questions
1 What was the advice in the first stanza?
2 What was the young reaction?
3 What was the advice in the second stanza? Was it the same or different from the first one?
4 According to the old man, what did one get if he gave his heart to someone else?
5 What was the reaction of the young man in the second stanza?
6 What is the metrical pattern of the poem?
7 Identify the rhyme scheme in the poem
8 What musical devices are used in the poem?
9 What is the effect of repetition and parallelism?
1 What do crowns, pounds and guineas symbolize?
3 What do pearls rubies represent?
5 What is the implication of the use of the verbs paid and sold'?
6 What is the significance of the use of the phrases one-and-twenty and two-and- twenty' instead of twenty-one' and twenty-two
7 What is the implication of the change in the I- attitude?
Activity 3: Write a paragraph of about 150 -200 words on one of the following topics
1 What do you think about the advice?
2 Listen to the song Smoke gets in your eyes 7 Do you find any similarity between the poem and the song? Explain your answer
7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfBboBz3yoc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0lyWfTOYyM
Có m t i t ng tr i khuyên cho bao c a, bao ti n, hãy gi trái tim nguyên v n
Hãy cho ng c ngà châu báu, gi cho h n c th nh y tôi v a hai m t,
L i nghe ông nh n g i l i ng d i kh trao tr n trái tim,
Mà i b ng th dài vô t n,
Gi tu i tôi, hai v i hai Ôi, r i, quá l i khuyên
Translated by Mai Loan, Trúc Qu nh, Ng c Thanh, Vân Thy, c Tr ng, Ánh Tuy t, Minh Hà, Loan - Class 98D, Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature,
University of Social Sciences & Humanities Vietnam National University
DORIS LESING (1919-2013)
After finishing unit 5, students should be able to:
- List important events in Doris s biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of Doris Lessing s works
- Apply the theory on the five elements of fiction to analyze the short story Flight written by Doris Lessing.
Doris Lessing was born in Persia (present-day Iran) to British parents in 1919
Her family then moved to Southern Africa, where she spent her childhood on her father's farm in what was then Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) When her second marriage ended in 1949, she moved to London, where her first novel, The Grass is Singing, was published in 1950 The book explores the complacency and shallowness of white colonial society in Southern Africa and established Lessing as a talented young novelist
Her best-known novels are probably The Golden Notebook (1962), which is now regarded as a landmark of feminist fiction
She is now widely regarded as one of the most important post-war writers in English Her novels, short stories and essays have focused on a wide range of twentieth-century issues and concerns, from the politics of race - which she confronted in her early novels set in Africa - to the politics of gender, which led to her adoption by the feminist movement, to the role of the family and the individual in society, explored in her space fiction of the late 1970s and early 1980s
Besides her full-length novels, Doris Lessing also wrote the short novels, several collections of short stories She has also published poetry, essays, travel writings, and two volumes of autobiography, Under My Skin (1994) and Walking in the Shade
In 2007, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature
Activity 1: Listen to the the song, following the link below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqH7VwpSwBo What do you know about this song? What is its title? Who is the singer?
