FREUD'S STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN MIND

Psychoanalytic theory is the theory of personality organization and the dynamics of personality development that guides psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology.

 Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory of personality argues that human behavior is the result of the interactions among three component parts of the mind: the id, ego, and

superego.

 This "structural theory" of personality places great importance on how conflicts among the parts of the mind shape behavior and personality. These conflicts are mostly unconscious.

 According to Freud, personality develops during childhood and is critically shaped

through a series of five psychosexual stages, which he called his psychosexual theory of

development.

 During each stage, a child is presented with a conflict between biological drives and social expectations; successful navigation of these internal conflicts will lead

to mastery of each developmental stage, and ultimately to a fully mature personality.

 Freud's ideas have since been met with criticism, in part because of his singular focus

on sexuality as the main driver of human personality development.

FREUD'S STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN MIND

According to Freud, our personality develops from the interactions among what he proposed as the three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego. Conflicts among these three structures, and our efforts to find balance among what each of them "desires," determines how we behave and approach the world. What balance we strike in any given situation determines how we will resolve the conflict between two overarching behavioral tendencies: our biological aggressive and pleasure-seeking drives vs. our socialized internal control over those drives.

The Superego

The superego is concerned with social rules and morals—similar to what many people call their "conscience" or their "moral compass." It develops as a child learns what their culture considers right and wrong. If your superego walked past the same stranger, it would not take their ice cream because it would know that that would be rude. However, if both your id and your superego were involved, and your id was strong enough to override your superego's concern, you would still take the ice cream, but afterward you would most likely feel guilt and shame over your actions.

The Ego

In contrast to the instinctual id and the moral superego, the ego is the rational, pragmatic part of our personality. It is less primitive than the id and is partly conscious and partly unconscious. It's what Freud considered to be the "self," and its job is to balance the demands of the id and superego in the practical context of reality. So, if you walked past the stranger with ice cream one more time, your ego would mediate the conflict between your id ("I want that ice cream right now") and superego ("It's wrong to take someone else's ice cream") and decide to go buy your own ice cream. While this may mean you have to wait 10 more minutes, which would frustrate your id, your ego decides to make that sacrifice as part of the compromise– satisfying your desire for ice cream while also avoiding an unpleasant social situation and potential feelings of shame. Freud believed that the id, ego, and superego are in constant conflict and that adult personality and behavior are rooted in the results of these internal struggles throughout childhood. He believed that a person who has a strong ego has a healthy personality and that imbalances in this system can lead to neurosis (what we now think of as anxiety and depression) and unhealthy behaviors.

PSYCHOSEXUAL STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT

Freud (1905) proposed that psychological development in childhood takes place in a series of fixed stages. These are called psychosexual stages because each stage represents the fixation of libido (roughly translated as sexual drives or instincts) on a different area of the body. As a person grows physically certain areas of their body become important as sources of potential frustration (erogenous zones), pleasure or both. Freud believed that life was built round tension and pleasure. Freud also believed that all tension was due to the build up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from its discharge. In describing human personality development as psychosexual Freud meant to convey that what develops is the way in which sexual energy accumulates and is discharged as we mature biologically. (NB Freud used the term 'sexual' in a very general way to mean all pleasurable actions and thoughts).

Freud stressed that the first five years of life are crucial to the formation of adult personality. The id must be controlled in order to satisfy social demands; this sets up a conflict between frustrated wishes and social norms. The ego and superego develop in order to exercise this control and direct the need for gratification into socially acceptable channels. Gratification centers in different areas of the body at different stages of growth, making the conflict at each

stage psychosexual

. Oral Stage (0-1 year)

In the first stage of personality development the libido is centered in a baby's mouth. It gets

much satisfaction from putting all sorts of things in its mouth to satisfy the libido, and thus its id demands. Which at this stage in life are oral, or mouth orientated, such as sucking, biting, and breastfeeding. Freud said oral stimulation could lead to an oral fixation in later life. We see oralpersonalities all around us such as smokers, nail-biters, finger-chewers, and thumb suckers. 

Oral

personalities engage in such oral behaviors, particularly when under stress.

Anal Stage (1-3 years)

The libido now becomes focused on the anus and the child derives great pleasure from defecating. The child is now fully aware that they are a person in their own right and that their wishes can bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside world (i.e. their ego has developed). Freud believed that this type of conflict tends to come to a head in potty training, in which adults impose restrictions on when and where the child can defecate. The nature of this first conflict with authority can determine the child's future relationship with all forms of authority. Early or harsh potty training can lead to the child becoming an anal-retentive personality who hates mess, is obsessively tidy, punctual and respectful of authority. They can be stubborn and tight-fisted with their cash and possessions. This is all related to pleasure got from holding on to their faeces when toddlers, and their mum's then insisting that they get rid of it by placing them on the potty until they perform!

Phallic Stage (3 to 5 or 6 years)

Sensitivity now becomes concentrated in the genitals and masturbation (in both sexes) becomes a new source of pleasure. The child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in

motion the conflict between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls). This is resolved through the process of identification, which involves the child adopting thecharacteristics of the same sex parent 

 Oedipus Complex

The most important aspect of the phallic stage is the Oedipus complex. This is one of Freud's most controversial ideas and one that many people reject outright. The name of the Oedipus complex derives from the Greek myth where Oedipus, a young man, kills his father and marries his mother. Upon discovering this he pokes his eyes out and becomes blind. This Oedipal is the generic (i.e. general) term for both Oedipus and Electra complexes. In the young boy, the Oedipus complex or more correctly, conflict, arises because the boy develops sexual (pleasurable) desires for his mother. He wants to possess his mother exclusively and get rid of his father to enable him to do so. Irrationally, the boy thinks that if his father were to find out about all this, his father would take away what he loves the most. During the phallic stage what the boy loves most is his penis. Hence the boy develops castration anxiety. The little boy then sets out to resolve this problem by imitating, copying and joining in masculine dad-type behaviors. This is called identification, and is how the three-to-five year old boy resolves his Oedipus complex. Identification means internally adopting the values, attitudes and behaviors of another person. The consequence of this is that the boy takes on the male gender role, and adopts an ego ideal and values that become the superego. Freud (1909) offered the Little Hans case study as evidence of the Oedipus complex.

 Electra Complex

For girls, the Oedipus or Electra complex is less than satisfactory. Briefly, the girl desiresthe father, but realizes that she does not have a penis. This leads to the development of penis envy and the wish to be a boy. The girl resolves this by repressing her desire for her father and substituting the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby. The girl blames her mother for her 'castrated state' and this creates great tension. The girl then represses her feelings (to remove the tension) and identifies with the mother to take on the female gender role.

Latency Stage (5 or 6 to puberty)

No further psychosexual development takes place during this stage (latent means hidden). The

libido is dormant. Freud thought that most sexual impulses are repressed during the latent stage and sexual energy can be sublimated (re: defense mechanisms) towards school work, hobbies and friendships. Much of the child's energy is channeled into developing new skills and

acquiring new knowledge and play becomes largely confined to other children of the same

gender.

Genital Stage (puberty to adult)

This is the last stage of Freud's psychosexual theory of personality development and begins in

puberty. It is a time of adolescent sexual experimentation, the successful resolution of which is

settling down in a loving one-to-one relationship with another person in our 20's. Sexual instinct is directed to heterosexual pleasure, rather than self pleasure like during the phallic stage. For Freud, the proper outlet of the sexual instinct in adults was through heterosexual intercourse. Fixation and conflict may prevent this with the consequence that sexual perversions may develop. For example, fixation at the oral stage may result in a person gaining sexual

pleasure primarily from kissing and oral sex, rather than sexual intercourse.

