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7. Literature in the Post-modernism Period 1940+ |
A Historical
Survey of English Language and Literature
Exercises
Group
A
A.
Multiple Choice Questions
Tick
(√) the best answer.
1.
.................literature developed with multiple characteristics, nature,
experiments, themes, and characters.
a)
Postmodern
b)
Modern
c)
Classical
d)
Middle English
2.
.................studies became one of the emerging areas of study in the
21" century.
a) diaspora
b)
religion
c)
language
d)
nature
3.
Samuel Beckett is a/an.................dramatist of the 21st century.
a)
English
b)
Indian
c)
Celtic
d)
Irish
4.
'The Unknown Citizen' is a famous poem by.................
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
W. H. Auden
c)
William Golding
d)
Ted Hughes
5.
Alan Paton is a famous ......novelist whose Cry, the Beloved Country was
published in 1948.
a)
South African
b)
Indian
c)
Pakistani
d)
Brazilian
6.
.................made the readers' easy access to literature through the use of
internet and ICT in the recent years.
a)
Subaltern literature
b)
War literature.
c)
Classical literature
d)
Cyber literature
7. The Postmodern Period begins
in...............and extends up to now.
a) 1945
b) 1950
c) 1955
d) 1960
8.
.........................is an attack on the established norms of the
logo-centric modernist period and moves towards the age of self-realization.
a)
Classical
b)
Modern
c)
Postmodern
d)
Middle English
9.
Postmodernism doesn't have its finite starting point but is generally viewed as
the result of the multiple voices in the field of art, music and literature
after the end of the .....................War in 1945.
a)
First World
b)
Second World
c)
Cold
d)
Stone
10.
The concept of English literature, literature as written in the British Isles,
changed into English literature written in English anywhere in the..............
a)
Europe
b)
America
c)
Africa
d)
world
11.
Which is not the feature of Postmodern Literature...............
a) Plurality in Meaning
b) Self-reflexivity
c) Permanency
d) Questioning the grand narratives
12.
Which is not the feature of Postmodern Literature...............
a) Mixed form of literature
b) Disoriented style
c) Multiculturalism
d) folk culture
13.
Along with the development of multiculturalism and open market policy, .......................became
demand of the people.
a) Meaning
b) translation
c) Permanency
d) narratives
14. In literature, ..............................includes
the feelings, emotions and loneliness of the migrants.
a)subaltern
b)
religion
c)
diaspora
d)
cyber
15.
............................is the term used for the literature of the
marginalized people, which identifies and describes the man, the woman, and the
social group who are socially, politically and geographically outside of the
hegemonic power structure.
a)subaltern
b)
religion
c)
diaspora
d)
cyber
16.
Some famous writers of the subaltern literature are....................
a)
Homi K. Bhabha, ParthaChatterjee, David Hardiman, Robert Burns
b)
Mulk Raj Anand, Tony Morrison, Shahid Amin, David Arnold,
c)
Homi K. Bhabha, ParthaChatterjee, Robert Burns, David Hardiman
d)
Robert Burns, Homi K. Bhabha, ParthaChatterjee, David Hardiman
17.
...................................is a new style of literary movement which
uses electronic space as a medium and provides an opportunity for people to
read, write, listen and access the literary works.
a)subaltern
literature
b)
religion literature
c)
diaspora literature
d)
cyber literature
18.
Cyber literature was developed after the..........................as a part of
post modern literature.
a) 1940s
b) 1950s
c) 1960s
d) 1970s
19.
Samuel Beckett was born on April 13, ..........................., in Dublin,
Ireland and died on December 22, 1989 in Paris, France.
a) 1904
b) 1905
c) 1906
d) 1907
20.
........................famous works are: Eleutheria, Waiting for Godot,
Endgame, Malloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable and Mercier etCamier.
a)
Dylan Thomas's
b)
Samuel Beckett's
c)
William Golding's
d)
Ted Huges's
21.
