1、学术英语 人文,Academic English for Humanities,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Lead-in Text A Text B Text C Academic Language and Discourse Listening Speaking Writing,Unit Contents,Lead-inLead-in activitiesSupplementary information,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,What is literature?,Choose from the following for
2、ms of writing what can be counted as literature: news report novel research paper diary poem letter,Lead-in,Activities,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,How do you make the choice? (What makes you treat something as literature while dismissing others as non-literature? ),What is literature?,Many college
3、professors, upholding a traditional standard of literary quality, believe that students should read works whose artistic merit has been established over the years. However, some have begun to question the very notion of literary quality and the notion of what is literature. There have been an increa
4、sing number of studies of writers mainly for what they have to say rather than how well they say it.,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Lead-in,Supplementary information,The historical and social impact of works is gaining importance, while the once-honored standards such as grace of style and originality
5、 of expression have been downgraded.,Literature as defined in dictionaries,stories, poems and plays, especially those thatare considered to have value as art and not just entertainment (MacMillan Dictionary),writings in prose or verse; especially writings having excellence of form or expression and
6、expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest (Merriam-Websters Online Dictionary, 11th Edition),Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Lead-in,Supplementary information,Literature as defined in dictionaries,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Lead-in,Supplementary information,written artistic works, especiall
7、y those with a high and lasting artistic value (Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary),written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit (Compact Oxford English Dictionary),Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A The Scope and Content of Literature,Classroom activitiesSup
8、plementary informationSuggested answer key,The Scope and Content of Literature,Do Task 1 Critical Reading and Thinking P7,Summarize Text A on the basis of your answers to Task 1 Critical Reading and Thinking P7Scope of literature Content of literature,Work in pairs to compare your answers to the que
9、stions in Task 2 Critical Reading and Thinking P8,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Classroom activities,The Scope and Content of Literature,The original article “The Art of Literature”,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,Text A is adapted from the article “The Art of Lit
10、erature”, written by Kenneth Rexroth. The original article consists of seven parts:the scope of literature literary composition content of literature literature and its audience literature and its environment literary genres writings on literature,The Scope and Content of Literature,The MusesIn Gree
11、k mythology, poetry and literature, Muses are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts.,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,Calliope: Muse of heroic or epic poetry (often holding a stylus and wax tablets),Clio: Muse of history (often holding a parch
12、ment scroll or a set of tablets),Erato: Muse of lyric and love poetry (often playing a lyre),Euterpe: Muse of music or flutes (often playing a flute),Melpomene: Muse of tragedy (often holding a tragic mask),Polymnia: Muse of sacred song and oratory (often with a pensive look),Terpsichore: Muse of da
13、ncing and choral song (often dancing and holding a lyre)Thalia: Muse of comedy (often holding a comic mask) Urania: Muse of astronomy (often holding a globe),The Scope and Content of Literature,Classic surveys of history as noble examples of the art of literature,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,
14、Supplementary information,The History of the Peloponnesian War was written by ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who, as an Athenian general, served in the war. Some scholars view the work as an objective and scientific account of the past, written from a purely intellectual point of view. But some
15、 understand it as a piece of literature, in which the author is “an artist who responds to, selects and skillfully arranges his material, and develops its symbolic and emotional potential”.,One example: History of the Peloponnesian War,The Scope and Content of Literature,Essays,Unit 1 The Art of Lit
16、erature,Text A,Supplementary information,an analytic, interpretative, or critical literary compositionFrancis Bacons essays, published in book form in 1597, 1612, 1625, were the first works in English that described themselves as essays.,The Scope and Content of Literature,Dialogues by Plato,Unit 1
17、The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,Plato (428/427 BC 348/347 BC), the greatest philosopher and mathematician of ancient Greece, wrote extensively. Most of his writing takes the form of dialogues, in which several characters argue a topic by asking questions of each other. This fo
18、rm allows Plato to raise various points of view and let the reader decide which is valid. The subjects of dialogues range from philosophy, logic, rhetoric to mathematics.,The Scope and Content of Literature,Dialogues by Plato,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,Plato was a
19、pupil of Socrates, who appears as a character in many of the dialogues. Following the death of Socrates, Plato travelled widely in search of learning. After twelve years he returned to Athens and founded his Academy, which is often described as the first European university. The subjects offered in
20、the Academy included astronomy, biology, mathematics, political theory, and philosophy. Among Platos pupils was Aristotle.,The Scope and Content of Literature,Meditations by Marcus Aurelius,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,Meditations is a series of personal writings by
21、Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (121-180). It consists of reflections jotted down by the emperor at odd moments, while he was on campaign. The entries appear to be in no particular order and may simply be in the original order of composition. They record the passing thoughts, the maxims, the musings o
22、n life and death, and Stoic philosophy. According to Meditations, one should avoid indulgence in sensory affections, and this skill can free a man from the pains and pleasures of the material world, and the only way a man can be harmed by others is to allow his reaction to overpower him. The style o
23、f the writings is straightforward and plain, but the Meditations is regarded by many as “unendingly moving and inspiring”.,Natural History and Antiquities of Selbourne,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,Gilbert White (1720-1793) was an English naturalist, ornithologist, an
24、d a pioneer of the study of birds and animals in their natural habitats, rather than as specimens. This method of observation enabled him to identify and record many previously unknown species. In 1789, he published his Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne as one volume. It was a compilation
25、of letters to zoologist Thomas Pennant and barrister Daines Barrington, two leading figures of the Royal Society. In the letters, White discussed his observations and theories about the local fauna and flora in a charming and immediate way. He pictured himself as well as what he saw. The book is one
