Literary Criticism

Class #2

The distinctive doctrine of structuralism: “the belief that the individual units of any system have meaning only by virtue of their relations to one another”

(Eagleton, Literary Theory, 94)

An example: “a boy leaves home after quarrelling with his father, sets out on a walk through the forest in the heat of the day and falls down a deep pit.

The father comes out in search of his son, peers down the pit, but is unable to see him because of the darkness.

At that moment the sun has risen to a point directly overhead, illuminates the pit’s depths with its rays and allows the father to rescue his child.

After a joyous reconciliation, they return home together.”

(Eagleton, Literary Theory, 95)

boy

father

low

highforest

middle

revolt

pit

low

sunhigh

reconciliationhome

middle

Structuralism “brackets off the actual content of the story and concentrate entirely on the form.”

(Eagleton, Literary Theory, 95)

Narratology A branch of structuralism Definition: “the study of narrative stru

ctures” (Barry 322)

Basic DistinctionStoryFabulaHistoire

Plot/DiscourseSjuzhetrecit

The “what” of a narrative

The “how” of a narrative

Chronology Causality

“The king died, and then the queen died.”

“The king died, and then the queen died of grief.”

Vladimir Propp 普洛普 1895-1970 The Morphology of the Folktale

(1928) Morphology = the study of forms ( 《當代》 93-94)

Vladimir Propp “Propp’s work is often consid

ered to mark the “birth of modern narratology and the structural analysis of narrative” (Prince 37).

Propp — “Functions” 功能

Definition: “the fundamental components of the underlying structure of any (Russian) fairy tale.” (Prince 36)

Propp — “Functions” Claimed that all folktales he studied are constructed by selecting a few items from a repertoire of 31 “functions” (Barry 227).

Propp — “Functions” Asserted that “the functi

ons always occur in the order listed” (Barry 228)

Propp – “Role” 角色 Propp isolated 7 dramatis pe

rsonae, or basic functional roles, each corresponding to a certain sphere of action ( 情節層次 ), or a typical set of functions.

Propp – Roles 角色 The villain 惡棍 The donor (provider) 施予者 The helper 幫手 The princess 公主 (a sought-for person 受歡

迎的人物 ) and her father 公主的父親 The dispatcher 發送者 The hero 英雄 (seeker 尋覓者 or victim 受害

者 ) The false hero 偽英雄

Propp – Roles “One character may play more tha

n one of these roles in any given tale (e.g., villain may also be false hero, donor may also be dispatcher); or one role may employ several characters (multiple villains, for instance . . .” (Scholes 65).

Food for thought Identify the functions and

roles in 〈武松打店〉 and 《遍地梟雄》 .

Roland Barthes

Publications Writing Degree Zero (1953), Mythol

ogies (1957), Criticism and Truth (1966), S/Z (1972), The Pleasure of the Text (1973), and

The Rustle of Language (1984).

S/Z 1970 An analysis of Balzac’s story “Sar

rasine” Divided into 561 lexia ( 語片、閱讀

單位 ) 5 codes ( 符碼 )

(1)The proairetic 敘事的 code

the code of plot provides indications of actions. anticipation of an action’s resolution;

any action initiated must be completed.

The cumulative actions constitute the plot events of the text.

Barthes’ example Proairetic code: Barthes quotes "Sarra

sine"-"'To be loved by her [Zambinella], or to die!' Such was the decree Sarrasine passed upon himself"-and "decodes" this as the following action: "'To decide'"-"to propose an alternative" (S/Z 117).

(2) The hermeneutic 詮釋學的 code Unanswered questions // pu

zzles // enigmas 謎團 which provide narrative suspense.

Barthes’ example Hermeneutic code: "The title raise

s a question: What is Sarrasine? A noun? A name? A thing? A man? A woman?" (S/Z 17).

(3) The cultural 文化的 / reference code “examines the stock of social knowledge on which the work draws.”

Barthes’ example Sarrasine discovers the truth about Zambinel

la after referring to him as a "she" while talking with the Roman Prince Chigi. "'Where are you from?'", the Prince asks him. "'Has there ever been a woman on the Roman stage? And don't you know about the creatures who sing female roles in the Papal States?'" This evokes the reference code, Barthes asserts: "History of music in the Papal States" (184).

(4) The semic 符號的 /connotative 絃外之音 code

The code of the person Semes, sequential thoughts, traits

and actions constitute character. "The proper noun surrounded by c

onnotations."

Barthes’ example The title "has an additional connotatio

n, that of femininity, which will be obvious to any French-speaking person, since that language automatically takes the final 'e' as a specifically feminine linguistic property, particularly in the case of a proper name whose masculine form (Sarrazin) exists in French onomastics" (S/Z 17).