Harold Pinter wrote his first play, The Room, in.....................
a) 1955
b) 1956
c) 1957
d) 1958
22.
......................wrote many popular poems like: 'Church Going,' 'The
Whitsun Weddings'.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
W. H. Auden
c)
William Golding
d)
Philip Larkin
23.
...........................is famous pictorial poet who focused on high level
of imagination and human freedom. He wrote many poems like 'Jaguar' and 'The
Hawk in the Rain'.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
Ted Hughes
c)
William Golding
d)
Philip
Larkin
24. ............................is a
poet of traditional rustic landscapes and the lives of people, who wrote the
poems like 'An Old Man'.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
Ted
Hughes
c)
R. S. Thomas
d)
Philip
Larkin
25. .............................is a
famous poet at the beginning of post modernism and his famous poem is 'Do Not
Go Gentle into that Goodnight'.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
Ted
Hughes
c)
R.
S. Thomas
d)
Philip
Larkin
26.
........................wrote the poems full of voice of identity and anxiety
in human beings in post modern period. His major works are: The Unknown
Citizen' and 'On This Island'.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
W. H. Auden
c)
R.
S. Thomas
d)
Philip
Larkin
27.
........................is a successful novelist who wrote the allegorical
novel 'Lord of the Flies' in 1954.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
W.
H. Auden
c)
William Golding
d)
Philip
Larkin
28.
..............................is the beginner of the postmodern era. He wrote
the satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, against totalitarianism in 1949.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
George Orwell
c)
R.
S. Thomas
d)
Philip
Larkin
29.
....................................is a famous novelist of the period. He
wrote dystopian novel 'A Clockwork Orange' in 1962.
a)
Dylan Thomas
b)
George
Orwell
c)
R.
S. Thomas
d)
Anthony Burgess
30.
..............................is a dramatist of 'Kitchen and Sink Theatre
Group' who writes about the inner realities of people within the house. His
famous drama is 'Look Back in Anger' (1956).
a)
John Osborne
b)
George
Orwell
c)
R.
S. Thomas
d)
Anthony
Burgess
31.
..........................writes about simple villagers and their problems. His
famous poem is: 'Death of a Naturalist'.
a)
John
Osborne
b)
George
Orwell
c)
Seamus Heaney
d)
Anthony
Burgess
32. ..........................is a famous South African novelist. He wrote 'The
Story of an African Farm' in 1883.
a)
John
Osborne
b)
Olive Schreiner
c)
Seamus
Heaney
d)
Anthony
Burgess
33.
.........................is a famous South African novelist whose 'Cry, the
Beloved Country' was published in 1948.
a)
John
Osborne
b)
Olive
Schreiner
c)
Alan Paton
d)
Anthony
Burgess
34.
..........................is another post Second World War writer. He wrote
many famous books like 'Midnight's Children' (1981) and 'The Satanic Verses'
(1989).
a)
John
Osborne
b)
Olive
Schreiner
c)
Alan
Paton
d)
Salman Rushdie
35.
......................won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.
a)
John
Osborne
b)
V. S. Naipaul
c)
Alan
Paton
d)
Salman
Rushdie
Group
B
Answers
the following Questions.
1.
How has literature been developed in the postmodern period? Discuss.
Postmodernism
is an attack on the established norms of the logo-centric modernist period and
moves towards the age of self-realization. It is the period of multiple
identities and infinite meanings. In one sense, it is also the continuation of
the experimentation in the field of art, music, and literature. It believes in
fragmentation, paradox, mini-narratives and questionable narratives.
Postmodernism
doesn't have its finite starting point but is generally viewed as the result of
the multiple voices in the field of art, music and literature after the end of
the Second World War in 1945. It focuses on a plurality of meaning, absurdity,
sexuality, and experiments with narratives and structure of literature.