8 Sources: https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/doris-lessing https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/17363/doris-lessing https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100101248
Above the old man's head was the dovecote, a tall wire-netted shelf on stilts, full of strutting, preening birds The sunlight broke on their gray breasts into small rainbows His ears were lulled by their crooning; his hands stretched up toward his íavorite, a homing pigeon, a young plump-bodied bird, which stood still when it saw him and cocked a shrewd bright eye pretty, he said, as he grasped the bird and drew it down, feeling the cold coral claws tighten around his finger Content, he rested the bird lightly on his chest and leaned against a tree, gazing out beyond the dovecote into the landscape of a late afternoon In folds and hollows of sunlight and shade, the dark red soil, which was broken into great dusty clods, stretched wide to a tall horizon Trees marked the course of the valley; a stream of rich green grass the road
His eyes traveled homeward along this road until he saw his granddaughter swinging on the gate underneath a frangipani tree Her hair fell down her back in a wave of sunlight; and her long bare legs repeated the angles of the frangipani stems, bare, shining brown stems among patterns of pale blossoms
She was gazing past the pink flowers, past the railway cottage where they lived, along the road to the
His mood shifted He deliberately held out his wrist for the bird to take flight, and caught it again at the moment it spread its wings He felt the plump shape strive and strain under his fingers; and, in a sudden access of troubled spite, shut the bird into a small box and fastened the bolt you stay he muttered and turned his back on the shelf of birds He moved warily along the hedge stalking his granddaughter, who was now looped over the gate, her head loose on her arms, singing The light happy sound mingled with the crooning of the birds, and his anger mounted he shouted, and saw her jump, look back, and abandon the gate Her eyes veiled themselves, and she said in a pert, neutral voice, Politely she moved toward him, after a lingering backward glance at the road for Steven, he said, his fingers curling like claws into his palm
Any she asked lightly, refusing to look at him
He confronted her, his eyes narrowed, shoulders hunched, tight in a hard knot of pain that included the preening birds, the sunlight, the flowers, herself He said, re old enough to go courting,
The girl tossed her head at the old-fashioned phrase and sulked, you want to leave home, hey? Think you can go running around the fields at
Her smile made him see her, as he had every evening of this warm end-of- summer month swinging hand in hand along the road to the village with that red- handed, red-throated violent-bodied youth the son of the postmaster Misery went to his head and he shouted angrily: ll tell your she said, laughing, and went back to the gate
He heard her singing, for him to hear: got you under my skin, I've got you deep in the heart of he shouted Impudent little bit of
Growling under his breath, he turned toward the dovecote, which was his refuge from the house he shared with his daughter and her husband and their children But now the house would be empty Gone all the young girls with their laughter and their squabbling and their teasing He would be left, uncherished and alone, with that square-fronted, calm-eyed woman, his daughter
He stopped, muttening, before the dovecote, resenting the absorbed, cooing birds From the gate the girl shouted: and tell! Go on, what are you waiting
Obstinately he made his way to the house, with quick, pathetic, persistent glances of appeal back at her But she never looked around Her defiant but anxious young body stung him into love and repentance He stopped I never he muttered waiting for her to turn and run to him I didn't
She did not turn She had forgotten him Along the road came the young man Steven with something in his hand A present for her? The old man stiffened as he watched the gate swing back and the couple embrace In the brittle shadows of the frangipani tree his granddaughter, his darling, lay in the arms of the postmaste s son, and her hair flowed back over his shoulder see shouted the old man spitefully They did not move He stumped into the little whitewashed house, hearing the wooden veranda creak angrily under his feet His daughter was sewing in the front room, threading a needle held to the light
He stopped again, looking back into the garden The couple were now sauntering among the bushes, laughing As he watched, he saw the girl escape from the youth with a sudden mischievous movement and run off through the flowers with him in pursuit He heard shouts, laughter, a scream, silence it's not like that at all, he muttered miserably not like that Why can't you see? Running and giggling, and kissing and kissing You'll come to something quite different
He looked at his daughter with sardonic hatred, hating himself They were caught and finished, both of them, but the girl was still running free you he demanded of his invisible granddaughter, who was at that moment lying in tile thick green grass with the postmaster's son
His daughter looked at him and her eyebrows went up in tired forbearance your birds to she asked, humoring him he said urgently what is it in the garden with you just sit down and have your tea
He stumped his feet alternately, thump, thump, on the hollow wooden floor and shouted: marry him m telling you, she'll be marrying him
His daughter rose swiftly, brought him a cup, set him a plate
W.W JACOBS (1863-1943)
After finishing unit 6, students should be able to:
- List important events in W.W biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of W.W works
- Apply the theory on the five elements of fiction to analyze the short story written by W.W Jacobs
William Wymark Jacobs is a well-known British writer of sea stories Born in London, Jacobs held a civil-service position in the post office before becoming a professional writer, although even then he practiced writing as a hobby He finally resigned from the post office to give his full attention to literature
Making the most of his position as oversea of the South Devon Wharf, Jacobs collected materials for the sea stories that were to make him famous He also drew upon the love of the sea that he had acquired during various long walks along the coast His first volume, Mary Cargoes, appeared in 1896 tales are filled with humour, but his best-known story, The
(1902), is a widely anthologized tale of horror His last volume, Snug Harbor, a collection of short stories appeared in 1931
Work in groups and ask your partners whether they have ever had a supernatural experience or whether they have ever watched any thrilling movie Discuss in your group whether they believe in the existence of such unusual incidents Why or why not?
Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire at the said Mr White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it list said the latter, grimly surveying the board as he stretched out his hand should hardly think that he'd come to- said his father, with his hand poised over the board replied the son the worst of living so far ou bawled Mr White, with sudden and unlooked- for violence; all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent I don't know what people are thinking about I suppose because only two houses on the road are let, they think it doesn't mind, said his wife soothingly; you'll win the next
Mr White looked up sharply, just in time to intercept a knowing glance between mother and son The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard he said Herbert White, as the gate banged to loudly and heavy footsteps came toward the door
The old man rose with hospitable haste, and opening the door, was heard condoling with the new arrival The new arrival also condoled with himself, so that Mrs White said, and coughed gently as her husband entered the room, followed by a tall burly man, beady of eye and rubicund of visage
-Major he said, introducing him
The sergeant-major shook hands, and taking the proffered seat by the fire, watched contentedly while his host got out whisky and tumblers and stood a small copper kettle on the fire
At the third glass his eyes got brighter, and he began to talk, the little family circle regarding with eager interest this visitor from distant parts, as he squared his broad shoulders in the chair and spoke of strange scenes and doughty deeds; of wars and plagues and strange peoples
-one years of said Mr White, nodding at his wife and son he went away, he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse Now look at don't look to have taken much said Mrs White, politely like to go to India said the old man, to look round a bit, you where you said the sergeant-major, shaking his head He put down the empty glass, and sighing softly, shook it again should like to see those old temples and fakirs and said the old man was that you started telling me the other day about a monkey's paw or something, said the soldier hastily nothing worth said Mrs White curiously it's just a bit of what you might call magic, perha said the sergeant- major off-handedly
His three listeners leaned forward eagerly The visitor absentmindedly put his empty glass to his lips and then set it down again His host filled it for him look said the sergeant-major, fumbling in his pocket, just an ordinary little paw, dried to a
He took something out of his pocket and proffered it Mrs White drew back with a grimace, but her son, taking it, examined it curiously what is there special about inquired Mr White, as he took it from his son and, having examined it, placed it upon the table had a spell put on it by an old said the sergeant-major, very holy man He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from
His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat why don't you have three, said Herbert White cleverly
The soldier regarded him in the way that middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth he said quietly, and his blotchy face whitened did you really have the three wishes asked Mrs White said the sergeant-major, and his glass tapped against his strong teeth has anybody else inquired the old lady first man had his three wishes, was the reply don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death That's how I got the
His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group you've had your three wishes, it's no good to you now, then, said the old man at last do you keep it
The soldier shook his head I he said slowly you could have another three said the old man, eyeing him keenly, you have don't said the other don't
He took the paw, and dangling it between his front finger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off let it said the soldier solemnly you don't want it, said the old man, it to said his friend doggedly threw it on the fire If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens Pitch it on the fire again, like a sensible
The other shook his head and examined his new possession closely do you do he inquired it up in your right hand and wish said the sergeant-major, I warn you of the like the Arabian said Mrs White, as she rose and began to set the supper you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for
ROBERT FROST (1874-1963)
After finishing unit 6, students should be able to:
- List important events in Robert s biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of Robert works
- Provide a literary analysis of the poem Road Not written by Frost
Robert Frost was an American poet and winner of four Pulitzer Prizes His famous works include Fire and Ice Mending Wall Birches, Out Out Nothing Gold Can Stay and Home Burial His 1916 poem, "The Road Not Taken," is often read at graduation ceremonies across the United States As a special guest at President John
F Kennedy inauguration, Frost became a poetic force and the unofficial "poet laureate" of the United States
Frost was born on March 26, 1874, in San Francisco, California Following his father's passing, Frost moved with his mother and sister, to the town of Lawrence, Massachusetts
In 1894, Frost had his first poem, "My Butterfly: an Elegy," published in The Independent, a weekly literary journal based in New York City
Beginning in 1897, Frost attended Harvard University but had to drop out after two years due to health concerns He returned to Lawrence to join his wife
In 1900, Frost moved with his wife and children to a farm in New Hampshire Though it was a fruitful time for Frost's writing, it was a difficult period in his personal life, as two of his young children died During that time, Frost and his wife attempted several endeavors, including poultry farming, all of which were fairly unsuccessful Despite such challenges, it was during this time that Frost acclimated himself to rural life In fact, he grew to depict it quite well, and began setting many of his poems in the countryside
Two poems, "The Tuft of Flowers" and "The Trial by Existence," were published in
1906 He could not find any publishers who were willing to underwrite his other poems
In 1912, Frost decided to sell the farm in New Hampshire and move the family to England, where he hoped there would be more publishers willing to take a chance on new poets
Frost, now 38, found a publisher who would print his first book of poems, A
Will, followed by North of Boston a year later
Frost spent his first 40 years as an unknown He exploded on the scene after returning from England at the beginning of World War I In 1924, Frost was awarded his first of four Pulitzer Prizes, for his book New Hampshire He would subsequently win Pulitzers for Collected Poems (1931), A Further Range (1937) and A Witness Tree (1943)
He died of complications from prostate surgery on January 29, 1963 9
9 Source: https://www.biography.com/writer/robert-frost
Activity 1: Listen to the reading of the poem and the song, following the links below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGB_K_xlHdI
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUaQgRiJukA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVx4ykuBKp0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUaQgRiJukA&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2VESdaZ025u56cDw5LcVZVDDxPyKBDI6zEJ0rMUrCFDji5XaaRu5E9yMc
BY ROBERT FROST Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black
Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference
Activity 2: Work in groups and answer the following questions
1 Where is the I- speaker in the poem standing? Why is he there?
3 What makes him so hesitant in his decision?
4 What does he decide to do? Explain his decision?
5 How does he feel after making the decision? Why does he feel it that way?
6 How does the author use figurative language (metaphor, simile, hyperbole, understatement) to enhance the meaning of the poem?
1 What is the symbolic meaning of the poem?
2 What human traits are suggested by the first stanza of the poem?
3 What is the theme of the poem?
4 In what way does the poem suggest that Frost was a non-conformist?
5 Do you think the line, Yet knowing how way leads on to way is fatalistic in tone? Explain your answer
Activity 3: Write a paragraph of about 150 -200 words on one of the following topics
1 Have you ever been in the same situation as that of the I-speaker in the poem? What was it and why did you make that decision?
2 Do you think that the choices we make in life ultimately turn out to be the right ones? Why or why not? Explain your answer
Further Reading cánh r ng vàng hai ng ng chia l i
Ti c thay tôi không th cùng lúc c hai
Là khách lãng du, tôi ng mãi
Và trông th t xa n cu i ng ng
M t ng ch y dài quanh vào lòng t
R i ng kia tôi trông th t xa Trông có th phiêu và b t m t
Nh ng m ng rêu xanh mu n g i m i
D u cho nh ng gì qua
Và sáng nay c hai u n m y i th m lá vàng không d u chân Ôi, tôi s dành ng u tiên vào ngày khác!