FEMINIST POETICS- Elaine Showalter

 FEMINIST POETICS

Elaine Showalter (1941---) is an American literary critic and feminist. She is one of the founders of feminist literary criticism in the US. Her well-known works include: ‘Towards Feminist Poetics’(1979), Hystories: Hysterical Epidemics and Modern Media(1997). And ‘Inventing Herself: Claiming a Feminist Intellectual Heritage (2001) Feminist criticism started as a revolt against male domination in literature. Behind it lies, two centuries of struggle for the recognition of women’s social and political rights. The basic view of feminist criticism is that Western civilization is pervasively patriarchal, the prevailing concepts of gender are largely cultural constructs generated by the pervasive patriarchal biases and that the patriarchal ideology pervades those writings which have been traditionally considered great literature.

In the essay, ‘Towards a Feminist Poetics’, Elaine Showalter advocates a new way of reading. The author traces the history of women’s literature and divides it into three phases----‘Feminine’(1840 -1880), “Feminist’ (1880-1920), and ‘Female” (1920 to the present)Women should turn to female experience as the source of an autonomous art. The feminist criticism, free from the divided consciousness of ‘daughters’ and ‘sisters’ is to be made a permanent home. Feminist criticism can be divided into two varieties. 

The first one is concerned with women as reader of male produced literature. Showalter calls this kind of analysis as ‘the feminist critique’. It is a historical grounded enquiry. Its subjects include the images and the stereotypes of women in literature, the omissions and misconceptions about women in criticism, and the exploitation and manipulation of the female audience in popular culture and film. The second type is concerned with woman as writer, i.e with woman as the producer of literature; its subjects include the psychodynamics of female creativity, linguistics and the problems of female language. Showalter calls this type of analysis as ‘gynocritics’. It is a type of criticism designed by feminists to evaluate works by women as feminist works. It takes into consideration the circumstances in which a work of art is produced, the point of view of the author, and the motivation and attitudes of the characters.

One of the problems of feminist critique is that it is male-oriented. If we study the stereotypes of women, and the limited roles women play in literary history, we are trying to learn not what women have felt and experienced, but only what men have thought women should be. Showalter traces different phases in the evolution of a female tradition. He calls these phases as follows: the Feminine, the Feminist and the Female stages. During the Feminine phase, (1840 – 1880) women wrote in an effort to equalise the intellectual achievements of the male culture and internalized its assumptions of female nature. The distinguishing sign of this period is the male pseudonym. The feminist content of feminine is typically oblique, displaced, ironic and subversive; one has to read it between the lines, in the missed possibilities. In the feminist phase (1880 – 1920) women reject the accommodation postures of femininity and to use literature to dramatize the ordeals of wronged womanhood.

In the female phase (1920 onwards) women rejected both imitation and protest. They considered these two as forms of dependence. Instead, they turn to female experiences as the source of autonomous art. For example, Dorothy Richardson and Virginia Woolf begin to think in terms of male and female sentences and divide their work into ‘masculine’ journalism and ‘feminine’ fiction. The feminist criticism revised and even subverted related ideologies especially Marxist aesthetics and structuralism. It altered their vocabularies and methods to include the variable of gender.

The current theoretical impasse in feminist criticism comes from the dividedconsciousness of women, the split in each of them. Women are both the daughters of the male tradition, or their teachers, and professors, or publishers, a tradition which asks them to be rational, marginal and grateful. Women are also the sisters in a new women’s movement, which demands them to renounce the pseudo-success of token womanhood. The task of feminist critics is to find a new language; a new way of reading that can integrate women’s intelligence and experience their reason and their suffering. This enterprise should not be confined to women. Critics, poets and philosophers should share it with them. Showalter concludes saying that feminist criticism is not visiting. It is here to stay 

Feminist criticism is a theory and practice of analysing works of art, which undertakes recognize women’s cultural roles and other achievements and social and political rights.

An important work of feminist criticism was Virginia Woolf’s “A Room of one’s Own” . According to her, patriarchy prevented women from realising their creative potentialities. The “Second Sex” by Mary Elman, “Sexual Politics” by Late Millet, etc, are books which launched a much more radical criticism of the patriarchy. The assumptions and concepts of feminism:

I. Western civilization is pervasively patriarchal. Male domination subordinated women in all cultural domains: familial, religious, political, economic, social, legal and artistic.

II. It is recognized that while one’s sex is determined by anatomy, the prevailing concepts of gender are largely cultural constructs.

III. The patriarchal ideology pervades those writings which have been traditionallyconsidered great literature and which until recently have been written mainly bymen for men.A major interest of feminist critics is to reconstruct the ways we deal with literaturein order to do justice to female points of view, concerns, and values

Preface to the Second Edition of Lyrical Ballads 1800 - William Wordsworth

William Wordsworth(1770 – 18500), one of the most famous of all Nature poets, set off the Romantic revolt in English with the publication of ‘Lyrical Ballads’ in collaboration with Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798. He published his masterpiece ‘The Prelude’ a long autobiographical poem in 1805. ‘The Preface to the Second Edition of The Lyrical Ballads, 1800’ contains Wordsworth’s philosophy of poetry. He argues that poetry should be written in the natural language of common speech. The themes of his poetry are inspired by ‘humble and rustic life’ Wordsworth’s “Preface to the Lyrical Ballads” with an Appendix on poetic diction is universally acclaimed as a manifesto of Romantic criticism. The principal object of Lyrical Ballads is to illustrate how good poetry can be written on common incidents in the lives of ordinary human beings in simple, natural language. Wordsworth has given a number of memorable definitions of poetry such as “a spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings which takes its origin from emotions recollected from tranquility” He says “Poetry is the breath and finer sprit of all knowledge.” Wordsworth emphasizes on the poet’s freedom of expression and the free play of imagination. He denounces the poetic diction of the Neo- classical poets for their artificiality. He does not consider metre and rhyme as absolutely essential for good poetry, He realizes that metre when superadded can give pleasure. He asserts that there is essentially no difference between the language of poetry and that of prose. However with the exception of his early poems, Wordsworth did not adhere to his own principles.

SUMMARY OF THE PASSAGE

Wordsworth’s critical pronouncements are found in his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads. They constitute the romantic manifesto. In the Preface to the Second Edition of the Lyrical Ballads, 1800, states the object of writing the Preface to the Lyrical Ballads.

 He expresses his hesitation to defend his theory of poetry for a number of reasons: Firstly, the reader might get the impression that the poet was foolishly and selfishly hoping to persuade them to appreciate the new variety of poems he was placing before them. If his poems possessed a genuine quality, the reader would certainly receive it. He was not in favour of advertising his own poems. Secondly, the poet felt that a substantial and sound view of poetry cannot be condensed within the limited framework of the Preface. If he were to do justice to the task, he would have to examine the prevalent public taste, the changes have occurred in social and literary trends as also the impact of language on the human mind. All this would require a lot of space. In spite of his initial reluctance, Wordsworth did not wish to abruptly present a totally unfamiliar kind of poetry. He found it his duty to prepare his readers for this new variety of poems. Wordsworth expected strong opposition to his volume. Therefore, he intended his Preface. Wordsworth’s principal object of the Lyrical Ballads is to choose incidents and situations from common life, and to relate and describe them, as far as is possible, in a selection of language really used by men and at the same time, treat the subject imaginatively so that ordinary thing would appear unusual. Besides, he hoped to make such incidents and situations interesting by relating them to the primary laws of our nature, particularly the way we associate idea in a state of excitement. Humble and rustic life was generally chosen, since, in such a condition, human passions are less under control, more mature and can express themselves in a plainer and more emphatic language. Secondly, our basic emotions co-exist in a state of greater simplicity ad so they may be reflected upon and communicated more effectively. Thirdly, the manners of rural life originate from these basic passions and lastly, in that condition such feelings blend with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature.