Postmodern
literature developed with multiple characteristics, nature, experiments,
themes, and characters. It flourished the narratives of the periphery rather
than the Euro-centric and aristocratic literary trends. The subjects of
postmodern literature range from the human psyche, day-to-day activities,
experiment of human activities, scientific inventions, human growth and
development, religious change, aesthetic values, multi-cultural activities,
social phenomena to many more.
The
text has the possibility of 'infinite meanings'. No meaning is concrete and
final; rather it signifies the innumerable possibilities. The emergence of the
post-colonial literature in the mainstream was marked with great literary
achievement. In the Postmodern era, the literary shift moved from Europe to the
outside world.
The
concept of English literature, literature as written in the British Isles,
changed into English literature written in English anywhere in the world. Many
texts from periphery were written in English so that they could get a great
number of readers. Similarly, writers from the mainstream also searched
subjects from different parts of the world and presented in their literary
works.
Moreover,
texts written in English were also translated into many languages so that the
local people could read rich English literature in their own language. It
brought a radical change in literary trends and perception in the second half
of the twenty-first century.
2.
List the representative writers of postmodern age and introduce any three of
them.
The
representative writers of postmodern age developed literature with multiple
characteristics, nature, experiments, themes, and characters. It flourished the
narratives of the periphery rather than the Euro-centric and aristocratic
literary trends. The subjects of postmodern literature range from the human
psyche, day-to-day activities, experiment of human activities, scientific
inventions, human growth and development, religious change, aesthetic values,
multi-cultural activities, social phenomena to many more.
a)
Samuel Beckett: Samuel Beckett was born on April 13,
1906, in Dublin, Ireland. He is the famous dramatist, novelist and poet of the
twentieth century literature. His writings are famous for picturing human
philosophy. He started writing short stories and novels from 1930s. Later, he
wrote a trilogy of novels including 'Waiting for Godot (1954) in the 1950s. He
won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. He died on December 22, 1989 in
Paris, France. His famous works are: Eleutheria, Waiting for Godot, Endgame,
Malloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable and Mercier etCamier.
b) Harold Pinter: The most renowned dramatist of the twentieth century,
Pinter was born in 1930 in London. His works are famous for human realities,
especially the uncertainty of birth, death, troubles, conditions etc. Pinter
wrote his first play, The Room, in 1957. His other works are: The Birthday
Party (1960), The Caretaker, The Homecoming, Old Times, No Man's Land, and
Betrayal. He died in 2008.
c) Philip Larkin (1922- 1985): Larkin is the great poet with the flavor
of passivism in his poems. He wrote many popular poems like: 'Church Going,'
'The Whitsun Weddings'.
d) Ted Hughes (1930- 1998): Ted Hughes is famous pictorial poet who
focused on high level of imagination and human freedom. He wrote many poems
like Jaguar' and 'The Hawk in the Rain'.
e)
R. S. Thomas (1913-): Thomas is a poet of traditional rustic
landscapes and the lives of people. He writes about lives of people in the
countryside. He blends the love of man with god. He wrote the poems like 'An
Old Man'.
f)
Dylan Thomas (1914-1953): Dylan Thomas is a famous poet at
the beginning of post modernism. His poems are full of the prayers to natural
beauty, human feelings and power of imagination. His famous poem is: 'Do Not Go
Gentle into that Goodnight'.
g) W. H. Auden (1907-1973): Auden wrote the poems full of voice of
identity and anxiety in human beings in post modern period. His major works
are: The Unknown Citizen' and 'On This Island'.
h) William Golding (1911- ): Golding is a successful novelist who wrote
the allegorical novel 'Lord of the Flies' in 1954. He explored the culture from
the perspective of the British school on a deserted island.
i) George Orwell: Orwell is the beginner of the postmodern era. He wrote
the satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, against totalitarianism in 1949.
j)
Anthony Burgess: Burgess is a famous novelist of the
period. He wrote dystopian novel 'A Clockwork Orange' in 1962.
k)
John Osborne: Osborne is a dramatist of 'Kitchen and
Sink Theatre Group' who writes about the inner realities of people within the
house. His famous drama is 'Look Back in Anger' (1956).
