4.1.

Neoclassicism to the Contemporary period

1660 (Neoclassicism)
after 1946 to the present (Contemporary)

Neoclassicism (1660-1798)
-born out of the neoclassical era which tried to copy the Roman and Greek Classics
- valued fashion, intellect and good manners especially when these could be flaunted in public
-parodies, essays, satires, letters, fables, melodrama and rhyming with couplets
-“Neo'' means new, humans are naturally flawed, self-control, restraint and common sense
THREE STAGES:
Restoration period, the Augustan period and the Age of Johnson

Nineteenth-Century Literature (1800-1890)

-industrialism and science gave birth to the four literary movements in the nineteenth century
literature which are:

Romanticism
-lives of ordinary people written in plain language and mostly concerned with human emotions
and feelings
-deep love, respect and love for nature, folklore, the supernatural, optimism, individualism,
spirituality, isolation and melancholy, and idealization of women
-romaunt which means a romantic story told in verse
- celebration of the ‘regular people”, Autobiographical influences

Realism
-a bleak, harsh, difficulty-ridden life
- effects of industrialization and the harsh realities that beset the “working class” of the 19th
century
-took away the emotional display, replaced with raw realities

Naturalism
-influenced by the works of Darwin and Spencer who had defined views of how things are and
should be
-determined by heredity, chance and environment
-product of circumstances and a number of factors one cannot fathom nor control.

Symbolism
-Baudelaire, Rimbaud and Verlaine started the Symbolist Movement
- British and Irish writing
- richly musical works whose larger meanings are implied but not directly stated
-establish a network of symbols to imply a certain thought or emotion.
-dreamlike , lyrical, and emotionally-charged poetry.
Modern Literature (1900 – 1965)
-literary trends which banked on individualism, experimentation and populism on the later stage
of Modernism
- progress and growth, the Modern Intelligentsia sees decay and a growing alienation of the
individual
-machinery is perceived as impersonal, capitalist, and antagonistic to the artistic impulse
-War most certainly had a great deal of influence on such ways approaching the world

The Contemporary World (1946- present)

-the establishment of Third World Nations, the road to recovery for war-torn lands and the
instigators of wars and international cooperation and conflict were the highlights
-originated from the existentialist movement which was anchored on the responsibility and
freedom of an individual
- upsurge of literature in Latin America, Latin American “Boom”
-Jorge Luis Borges (Argentinian) and Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Colombian)
-Social Realism- protests against oppression and other unjust social conditions
-Magical Realism- expands the category of realism to include myth, magic, and other marvels of
the natural world, while using humor and irony

4.2.1
Anton Chekhov (1860- 1904)
-finest short story writer, practiced medicine at the same time
-dominant figures in Russian Realism
-real and raw emotions, struggles and experiences of people from all walks of life
-The Sisters ( 1901) and The Cherry Orchard ( 1904). Chekhov died in 1904 at the age of 44.

Chekhov’s Gun
-dramatic principle, writer should be cautious of the seemingly mundane elements that have
been mentioned if not highlighted in the story
- not a plot device
Related to but not interchangeable and should not be confused with Chekhov’s gun:
1. Foreshadowing - a popular plot device wherein the author hints at what is to happen to
arouse interest
2. MacGuffin - insignificant,unimportant, or irrelevant in itself but necessary to the plot and
motivation of the characters
3. Red Herring - a certain element is given emphasis to mislead readers
4. Shaggy dog story - this a long-winded anecdote designed to lure the audience into a
false sense of expectation, only to disappoint them

4.2.2
“One writes in the purest attempt to depict the world itself and not interpret it”
Chekhov’s Principles in Writing:

1. Honest descriptions of persons and objects

-His truthfulness in depicting characters, objects and situations makes his stories relatable to
the reader.

2. Total Objectivity
- His experience as a doctor have given him the ability to detach the storyteller from the story
but at the same time hook the reader completely

3. Extreme brevity
- Economy in details which follows the principle of Chekhov’s gun takes a major role in
Chekhov’s writing.

4. Compassion
- Chekhov sees compassion as one of the most effective ways to affect the reader.

5. No political-social-economic effusions
- Most of Chekhov’s writing deals with the individual person’s inner self; emotions, thoughts,
feelings and experiences.

6. Audacity and Originality

- His stories arise from the characters and their actions rather than the characters reacting to a
story imposed upon them.