       Wordsworth took special pain to purge the rustic speech of all its defects, coarseness

and faulty constructions before employing it in his poems because the simple country folk are constantly in touch with the best aspects of nature from which the best part of language evolves. Thirdly, as the rural population is restricted to the narrow circle, their manner of expression is more passionate, vivid and powerful. Fourthly, rustic speech is more precise and philosophical than the artificial diction of such poets who deliberately separate themselves from the language and feeling of ordinary people. Thus the principal object of the Lyrical Ballads is to illustrate how good poetry can be written on simple themes of ordinary human beings in simple, natural language. 

    Wordsworth asserts that the poems in the Lyrical Ballads have the moral purpose of enlightening the readers and purifying their affections. He had the habit of meditation and it so regulated and transformed his emotions that the sentiments he has expressed are bound to increase the comprehension of the readers as also to purify and reinforce their own emotions. He says: “For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings which takes its origin from emotions recollected in tranquility” However, worthy and noble poems are produced only when the poet has thought long and deep on the subject matter. Wordsworth considers a poet as a man of more than usual organic sensibility, but also one who has “thought long and deeply”, the poet’s feelings are modified by his thoughts which represent all our past feelings; he becomes capable of connecting on thought with another in this manner he is able to discover what is really important and worthwhile. By continued repetition such mental exercises, our feelings will be connected with important subjects so that such a noble perception of things will become habitual. Naturally, whenever he composes poems, such a poet will deal only with noble themes and loftysentiments in a worthy manner. Such poems will have a desirable impact on the readers’ sensibility too. Wordsworth implies that if a poet is always given to noble thoughts and worthy ideas he will never fail to compose poems of a noble note. In “Lyrical Ballads” Wordsworth adopts the simple language of common men. Personifications, figures of speech, antithesis and similar devices are rarely used.

Wordsworth maintained and practised in “Lyrical Ballads” his theory that there is hardly any difference between the language of prose and that of poetry. The language of large portion of every good poem differs from that of good prose only in the use of metre. The choice of words and phrases is done with real feeling and taste. As the subjects of poems are chosen judiciously, they are expressed in a judiciously chosen dignified and variegated metaphors and figures. In the preface to the “Lyrical Ballads” published in 1798 Wordsworth tells the reading public that his poems were a kind of experiment to know how far the language of conversation in the middle and lower class society is successful in producing poetic pleasure. Wordsworth asserts that even in the best poetry, the truly significant passages follow an order of words which is similar to that found in a good prose composition. The sole difference between the two is that the language of poetry is arranged according to the law of metre. Wordsworth declares that “there neither is nor can be any essential difference

between the language of prose and metrical composition” they are intimately related in their nature, function and appeal. According to the poet, poetry shed’s no tears such as Angels weep, but natural and human tears. That is to say, both prose and verse employ the same materials, spring from the same source, and appeal to the same faculties. Thus Wordsworth establishes that there is no essential difference between prose and metrical composition.

Wordsworth points out that in the view of several critics the very use of rhyme and metre distinguishes the language of poetry from that of prose and that this in itself justifies the use of certain other artificial distinctions, which afford pleasure and so are willingly accepted by the readers. In other words, poetry, by its very nature, differs from prose. The use of poetic diction is as much a source of pleasure as rhyme and metre, and so it is equally justified.

Wordsworth does not subscribe to these views; He insistently recommends the use of “a selection of language really used by men”. And if such a selection is made with true taste and feeling, the language of poetry would be free from the coarseness and vulgarity of ordinary life. Such diction is a sufficient distinction, and the addition of metre to it becomes a further source of pleasure. He holds the view that metre and rhyme are not indispensable to poetry. There can exist genuine poetry even without metre. Metre is merely superadded Wordsworth observes that the poet is basically a man speaking to men. He is a person who writes not for his own pleasure but primarily to express his own thoughts and emotions to his readers. He is a person endowed with a more lively sensibility, more

enthusiasm and tenderness than ordinary people. He has a greater knowledge of human beings. He has a greater degree of imagination and so he can feel or react emotionally to events and incidents which he has not directly experienced. In addition, he has a disposition to be affected, more than other men, by absent things as if they were present. Having a more comprehensive soul, the poet can share the emotional experiences of others.

He can identify himself emotionally with others and he can express the feelings and sentiments of others. He has greater amount of zeal and enthusiasm for life than ordinary people. He rejoices in the spirit of life, in the activities of mankind and in Nature at large and takes pleasure in communicating his own joy in life to others. Moreover he has greater readiness and power in expressing what he thinks and feels.

Wordsworth agrees with Aristotle’s concept that poetry is the most philosophic of all writing. The object of poetry is truth, no individual and local, but general and operative. Poetic truth is much higher than the truth of history or philosophy. In fact, poetry is more philosophical than philosophy itself. While history deals merely with particular facts and philosophy, with abstract truths, poetry alone deals both with the particular and the universal. Poetry aims at universal truths and also illustrates them through particular instances and illustrations. It is the mirror of human life and nature. Poetry is guided by sole consideration, namely, that of imparting pleasure to the readers while giving a faithful picture of nature and reality. On the other hand, the historian and the philosopher, labour under several obstacles. Poetry, says Wordsworth is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings which takes its origin from emotions recollected from tranquility. 

This definition of poetry gives us an idea of Wordsworth’s poetics. This definition highlights the spontaneity and emotionalism of poetry. He says: “Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression which is in the countenance of all sciences. This definition explains how poetry blends passions and knowledge. According to Wordsworth, poetic truth is superior to scientific truth, for it is based on universal facts of life and hence can be appreciated by all. While the scientist makes only a surface study, the poet probes into the inner reality and arrives at the soul of things. As he is a man of fine sensibility, the truth which he discovers is surcharged with his personal emotions. 

    These emotions are recollected in tranquility and in a rare mood gush out as a spontaneous poetic outpouring. Wordsworth affixes an Appendix to his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads to express his views on Poetic diction. In poetic diction Wordsworth could not agree with his neo- classical fiends. He wanted poetry to be a medium for expressing the feelings and aspiration of common man in common language. Wordsworth wrote Lyrical Ballads to justify his theory and to see if he could produce pleasure by writing in the language of common man. In the preface in 1978, he told the readers that his poems were a kind of experiment too knows how far the language of conversation among the middle class and lower class in the society was suited for poetry. In the second and the third editions, he stated that his object was to choose incidents and situations from common life and describe them in a language used by men. He preferred the language of these men because they communicate with the best objects in nature and they express their emotions in simple and unelaborated expression. He maintained that there is hardly any difference between the language of prose and that of poetry. His poetic diction is therefore, devoid of personifications, phrases, figures of speech, antithesis and similar devices. He emphasized the selection of language. Words and phrases should be chosen with true taste and feeling. But the selection and choice of words implies the neo-classical attitude of the poets. 

This accounts for the comment that Wordsworth actually ends in good neo-classicism. The whole trend of Wordsworth’s writings, both poetic and critical, was towards the simplification of life. Even his theory of poetic diction is only another aspect of his general effort to pierce down through artificiality and conventions to nature and reality.

Aristotle’s views on tragedy-essay

ARISTOTLE

             Aristotle lived from 384 B.C. to 322 B.C. He was the most distinguished disciple of Plato. Among his critical treatise, only two are extant- ‘Poetics’ and ‘Rhetoric’, the former deals with the art of poetry and the latter with the art of speaking.

THE PLAN OF POETICS

              Poetics contains twenty six small chapters. The first four chapters and the twentyfifth are devoted to poetry; the fifth in general way to comedy, epic, and tragedy; the following fourteen exclusively to tragedy; the next three to poetic diction; the next to epic poetry; and the last to a comparison of epic poetry and tragedy. Aristotle’s main concern thus appears to be tragedy, which was considered the most developed form of poetry in his day. Poetry, comedy, and epic come in for consideration because a discussion of tragedy would be incomplete without some reference to its parent and sister forms.