D u bi t r ng t ng ng ng d n n ng ng khác
Và bi t s có ngày nào tôi tr l i
V i chút ng m ngùi tôi nh n ra: m t cánh r ng nào t lâu và r t lâu
Có hai ng ng cùng chia l i, thì tôi Tôi s ch n ng ít i phiêu lãng
(Source: https://baithohay.com/the-road-not-taken-bai-tho-di-cung-nam-thang-cua- nha-tho-robert-frost.html#ixzz6DALigKBS)
Con ng r làm gi a r ng lá vàng,
Bi t làm sao, tôi ch có th ch n m t mà thôi
Thân ph n l hành, tôi ng mãi
Nhìn theo m t l i r bên này n t n v t ng khu t d ng sau b i cây;
Th r i tôi l i c vào l i r bên kia
Có khác gì mà có khi l i có lí kìa
Vì c r m trên m t ng thèm mu n i th t ra có ch kia th y d u mòn con ng n ,
Và th là bu i mai hôm c hai con ng lá y v t chân ai
Tôi h n s quay l i con ng không m t ngày nào lòng th a hi u nào bi t n bao gi ng l i ng làm sao bi t c Tôi s k chuy n này trong m t ti ng th dài
Con ng r làm gi a m t khu r ng, và tôi - Tôi ch n l i mòn ít có ai
After finishing unit 8, students should be able to:
- List important events in Langston Hughes biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of Langston Hughes works
- Provide a literary analysis of the poem Dreams written by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes is a poet, playwright, novelist, songwriter, biographer, editor, newspaper columnist, translator and lecturer
He was born in Joplin, Missouri, on February 1, 1902,
Hughes received recognition as a poet when, as a young man working as a waiter in a Washington, D.C hotel, and first book, The Weary Blues, was published
By 1925, Hughes, together with other Negro writers, had formed a group in the Harlem section of New York City For new black writers, Harlem and its people were to provide the inspiration for much of their artistic work
In later years, Hughes became known as the Henry of and wrote countless short stories, a number of volumes of poetry, seven novels, and six plays
In his early volumes of poetry, he successfully caught and projected scenes of urban Negro life, and his sketches in verse with their undertones of bitterness, humor, and pathos became also a form of social protest He received many awards and honors for his writings, which have been translated into more than 25 languages
Langston Hughes died of Lung Cancer, in New York City, in 1967
Activity 1: Listen to the reading of the poem and the song, following the links below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v/7td3Vk45o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v78691PJWA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do-8ZdQtsN4
Activity 2: Work in groups and answer the following questions
1 How many stanzas does the poem feature?
2 What is the rhyme scheme?
3 How does the first stanza parallel the second stanza?
4 What are the connotative meanings of broken-winged barren , and frozen
5 Where is the repetition in the poem and what is its effect?
1 What is the theme of the poem? Does it have a universal significance? Give your reasons
2 What are the two metaphors in the poem? Explain them
3 What figure of speech is used when the poet says that dreams ? What does he want to tell us?
4 What is the tone of the poem?
5 Could the poem be called a , especially when it was written by an African American poet? Explain
Activity 3: Write a paragraph of about 150 -200 words on one of the following topics
1 poem is about dreams and the poet advises us to embrace the dreams we have cherished whatever we have gone through What are your dreams? If you have none, then are you going to have one? Explain your answer
2 Listen to the song Have a D 10 Does it bring to you the same feeling as that when you read poem? Explain your answer
10 Abba- I have a dream- lyrics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG7yrwbtdXA
Westlife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HkL8GuU9_0
3 Listen to the speech Have a 11 delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr in
1963 In what way do you think poem may give inspiration to King in writing the speech?
Further reading c xin níu ch t
K o vu t t m tay i thành chim gãy cánh
Ng p ng ng ch ng dám bay c xin níu ch t
K o v cánh bay i hoá ng hoang l nh c ng trong tuy t d y
B i khi gi c ch t i chim gãy cánh
Ch ng th nào bay c
B i khi gi c qua i ng khô c n
Vì khi qua là chim gãy cánh bay tung
Vì khi qua là hiu màu
(source: https://www.thivien.net/Langston-Hughes/%C6%AF%E1%BB%9Bc- m%C6%A1/poem-hr_-lMRbF4PeG1MAuTeZMQ)
11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IB0i6bJIjw
After finishing unit 9, students should be able to:
- List important events in Kate biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of Kate works.
