Language art is very different from other art types. Its first basic feature is the indirectness of literary image shaping (perception), which is also the most important feature in my opinion. Literary images are shaped by language, which is not as simple and direct as other natural symbols such as colors, lines and sounds. Because language is an artificial symbol, it is a conventional symbol produced by people for the convenience of communication, so when literature is presented to readers, it is just a series of words. Only with a certain life experience and understanding of the meaning of language, can we really understand the meaning expressed by reading and imagining the characters we see.
The indirectness of language art in shaping images is also reflected in literary images (also called psychological images). Image is different from objective phenomenon. "It is composed of the meaning of language and words, and it is also experienced by readers. It combines the life experience, thoughts and feelings, imagination and so on. " 1 A thousand readers have a thousand Hamlets in their hearts. This is because literary images only exist in subjective consciousness, and different inner experiences create different literary images, which are different from other artistic images and exist in subjective mind and objective world. For example, painting a rural field landscape in art, even if we can imagine the quiet and simple theme expressed in the work, must be based on the objective world, that is, the picture we intuitively perceive with the naked eye.
The indirectness and vividness of literary images also mean fuzziness. The language of literature is not as accurate as the natural symbols used by other art forms to shape artistic images. Language is abstract, which inevitably leads to the fuzziness of literature. For example, the description of Lin Daiyu in A Dream of Red Mansions: "Two bends are like frowns, and a pair of eyes are like happy eyes. The state has two sorrows, and it is sick. Tears a little, breath slightly. Laziness shines on the water like a beautiful flower and acts like a weak willow. The heart is a little more than the stem, and the disease is not as good as the west. " Compared with the objective and intuitive image shown in Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, this kind of characterization is naturally abstract and vague. However, in this ambiguity, readers can feel vivid and vivid literary images, so the ambiguity of literary images does not mean that they are not specific. On the contrary, it mobilizes readers' imagination and makes their images richer and fuller.
The second basic feature of literature as a language art is its powerful expressive force, which can show the complexity and subtlety of thoughts and feelings. This feature is due to the fact that language "is applied to a wide range of human life, is the main tool for exchanging ideas, and has the greatest universality." Therefore, it is more expressive than other symbolic media such as sound, color and lines, and can be used for both narrative and expression.
The third feature of literature as a language art is freedom, which is due to the indirectness and imagery of literary image-building, enabling it to break through the limitation of time and space and create a free artistic time and space.
Based on the above three basic characteristics, I think the indirectness of literary image-building is one of the most important aspects, which I have mentioned above, and I will briefly state here. The indirectness of literary image-building leads to its vividness, fuzziness, freedom and strong expressive force. Imagine, if it is not because literature is an art form composed of language, and language is an abstract symbol, and creating artistic images requires people's imagination, how can literature be imagery and vague? Moreover, because language, an abstract and indirect medium, gives writers and readers a broad imagination space, it has great expressive power and freedom in literature. If it is replaced by a canvas, several colors, or a group of actors and a stage, its performance space will be greatly reduced, which reflects the strong support of literary indirectness as the most important of these three characteristics. Taking Water Margin as an example, the author vividly depicts 108 in language and characters, which not only exceeds the scope of other art forms in time and space. This is the great effect brought by literary indirectness.
Streamlined down is:
The first basic feature of literature as a language art is the indirectness of literary image-building (perception), which is also reflected in literary images, and the indirectness and imagery of literary images also mean fuzziness.
The second basic feature of literature as a language art is its powerful expressive force, which can show the complexity and subtlety of thoughts and feelings.
The third feature of literature as a language art is freedom, which is due to the indirectness and imagery of literary image-building, enabling it to break through the limitation of time and space and create a free artistic time and space.