ARISTOTLE’S OBSERVATION ON POETRY

1. Its Nature.

              Aristotle calls poet an imitator. The poet imitates things ‘as they were or are’, ‘as they are said or thought to be’ or ‘as they ought to be’. In other words the poet imitates what is past or present, what is commonly believed, and what is ideal. He believes that there is a natural pleasure in imitation. This is an inborn natural instinct. There is also another inborn instinct i.e. the instinct for harmony and rhythm. This manifests itself in metrical composition. But unlike Plato, Aristotle does not consider the poet’s imitations of life as twice removed from reality, but reveal universal truths. To prove this, Aristotle makes a comparison between poetry and history. The poet does not relate what has happened, but what may happen. The historian relates what has happened. Poetry therefore is more philosophical and higher than history. Poetry expresses the universal, history the particular. The pictures of poetry are truths based on facts on the laws of probability or necessity. Thus Aristotle answers Plato’s severest charge against poetry.

2. Its functions.

              Aristotle considers pleasure as the end of poetry. Poetry springs from the instincts of imitation and rhythm and harmony. They are indulged in for the pleasure they give. Poetry is pleasing both to the poet and to the reader. Aristotle nowhere states that the function of poetry is to teach. However, he considers teaching desirable, if it is incidental to the pleasure it gives. Such a pleasure is regarded as superior to all others, for, it has a dual purpose i.e. teaching as well as pleasing.

3. Its emotional appeal.

            Poetry makes an immediate appeal to the emotions. For example, tragedy aroused the emotions of pity and fear- pity at the undeserved suffering and fear for the worst that may befall him. Plato considers them harmful to the healthy growth of mind. Aristotle has no such fear. According to him these emotions are aroused with a view to their purgation or catharsis. Everybody has occasions of fear and pity in life. If they go on accumulating they become harmful to the soul. But in tragedy, the sufferings we witness are not our own and these emotions find a free and full outlet. Thereby they relieve the soul of their excess. We are lifted of ourselves and emerge nobler than before. It is this that pleases in a tragic tale. Thus tragedy transmutes these disturbing emotions into “calm of mind”. So the emotional appeal of poetry is not harmful but health-giving.

ARISTOTLE’S OBSERVATION ON TRAGEDY

1. Its origin

                Poetry can imitate two kinds of actions- the nobler actions of good men or the mean actions of bad men. Tragedy was born from the former and comedy from the latter. Tragedy has resemblances to epic and comedy to satire. Aristotle considers tragedy superior to epic. Tragedy has all the epic elements in a shorter compass.

2. Its characteristics.

                   Aristotle defines tragedy as “ an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of certain magnitude, in a language embellished in with each kinds of artistic ornaments, the several kinds being found in the separate part of the play, in the form of action, not of narrative, through pity and fear effecting the proper purgation of these emotions”. By a serious action Aristotle means a tale of suffering exciting the emotions of pity and fear. The action should be complete which means that it must have a proper beginning, middle and end. It should also be arranged sequentially also. In other words it should have an organic unity. The action must be of certain magnitude. i.e. It should have reasonable length. It should be neither too long nor too short. Then only it can be easily remembered. It should have a length enough to unfold the events naturally. By artistic ornament, Aristotle means rhythm, harmony and song. They are

all designed to enrich the language of the play. The form of action in tragedy  distinguishes it from narrative verse. In tragedy, the tale is told with the help of characters. Their speeches and actions make the tale. In the narrative the poet is free to speak in his own person. In tragedy, the dramatist is nowhere seen. All is done by his characters. It is meant to be acted as well as read. The narrative, on the other hand is meant to be read only 

3. Its constituent Parts.

                  Aristotle finds six constituent parts in tragedy. They are: Plot, character, thought, diction, song and spectacle. The Greek equivalents of these terms are: ethos, muthos, dianoia, lexis, melos and opsis. By plot is meant the arrangement of the incidents in the play in a logical and coherent way. Aristotle considers plot as the chef part of the tragedy because tragedy is an imitation not of men but men in action. Aristotle says: “without action there cannot be a tragedy; there may be without character’. The actions themselves issue from characters. Character, he says, determines men’s qualities, but it is by their action that they are happy or sad. It is by their deeds that we know them. So it is these deeds that are woven into plot that matters. Character, is thus next only in importance to plot. Thought refers to what the character thinks or feels. It reveals itself in speech. As plot imitates action, character imitates men, so thought imitates men’s mental and emotional reactions to the circumstances in which

they find themselves. All these three i.e. plot, character and thought constitutes the poet’s objects in imitation in tragedy. To accomplish them, he employs the medium diction. By diction is meant, words embellished with each kind of artistic ornament. Song is one of them. Spectacle, the last of the six parts, is in fact the work of the stage mechanic. But it constitutes the manner in which the tragedy is presented to the audience.

4. The Structure of the Plot.

                 The plot is the soul of the tragedy. It should have unity of action. It means that only those actions in the life of the hero which are intimately connected with one another and appear together as one whole forms the plot. If any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjoined. The events comprising the plot will concern only one man. Otherwise there will be no necessary connection between them. By unity of time, Aristotle means the conformity between the time taken by the events of the play and that taken in their representation on the stage. The unity of place means the conformity between the scene of tragic events and the time taken by them to happen. A good tragic plot arouses the feelings of pity and fear in the audience- pity for the undeserved suffering of the hero and fear for the worst that may happen to him. The plot is divisible into two parts- complication and denouement. The former ties the

events into a tangle knot, latter untie it. Complication includes all the actions from the beginning to the point where it takes a turn for good or ill. The denouement extends from the turning point to the end. The first is commonly called the rising action, and the second the falling action.

5. Simple and Complex Plot.

                 The plot may be simple or complex. In a simple plot there are no puzzling situations such as peripeteia and anagnorisis. Peripeteia is generally explained as ‘reversal of the situation’ and anagnorisis as ‘recognition’ or ‘discovery’. By reversal of situation is meant reversal of intention (e.g. a move to kill an enemy turning on one’s own head, or killing an enemy and later discovering him to be a friend.) The discovery of these false moves is anagnoris. In other words it means a change from ignorance to knowledge. Both peripeteia and anagnorisis please because there is an element of surprise in them. A plot that makes use of them is complex. A perfect tragedy should be arranged not on the simple but on the complex plot.

6. Tragic Hero. 

           According to Aristotle, the ideal tragic hero should be good but neither too bad not too perfect. He should be a man whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or  depriving but by some error or frailty. This error is hamartia or the tragic flaw. For example, in ‘Hamlet’, it is his procrastination or inability to take action that leads to his down-fall. It is not a deliberate vice but flaw of characters and it makes the play tragic one.

7. Aristotle’s opinion about Comedy. 

                 Aristotle regards comedy as inferior to tragedy. He traces its roots to satire. Satiric verse originated in phallic songs sung in honour of Dionysus, the god of fertility, as epic originated from hymns to gods and praises of famous men. Consequently tragedy represents men as noble as they can be, and comedy taking its origin from satirical verse, represents men as worse than they are, but satire ridicules personality or rather the “sinner’ while comedy ridicules sin or rather human vices. Unlike Plato, Aristotle does not consider the characters in comedy as vicious. According to him they are rendered ludicrous by some defect that is neither painful nor destructive. They are not contemptible also. Like poetry, comedy shows not what has happened, but what may happen. The characters are presented in particular situations in which every human being would have acted in the same way. Thus, general, not individual weakness is displayed in them. 

8. Aristotle’s opinion about epic. 

                  The epic is earlier in origin than tragedy or comedy. In its nature it resembles tragedy, for it is an imitation of a serious action, whole, with a beginning, middle and an end. The structure also is like that of the tragedy, for the plot has a complication, and denouement, it can be complex, or simple, with or without perepeteia and anagnorisis. Its effect is the same, namely catharsis. But it lacks the song and spectacle found in tragedy. In its form it is different from tragedy, for it is narrative and is much longer than a tragedy. It is meant to be read or recited. While the tragedy presents only one main event, an epic contains several events which add to its variety and grandeur. Thirdly, an epic poet can introduce many improbable but marvelous incidents which presented on the stage may appear absurd, while they remain unnoticed when perceived by the imagination. They add to the pleasure of the poem, and Aristotle recommended probable impossibilities though not improbable possibilities. The supernatural element in the epic is an example of it. Aristotle still

considers tragedy superior to epic though the latter appeals to the cultured, refined  people and has no need of theatrical aid to achieve its effect. But Aristotle finds that tragedy with its music produced greater pleasure and its limited length attains more unity.

