Literary Theory 2 (Literary Works and Genres) - Tay Do University - 6

( Folk song )

"How old is the moon, the old is the moon. How old is the mountain, it is called a mountain ."

( Folk song )

5.3.4. From a syntactic perspective

The text in a literary work is different from everyday speech, different from scientific journalism in that it is an artistic phenomenon due to its high level of imagery and organization. To build that language, writers and poets exploit the inherent means of expression of natural language through syntactic means such as sentences, repetitions, punctuation, interrogative sentences, exclamations, etc., which also help the artistic text to have the power to convey the writer's thoughts.

Syntax is very important to create artistic sentences. For example, synonyms, exclamatory sentences, interrogative sentences, complex sentences, reduced sentences, and repetition. Literary works are not limited to the scope of words but also to the syntactic order of sentences. In literature, when referring to poetic syntax, people often mention some types of sentences with common word properties in poetry:

“Who are you? Girl or fairy? Are you old or ageless?

Is your hair here like clouds or streams?

Your eyes look like lightning in a stormy night Your flesh is like iron or copper.

( Vietnamese Girl – To Huu)

The means of constructing artistic texts are very rich and diverse. Understanding the above means is only the basis for understanding artistic texts. The important thing is to discover how the writer specifically applies those means to create artistic texts.

5.4. Elements of text in literary works

5.4.1. Direct speech

Direct speech is the speech of a character in a literary work. Through it, people know the environment, profession, education, psychology, age, and personality of the character. For example, in Nguyen Tuan's The Prisoner's Letter , we see the character Huan Cao answer the prison officer: "You ask me what I want? I only want one thing: that you do not set foot here ." This speech reflects the indomitable spirit of Huan Cao, the speech of a man who refuses to bow down and beg for evil, cruel people, the speech of a man who has long refused to live with the evil and wickedness that he has tried to despise.

should be set aside for him; when he comes back, if he doesn't have enough money to get married, I will add to it; if he has enough money to get married, I will give it to him and his wife so they have some capital to do business, …” Nam Cao let the character of old Hac express his feelings for his son who is working far away.

5.4.2. Indirect speech

Indirect speech is the speech that takes on the function of narrating, introducing, describing, commenting on people and events, as distinguished from direct speech which is placed in quotation marks or after a bullet point. Indirect speech is the speech of the narrator, the storyteller. This is a conventional way of referring to the narrative function of the text, even if it is narrated in the first person. Indirect speech can be divided into two types, single-voice indirect speech and multi-voice indirect speech .

- Indirect speech with one voice : is a narrative directed towards an object to recreate and introduce it. The speech recreates or comments on the phenomena of the world according to their inherent objective meaning according to the author's intention, unrelated to the consciousness and thoughts of others about them. In folk literature and ancient literature, authors often use this form. For example, "At that time, there was no universe, no things and no humans. Heaven and earth were just a mass of chaos, darkness and coldness" ( Than Tru Troi ). This is the simplest and most ancient type of narrative.

- Multi-voiced indirect speech : is a narrative that both aims to recreate the subject and also has an implicit dialogue with the words of others outside the subject, or an implicit dialogue with the subject itself. This is the most developed and richest type of speech. Here, only the common forms are noted.

+ Stylized words : are narrations in another person's voice with the same meaning as that voice, to create nuances and individual atmosphere. For example, a passage in the story " The Season of Lac" by Nguyen Khai: "Digging up Dien Bien farm at the beginning of the year, about half a month outside of the Lunar New Year, with the mentality of a bird flying forever will tire its wings, a horse running forever will get restless, wanting to find a remote place somewhere, far away from familiar places to forget the past life, and she doesn't care about what the coming days will be like, roughly speaking, it won't be much better than before, maybe encounter more sadness. Gentlemen have hardships, beautiful women have hardships, human fate is determined, ..." . Sentences

The idiom expresses the consciousness of those who are "floating and drifting" with sympathy.

+ Semi-direct speech : is the narrator's speech with the character's words, thoughts, and intonation, aiming to reveal the character's inner thoughts. For example, the passage in A Phu's Husband and Wife by To Hoai: "Then drunk, My sat there, her face pale, watching everyone dancing, people singing, but My's heart was living in the past. My's ears faintly heard the sound of a flute calling her friends at the beginning of the village. In the past, My played the flute well, ... My was very young. My was still young. My wanted to go out. How many people with husbands also went out on Tet holiday. What's more, A Su and My, who had no feelings for each other, still had to stay together! If there was a handful of poison leaves in her hand right now, My would eat them to death! She would not be sad to remember anymore..." . It is still the narrator's narration, and at the same time, it is the character's heart's throbbing. The character feels but does not speak, the narrator speaks the character's secret words.

5.4.3. First person narrative, "I"

Most of them are direct speech, because they are the words of the characters, but in terms of narrative function, they are indirect. In fact, the directness here is conventional. The writer borrows the directness as a narrative point of view (the story has an autobiographical nature, diary form, or a witness telling the story). This speech brings a point of view with a special concept, brings lyricism, the ability to self-confess, self-analyze (for example, the short story Lao Hac by Nam Cao).

