Reflections on Literary Reading Methods (I) —— Reading Report on Literary Reading Methods
I received a new edition of Terry Eagleton's Literary Reading presented by Houlang Literature. Please report it.
Terry Eagleton is a famous contemporary literary theorist and cultural critic, and his Introduction to Literary Theory has had a great influence in China. This little book is equivalent to one of the five lectures in his Introduction to Literary Appreciation.
At the beginning, Eagleton pointed out that we can't treat literature as true gossip, and we can't discuss whether there is true love between two characters at the beginning-because the primary attribute of literature is fiction, and its narrative angle may not be credible, but it may also be part of the story. We should pay more attention to the expression form of literary works, that is, "literariness". He showed five angles to appreciate literature: beginning, characters, narration, explanation and value, and also covered various language details such as tone, atmosphere and speed of speech.
For readers who have some reading experience but don't have a systematic understanding of literary theory, this book can enlighten you with a few sentences, such as: Do fictional characters exist? Is the narrative voice objective? Does the novel have a routine of punishing evil and promoting good? ……
For readers who know something about literary theory, the examples analyzed in this book can supplement your book list. Eagleton has a good grasp of the essence of ancient and modern literature. Follow him once, and maybe you can write down some writers' works or opinions that you don't pay attention to.
The characteristics of this book, one is Eagleton as a British poison tongue, such as:
Speaking Language-"It's always comforting to see great writers make mistakes like us. Ye Zhi applied for a teaching position in Dublin, but was rejected because the word' professor' was misspelled in the application form. "
On the Fictitiousness of Characters —— "Literary characters, like serial killers in prisons, have no future."
On the differences of characterization in different times —— "Gospel writers may get embarrassing grades if they take creative classes."
It is said that we watch it to know the ending, but the story ends when we see the ending-"sigmund freud named human desire to end as death impulse."
Second, as a Marxist researcher from the working class, he is good at putting novels in the social relations of the times, and he is especially ruthless in reflecting the workers in literature.
You don't have to agree with many of his arguments, but you have reason to listen. For example, he thinks that imagination is not necessarily positive: "Every deadly weapon invented by human beings is the evil result of imagination." * * * Emotion is not necessarily a virtue: "Neoclassical writers such as henry fielding ... want readers to look at tom jones with funny, ironic and sympathetic eyes, instead of climbing into bed with him. That bed is already overcrowded. " He said that romantics think that imagination is higher than reality, and what doesn't exist is always better than what exists, which reflects their negative attitude towards reality. There is nothing wrong with Trump's attitude, but isn't Mandela good?
Reflections on literary reading methods (2): Eagleton's comments on Harry Potter do not need to be clever or playful.
I wrote this passage for a reason. Some young artists are "bitter" because of reading reviews, and even laugh at Harry Potter's comments. Extremists even described it as "making me swallow a fly". The reason why there are such gnashing comments is that critics do not really understand the history of literature, but cling to narrow imaginations such as "pure literature", "ivory tower" and "Nobel".
In fact, most of the great writers and works in the world originated from the tradition of "popular literature", especially in Britain. Shakespeare's and Dickens' works are out-and-out popular literature (only now they have been canonized), and Joyce and Woolf, the original writers in the ivory tower, have long been popular. What does this mean? It shows that great writers will eventually face the public and sell well. Selling well is not a label with low value, but the only way to have great influence. We young artists in China often don't understand this point, so it's biased and unwise to produce "association" when we see "best-selling". There is also a common problem among literary youth: contemporary writers take Nobel as a benchmark. It's all wet again Most of the Renault prizes awarded to contemporary writers are insignificant writers, but most of them have disappeared from history. Some young writers don't ask indiscriminately, as if talking about the Nobel Prize made Rowling "small". In fact, on the contrary, most Nobel Prize winners are called "dwarfs" in front of Rowling, such as Pearl Buck and sinclair lewis, not to mention those who even own them. Taking Pearl Buck as an example, the history of mainstream American literature can be ignored, but looking at any mainstream literary history, Rowling must be an important writer with an "independent plate". When we comment on whether a writer is great, we should look at the history of literature, instead of taking it for granted that someone has won the Nobel Prize, who is serious and who is popular. (Of course, it doesn't mean that popularity must be great, but it depends on whether the original "popular writer" has completed the canonization and is accepted by the history of literature. Once a "popular writer" can complete the universal canonization, it must be a super great writer, far from Dickens Jane Austen, only Zhang Ailing Rowling. )
Therefore, unlike ordinary readers in China, Harry Potter is not a work despised by literary critics. On the contrary, every famous book reading guide and any serious history of British and American literature will discuss this work now. At the same time, it is also the youngest masterpiece of the British Examinations Authority, which is in the same frame as Hamlet, A Tale of Two Cities and Wuthering Heights.