- Apply the theory on the five elements of fiction to analyze the short story The Story of an Hour written by Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin (1850 - 1904), born Katherine O'Flaherty, in St Louis, Missouri on February 8, 1850
The writer is considered one of the first feminist authors of the 20th century
In June 1870 she married Oscar Chopin, with whom she lived in his native New Orleans and she is known as an interpreter of New Orleans culture
She is often credited for introducing the modern feminist literary movement Chopin was following a rather conventional path as a housewife until an unfortunate tragedy the untimely death of her husband altered the course of her life She became a talented and prolific short story writer, influenced primarily by the French short story author, Guy de Maupassant She is best known for her novel The Awakening (1899), a hauntingly prescient tale of a woman unfulfilled by the mundane yet highly celebrated "feminine role," and her painful realization that the constraints of her gender blocked her ability to seek a more fulfilling life
There was a revival of interest in Chopin in the late 20th century because her concerns about the freedom of women foreshadowed later feminist literary themes 12
Activity 1: Listen to the summary of the story, following the link below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u92RGIj7q_w
The Story of an Hour
Knowing that Mrs Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her death
It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message
12 Sources: https://americanliterature.com/author/kate-chopin https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kate-Chopin
She did hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone She would have no one follow her
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life The delicious breath of rain was in the air In the street below a peddler was crying his wares The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams
KATE CHOPIN (1850-1904)
After finishing unit 9, students should be able to:
- List important events in Kate biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of Kate works.
- Apply the theory on the five elements of fiction to analyze the short story The Story of an Hour written by Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin (1850 - 1904), born Katherine O'Flaherty, in St Louis, Missouri on February 8, 1850
The writer is considered one of the first feminist authors of the 20th century
In June 1870 she married Oscar Chopin, with whom she lived in his native New Orleans and she is known as an interpreter of New Orleans culture
She is often credited for introducing the modern feminist literary movement Chopin was following a rather conventional path as a housewife until an unfortunate tragedy the untimely death of her husband altered the course of her life She became a talented and prolific short story writer, influenced primarily by the French short story author, Guy de Maupassant She is best known for her novel The Awakening (1899), a hauntingly prescient tale of a woman unfulfilled by the mundane yet highly celebrated "feminine role," and her painful realization that the constraints of her gender blocked her ability to seek a more fulfilling life
There was a revival of interest in Chopin in the late 20th century because her concerns about the freedom of women foreshadowed later feminist literary themes 12
Activity 1: Listen to the summary of the story, following the link below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u92RGIj7q_w
The Story of an Hour
Knowing that Mrs Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her death
It was her sister Josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing Her husband's friend Richards was there, too, near her It was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with Brently Mallard's name leading the list of "killed." He had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message
12 Sources: https://americanliterature.com/author/kate-chopin https://www.britannica.com/biography/Kate-Chopin
She did hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance She wept at once, with sudden, wild abandonment, in her sister's arms When the storm of grief had spent itself, she went away to her room alone She would have no one follow her
There stood, facing the open window, a comfortable, roomy armchair Into this she sank, pressed down by a physical exhaustion that haunted her body and seemed to reach into her soul
She could see in the open square before her house the tops of trees that were all aquiver with the new spring life The delicious breath of rain was in the air In the street below a peddler was crying his wares The notes of a distant song which some one was singing reached her faintly, and countless sparrows were twittering in the eaves There were patches of blue sky showing here and there through the clouds that had met and piled one above the other in the west facing her window
She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams
She was young, with a fair, calm face, whose lines bespoke repression and even a certain strength But now there was a dull stare in her eyes, whose gaze was fixed away off yonder on one of those patches of blue sky It was not a glance of reflection, but rather indicated a suspension of intelligent thought
There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air
Now her bosom rose and fell tumultuously She was beginning to recognize this thing that was approaching to possess her, and she was striving to beat it back with her will as powerless as her two white slender hands would have been When she abandoned herself, a little whispered word escaped her slightly parted lips She said it over and over under her breath: "free, free, free!" The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed it went from her eyes They stayed keen and bright Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body She did not stop to ask if it were or were not a monstrous joy that held her A clear and exalted perception enabled her to dismiss the suggestion as trivial
She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead But she saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome There would be no one to live to live for her during those coming years; she would live for herself There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow- creature A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination
And yet she had loved him sometimes Often she had not What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self- assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!