1) Seamus Heaney (1939-2013): Heaney is famous for his poems. He writes
about simple villagers and their problems. His famous poem is: 'Death of a
Naturalist'.
m)
Olive Schreiner: Olive Schreiner is a famous South
African novelist. He wrote 'The Story of an African Farm' in 1883.
n) Alan Paton: Alan Paton is a famous South African novelist whose 'Cry,
the Beloved Country was published in 1948.
o) Salman Rushdie: Salman Rushdie is another post Second World War
writer. He wrote many famous books like 'Midnight's Children' (1981) and 'The
Satanic Verses' (1989).
p)
V. S. Naipaul (1932-2018): Naipaul is a Trinidadian Postmodern
writer who writes the conditions of the subalterns in his writings, He won the
Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. His famous works are: 'A House for Mr.
Biswas' (1961), 'The Mimic Men' (1967), 'The Enigma of Arrival' (1987). 'An
Area of Darkness' (1965), 'India: A Wounded Civilization (1977), and India: A
Million Mutinies Now' (1990).
3.
What are the features of Post Modern Literature? Explain in brief.
Postmodernism
is an attack on the established norms of the logo-centric modernist period and moves
towards the age of self-realization. It is the period of multiple identities
and infinite meanings. In one sense, it is also the continuation of the
experimentation in the field of art, music, and literature. It believes in
fragmentation, paradox, mini-narratives and questionable narratives.
Some
of the features of Post Modern Literature are as follows:
a)
Plurality in Meaning: Postmodernism is characterized by the plurality in
meaning. For them, no meaning is final and every text has infinite chances of
meanings. Meanings are contextual. They differ from person to person depending
on their level of knowledge, culture, social status, or psyche. Samuel
Beckett's 'Waiting for Godot' is interpreted in many contexts as an excellent
example of the post modern text.
b) Self-reflexivity: Postmodern literature has a high level of self-reflexivity
both in high and low levels of works. The writers try to expose their internal
realities in their writings and make others feel it as if it belongs to them.
c)
Temporality: Reality is temporality for the postmodern writers. They focus on
the temporality and temporal beauty of the text. They say that any text can be
popular for a certain period of time. As Barth says, there is no newness in
anything. Rather, anything new would be instantly followed by the next thing in
progress.
d)
Questioning the grand narratives: All the grand narratives are questioned by
the postmodern writers. They started studying the established narratives and
literature, and then, analyzed them from different angles. Salman Rushdie's
'Midnight Children' and 'The Satanic Verses' question the grand narratives in
the Quran and other Islamic religious books.
e)
Mixed form of literature: Postmodern literature is a tapestry of different
literary trends and movements. There is no fixed form or style. Neither the
theme is well identified. All these are juxtapositions of different movements
in the past.
f)
Disoriented style: Stream of consciousness or flashback techniques in -
postmodern art and literature have dismantled the chronological orientation of
the texts. No reader knows where the text stars from and where it ends. There
is a lack of established norms and beliefs coherent in the texts of this
period.
g) Multiculturalism: Multicultural, multi-religious, multiethnic literature
started in this period as the product of cultural assimilations and mix-ups.
Development of science and technology, communication, transportation; and trade
brought radical changes in arts, literature and cultures around the world.
Cultures around the globe got influence from the next culture. Multicultural
presentation could be seen clearly in postmodern literature.
h) Pop culture: Postmodernists enjoy popular culture, literature and music
making the immediate aesthetic pleasure to the public. Their goals can make the
genre popular and teaching something new in multicultural society.
i) Period of experiment and exposure: Postmodern literature is marked by
different experiments in the literature. There started the visual poems, size
and shape poems, absurdist dramas, dadaism, gayism, lesbianism, pop songs and
many others as the ways of seeking freedom from the modernist thoughts and
entering into the world of freedom. A kind of fiction with mingling and
juxtaposition of the realistic and the bizarre started in literature with
skillful time shifts. Miscellaneous use of dreams, myths and fairy stories,
expressionistic and even surrealistic description, the element of surprise or
abrupt shock etc. became famous both in novels and dramas of the period.