 9. Aristotle’s observation on Style.

              Aristotle lays down clearness and propriety as two essentials of good writing. According to him current words are the best. But writing should aim at dignity and charm. These are best attained by the use of archaic words, foreign words, dialect words and newly coined words. They have an element of surprise in them. Metaphorical use of words is to be preferred to the plain. Aristotle says that a perfect poetic style uses words of all kinds in a judicious combination. Compound words are the most suitable for the lyric, rare or unfamiliar words suit the epic form, and metaphorical use of language is best for drama. In the “Rhetoric” Aristotle comments that common, familiar words are best for prose that deals with everyday subjects. But metaphorical language may be employed to introduce an element of novelty and surprise. Multiplicity of clauses, parenthesis and ambiguity should be avoided in prose. Words may be arranged in two ways called loose style and periodic style. The former consists of a whole sentence with a beginning and an end. The periodic style is more intelligible and graceful

10. The Value of Aristotle’s Criticism.

                          Aristotle’s approach to literature is that of a scientist. Aristotle wanted literature to be an art and not to do the work of morality. He points the difference between politics and poetry. Politics is a social science, therefore it should be judged by the contribution it makes to social well-being. Poetry, on the other hand, should be judged by its capacity to please the audience. He judges literature by aesthetic standards alone. Unlike Plato, he does not regard poetry as twice removed from reality. Instead, he considers the representations in poetry as true to the facts of human life. He points out its capacity to see the permanent features of life. He suggests what kind of plot, character and style please men. He finds that perepetiea and anagnorisis, please most in a tragic plot, hamartia in the tragic hero, and metaphor in style. Tragedy, comedy and epic are all, in this way, considered with reference to the effect on the minds and hearts of their spectators. Poetics deals with the art of poetry and many more problems of literature and has therefore attracted greater attention than any other works of criticism. 

Plato’s concept of the function of poetry -essay

PLATO

Plato was the first scholastic philosopher who had given a systematic shape to criticism. He lived in the fourth century B.C. He was the most celebrated disciple of Socrates. By his time the glory of Athenian art and literature began to fade and was taken by philosophy and oratory. The great philosophers of the period discussed a great variety of matters including the value of literature of society and its nature and functions. The fourth century B.C. was an age of critical enquiry and analysis. Plato was not a professed critic of literature and there is no single work that contains his critical observations. His ideas are expressed in several books, chief among them being the “Dialogues” and the “Republic”

PLATO’S VIEW OF ART:

Plato’s view of art is closely related to his theory of ideas. Ideas, he says are the ultimate reality and things are conceived as ideas before they take practical shape as things. The idea of everything is therefore its original pattern, and the thing itself its copy. As copy ever falls short of the original, it is once removed from reality. Art – literature, painting, sculpture- reproduces but things as mere pastime, the first in words, the next in colours and the last in stone. So it merely copies a copy; it is twice removed from reality. Art takes men away from reality. The productions of art helped neither to mould character nor to promote the well-being of the state-. He was however not aware of its potentialities for good. Rightly pursued, it could inculcate a love for beauty and for whatever is noble in character and life.

PLATO’S ATTACK ON POETRY

In Plato’s opinion, poetry cannot shape the character of the individual not can it promote the well-being of the state. It is a copy of the copy. It is twice removed from reality. He condemns poetry on three grounds.

1. Poetic inspiration

2. The emotional appeal of poetry

3. Its non-moral character. Poetic inspiration

The poet writes not because he has thought long over but because he is inspired. It is a spontaneous overflow or a sudden outpouring of the soul. No one can rely on such sudden outpourings. It might have certain profound truth, but it should be suspected to the test of reason. Then only it will be acceptable. Otherwise they are not safe guides. So they can’t be substitutes to philosophy which is guided by the cool deliberation. Poetry, on the other hand, is created by the impulse of moment. So it cannot make a better citizen or a Nation. 

The  Emotional Appeal of Poetry

Poetry appeals to the emotions and not to the reason. Its pictures of life are therefore misleading. Poetry is the product of inspiration. Hence it cannot be safe guide as reason. Plato illustrates this with reference to the tragic poetry. In tragedy, there is much weeping and wailing. This moves the heart of the spectators. It is harmful in its effect. If we let our own pity grow on watching the grief of others, it will not be easy to restrain it in the case of

our own sufferings. Poetry feeds the passions and let them rule us. Its non-moral character Poetry lacks concern with morality. It treats both virtue and vice alike. Virtue often

comes to grief in literature. Many evil characters are happy and many virtuous men are seen unhappy. It is seen that wickedness is profitable and that honest dealing is harmful to one’s

self. Their portraits of Gods and Heroes are also objectionable. Gods are presented as unjust or revengeful or guilty and heroes are full of pride, anger, grief and so on. Such literature corrupted both the citizen and the state.

THE FUNCTIONS OF POETRY:

Plato says that although poetry pleases, mere pleasure is its object. Art cannot be separated from morals. Truth is the test of poetry. Pleasure ranks low in Plato’s scale of values. A poet is a good artist in so far as he a good teacher. Poetic truth must be the ideal forms of justice, goodness and beauty. 

HIS COMMENTS ON DRAMA

Plato’s observation on poetry is equally applicable to drama. But he says a few more things about drama in particular.

Its appeal to the Baser Instincts Drama is meant to be staged. Its success depends upon a heterogeneous multitude. In order to please them all, the dramatist often introduces what they like. This is likely to lead to the arousal of baser instincts. It may affect morality. Hence such plays should be banished.

Effects of Impersonation

By constantly impersonating evil characters, the actors imbibe vices. This is harmful to their natural self. Acting, says Plato is not a healthy exercise. It represses individuality and leads to the weakness of character, However, Plato admits that if the actors impersonate virtuous characters, the same qualities are stimulated in them by the force of habit. These tragedies that represent the best and the noble are to be encouraged.

Tragic and Comic pleasure

Plato tries to answer what constitutes tragic pleasure. But his explanation is not scientific. He says that human nature is a mixture of all sorts of feelings such as anger envy fear, grief etc.; these feelings are painful by themselves. But they afford pleasure when indulged in excess. It pleases a man to be angry or to go on weeping, otherwise he would not do so. In comedy, the pleasure takes the form of laughter when we see a coward behaving like a brave man, a fool as a wise man, a cheat as an honest person and so on. The source of laughter is the incongruity between what he is and what he pretends to be. Such a pleasure is malicious as it arises from the weakness of a fellow man. We derive pleasure from such a man only if we love him. If he were one whom we hate, he fails to arouse any laughter but contempt. Plato says: “no character is comic unless he is lovable”.

Observations on Style.

Plato lays down a few principles of good speech. They apply equally to good writing. The first essential of a speech is a thorough knowledge of the subject matter. The speaker should also know the art of speaking. The presentation must have an organic unity. i.e. it must have a beginning, middle and an end. The speaker must also have a thorough knowledge of human psychology. These principles are equally true in the case of written word.

The Value of Plato’s Criticism

Plato is a discerning critic in both poetry and drama. In his attack on poetry, he exhibits a thorough insight into their nature, function and method. He insists on truth as thetest of poetry. He says that poetry is twice removed from reality. He disapproves of the non-moral character of poetry. He makes a distinction between the function of poetry and that of philosophy. He also derides the emotional appeal of poetry. He makes valuable observations on the source of comic and tragic pleasure. He was also, perhaps, the first to see that all art is imitation of mimesis. He divides poetry into the dithyrambic or the purely lyrical, the purely mimetic or imitative such as drama and the mixed kind such as the epic. He makes valuable observation on style of good speech and writing.

