Szőcs Gábor
Zámbóné dr. Kocic Larisa
Introduction to literature and culture 2.
Thursday’s class from 1400 to 1530
Key terms: NEW CRITICISM | FORMALISM INTO
FUNCTIONALISM
Close reading:
-Close reading is an instructional routine in which we critically examine a text
-It is text-centered -> we have to read what’s on the page
-It doesn’t matter what the text is about, what is the author’s identity and what is the reader’s
role.
Ambiguity:
-is a word, phrase or sentence which contains more than one meaning.
-ambiguity gives the reader a chance to think more deeply about the meaning of a
word/sentence/phrase.
-writers usually use it to give the reader some freedom by allowing them to make their own
interpretation of what is happening.
Intentional fallacy:
-It reminds the readers to read the text with different views -> content level and the narrator’s
view
-it is the mistake of attempting to understand the author's intentions when interpreting a
literary work
Affective fallacy:
-it means the confusion between the poem and its result
-the false belief that the value or meaning of a work may be determined by its affect on the
reader.
-it refers to the supposed error of judging or evaluating a text on the basis of its emotional
effects on a reader
“The language of poetry is the language of paradox”:
-The various elements of poetry and definitions won’t lead us to closer to the meaning.
-The real meaning is hidden behind different types of ambiguity and paradox.
Defamiliarization:
-It means when the writer draws a parallel between the reality and his/her art.
-The author makes a well-known thing unfamiliar.
Foregrounding:
-It’s a litery device --> the author creates defamiliarization through linguistic
-it refers to the range of stylistic effects that occur in literature, whether at the phonetic level,
or the semantic level -> usage of alliteration, metaphor, rhyme, etc.
Organized violence committed on ordinary speech:
-It’s a speech, but not like everyday life’s speech
-This type of speech is estranging, intensifying and invigorating the everday’ speech.
(Aesthetic) function:
-Literature has loads of functions, such as sharing knowledge, teaching how to think
differently and thus gives power. The power of knowledge. Literature is also a tool of
entertainment and a speech shaper. (shaping our speech)
-Aesthetic means the artistic expressions within a text.
Fabula vs sjuzhet:
-Fabula refers to the chronological order in which the events of a story take place.
-Sjuzhet refers to the sequence in which the author chooses to relate those events, which we
could describe as the storyline or the plot.