4.
What is Diaspora? Discuss its role in the development of literature.
Diaspora
literally means dispersion of the population. A diaspora is a scattered
population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale. It is the
expression or feeling of being alienated and distracted from the native culture
and society, and the struggle for representation in the new lands the migrants
have settled in. Migration is very common in the twenty-first century. People
migrate to different parts of the world for one or other reason like
historical, political and economical issues including business, higher
education, better life and marriage.
Diaspora
has a wider meaning at present. In literature, diaspora includes the feelings,
emotions and loneliness of the migrants. They feel distracted from their
original culture and society. So, they try to express their feelings openly in
their literature. Diaspora literature helps people to learn the background
history of their native land. It is a broad concept which consists of all
literary works written by different authors who have settled in the foreign
land leaving their native country for long.
They
write about the culture and tradition of their native country. Their literature
is not recognized by the country they settle in. They express feelings and
experiences of the immigrants; and problem of alienation and diasporic life
through their writings. In fact, they take support in writing and won honours
for their work. Most of the diasporic writers wrote of their personal experiences
too.
Homi
K. Bhabha states that "migrant subjects are constituted by cultural
indeterminacy and hybridity. It rejects fixed identity and reveals the
difference, which is significant in constructing a diasporic image. He said
about diasporic individuals suffer from doubling, dissembling image of being in
at least two places at once which makes it impossible...to accept the
invitation to identity: You're a doctor, a writer. A student, you're
different... It is precisely in that ambivalent use of 'different'- to be
different from those that are different makes you the same that the unconscious
speaks of the form of otherness, the tethered shadow of deferral and
displacement".
Salman
Rushdie, Jumpha Lahiri, V. S. Naipaul, Teju Kole, Chinelo Okparanta, William
Safran, Kiran Desai, Sumayya Lee are some representative Diaspora writers.
Similarly, the Nepalese-born writers Samrat Upadhaya and Manjushree Thapa are
also writing in English residing in the host countries.
5.
What is subaltern literature? Write its major contribution in literature.
Subaltern
is the term used for the literature of the marginalized people. It identifies
and describes the man, the woman, and the social group who are socially,
politically and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure.
Subaltern literature has various themes such as oppression, marginalization,
subjugation of lower and working classes, gender discrimination, disregarded
women, deprived classes, racial and caste discrimination etc.
As
its origin, the word 'subaltern' is from Latin 'subalternus' in which 'sub'
means 'under' and 'alternus' means 'every other'. The subaltern class cannot
unite until they get state reorganization. Their history is, therefore,
intertwined with that of civil society and thereby with the history of states
and groups of states.
The
term 'subaltern' refers to the third world countries and the marginalized in
society. Gayatri Spivak says that the subaltern cannot speak. She means that
subaltern women have no political agency because they cannot represent in those
social organizations. Subaltern literature is basically taken as a nonwestern
and post-colonial concept in which downtrodden like the so-called lower caste,
class, race, weak sex and economically disadvantaged groups from the developing
countries express their feelings. Main issues of subaltern literature are the
desire of exposure and feelings/experiences of the oppressed group of people.
Some
famous writers of the subaltern literature are: Mulk Raj Anand, Tony Morrison,
Shahid Amin, David Arnold, Homi K. Bhabha, ParthaChatterjee and David Hardiman.
6.
What is the literary shift from Modernism to Post Modernism? Explain.
Modernism
and postmodernism are two literary movements of the twentieth century. Both
these movements were greatly influenced by events like world wars,
industrialization, and urbanization reflecting the insecurities,
disorientation, and fragmentation of the 20th century.