On March 20 18, among the "100 masterpieces shaping human spirit" selected by 37 writers from 37 countries, Harry Potter ranked 15, which is very close to Hamlet and One Hundred Years of Solitude, and is the first among contemporary living writers.
Rowling herself is also Britain's "Medal of Friends of Honorary Members", which is the highest honor of the country and can only be won by a few British Nobel Prize winners. You think Rowling is Jin Yong, but in fact she is Ruba. Rowling is also greater than harold bloom or the author of this book. After all, in a long list of honorary members, Rowling's corresponding thinkers are Hayek, karl popper and Russell, which obviously exceeds Eagleton's position.
If we further explore the history of the world, Rowling belongs to the great man of the century. Among the modern British writers, only Joyce (Irish writer, born under British rule) is comparable to it. This is not to brag, but Rowling is almost one of the few writers who can make the list of any great man. You can often see Rowling juxtaposed with people like Einstein and Edison in biographies of great men. Rowling was also the only writer among the "25 Giants in 25 Years" in the United States from 1975 to 2000, and Deng Xiaoping was the only one selected by China.
In short, it is a serious cognitive mistake to read Rowling as Tolkien or Jin Yong. Rowling is actually a combination of contemporary Dickens and Jane Austen. Rowling is not Tolkien any more than Zhang Ailing is not Zhang Henshui. Of course, no analogy is absolutely accurate, but this analogy can generally help us find Rowling's position in the history of English literature.
Reflections on literary reading methods (Ⅲ) —— Postscript of the new translation of literary reading methods
Text/Wu Wenquan
There have always been people who have something to say about literature reading, including many people, and there are countless second-and third-rate roles. Among them, discerning people who want to point out the maze and set things right often lead people to explore the Range Rover, which is better than studying for ten years. Those who claim to be smart talk to Kan Kan and boast. After some excitement, although the listener is still wanting more, he has no experience at all. Therefore, distinguishing between good and bad is a task that careful readers must complete, and one of the shortcuts to distinguish is the author's title. Although it is not 100% reliable, it is generally reassuring.
Everyone writes small books, at least in today's world, there are obvious examples in both east and west. In China, there is a series of "Everyone's Little Books"; In the west, there is the Oxford general theory series. As far as novels are concerned, there are David Roach's The Art of Fiction (Milan Kundera also has works of the same name), James Wood's The Machine of Fiction and Thomas Foster's How to Read Fiction. Looking back, there are classics by Henry James, E.M. Foster and others. There are also a few guide books of other schools, among which Understanding Poetry by Brooks and Warren has a long reputation. In the field of science, masters also attach importance to writing popular science books to enlighten people's wisdom and ignite people's interest in inquiry; For example, Loren Eiseley combined scientists' analysis with artists' intuition to inspire young people to explore the mysteries of nature and made great contributions!
In today's world, with vast knowledge and fast pace of life, reading has gradually become a fast food. As Eagleton said in the preface, "Nietzsche's long tradition of' slow reading' is in danger of quietly declining." It is conceivable that the "big meal" carefully prepared by the serious author was repeatedly regarded as French fries and fried chicken, and Pig Bajie did not regret eating ginseng fruit. In addition, even if readers are willing to delve into the mysteries of the book, they are often unable to get in because of their own academic qualifications. Faced with this worrying cultural prospect, Eagleton, as a great critic, risked being criticized (some people in the west scoffed at How to writers), and with his rich intensive reading experience, guided readers into the maze of literature and deeply understood the beauty of literary analysis, expecting this valuable act of nourishing the soul to become the conscious pursuit of more readers and a gurgling spring of life in the increasingly deserted cultural desert. I believe that in Eagleton's view, the sensitivity and infatuation with literature is the most humanized part of a civilization. No matter how advanced technology is, no matter how glamorous material life is, and lack of nuanced literary sensibility, human existence has great shortcomings. The world made up of such people is not the real home of mankind.
By Terry Eagleton.
Goethe said that the theory is gray, but the tree of life is evergreen. This statement has some truth, but it is not absolute. Theory can bring profound insights and let practitioners know the object more deeply and carefully. Eagleton is proficient in literature and cultural theory, so he can see twists and turns that ordinary readers can't understand in concrete novels, poems, plays and even nursery rhymes. Every interpretation of him, whether appropriate or far-fetched, can make people see unprecedented possibilities and stimulate readers' inquiry. I think this is his purpose.