5.4.4. Inner narrative

Monologue is the character's words, direct words, can be said to oneself or to others, but it is independent of the dialogue. Internal monologue is a way to express secret feelings and thoughts. Because, in thoughts, people show more freedom than in spoken words. For example, in Nguyen Du's Tale of Kieu , Kieu has the thought:

"Knowing oneself to be lost

"I would rather break a peach blossom for my lover."

Thus, interior monologue can be either direct or indirect speech used for narration. Its scope includes semi-direct speech.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Analyze the difference between literary language and everyday speech. Give examples to prove it.

2. State the characteristics of artistic language in literary works.

3. Present the means of constructing artistic text.

4. State the role of direct and indirect speech.

PART TWO

TYPE OF LITERARY WORK

Chapter 6

OVERVIEW OF LITERARY WORK GENRES

6.1. Concept of literary genre

When talking about literary works, it is always associated with their genre. It is a poem, a short story, a play or a memoir. Often associated with the name of the work is the name of the genre of that work. Talking about literary genre means talking about the typological rules of the work, that is, a systematization of the nature of works that have similar methods of organization and methods of reproducing life. For example, there must be a way of organizing the method of reproducing life, there must be a way of organizing the method of reproducing life in such a way that it can be called poetry, a story, a novel or a play, ... And in turn, the name of the genre has the function of distinguishing the type of work, its form of existence, the type of communication, the type of artistic reproduction of the work. The genre of a literary work is a concept that indicates the typological rules of the work, in which a certain type of content corresponds to a certain type of form, giving the work a complete form of existence.

Genre is a category of the whole work. Any work created belongs to a certain whole, no work is “super genre”. Because each genre represents a type of relationship with life and with the reader, that is, a type of communication relationship. A type of dual communication, both communicating with the reader and communicating with life. Through communication with life in the work, the author and the reader understand each other.

In literary genres, there is always unity and regulation of the type of subject, theme, inspiration, character form, structure form and text form. For example, dramatic characters have dramatic structure, actions with dramatic text, or lyrical characters have lyrical structure and text, poetic rules. This unity is due to different ways of occupying life with regulations, expressing different aesthetic relationships to reality, carrying different abilities in reproducing life. Because

Genre is a way of organizing a work, a way of reproducing life and a way of artistic communication. Therefore, we can understand the genre of a literary work as follows: “The genre of a literary work is a typological phenomenon of literary creation and communication, formed on the basis of the regular repetition of elements of the work. That is the basis for people to classify works. But the genre of a work is not simply a type and repetition. The nature of artistic creation is uniqueness and non-repetition. The movement of life also always produces and changes the limits of reflection, renews the channels of communication and makes them interact with each other, intertwined in

unique works of art”1.

A literary work is a complete unity of elements such as theme, subject, character, structure, plot, and text. This unity is carried out according to certain rules. The genre of a literary work is a concept that indicates the rules of the type of work, in which, corresponding to a certain content, there is a certain type of form, giving the work a complete form of existence.

To objective reality, a literary work is a vivid reflection, a mirror that records the historical appearance of a period that will never return and predicts the future. To the reader, a literary work is an active object of aesthetic perception. Of course, in reality, these complex relationships always permeate each other and cannot be separated mechanically.

Every literary work exists in certain genre forms: a novel, a short story, a poem, a play, a memoir, ... no literary work is built outside of those familiar forms. Therefore, next to the title of the work, the author often writes the name of the genre: Les Miserables ( novel); Soldier's Footprints (novel); Guy de Maupassant's short story; From Then On (poetry); The Poem Mau Tim Hoa Sim ; The Miserable Old Man (drama), ... Sometimes the name of the genre is closely associated with the title of the work: Hoang Le Thong Nhat Chi , Binh Ngo Dai Cao , Tam Quoc Chi Dien Nghia , Van Te Nghia Si Can Giuoc .

Thus, literary genres are more closely linked to the general creative tendency and creative personality of the writer. It is impossible to study literary genres without ignoring these two factors.

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6.2. Classification of literary genres

The emergence of literary genres in history is a process. If we ask why there are epics, tragedies, poems, prose, novels, why there are six-eight verses, seven-seven-six-eight verses, then the answer will have to be a research project on a complex process. The formation and development of literary genres also means the formation and development of literature through stages, because literature cannot exist without genres. Although literary genres change through historical periods, there are still stable aspects that continue from one stage to another. That continuity in each genre is determined by the way of reflecting life. Literary genres change but the way of reflecting life does not change. The way of life genres in literature reflects the forms of communication, existence and development of people in each society. Literary theory has had many different ways of classifying literary genres.

6.2.1. In the West

The literary genres that are popular today such as short stories, novellas, novels, memoirs, and plays all appeared in the West, especially during the Renaissance, but it was not until the modern period, especially in the 19th century, that they had a complete form in the works of masters such as Pushkin, Gogol, L. Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Bandak, Standan, Flobe, Ipsen, Berna So, and Chekhov. Genre is the overall form of a literary work that appears in turn in the history of literature. Talking about the history of literature in terms of genre means talking about the continuous series of appearances, changes, and developments of literary genres with their diverse forms.

