Modernist Literature and Societal Shifts: 16th-20th Century
Unit 1: Literature in an Ever-Changing World
Theme: “Make it New” – Modernism and Challenges to Victorian Values
Introduction to the Modern Era: Beginning in the 16th century, this era was characterized by significant change and innovation. The phrase “Make it New,” coined by Ezra Pound, reflects a distinct break from Victorian traditions. Industrialization and mechanization prompted profound societal and literary shifts.
Crisis of Victorian Positivism: Post-1880s, there was a noticeable decline
Read MoreHistorical Linguistics: Language Change and Evolution
Topic 1: Historical Linguistics
1. What Historical Linguistics (HL) Is Not
HL is not concerned with the history of linguistics, though it has played an important role in the development of linguistics. Its main aim is not to unravel the ultimate origin of human language and how it may have evolved. Historical Linguistics’ theory and methods are, nevertheless, very relevant to corroborate theories of language evolution. Historical Linguistics is not about determining or preserving what are the correct
Read MoreUnderstanding Language: Functions, Disciplines, and Grammar
Functions of Language
- Denotative, Referential, or Representative: When the sender uses language to transmit information about things to the recipient.
- Emotive or Expressive Function: When the sender uses language with the intention to express feelings and desires.
- Conative or Appellative Function: When the sender’s intention is to draw the attention of the recipient or to get them to act.
- Phatic Function or Contact: The sender uses language to start or complete communication, to keep up and check if
Sentence Types, Text Structures, and Literary Devices
Sentence Types
According to the speaker’s intention, there are seven types of sentences:
- Declarative: Used to report facts or ideas. Example: He wanted to be an actor. Declarative sentences can be affirmative or negative.
- Interrogative: Used to ask something. Example: Do you know what time it is?
- Exclamatory: Used to express surprise, joy, wonder, sadness, etc. Example: How delicious this cake is!
- Hortatory: Used to give orders or to prohibit. Example: Come here right now.
- Optative: Used to make wishes.
Early American Literature: 17th and 18th Centuries
Anne Bradstreet
The Author to Her Book
(1) Thou ill-formed offspring of my feeble brain,
(2) Who after birth didst by my side remain,
(3) Till snatched from thence by friends, less wise than true,
(4) Who thee abroad exposed to public view…
(5) Made thee in rags, halting to th’press to trudge,
To My Dear and Loving Husband
(1) If ever two were one, then surely we.
(2) If ever man were loved by wife, then thee;
(3) If ever wife was happy in a man,
(4) Compare with me, ye women, if you can.
(5) I prize thy
Read MoreTsotsi’s Transformation: A Story of Redemption in Apartheid South Africa
In Tsotsi, the novel revolves around the character of Tsotsi, a young man who leads a gang of four thugs in a township of Johannesburg, South Africa, in the 1950s. While the novel isn’t just about Tsotsi, technically, the story is shaped by all the other minor characters because they are the people who alter the plot, and the plot revolves around Tsotsi. Throughout the novel, we see an evolution of Tsotsi’s character from a hardened, uncaring individual to a man with an understanding much greater
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