Unit II The Seventeenth Century I--John Dryden

Unit II The Seventeenth Century I: Peacham, Drayton, Reynolds, Milton (Blamires, pp. 68-216)

Unit II The Seventeenth Century I: Peacham, Drayton, Reynolds, Milton (Blamires, pp. 68-216)

JOHN DRYDEN

(1631-1700)

I. His Critical Works

The following are the critical works of Dryden: -

1.An Essay of Dramatic Poesy

2.The Apology for Heroic Poetry.

3.The Grounds of Criticism in Tragedy.

4.Preface to the Fables.

Dryden has also spoken about the nature and functions of poetry.

II. The Nature of Poetry.

Unit II The Seventeenth Century I: Peacham, Drayton, Reynolds, Milton (Blamires, pp. 68-216)

M. Phil English, Bharathiar University--Blamiers— Approaches--Unit II,

Unit II 

The Seventeenth Century I: Peacham, Drayton, Reynolds, Milton (Blamires, pp. 68-216)

The Seventeenth Century II: Rymer to Dennis

The Eighteenth Century I: The Age of Addison and Pope

The Eighteenth Century II: Johnson and his Successors

Unit II The Seventeenth Century I: Peacham, Drayton Reynolds, Milton.

The seventeenth century was a turbulent period in the political as well as literary history of England. The Civil War of 1642-51, the execution of Charles I in 1649, the Commonwealth government and the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell created disorder and confusion in society so much so that quiet reflection on works of literature was nearly impossible.

PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

Study Materials for MPhil students of Indian Universities

Dr. S. Sreekumar

1.  Aims and Principles

ÖOf all the critical approaches to literature, this has been one of the most controversial, the most abused and the least appreciated.

ÖThe crucial limitation of the psychological approach is its aesthetic inadequacy.

ÖIt can seldom account for the beautiful symmetry of a well-wrought poem or of a fictional masterpiece.

A. Abuses and misunderstandings of the Psychological approach

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE, PART V—Bacon & Jonson

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE –Blamiers

M. Phil English, Bharathiar University--Blamiers—

Approaches--Unit I

The RENAISSANCE V

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE

Summary by Dr. S. Sreekumar

Note: The summary is in FIVE parts

PART V—Bacon & Jonson

Francis Bacon (1561-1626)

In the second book of The Advancement of Learning Bacon attempts a systematic study of various branches of learning.

·        Bacon argues that a man’s understanding has three parts—memory, imagination & reason.

·        History is related to memory, poetry to imagination and philosophy to reason.

·        Similarly theology consists of history, parables (Poetry) and doctrine.

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE IV

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE –Blamiers

M. Phil English, Bharathiar University--Blamiers—

Approaches--Unit I

The RENAISSANCE IV

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE

Summary by Dr. S. Sreekumar

Note: The summary is in FIVE parts

PART IV—CLASSICAL & NATIVE VERSIFICATION

Nothing has been more unproductive in the history of English criticism than the debate about classical meters.

Conservatives tried to apply the quantitative meter of Latin language on to English verse. But Latin meter was totally inapplicable to English verse. Latin syllable ending in two consonants must be accounted ‘long’.  This was inapplicable and led to clumsiness when imposed on English verse.

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE--PART III—THE DEFENCE OF POETRY——Stephen Gosson & Sir Philip Sidney

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE --Blamiers

M. Phil English, Bharathiar University--Blamiers--

Approaches--Unit I

The RENAISSANCE III

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE

Summary by Dr. S. Sreekumar

Note: The summary is in FIVE parts

PART III—THE DEFENCE OF POETRY——Stephen Gosson & Sir Philip Sidney

In 1579 a critical controversy developed in England—the attack on poetry and its defence—partly occasioned by the impact of the Renaissance. Poetry and drama came under attack form the Puritans for their ‘harmful’ effect on morals. The attack was led by Stephen Gosson in a treatise entitled The School of Abuse dedicated without permission to Sir Philip Sidney.

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE--THE ART OF POETRY—— George Gascoigne & George Puttenham

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE --Blamiers

M. Phil English, Bharathiar University--Blamiers--

Approaches--Unit I

The RENAISSANCE II

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE

Summary by Dr. S. Sreekumar

Note: The summary is in FIVE parts

PART II THE ART OF POETRY—— George Gascoigne & George Puttenham

a. George Gascoigne (1534-77)

Gascoigne was a poet and dramatist. His ‘Certain Notes of Instruction Concerning the Making of Verse or Rhyme in English’ is a study of English versification. He explains the system of scansion to some extent, but adds that rolling rhythms and resonant vocabulary are not enough to write poetry.

·        There must be ‘invention’. Descriptions that are commonplace and obvious (‘crystal eye’, ‘cherry lips’) must be avoided.

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE--Blamiers

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE--Blamiers

M. Phil English, Bharathiar University--Blamiers--Approaches--Unit I

The RENAISSANCE

BRITISH CRITICISM DURING THE RENAISSANCE

Summary by Dr. S. Sreekumar

Note: The summary is in FIVE parts

PART I

INTRODUCTION

The term ‘Renaissance’ stands for different things for different people. For the students of literature, the term signifies the rediscovery of the classics of Greece and Rome. Scholars edited, translated and commented on the classics during the Renaissance.  With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, scholars drifted to many European cities carrying the literary treasures with them.

With the Renaissance, Europe came into contact with Greek and Latin Classics. This led to an intellectual/cultural awakening in Europe.  Till the Renaissance human activity was centered in the divine scheme of creation and redemption. Classical writers had placed man in the centre of the universe and the ideals of ‘Humanism’ spread throughout Europe.

Classical styles and genres created new models of art. In this new type, poise and polish, balance and decorum became key factors.

WHAT IS AN AUTHOR ? Michael Foucault

WHAT IS AN AUTHOR ?

[Qu’est-ce qu’un auteur?]

Michael Foucault

[Critical summary of the essay for Students of Indian Universities]

Dr. S. Sreekumar

Overview

This is a lecture on literary theory given at the Collège de France on 22 February 1969 by Michel Foucault. It considers the relationship between author, text, and reader; concluding that: “The Author is a certain functional principle by which, in our culture, one limits, excludes and chooses. The author is therefore the ideological figure by which one marks the manner in which we fear the proliferation of meaning.”  Foucault's lecture responds to Roland Barthes' essay "The Death of the Author".

Works

Mental Illness and Psychology (1954), Madness and Civilization (1961), The Birth of the Clinic (1963),  Death and the Labyrinth (1963),  The Order of Things (1966),  The Archaeology of Knowledge (1969), Discipline and Punish (1975),  The History of Sexuality (1976–1984).

Michel Foucault uproots all our conventional notions about the relationship between a book and its author.  However, the element of surprise is not there in Foucault’s position as Roland Barthes (1916-1980) has traversed the same ground before him. “What is an Author?” echoes many of the thoughts of Barthes on the subject of authorship expressed a decade earlier in Writing Degree Zero (1953).Foucault’s concept of author-function is characteristic of some discourses like fiction but it is not the trait of discourses like letter writing. Author function is connected to the system of property ownership that became common in eighteenth century.

Foucault’s attack on the concept of author is much stronger than that of Barthes. Barthes did not transgress the boundaries of literary theory. He merely wanted to activate the reader and place him at the center of discourse.

Let us conclude this overview with an observation that to women and people of color the question, “What does it matter who is speaking?” is relevant. For them ‘who writes’ makes a difference. As one commentator puts it, “it is important to know “who is writing” in order to interpret a statement in the context of gender and race”.