Postmodernism
is an attack on the established norms of the logo-centric modernist period and
moves towards the age of self-realization. It is the period of multiple
identities and infinite meanings. In one sense, it is also the continuation of
the experimentation in the field of art, music, and literature. It believes in
fragmentation, paradox, mini-narratives and questionable narratives.
Postmodernism
doesn't have its finite starting point but is generally viewed as the result of
the multiple voices in the field of art, music and literature after the end of
the Second World War in 1945. It focuses on a plurality of meaning, absurdity,
sexuality, and experiments with narratives and structure of literature.
Postmodern
literature developed with multiple characteristics, nature, experiments,
themes, and characters. It flourished the narratives of the periphery rather
than the Euro-centric and aristocratic literary trends. The subjects of
postmodern literature range from the human psyche, day-to-day activities,
experiment of human activities, scientific inventions, human growth and
development, religious change, aesthetic values, multi-cultural activities,
social phenomena to many more.
The
text has the possibility of 'infinite meanings'. No meaning is concrete and
final; rather it signifies the innumerable possibilities. The emergence of the
post-colonial literature in the mainstream was marked with great literary
achievement. In the Postmodern era, the literary shift moved from Europe to the
outside world.
The
concept of English literature, literature as written in the British Isles,
changed into English literature written in English anywhere in the world. Many
texts from periphery were written in English so that they could get a great
number of readers. Similarly, writers from the mainstream also searched
subjects from different parts of the world and presented in their literary
works.
Moreover,
texts written in English were also translated into many languages so that the
local people could read rich English literature in their own language. It
brought a radical change in literary trends and perception in the second half
of the twenty-first century.
The
main differences between modernism and postmodernism in literature can be
pointed out as follows:
|
Modernism in
Literature |
Postmodernism
in Literature |
|
Modernism was
characterized by a strong and deliberate break from the traditional styles of
prose and poetry in the 20th century. |
Postmodernism
was a response against modernism and was marked by its reliance on narrative
techniques such as unreliable narrator, fragmentation, parody, etc. |
|
Modernist
writers deliberately broke away from traditional styles of writing. |
Postmodernist
writers deliberately used a mixture of earlier styles. |
|
Modernists
focused on inner self and consciousness in their writings. |
Postmodernists
prefer multiple meanings within a single literary work or complete lack of
meaning. |
|
The stream of
consciousness style was the major technique introduced during the modernist
movement. |
Including the
stream of consciousness style, postmodernist writers used techniques such as
fragmentation, intertextuality, unreliable narrator, parody, dark humor and
paradox. |
|
Some of the
modernist literary writers include Samuel Beckett, Ernest Hemingway, James
Joyce, Joseph Conrad, T. S. Eliot, William Faulkner, Sylvia Plath, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, William Butler Yeats, and Virginia Woolf, etc. |
Postmodernist
literary writers include Bertrand Russell, Thomas Pynchon, Joseph Heller,
John Barth, Vladimir Nabokov, Umberto Eco, Richard Kalich, Giannina Braschi,
John Hawkes, and Kurt Vonnegu, etc. |
7.
What is cyber literature? Explain.
Cyber
literature is a new style of literary movement which uses electronic space as a
medium and provides an opportunity for people to read, write, listen and access
the literary works. Cyber literature was born as an impact of innovation in
technological advancement. Cyber literature covers literary texts such as prose
or poetry, anthologies of digitalized prose or poetry, online literature,
magazines or collections of classical texts available in web sources,
non-professional literary texts available in the internet and hypertext
literature and cybertext about the literary texts of complex structure.
There
are many cyber literature communities using home page, email, forum, YouTube
channels and blogs to promote and publish their literary creation to the wider
audience. Cyber literature was developed after the 1970s as a part of post
modern literature. 'Neuromancer' by William Gibson was the major work which
came in 1984 and was a winner of science fiction 'triple crown' and other
awards. It tells a story of a washed-up computer hacker hired by a mysterious
employer to work on the ultimate hack. They use the web tools to upload their
creation without limitation in the web sources. This helps to reach them to the
wider audience across the globe.