"Free! Body and soul free!" she kept whispering
Josephine was kneeling before the closed door with her lips to the keyhole, imploring for admission "Louise, open the door! I beg, open the door you will make yourself ill What are you doing, Louise? For heaven's sake open the door."
"Go away I am not making myself ill." No; she was drinking in a very elixir of life through that open window Her fancy was running riot along those days ahead of her Spring days, and summer days, and all sorts of days that would be her own She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long
She arose at length and opened the door to her importunities There was a feverish triumph in her eyes, and she carried herself unwittingly like a goddess of Victory She clasped her sister's waist, and together they descended the stairs Richards stood waiting for them at the bottom
Someone was opening the front door with a latchkey It was Brently Mallard who entered, a little travel-stained, composedly carrying his grip-sack and umbrella He had been far from the scene of the accident, and did not even know there had been one He stood amazed at Josephine's piercing cry; at Richards' quick motion to screen him from the view of his wife
But Richards was too late
When the doctors came, they said she had died of heart disease of the joy that kills
Activity 2: Work in groups and answer the following questions
1 What information reaches the family of Mrs Mallard? Why do the family members try to let it known to her in a very cautious manner?
2 How does Mrs Mallard first react to the news her sister tells her? What does her reaction seem to indicate about her feelings toward her husband?
3 What does Mrs Mallard do while she is alone in her room? What is the that comes to her then? What is the adjective that she uses to refer to it later on?
4 How do her feelings change? Why, do you think, does she fear this change? Anh why does she later welcome it?
ALICE WALKER (1944-)
After finishing unit 10, students should be able to:
- List important events in Alice biography
- Describe the literary characteristics of Alice works
- Apply the theory on the five elements of fiction to analyze the short story Everyday Use written by Alice Walker
Alice Walker was born in Eatonton, Georgia, the youngest daughter of a share- cropper family She attended Spelman College from 1961 to 1963 and later Sarah Lawrence College where she received a B.A degree in 1965 An idealist young woman, she joined the civil rights movement of the 1960s led by Martin Luther King, hoping, as she later remembered, change our
She is the author of short stories and novels, essays and poetry and activist for racial civil rights, equality and peace among other causes, Alice Walker brought black wo lives into primary focus as a rich and important subject for US American literature Her landmark novel The Color Purple (1982), which drew upon her sharecropper Southern roots, made Walker famous the world over and brought her the first Pulitzer Prize for fiction awarded to an African American woman, as well as the National Book Award It shows how an abused young woman evolves through the help of other women and her own inner strength to throw off the shackles of male oppression to find love and affirmation within herself and in the arms of another woman introduction of the concept of (1983) was an influential corrective to the focus on white women understood by many under the term it helped broaden the women movement to include women of color and appreciate their traditional cultural and creative roles is to feminism as purple is to (Walker, 1983) Walker has also been instrumental in rediscovering and promoting other Black women writers, past and present, most notably Zora Neale Hurston (1901-1960), whose work she edited and interpreted 13
Activity 1: Listen to the reading of the story and watch the two videos for the summary of the story, following the links below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFTgRPJSceU https://www.youtube.com/watch?vq9lqze2A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZWQ4TB5XKI
13 https://www.fembio.org/english/biography.php/woman/biography/alice-walker/
Everyday Use by Alice Walker
I will wait for her in the yard that Maggie and I made so clean and wavy yesterday afternoon A yard like this is more comfortable than most people know It is not just a yard It is like an extended living room When the hard clay is swept clean as a floor and the fine sand around the edges lined with tiny, irregular grooves, anyone can come and sit and look up into the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the house
Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eying her sister with a mixture of envy and awe She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her