Tradition and the Individual Talent - essay -T S Eliot

"Tradition and the Individual Talent"  is an essay written by poet and literary critic T. S. Eliot. The essay was first published in The Egoist  and later in Eliot's first book of criticism, "The Sacred Wood" .The essay is also available in Eliot's "Selected Prose" and "Selected Essays".

While Eliot is most often known for his poetry, he also contributed to the field of literary criticism. In this dual role, he acted as poet-critic, comparable to Sir Philip Sidney and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. "Tradition and the Individual Talent" is one of the more well known works that Eliot produced in his critic capacity. It formulates Eliot's influential conception of the relationship between the poet and the literary tradition which precedes them.

Content of the essay

This essay is divided into three parts: firstly, the concept of "Tradition," then, the Theory of Impersonal Poetry, and finally the Conclusion or Summing up.

Eliot presents his conception of tradition and the definition of the poet and poetry in relation to it. He wishes to correct the fact that, as he perceives it, "in English writing we seldom speak of tradition, though we occasionally apply its name in deploring its absence." Eliot posits that, though the English tradition generally upholds the belief that art progresses through change – a separation from tradition, literary advancements are instead recognised only when they conform to the tradition. Eliot, a classicist, felt that the true incorporation of tradition into literature was unrecognised, that tradition, a word that "seldom... appear[s] except in a phrase of censure," was actually a thus-far unrealised element of literary criticism.

For Eliot, the term "tradition" is imbued with a special and complex character. It represents a "simultaneous order," by which Eliot means a historical timelessness – a fusion of past and present – and, at the same time, a sense of present temporality. A poet must embody "the whole of the literature of Europe from Homer," while, simultaneously, expressing their contemporary environment. Eliot challenges the common perception that a poet's greatness and individuality lie in their departure from their predecessors; he argues that "the most individual parts of his [the poet's] work may be those in which the dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously." Eliot claims that this "historical sense" is not only a resemblance to traditional works but an awareness and understanding of their relation to his poetry.

This fidelity to tradition, however, does not require the great poet to forfeit novelty in an act of surrender to repetition. Rather, Eliot has a much more dynamic and progressive conception of the poetic process: novelty is possible only through tapping into tradition. When a poet engages in the creation of new work, they realise an aesthetic "ideal order," as it has been established by the literary tradition that has come before them. As such, the act of artistic creation does not take place in a vacuum. The introduction of a new work alters the cohesion of this existing order, and causes a readjustment of the old to accommodate the new. The inclusion of the new work alters the way in which the past is seen; elements of the past that are noted and realised. In Eliot’s own words, "What happens when a new work of art is created is something that happens simultaneously to all the works of art that preceded it." Eliot refers to this organic tradition, this developing canon, as the "mind of Europe." The private mind is subsumed by this more massive one.

This leads to Eliot’s so-called "Impersonal Theory" of poetry. Since the poet engages in a "continual surrender of himself" to the vast order of tradition, artistic creation is a process of depersonalisation. The mature poet is viewed as a medium, through which tradition is channelled and elaborated. They compare the poet to a catalyst in a chemical reaction, in which the reactants are feelings and emotions that are synthesised to create an artistic image that captures and relays these same feelings and emotions. While the mind of the poet is necessary for the production, it emerges unaffected by the process. The artist stores feelings and emotions and properly unites them into a specific combination, which is the artistic product. What lends greatness to a work of art are not the feelings and emotions themselves, but the nature of the artistic process by which they are synthesised. The artist is responsible for creating "the pressure, so to speak, under which the fusion takes place." And, it is the intensity of fusion that renders art great. In this view, Eliot rejects the theory that art expresses metaphysical unity in the soul of the poet. The poet is a depersonalised vessel, a mere medium.

Great works do not express the personal emotion of the poet. The poet does not reveal their own unique and novel emotions, but rather, by drawing on ordinary ones and channelling them through the intensity of poetry, they express feelings that surpass, altogether, experienced emotion. This is what Eliot intends when he discusses poetry as an "escape from emotion." Since successful poetry is impersonal and, therefore, exists independent of its poet, it outlives the poet and can incorporate into the timeless "ideal order" of the "living" literary tradition.

Another essay found in Selected Essaysrelates to this notion of the impersonal poet. In "Hamlet and His Problems" Eliot presents the phrase "objective correlative." The theory is that the expression of emotion in art can be achieved by a specific, and almost formulaic, prescription of a set of objects, including events and situations. A particular emotion is created by presenting its correlated objective sign. The author is depersonalised in this conception, since he is the mere effecter of the sign. And, it is the sign, and not the poet, which creates emotion.

The implications here separate Eliot's idea of talent from the conventional definition (just as his idea of Tradition is separate from the conventional definition), one so far from it, perhaps, that he chooses never to directly label it as talent. Whereas the conventional definition of talent, especially in the arts, is a genius that one is born with. Not so for Eliot. Instead, talent is acquired through a careful study of poetry, claiming that Tradition, "cannot be inherited, and if you want it, you must obtain it by great labour." Eliot asserts that it is absolutely necessary for the poet to study, to have an understanding of the poets before them, and to be well versed enough that they can understand and incorporate the "mind of Europe" into their poetry. But the poet's study is unique – it is knowledge that "does not encroach," and that does not "deaden or pervert poetic sensibility." It is, to put it most simply, a poetic knowledge – knowledge observed through a poetic lens. This ideal implies that knowledge gleaned by a poet is not knowledge of facts, but knowledge which leads to a greater understanding of the mind of Europe. As Eliot explains, "Shakespeare acquired more essential history from Plutarch than most men could from the whole British Museum.

ENGLISH LITERARY MOVEMENTS -SHORT NOTE WITH ESSAY

                                                 MODERNISM

Modernist literature has its beginning in the late 19th and early 20th century Europe and America. Modernism was a revolt against the conservative values of realism. Arguably the most paradigmatic motive of modernism is the rejection of tradition and its reprise, incorporation, rewriting, recapitulation, revision and parody in new forms. Ezra Pound's maxim to "Make it new" is a tag word of modernism. It rejected the lingering certainty of Enlightenment thinking and also rejected the existence of a compassionate, and the concept of all-powerful creator God.It is an intellectual and artistic movement that developed in conjunction with, and eventually in opposition to, fully developed modernity. Modernistartists and intellectuals were disgusted with the banality and "dehumanized" quality of life in industrial capitalism. They responded to this degradation of the quality of life by retreating into a nostalgia for pre-capitalist organic social order (F. R. Leavis, T. S. Eliot), by embracing fascist leaders and ideologies (Ezra Pound's support of Mussolini, Gertrude Stein's support of Marshal Petain, etc.) by seeking refuge in radical and sometimes anti- social individualism (Hemingway, J. D. Salinger, etc.) or agrarian populism (Faulkner, John Crowe Ransom and the agrarian "fugitives," of the 1930's, etc.). High modernist art often features fragmentation and disruption at the level of form (e.g. James Joyce), though it generally attempts to recuperate a sense of order and faith in universal values at the level of content or overall effect. In this way the modernists attempted to "shore up" (invoking Eliot's phrase from "The Waste Land") the grand narratives, the "absolute" truths and values, of the western tradition. Modern British literature is the literature of 20th century. Many events contributed to the concept of ‘modern’ which are given below.

1. Charles Darwin and his book ‘Origin of Species’ published in 1859. It brought out a new world outlook especially among religious communities.