(5) The symbolic 象徵的 code consists of contrasts and

pairings related to the most binary polarities —male and female, night and day, good and evil, life and art, and so on. (Barry 51)

Barthes’ example Barthes quotes the lines recounting the engrossment

of the narrator's companion in the painting of Adonis when she learns the model for it was a relative of Mme de Lanty. The narrator feels spurned: "I had the pain of seeing her rapt in the contemplation of this figure...Forgotten for a painting!" This evokes the symbolic code, Barthes concludes: "Marriage of the castrato (here, the union of the young woman and the castrato is euphorized: we know that the symbolic configuration is not subject to a diegetic development: what has exploded catastrophically can return peacefully united)" (S/Z 78).

http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/elljwp/en5102week2.htm

Text ( 文本 )

lisible ( 可讀的 ):文本消費者

scriptible ( 可寫的 ):文本生產者

pleasure/plaisir ( 歡愉 ): 知道如何閱讀文本

bliss/jousissance ( 狂喜 ): 感覺閱讀之阻力、欠缺、擾動、收縮、缺口的文本

studium ( 知面 ): 借助自己的一般文化

與世界的理解punkium ( 刺點 ):

刺激我的偶然細部

Taken from 石計生 《社會學理論》三民 , 2006, p. 420.

Roland Barthes Mythologies 《神話學》

Reference: http://orac.sund.ac.uk/~os0tmc/myth.htm

1. Signifier

2. Signified

3. Sign

1. Signifier

2. Signified

3. Sign

I. SIGNIFIER

III. SIGN

Language

=denotation

Myth

=metalanguage

=connotations

=assumptions

=ideology

II. SIGNIFIED

1. 符徵 2. 符旨

3. 符號

I. 符徵

III. 符號

第一系統

語言層面

= 字面意義

第二系統

神話層面

= 超語言、後設語言

= 言外之意

= 視為當然的假設

= 意識形態

II. 符旨

Taken from 石計生 《社會學理論》三民 , 2006, p. 413.

http://www.sunderland.ac.uk/~os0tmc/culture/myth3.htm

1. Signifier

colors

2. Signified

salute

3. Sign

I. SIGNIFIERSalute

II. SIGNIFIEDFrench Imperiality

(fabricated)(manipulated)

III. SIGN

language

Myth

Ideology

a socially constructed reality which is passed of as ‘natural’

To discover “myth” is to demystify.

http://www.sund.ac.uk/~os0tmc/contem/women.htm

Saussure one on one 一頂帽子

Barthes one on many 一頂帽子

many to one 一塊石頭

March 汽車

倒了的花瓶

漫畫對話框

吞掉一隻象的蛇

signifier

Signied

Signied

Taken from 石計生 《社會學理論》三民 , 2006, p. 411.

Semiotics 記號學 or Semiology 符號學

Definition: the study of signs “It links messages (in individual works

or discourses) . . . to their respective codes, the larger system which permits individual expression—from langue to parole, that is.” (Guerin et al, A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, 244)

semiotics 旨在研究符徵，而 semiology 則旨在研究符旨 (http://vc.cs.nthu.edu.tw/~jhchang/store-room/teach/crit7.htm)

Culture Study Culture can be “read” like a

language. Culture “is made up of many

structural networks” which “operate through ‘codes’ as a system of signs” (Barry 47).

A signifying system

“any organized and structured set of signs which carries cultural meanings” (Barry 47).

Two Examples

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“ 一白遮三醜，美白成為眾家美女對美的要求，該怎麼由黑反白呢﹖”

“ 「美白」真有那麼重要嗎？由美白市場每年持續增長的驚人消費數字即可看出端倪。楊志賢醫師說，在現今的社會中，「美白」對女性已不僅是感官上的美醜，擁有白淨無暇的肌膚，不但可以增加自我肯定與自信，甚至還可以改善人際關係與社會接受度，進而重視自身的價值以及創造出身心和諧的生活。”

( 中華日報醫藥網《 2005/06/07 18:14 》 ) http://www.cdncare.com.tw/20050608/med/yybj/733700002005060718141546.htm

俗話說：一瘦多婀娜、一白遮百醜，妳想由【黑美人】的稱呼、搖身一變為【白雪公主】的封號嗎？妳平常是否就為肌膚黯沉的問題而煩惱呢？愛美是人的天性、你是愛白還是愛黑呢？

http://myweb.hinet.net/home9/spa-girl/fat/05.htm

肌膚的白，要白得健康、有彈性，要白得緊實、有光澤，才能凸顯立體的五官，散發如晨曦般的亮白與張力，綻放令人為之一亮的耀眼光芒。

http://www.marieclaire.com.tw/event/040413/event_930413_k.htm

在這樣一個可以盡情暴露的季節，除了一身緊實的肌肉之外，膚色也是關乎美不美的重要指標。小吊帶、抹胸、熱褲和小短裙覆蓋外的肌膚如果是健康白皙的，那才叫養眼。中國有句話叫未雨綢繆，而且美白也不是一蹴而就的事情，當初夏的陽光剛剛顯出一點熱力時，就宣告這場美白聖戰正式開始。

http://www.nervex.com/yukibichi/ladyface/200406080138.htm

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History of Tanning Skin color was one visible definer of

who you are- one that separated working classes from the ruling classes, and separated the master from his servants. Pale skin belonged to the leisure upper classes, while darker skin indicated a life of outdoor labor.

It wasn't until the 20th century that society began accepting bronzed skin.

The suntan had arrived...as the symbol of wealth and leisure. A tan in the winter meant the bearer had enough money and status to afford a vacation to an exotic, warm climate.

http://www.coolnurse.com/tanning.htm

The End