Finally, talk about translation. There have been two Chinese versions of this book before, one is Fan Hao's Guide to Literature Reading (Henan University Press, 20 15), and the other is Huang Yuwen's How to Read Literature (Taibei: Shang and Zhou Publishing House, 20 14). Both have their own advantages, model translation is lively and smart, and Huang translation is elegant and steady. In the process of translation, when I was deliberating, I also referred to it many times. Thank you here! In addition, the fragments of literary works quoted by Eagleton, except the translator's own translation, refer to the existing excellent domestic translations and mark them. Thank you! The fragments quoted by the author are all attached to the original English text for readers' reference and thinking. Yan Fu said that it is difficult to be "faithful and elegant" in translating things. When it comes to text translation, the "three difficulties" have become numerous obstacles. If we want to defeat them, one of them is bitter and the other is sweet, so we can't be humanists. For example. This book quotes a passage from James's The Wings of a Dove, which is extremely difficult to interpret, and Ms. Fan Hao also explains it in the footnote. I consulted the first two translations and the relevant paragraphs in the German translation of the book, but I didn't get a satisfactory understanding. Although I have read the book The Wings of a Dove for many years, my interpretation is still not satisfactory. Therefore, according to the current understanding, I am willing to translate it and ask you to know where it is wrong. Translation is never a simple matter, and every word may be a trap if it is not carefully translated. As a translator, even if you are careful everywhere, you will inevitably fall down unconsciously. I hope not to be too frequent, and make the words and myself black and blue, making readers frown. If there are mistakes, but beg for criticism, dare not expect forgiveness!
Reflections on literary reading methods (4): How to read novels due to accumulation and lack of reading skills?
"How do you usually read novels?" Although I am a liberal arts student, to be honest, I still can't understand novels and other types of literary works. Even if the reading volume reaches 200 this year, the proportion of literary works such as novels is limited, and it is not because I can't read, but because I can't read.
There are two main reasons: First, I am slow to read literary books. For example, reading the same book, non-fiction books can be finished in about 2 hours, but novels and literature books will take 4 to 5 hours, or even longer. Although I don't particularly care about the consumption of time, I always feel that they are slowing down my reading speed and reducing my sense of accomplishment brought by reading. Later, I slowly began to stop reading. In addition to the time, there is another important reason, that is, many times, I don't know how to read and comment on these literary works, and I don't know what they should bring. Every time I finish reading a literary book, I feel that the content is very good and touching, which provides me with some life and ideological guidance, but if I go further, I don't know what else. It seems to be something hidden in my heart that I can't say, but it has always been there. But if I don't read literature books, there will be some gap between my feelings and my heart, which is why I insist on reading a literature book every once in a while, even if I read it slowly.
With the increase of reading, plus the edification and guidance of many literary theories. I found that the problem of "I can't read literary books" is due to insufficient accumulation and reading skills. It is simple to say, but it is not easy to change. After all, accumulation takes a long time to be done well, so we can only make up for it from the technical aspect first. So, I opened the reading of literature. Terry Eagleton, the author of this book, is an outstanding contemporary literary theorist and cultural critic. He focuses on the study of literary works. His writing is humorous and sharp, and it is easy and pleasant to read. For example, in his book, he said that many novelists "will try their best at first, and occasionally get hurt again and again", and "the original intention of a poem or a story may have been forgotten by writers" ... This reminds me of the scenes that novelists are distressed when they see these comments. It seems that writing a novel is not an easy task. It's like knowing a lot of truth and still having a hard time. It's like reading a lot of food books and still not being able to cook ... it's like learning more skill books. If you don't know how to do it, or you can't find the "door", it's like learning in vain and useless. Although Reading Literature is a literary guide book, the contents in the book are not those clear-cut techniques, but the techniques are hidden in the works, so that we can really feel the charm of literature, the charm of language and things outside literature through reading the comments on great works.
Therefore, the whole book not only teaches us how to read a literary work from three traditional interpretation angles: the beginning, characters and narrative methods, but also adds the contents of "interpretation" and "value", which brings us out of the work, broadens our reading horizons and enriches our reading experience. While reading these contents, we can also see the profound literary connotation from the author's handy references to various classic books. When we put aside the literariness of works and only read literary books as stories, it will make classic works a thing of the past and reduce their significance and value. So in this book, you will learn the basic methods of appreciating literary works, see the wonderful analysis of famous works such as Madame Bovary and The Waste Land, and learn a new reading method-reading slowly. You will find that when reading slows down and your thoughts settle down, stories, words or characters in your eyes will reach your ears and talk to you quietly as if they were alive; Will sit by your side and accompany you quietly; Or linger in your mind ... finally, maybe they will become an image, a memory, and remain forever.
If you don't want to read only one story every time you read a novel, if you want to enrich your reading experience, if you are willing to study the "secrets" carried by literary works, if you want to know what is hidden behind each character. ...
If you need an introductory literature book, or a literary tutor, you may as well open up the reading of literature. Together with Terry Eagleton, the most famous contemporary literary critic, you can open another door to reading and enjoy the world of literature.