2. Emergence of socialism and later communism by the advent of Karl Max by his book Das Capital.

3. Appearance of Sigmund Freud and the psycho analysis theory influenced the age a lot.

4. Albert Einstein’s Theory of Realtivity combined with Quantum theory.

5. World War I.

All these events dramatically influenced 20th century and the consequence is modernism. New trends emerged in all disciplines, such as Painting, Music, Arts, Science, and Literature. Traditional tools and techniques and notions were rejected, and new approaches and ideas are emerged. The boundary-breaking art, literature, and music of the first decades of the century are the subject of the topic “Modernist Experiment.”

                                                          IMPRESSIONISM

The term impressionism comes from the school of mid-nineteenth century French painting, which was in reaction to the academic style of the day. The name of the style derives from the title of a Claude Monet’s work, Impression, soleill evant (Impression, Sunrise).Impressionist painting characteristics include relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience, and unusual visual angles. The literary use of the term ‘impressionism’ is far less precise. Many of the French symbolist poets have at one time or another been called Impressionists. The impressionistic technique is apparently subjective. In the modern novel, ‘impressionism frequently refers to the technique of centering in the mental life of the chief character rather than the reality around him. Writers such as Proust, Joyce, and Virginia Woolf dwell in their characters’ memories, associations, and inner emotional reactions.

                                                   

                                                        IMAGISM

Imagism, a movement in early 20th-century Anglo-American poetry was formulated in about 1912 by Ezra Pound—in conjunction with fellow poets Hilda Doolittle (H.D.), Richard Aldington, and F.S. Flint--and was inspired by the critical views of T.E. Hulme. It has been described as the most influential movement in English poetry since the activity of the Pre-Raphaelites. The poets who followed the Imagist poetry movement were T.S. Eliot, E.E. Cummings, and Allen Ginsberg. Imagist poetryfavored precision of imagery, and clear language. The Imagists rejected the sentiment and discursiveness typical of much Romantic and Victorian poetry. This was in contrast to their contemporaries, the Georgian poets, who were by and large content to work within that tradition. Group publication of work under the Imagist name appearing between 1914 and 1917 featured writing by many of the most significant figures in Modernist poetry in English, as well as a number of other Modernistfigures prominent in fields other than poetry. Imagist publications appearing between 1914 and 1917 featured works by many of the most prominent modernist figures, both in poetry and in other fields. The Imagist group was centered in London, with members from Great Britain, Ireland and the United States. Somewhat unusually for the time, a number of women writers were major Imagist figures. Major feature of the Imagism is that it makes use the language of common speech, but to employ the exact word, not the nearly-exact, nor the merely decorative word, and the individuality of a poet may often be better expressed in free verse than in conventional forms. Another feature of imagist poetry is that it relies on absolute freedom in the choice of subject. Imagists try to produce the poetry that is hard and clear, never blurred nor indefinite.

The phrase ‘stream of consciousness’ refers to an uninterrupted and unhindered collection and occurrence of thoughts and ideas in the conscious mind. In literature, the phrase refers to the flow of these thoughts, with reference to a particular character’s thinking process. It is first used by William James in Principles of Psychology. It is one of the major techniques used in the 20th century novelists such as Dorothy Richardson, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. This type of writing is also called as subjective novel or psychological novel. Stream of consciousness is a method of narrative representation of "random" thoughts which follow in a freely-flowing style.Some writers attempted to capture the total flow of their characters’ consciousness, rather than limit themselves to rational thoughts. To represent the full richness, speed, and subtlety of the mind at work, the writer incorporates snatches of incoherent thought, ungrammatical constructions, and free association of ideas, images, and words at the pre-speech level or his or her sensory reactions to external occurrences.

The stream-of-consciousness novel commonly uses the narrative techniques of interior monologue. Probably the most famous example is James Joyce’s Ulysses (1922), a complex evocation of the inner states of the characters Leopold and Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus; Virginia Woolf’s The Waves (1931), a complex novel in which six characters recount their lives from childhood to old age. Toni Morrison also used the stream-of-consciousness technique of writing in many of her novels depicting the life of African-American women, such as Beloved(1987).

                                                  MOVEMENT POETRY

“The Movement” poetry is a kind of poetry which was written by a few poets during the nineteen-fifties and that found to be very different from the modernist poetry written in the nineteen-thirties and nineteen-forties. “The Movement” is a title first used to the anthology of poets such as Kingsley Amis, John Wain, Elizebeth Jennings, Thom Gunn, Donald Davie, and D.J. Enrightthat published in 1950s. Soon after, another anthology called “New Lines”, containing the work of the same poets, appeared; and in it a number of poems by Larkin were also included. In the introduction to this anthology, its editor (Robert Conquest) wrote that these poems of the nineteen-fifties were vastly different from the poems which had been written in the preceding two decades. This new poetry, he wrote, did not submit to any great systems of theoretical constructs or to any agglomerations of unconscious commands. This new poetry was free from both mystical and logical compulsions, and was empirical in its attitude to all things.

Actually, the poets of the Movement were not an organized group with any well- defined and deliberately formulated aims shared by them all. The poetry of each member of this group differed in several ways from the poetry of every other member. All the same, there were certain features which were identified by critics as being common to the poetry of most of the members of this group. Questioned on this point, Larkin said that the members of this group did not have many artistic aims in common but that they agreed, in general, in things which they found funny or derisible. Larkin did not give any clear definition of the poetry of the Movement, though he did agree that certain features were. common to the work of all the poets of this group. Talking about his own poetry, he emphasized the expository, documentary, empirical, and rational elements in his poems; and these qualities were evident in the work of other members of the group also. The poetry of the Movement aims at stark realism; it is rational, empirical, and argumentative; it employs traditional syntax, using ordinary diction; and it is most often

colloquial in style. The symbolist or Yeatsian poetry, on the other hand, aims at

transcendental effects; it employs symbols which tend to make it difficult to understand; it

is most often vague in its meaning and it therefore mystifies the reader; it is highly allusive;

it is very learned and demands from the reader a high degree of intelligence and vast

knowledge; it generally tends to obscurity. The poetry of the Movement seeks to establish a

direct relationship between the poet and his audience; and that is why it deals with ordinary

and common themes in an ordinary and plain style. The symbolist or modernist poetry, on

the other hand, appeals to the elite among the intelligentsia, thus losing touch with the

common people. And it so happens that most of Larkin’s poems represent the aims of the

Movement, and that some of his poems represent the symbolist or the modernist mode of

writing. Both sides can claim him for their own; and this is the reason why his work may be

regarded as representing the Movement’s poetic scene as one of the temperate zone.

                                                           SURREALISM

Surrealism is amovement in literature and the fine arts, founded by the French poet and critic Andre Breton. He published his Surrealist Manifesto in Paris in 1924 and consistently dominated the movement. Surrealism grew directly out of the movement known as Dadaism, an art and literary movement reflecting nihilistic protest against all aspects of Western culture. Like Dadaism, surrealism emphasized the role of the unconscious in creative activity, but it employed the psychic unconscious in a more orderly and more serious manner. The surrealists claimed as their literary forebears a long line of writers, outstanding among whom is the Comte de Lautreamont, author of the lengthy and complicated workLes chants de Maldoror (1868-1870). Besides Breton, many of the most distinguished French writers of the early 20th century were at one time connected with the movement; these include Paul eluard, Louis Aragon, Rene Crevel, and Philippe Soupault. Younger writers such as Raymond Queneau were also influenced by its points of view. Pure surrealist writers used automatism as a literary form—that is, they wrote whatever words came into their conscious mind and regarded these words as inviolable. They did not alter what they wrote, as that would constitute an interference with the pure act of creation. The authors felt that this free flow of thought would establish a rapport with the subconscious mind of their readers. Like their forerunners, the Dadaists, the surrealists broke accepted rules of work and personal conduct in order to liberate their sense of inner truth. The movement spread all over the world and flourished in America during World War II (1939-1945), when Andre Breton was living in New York City.