The
shift from the hard copy publication to soft copy and audio novels is an effect
of cyber literature. The existence of cyber literature opens literary creation
like fan fiction. Here, fan fiction refers to the texts created as
'pseudo-sequels' to a book, comic strip, TV series or film and are not written
by professional authors but by fans. Due to the advancement in the use of
technology, there are multiple possibilities for the writers to reach to the
wider audience and share their works to the global community. It is the
breakthrough in literature in postmodern literature and cyberculture. The
concept of hypertext is noble in the cyber literature which deals with
electronic linking of the text with video clips, music sounds and other media
arts.
Both
the Western and Eastern literature have been affected by cyber culture. South
Asian is entirely influenced by it. In Eastern literature, cyberculture has
influenced the writings of different scholars. Naryan Wagle's Palpasa Cafe',
Anmolmani Poudel's 'Nilima Ra GadhaAndhyaro', M. Mishra's The Dream Assembly,
P. Singh's 'Samanantar Akash', S. S. Tharu's Virtual Reality', Sarubhakta's
'Sahasrabdiko Antim Prem Katha' are influenced by cyberculture.
8.
Discuss the development of translation literature in the Postmodern Period
(1940+).
Translation
is a process of transferring a literary work written in one language into
another language. Along with the development of multiculturalism and open
market policy, translation became demand of the people. Many authors wanted to
broaden their horizon of exposure and readers wanted to read the texts written
in other languages and cultures.
On
the other hand, many big publishing houses started translation as their
business corporations. Basically, translation literature became popular with
the effort and policies of the publishing houses. In the West, there started
the trend of translating popular literature and cultural texts from around the
world. It aroused the interest of reading the literature of the Third World in
English speaking countries. On the other hand, different missionaries and
publishing houses translated different literary texts from English to the local
languages which provided a chance of reading the Western texts to the local
people.
In
this period, the role of the translator became visible and somehow, similar to
that of the author. According to Steiner, translation in the 1960s "shows
a reversion to hermeneutic, almost metaphysical inquiries into translation and
interpretation. During this period trend of translating the texts shifted
towards function and culture-oriented approaches". This shift of
translation to culture translation devised many issues of equivalence and
translation of the meaning, not the form of the text.
Translation
process in target culture contexts was practised in some universities in the
USA in the 1960s. Later, a study of differences between the two languages
started in the field. Halliday focused on the communicative aspect of
translation in the 1990s and the 'speech act theory' emerged from it. Machine
translation or computational translation has been a major invention and
practice in recent years which has made the possibilities of translation by the
machine. In recent years, translation has been a form of new writing and
translator is regarded as equal to the writer.
9.
Distinguish between modernism and postmodernism in literature.
Modernism
and postmodernism are two literary movements of the twentieth century. Both
these movements were greatly influenced by events like world wars,
industrialization, and urbanization reflecting the insecurities,
disorientation, and fragmentation of the 20th century.
Postmodernism
is an attack on the established norms of the logo-centric modernist period and
moves towards the age of self-realization. It is the period of multiple
identities and infinite meanings. In one sense, it is also the continuation of
the experimentation in the field of art, music, and literature. It believes in
fragmentation, paradox, mini-narratives and questionable narratives.
Postmodernism
doesn't have its finite starting point but is generally viewed as the result of
the multiple voices in the field of art, music and literature after the end of
the Second World War in 1945. It focuses on a plurality of meaning, absurdity,
sexuality, and experiments with narratives and structure of literature.
Postmodern
literature developed with multiple characteristics, nature, experiments,
themes, and characters. It flourished the narratives of the periphery rather
than the Euro-centric and aristocratic literary trends. The subjects of
postmodern literature range from the human psyche, day-to-day activities,
experiment of human activities, scientific inventions, human growth and
development, religious change, aesthetic values, multi-cultural activities,
social phenomena to many more.