4.3.1
Magic Realism to Magical Realism
Magic Realism- coined by Franz Roh, a German art critic, to describe the emerging style in
painting
-“Magischer Realismus”, blurs the line between fantasy and reality
“New Objectivity”- fusion of magic, reality and fantasy to make ordinary things seem odd

Alejo Carpentier- a French-Russian Cuban writer made use of Roh’s Definition which he
improvised later as “Marvelous Realism”.
Angel Flores- in 1955, coined the term “Magical Realism” because it was possible to combine
elements of magic realism and marvelous realism.

In 1915, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, has every element for Magical Realism.

Essential Elements of Magical Realism

1. Realistic Settings - The reader does not have any difficulty relating to the story since the story
took place in a real setting with real people.
2. Magical Elements - Magical elements can range from the supernatural ability to talk to spirits,
telepathy, talking animals or objects, not aging or aging too fast, giants, monsters,
extraterrestrials and a whole lot more.

3. Limited Information - Authors often leave the magical element unexplained so that it may be
regarded as a natural thing to occur in one’s life.

4. Critique - criticize social issues Latin American writers, mostly fueled by the prevailing
political, economic, and social problems in their countries. Highlights the miseries, pain and
struggle of real people. At the same time it celebrates the triumph of the human spirit

5. Unique Plot Structure - Time is either warped, absent or irrelevant.

4.3.2
Allusion- figure of speech which is a reference to someone outside of the text but whose
symbolic meaning is necessary to understanding it
-layer associations and meanings from these sources onto their own work
-very useful in developing characters and contextualizing a story. Most literary allusions rely on
the reader’s inferential ability.
-as cultural or historical familiarity, general knowledge, and subtlety of allusion employed by the
writer

4.4.1
Ode -lyrical poem that expresses praise, glorification or tribute
-ancient Greece where the subject is examined in an emotional and intellectual perspective

Three main types of odes:The Pindaric, Horatian, and the Irregular.

4.4.2
Poetic response- comes after one’s emotion has been triggered upon reading a text
- elicit a strong reply worthy to be written down in any literary form one prefers
-using imitation

What is the impact of Surrealism in Neruda’s poetry?

-imagination and dreams as much importance and emphasis as logic and reason
- employ the unconscious mind to explain rational life
Pablo Neruda- renowned poets, who dedicated themselves to writing avant-gardist works before
the civil war and later, in the throes of war, committed themselves to the Republican cause by
writing accessible verses.

4.5.1
Albert Camus
-born in Modovi, Algeria, educated at the University of Algiers, investigative journalist in a
Parisian newspaper, principal editor of an illegal newspaper, “Combat”
-The Stranger (1942) and the philosophical essay, The Myth of Sisyphus ( 1942). In 1957, he
received a Nobel Prize in Literature
The Myth of Sisyphus- affirms the importance of human effort and values even in a world devoid
of meaning

Philosophy:
-skeptical solution to the meaning of life
Absurdity -brought about because humans seek order and meaning in a universe that is
indifferent to their struggles
- Camus thinks that the existentialists veer away from their original stand in the absurdity of life
by arguing that one can find their own meaning in life.
4.5.2
What is the Literature of the Absurd?
Absurd- a lack of purpose
Absurdist fiction- Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Kurt Vonnegut, and Paul Auster
-developed in a period of world wars, mass killings have led the writers to see the world as
senseless and meaningless
-focuses on the experiences of characters, who are unable to find a purpose in life
-Life is oftentimes portrayed as a series of meaningless actions

What are the Characteristics of the Literature of the Absurd:

1. does not follow a standard story structure.
2. Explicit moral values are unclear
3. Dark irony and irrationality are evident
4. Writers create the irrational to highlight the world’s senselessness
5. Time, place and identity are fluid
6. The focus is on the individual characters rather than on a society.

What is the point of absurdist literature?

-attempts to provide answers to philosophical questions most people ask in their lifetime
-only present the author’s individual reasoning to aid others

Albert Camus in the Myth of Sisyphus offered solutions to combat the absurdity of life:
-accepting that “there is no meaning outside of our meaningless life” which means that relying
on the “leap of faith” is “philosophical suicide”

Kierkegaard and Sartre

-the only way to survive this meaningless world is by having faith

-Physical Suicide is a coward’s way out of this meaningless life

-accept the absurdity of life but continue to live in revolt