                                                            EXPRESSIONISM

In literature, expressionism is often considered a revolt against realism and

naturalism, seeking to achieve a psychological or spiritual reality rather than record external

events in logical sequence. Expressionism attempts to portray the inner workings of a

person's mind by, effectively, turning them ‘inside out’ and allowing mental states to shape

their face, body, and even the world in which they live. In theatre, expressionism results in a

drama of social protest, in which representation of the outer world took second place to the

inner turmoil experienced by the main character, which is expressed via long

monologues. This can be seen as a reaction against a comfortable, unthinking, uncaring and

increasingly mechanized society .In the novel, the term is closely allied to the writing of

Franz Kafka and James Joyce. In the drama, Strindberg is considered the forefather of the

expressionists, though the term is specifically applied to a group of early 20th-century

German dramatists, including Kaiser, Toller, and Wedekind. Their work was often

characterized by a bizarre distortion of reality. The movement, though short-lived, gave

impetus to a free form of writing and of production in modern theater.The objectives of

expressionism in literature, notably in the novel and the drama, are similar to those in art.

The characters and scenes are presented in a stylized, distorted manner with the intent of

producing emotional shock.The early expressionist playwrights, August Strindberg of

Sweden andFrank Wedekind of Germany, exerted an international influence on the next

generation of playwrights. These included the Germans Georg Kaiser and Ernst Toller, the

Czech Karel Capek, and the Americans Eugene O'Neill and Elmer Rice.Expressionist

drama gave rise to a new approach to staging, scene design, and directing. The object was

to create a totally unified stage picture that would increase the emotional impact of the

production on the audience. Among prominent directors were the Germans Max

Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator and the RussianVsevolodMeyerhold. Set designers such

as Edward Henry Gordon Craig of Britain and Robert Edmond Jones of the United States

used techniques similar to those of expressionist painters to provide visual stimulation

consonant with the dramas. Expressionist painting and drama also influenced the cinema, as

can be seen in the German films The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari (1919), with its nightmarish

perspectives and masklike makeup, and The Last Laugh (1924), notable for the brilliant use

of lighting and camera angles to convey the bitter story.

Central characters, particularly in the work of Austrian novelist FranzKafka, are

trapped inside a distorted vision of the world that either reflects their own psychological

conflicts or those of the society in which the original readers lived. German novelists

associated with expressionism also include Max Brod, and Karl Kraus. Expressionist

literature in Germany was effectively wiped out by the Nazis in the 1930s.

In expressionist literature, the physical consequences of a distorted situation are followed

through as if it were completely real. Expressionist writers divide over the final

consequences of this. Personal tragedies usually end in the destruction of the character.

However, when the focus is the state of society a positive ending can result, with the victory

of traditional human values over repression and mass production. This is particularly

apparent in the theatre. Expressionist drama flourished in Germany, in the work of Reinhard

Johannes Sorge, Georg Kaiser, Ernst Toller, Paul Kornfeld, Reinhard Johannes Sorge,

Georg Kaiser, Ernst Toller, Paul Kornfeld, Fritz von Unruh, and Walter Hasenclever.

                                        AVANT GARDE MOVEMENT

Refers to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with

respect to art, culture, and politics.Avant-garde represents a pushing of the boundaries of

what is accepted as the norm or the status quo, primarily in the cultural realm. The notion of

the existence of the avant-garde is considered by some to be a hallmark of modernism, as

distinct frompostmodernism. One of the key things about being avant-garde in literature is that it is all about

breaking the existing rules about writing, and whether these are in poetry or in fictional

writing, pushing the boundary and expressing themselves in a different way that doesn't

conform to the existing rules is vital. It is as much about the form as it is about the content.

James Joyce is one of the biggest exponents of Avant- garde experimentation in Literature.

                                                           

                                                  ANGRY THEATRE

Angry Theatre refers to various British novelists and playwrights who emerged in

the 1950s and expressed scorn and dissatisfaction with the established sociopolitical order

of their country. Their impatience and resentment were especially aroused by what they

perceived as the hypocrisy and mediocrity of the upper and middle classes.

The Angry Young Men were a new breed of intellectuals who were mostly of

working class or of lower middle-class origin. “Look Back in Anger” is the representative

work of the movement.When the Royal Court Theatre’s press agent described the play’s 26- year-old author John Osborne as an “angry young man,” the name was extended to all his

contemporaries who expressed rage at the persistence of class distinctions, pride in their

lower-class mannerisms, and dislike for anything highbrow or “phoney.”The major

characteristics of the Angry Young Men Movement are revolt against Social Inequality, criticism of mannerism, portrayal of social Status of youth, revolt against conventionality, and unconventional hero. 

                                                         EPIC THEATRE

Epic theatre refers to a theatrical movement first recognized in the 1920's and 30's.

The purpose of this movement was to emphasise more on the meaning of a play rather than

the aesthetics of it.Brecht and his fellow epic theatre artists devised a set of staging and

acting techniques meant to teach their audience to criticize the injustices and inequalities of

modern life. Two keys to their technique are the notion of "theatricalism" and the concept

of the "distancing" or "alienation" effect.The first, theatricalism, simply means the audience

aware that they are in a theatre watching a play. Brecht believed that "seducing" the

audience into believing they were watching "real life" led to an uncritical acceptance of

society's values. He thought that by keeping stage sets simple, showing exposed lighting

instruments, breaking the action into open-ended episodes, projecting labels or photographs

during scenes, or using a narrator or actors to directly address the audience, a production

would allow an audience to maintain the emotional objectivity necessary to learn the truth

about their society.The second key to epic theatre, the "distancing" or "alienation" effect in

acting style, has these same goals. Brecht wanted actors to strike a balance between "being"

their character onstage and "showing the audience that the character is being performed."The use of "quotable gesture," (the employment of a stance, mannerism, or repeated action

to sum up a character), the sudden shift from one behavior to another to put the audience

off-balance, and the suggestion of the "roads not taken" in each moment of a character's

decision-making are all the means to the didactic end of teaching us to criticize the society

we see onstage in Epic Theatre.

                                   

                                                   POST MODERNISM

Postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from modernist approaches that

had previously been dominant. The term "postmodernism" comes from its critique of the

"modernist" scientific mentality of objectivity and progress associated with the

Enlightenment. Developed in the second half of the twentieth century, it is largely

influenced by a number of events that marked the period. Genocide that occurred during the

Second World War, Soviet gulags, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, mass destruction

caused by atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, insecurity of Cold War Era,

post colonialism issue, as well as the supremacy of multinational corporations and postindustrialism

with new technologies, violence, counter culture and consumer culture

shapedthe perception of new authors. While postmodernism had a little relevance to poetry

and only a limited influence on modern drama (applied only to the Absurd Theatre), it had a

huge impact on fiction, especially to the novel. Characterized by an attempt to establish

transhistorical or transcultural validity, it claims that search for reality is pointless, as the

"real" is conditioned by time, place, race, class, gender, and sexuality. There is no

knowledge or experience that is superior or inferior to another.

Literary postmodernism is generally characterized by features such as: a mixing of

styles ("high" and "low," for example) in the same text; discontinuity of tone, point of view,

register, and logical sequence; apparently random unexpected intrusions and disruptions in

the text; a self-consciousness about language and literary technique, especially concerning

the use of metaphor and symbol, and the use of self-referential tropes. Even though the

writers most often associated with postmodernism may deal with serious themes, their work

often has absurd, playful, or comic aspects, and sometimes makes special use of parody and

pastiche and of references to other texts and artifacts.

Chief characteristics of post modernism isthat it deals with the complex absurdity of

contemporary life - moral and philosophical relativism, loss of faith in political and moral

authority, alienation etc. It employs blackhumor, parody, grotesque, absurdity, and

travesty. It tries to erase boundaries between "low" and "high" culture. Post modern works

lack of a grand narrative. It avoids traditional closure of themes or situation. It condemns

commercialism, hedonism, mass production, and economic globalism.