As early as the 4th century BC, Aristotle, in The Art of Poetry , based on the principle of reflection, divided literature into 3 types. He believed that art is the "imitation" and "reproduction" of reality. Corresponding to the 3 forms of imitation are 3 types of literature: narrative works, lyric works and drama. Aristotle's classification is generally approved by many aestheticians, including Secnusexski and Dobrolyubov. Belinsky based on the requirement of describing the character and expressing the writer's thoughts and feelings to classify. According to him, "narrative works reproduce life through the description of events. In events, there is a deep penetration of the writer's thoughts and feelings."

poetry into the external actions of the characters, making them indistinguishable. Here, the poet no longer appears, ... this type includes narrative poetry, novels, fables. The lyric type includes works that through the author's emotional expression reflect reality. In this type, the author realizes life, ... this type often does not have a complete plot, is often short, and includes lyrical prose. The dramatic type includes works that put characters on stage so that they can express themselves through their actions. This type is similar to the narrative type in that there are events that are the unity of subjective and objective forces developing. But this type is not purely external. Works of this type have both a complete plot and a

It includes comedy, tragedy, and drama.”1 Many times

The above types penetrate, transform, and combine with each other, not being absolutely separate.

6.2.2. In the East

In ancient China, under different historical and social conditions, narrative and dramatic literary genres did not appear like in the West, but instead political works of memoirs such as the Book of Songs and Li Tao developed . The novel genre developed late and it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that spoken drama appeared.

Domestic novels are also valued. On that basis, popular Chinese books and newspapers recognize four types of literature: poetry, prose, novels and drama. This basis of classification is the Chinese classification tradition combined with Western classification criteria.

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1 Le Luu Oanh – Pham Dang Du (2008), Literary Theory , Hanoi Pedagogical University Publishing House, p.349

Although the above classifications have different advantages, they are all relative. Because literary genres are very diverse, no one method can cover them completely and closely.

In Vietnam, because of the diversity and ever-evolving nature of literary genres, the classification of genres also has many forms. The classification of works is the first step to recognize the rules of genres, not everything. The above classification is only the first step to recognize the genre form of the work. The textbooks are mainly based on the Western classification but presented into 4 main types: Poetry, novel, memoir and drama. Some people divide them into 5 types: narrative, lyric, drama, memoir, satire. In Literary Theory, volume 2 , Hanoi Pedagogical University Publishing House, 2014, Tran Dinh Su divided them into: narrative, lyric, drama, memoir and political commentary.

The above classifications are all relative. Because literary reality is diverse and rich, it is difficult to have a complete and consistent generalization. Therefore, this textbook chooses to classify literature into five types: lyrical works, narrative works, dramatic works, literary memoirs and political works. Because it has the advantage of combining the Western classification tradition with the characteristics of ancient and modern Eastern literature, and at the same time overcomes the disadvantages of dividing into four types. Based on the above classification, genres can be arranged into corresponding types:

Narrative genres include novels, short stories, poems, epics, fairy tales, etc.

Lyric genre includes lyric poetry, lyric prose, …

Drama genres include tragedy, comedy, drama, poetic drama, etc. Memoir genres include memoir, reportage, travelogue, etc.

The political genre includes political commentary, literary, social, political commentary,

…

In addition to the above literary division, it is necessary to rely on other criteria.

carry out the division of literary genres

6.3. Criteria for dividing literary genres

Genre is the overall form of a literary work that appears in turn in the history of literature. Talking about the history of literature in terms of genre means talking about the continuous series of appearances, changes and developments of literary genres with their diverse forms. At the same time, these genres also reveal general rules in reflecting life and in the structure of works. Therefore, in order to master the rules of organizing literary genres, people have long classified works. Literary theory has known many different ways of classification, but the most important are the following:

Based on the form of sentences: poetry (rhymed prose) and prose (essay). Here we can talk about narrative poetry, prose fiction, poetry, prose poetry, poetic drama, spoken drama, fable poetry, and fables.

Based on literary genre, that is, the form of the text is organized according to a certain format. For example, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8-word poetry, seven-seven-six-eight poetry, free verse. Prose genre: diary, edict, memorial, funeral oration, etc. Each type of literature often uses a corresponding literary genre: narrative uses narrative, drama uses dialogue, poetry uses emotional and expressive writing.

Based on the capacity of the work is the criterion, mainly based on the reality expressed in the work and its length. It can be mentioned as short stories, novellas, novels, poems, epics, ballads, short plays, and multi-act plays.

Based on inspiration, aesthetic tone can be divided into: eulogy, elegy, lyric or satire, joke, love story, tragedy, comedy, drama, ...

In addition, people can rely on genre content to divide literary works: national history genre, moral and social genre, private life genre.

The genres presented above can all be expressed in different types of literary works and are often closely combined rather than completely separate. Therefore, when studying literary genres, it is necessary to pay attention to intermediate forms, combining prose and verse, narrative and lyric, poetry and stories, or between literature and other fields, such as between literature and history, between literature and research, between literature and music, between literature and theater.

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