Classic Literary Quotes: Analysis and Enduring Relevance
(a) “Crafty Men Condemn Studies…” – Francis Bacon
This line is taken from Francis Bacon’s essay Of Studies, one of his most famous essays. In this essay, Bacon discusses the value, purpose, and practical application of studying or gaining knowledge.
Bacon categorizes people based on how they perceive studies:
Crafty men (clever but cunning) dismiss studies, thinking them useless.
Simple men (uneducated or naïve) admire studies without fully understanding their purpose.
Wise men understand that studies
Literary Concepts & Themes: Dystopia, Absurdism, Orwell
Utopian vs. Dystopian Literature
Utopian Societies
- Positive and persuasive techniques (often for modern ideas of science and socialism).
- Perfect in a moral sense; societies were ideal in the best possible way.
- The expected response to the experience was delight.
Dystopian Societies
- Negative; lent the same techniques to the revolt against modernity.
- Invented whole social orders; the order was merely perfected in a social sense.
- Represented the victory or tyranny of an idea.
- Evokes reader horror.
George Orwell:
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The Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE)
Eminent figures such as Juan Ramón Jiménez or Federico García Lorca were linked to the Institución Libre de Enseñanza (ILE). Francisco Giner de los Ríos, a key figure, strongly supported the idea of freedom of teaching.
The ILE was a private institution, founded by a group of teachers and intellectuals who had been dismissed from the University for political matters and opinions. It regarded itself as an institute or school free from religious dogma,
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Art: Definition, Aspects, and Purpose
Art involves two steps: expression by the author (encoding) and perception by the observer (decoding). It has two aspects: content (reflecting reality and referring to different experiences of a person or group) and form (designed to reinforce said content). Three requirements for art are to speak to the recipient’s intelligence, evoke emotions, and trigger the senses.
Aristotle’s View
- Aim: To represent the inward significance of things.
Harold Bloom on Art
- “Perfectly
Understanding Literature: Functions, Genres, and Reader Engagement
Defining Literature: What Makes a Text Literary?
What defines literature? It is necessary to understand how one distinguishes a literary text from a non-literary one; in other words, what is *specifically* literary.
Roman Jakobson’s Functions of Communication
Roman Jakobson argues that in any act of communication, the sender produces a message with a particular intention, emphasizing various elements of the communication circuit. These functions include:
- Referential: The sender concentrates on the referent
Medieval to Renaissance: Society, Literature, and Cultural Shifts
From Medieval to Renaissance: Society, Literature, and Cultural Shifts
Estates Satire: A Social Commentary
William Langland – Piers Plowman
Medieval Social Hierarchy and Feudalism
The 1066 Norman invasion introduced a system where the land belonged to the king, who divided it among his chief warriors. At the top of the order were the king and the Church. The only people who could read and write tended to take over positions where signing documents was necessary; they were important because they held
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