You've no doubt seen those TV shows where the child who has "made it" is confronted, as a surprise, by her own mother and father, tottering in weakly from backstage (A pleasant surprise, of course: What would they do if parent and child came on the show only to curse out and insult each other?) On TV mother and child embrace and smile into each other's faces Sometimes the mother and father weep, the child wraps them in her arms and leans across the table to tell how she would not have made it without their help I have seen these programs
Sometimes I dream a dream in which Dee and I are suddenly brought together on a TV program of this sort Out of a dark and soft seated limousine I am ushered into a bright room filled with many people There I meet a smiling, gray, sporty man like Johnny Carson who shakes my hand and tells me what a fine girl I have Then we are on the stage and Dee is embracing me with tears in her eyes She pins on my dress a large orchid, even though she has told me once that she thinks orchids are tacky flowers
In real life I am a large, big boned woman with rough, man-working hands In the winter I wear flannel nightgowns to bed and overalls during the day I can kill and clean a hog as mercilessly as a man My fat keeps me hot in zero weather I can work outside all day, breaking ice to get water for washing; I can eat pork liver cooked over the open fire minutes after it comes steaming from the hog One winter I knocked a bull calf straight in the brain between the eyes with a sledge hammer and had the meat hung up to chill before nightfall But of course, all this does not show on television I am the way my daughter would want me to be: a hundred pounds lighter, my skin like an uncooked barley pancake My hair glistens in the hot bright lights Johnny Carson has much to do to keep up with my quick and witty tongue
But that is a mistake I know even before I wake up Who ever knew a Johnson with a quick tongue? Who can even imagine me looking a strange white man in the eye? It seems to me I have talked to them always with one foot raised in flight, with my head fumed in whichever way is farthest from them Dee, though She would always look anyone in the eye Hesitation was no part of her nature
"How do I look, Mama?" Maggie says, showing just enough of her thin body enveloped in pink skirt and red blouse for me to know she's there, almost hidden by the door
"Come out into the yard," I say
Have you ever seen a lame animal, perhaps a dog run over by some careless person rich enough to own a car, sidle up to someone who is ignorant enough to be kind to him? That is the way my Maggie walks She has been like this, chin on chest, eyes on ground, feet in shuffle, ever since the fire that burned the other house to the ground
Dee is lighter than Maggie, with nicer hair and a fuller figure She's a woman now, though sometimes I forget How long ago was it that the other house burned? Ten, twelve years? Sometimes I can still hear the flames and feel Maggie's arms sticking to me, her hair smoking and her dress falling off her in little black papery flakes Her eyes seemed stretched open, blazed open by the flames reflected in them And Dee I see her standing off under the sweet gum tree she used to dig gum out of; a look of concentration on her face as she watched the last dingy gray board of the house fall in toward the red hot brick chimney Why don't you do a dance around the ashes? I'd wanted to ask her She had hated the house that much
I used to think she hated Maggie, too But that was before we raised money, the church and me, to send her to Augusta to school She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks' habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice She washed us in a river of make believe, burned us with a lot of knowledge we didn't necessarily need to know Pressed us to her with the serious way she read, to shove us away at just the moment, like dimwits, we seemed about to understand
Dee wanted nice things A yellow organdy dress to wear to her graduation from high school; black pumps to match a green suit she'd made from an old suit somebody gave me She was determined to stare down any disaster in her efforts Her eyelids would not flicker for minutes at a time Often, I fought off the temptation to shake her At sixteen she had a style of her own: and knew what style was
I never had an education myself After second grade the school was closed down Don't ask my why: in 1927 colored asked fewer questions than they do now Sometimes Maggie reads to me She stumbles along good-naturedly but can't see well She knows she is not bright Like good looks and money, quickness passes her by She will marry John Thomas (who has mossy teeth in an earnest face) and then I'll be free to sit here and I guess just sing church songs to myself Although I never was a good singer Never could carry a tune I was always better at a man's job I used to love to milk till I was hooked in the side in '49 Cows are soothing and slow and don't bother you, unless you try to milk them the wrong way