26、 of the most published in the English language and it has never been out of print.,Oratory of the American Indian,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,American Indians were historically an oral people. For example, many told their histories by oral tradition. A chief of a tr
27、ibe relied on persuasion rather than force to lead his people. Utilizing natural metaphors, Indian speeches were well calculated to impress their target audiences.,The Scope and Content of Literature,The Scope and Content of Literature,Ciceros influence on the development of English prose style,Unit
28、 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,Cicero had a close study of the rhythms that were likely to appeal to an audience. He was the real creator of the “periodic sentence” style, in which the sentences tend to be periodic and phrase is balanced against phrase, with subordinate cl
29、auses woven into a complex sentence. For example, For the queen, the lover, pleading always at the hearts door, patiently waits. The normal order of the sentence is “Always pleading at the hearts door, the lover waits patiently for the queen.“ The periodic style is more exotic and arguably more poet
30、ic.,The Scope and Content of Literature,The Gettysburg Address,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,On November 19, 1863, at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln delivers one of the most m
31、emorable speeches in American history the Gettysburg Address fewer than 300 words, delivered over 2-3 minutes.,The Scope and Content of Literature,Collective unconscious,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,“Collective unconscious” is a term of analytical psychology introduc
32、ed by Carl Jung (1875-1961), a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of analytical psychology. It represents a form of the unconscious common to human beings as a whole and related to the inherited structure of the brain. It influences all of our experiences, behaviors and emotions, but we only know ab
33、out it indirectly, by looking at the effects. For example, love at first sight, the feeling that you have been somewhere before, the immediate recognition of certain symbols, the creative experiences shared by artists, and the striking similarities of dreams, fairy tales and mythologies all over the
34、 world, could all be understood as the effects of the collective unconscious.,The Dream of the Red Chamber,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,The Dream of the Red Chamber,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary information,The Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦), or T
35、he Story of the Stone (石头记), is the greatest masterpiece of Chinese classical novels of the Ming and Qing dynasties.,The work is comprised of 120 chapters, the first 80 of which were written by Cao Xueqin. (Gao E added 40 additional chapters to complete the novel.,The novel details the decline of th
36、e wealthy and aristocratic Jia clan. Revolving around Jia Baoyu and the tragic love between him and Lin Daiyu, it portrays the ruin of love, youth and life, and exposes the root of the tragedy the feudal system.,The Dream of the Red Chamber,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Supplementary informati
37、on,The novel is remarkable for its creation of characters with distinctive personality, great cultural richness, and precise observation of the life and society of the 18th-century China. Its success also lies in its written vernacular language (rather than classical Chinese), which has produced a p
38、rofound impact on the development of Chinese novels.,Task 2 / Points for discussion P8,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Suggested answer key,Suggested answer to Q1:,Literature is a great medium to reflect the human condition, cultural and historical values, and to express feelings and thoughts. S
39、ome of the most common themes in literature are:the relationship between human beings and Naturethe individual in society (e.g. mans struggle against societal pressure)human naturehuman relationship (e.g. love, hatred, etc.)personal growth (e.g. overcoming adversity)death Major forms of human expres
40、sion include language, literature, music, visual art, cinema, drama, history, and philosophy. Cave paintings are perhaps one of the oldest forms of human expression. They could either record what had been caught on hunting trips or express what the hunters would like to catch in the future.,Task 2 /
41、 Points for discussion P8,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Suggested answer key,Suggested answer to Q2:,(Suggested answer to the first question: How do you understand these lines?)Artistic merit refers to the judgment of the perceived quality or value of cultural products as works of art. A piece
42、 of writing is considered as having artistic merit if it has high quality and some aesthetic value. However, it is hard to define the exact nature of artistic merit because the preferred standards may vary across time and place. A great writer is someone who can attain artistic merit almost effortle
43、ssly and naturally.(You may agree or disagree with the author, but you need to give your reasons.),Task 2 / Points for discussion P8,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Suggested answer key,Suggested answer to Q3:,To test whether advertising copywriting, a purely commercial fiction, or cinema and te
44、levision script is an accepted form of literary expression, one needs to judge whether that particular form can bring long-lasting satisfaction and convey the very truth of human beings and the world.,Task 2 / Points for discussion P8,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Suggested answer key,Suggeste
45、d answer to Q4:,It cannot be denied that changes are taking place continuously, in peoples life, ideology, science, technology, environment, etc. However, there are certain universal and constant issues that transcend race, gender, creed and culture, and they are recurring themes in literature. For
46、example, love, hatred, fear, family, honor, deceit and peace. The same patterns go on and on.,Task 2 / Points for discussion P8,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Suggested answer key,Suggested answer to Q5:,Integration of personality refers to positive changes in ones personality, for example, bec
47、oming emotionally mature, getting adjusted to the environment, being able to cope with inner conflict, etc. Disintegration of personality refers to unfavorable personality changes. This may occur when someone faces a series of crises: job loss, marriage failure, health problem, etc.,Task 2 / Points
48、for discussion P8,Unit 1 The Art of Literature,Text A,Suggested answer key,Suggested answer to Q6:,One notable example is the image of Daiyu burying the flowers (in Chapter 27). One day, Daiyu is overwhelmed by melancholy after a quarrel with Baoyu. Her inner sadness is reflected by her behavior. Sh
49、e goes to a hillside, buries some fallen petals there, weeps at the dead petals and even creates a long poem for the fading flowers. In Chapter 108, when Baoyu thinks of Daiyu, tears well up in his eyes, and he slips away to the Garden. The description of the bleak garden and miserable scene shows his sorrow over the declining family. The poems created by the characters in the novel are also perfect reflections of their personality. For example, the following poem composed by Daiyu (in Chapter 37) implies her own personality - unconventional, emotional, prone to melancholic spells.,