The
text has the possibility of 'infinite meanings'. No meaning is concrete and
final; rather it signifies the innumerable possibilities. The emergence of the
post-colonial literature in the mainstream was marked with great literary
achievement. In the Postmodern era, the literary shift moved from Europe to the
outside world.
The
concept of English literature, literature as written in the British Isles,
changed into English literature written in English anywhere in the world. Many
texts from periphery were written in English so that they could get a great
number of readers. Similarly, writers from the mainstream also searched
subjects from different parts of the world and presented in their literary
works.
Moreover,
texts written in English were also translated into many languages so that the
local people could read rich English literature in their own language. It
brought a radical change in literary trends and perception in the second half
of the twenty-first century.
The
main differences between modernism and postmodernism in literature can be
pointed out as follows:
|
Modernism in
Literature |
Postmodernism
in Literature |
|
Modernism was
characterized by a strong and deliberate break from the traditional styles of
prose and poetry in the 20th century. |
Postmodernism
was a response against modernism and was marked by its reliance on narrative
techniques such as unreliable narrator, fragmentation, parody, etc. |
|
Modernist
writers deliberately broke away from traditional styles of writing. |
Postmodernist
writers deliberately used a mixture of earlier styles. |
|
Modernists
focused on inner self and consciousness in their writings. |
Postmodernists
prefer multiple meanings within a single literary work or complete lack of
meaning. |
|
The stream of
consciousness style was the major technique introduced during the modernist
movement. |
Including the
stream of consciousness style, postmodernist writers used techniques such as
fragmentation, intertextuality, unreliable narrator, parody, dark humor and
paradox. |
|
Some of the modernist
literary writers include Samuel Beckett, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce,
Joseph Conrad, T. S. Eliot, William Faulkner, Sylvia Plath, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, William Butler Yeats, and Virginia Woolf, etc. |
Postmodernist
literary writers include Bertrand Russell, Thomas Pynchon, Joseph Heller,
John Barth, Vladimir Nabokov, Umberto Eco, Richard Kalich, Giannina Braschi,
John Hawkes, and Kurt Vonnegu, etc. |
10. What are the common traits of modern and post-modern perspectives
in literature? How do they differ?
Answer:
Modernism and
postmodernism are two literary movements of the twentieth century. Both these
movements were greatly influenced by events like world wars, industrialization,
and urbanization reflecting the insecurities, disorientation, and fragmentation
of the 20th century.
Post
modern perspective and modern perspective are both the perspective that have
been used in the modern times especially after the 1950s. Postmodernism means
after modernism, which means the postmodern perspective, came to the scene after
the modernist perspective. Postmodernism also means against modernism. It is
generally believed that modernism in art, literature, culture, and philosophy
began in the first decade of the 20th century and continued until the end of
World War II. The new perspective on life, literature, language, art, and
culture replaced that of the modern period. Modernism was based on the belief
in perfection, completeness, wholeness, the singularity of meaning, whereas the
postmodernist perspective came with a different belief.
Postmodernists
reject the notion of centrality, question the relationship between center and
margin, demolish the conventional boundaries drawn between literary genres such
as poetry versus prose. Moreover, postmodernists celebrate the play of
signifiers (i.e. words), openness, fragmentation, and discontinuity in
narration, ambiguity, plurality, and indeterminacy of meaning.
Post modern and modern perspective both have the characteristics of believing
in only factual and & evidence having stuff. It doesn't believe in god and
spirits so much. The Post modern perspective and modern perspective try to
demolish the already set boundaries of literary writing by adding as various
new elements such as meta-fiction, demolishing of literary genres, unreliable
narration, fusion between fact and fiction. Modern perspective where in the
other hand doesn't do all of these to this extent.
The
main differences between modernism and postmodernism in literature can be
pointed out as follows:
|
Modernism in
Literature |
Postmodernism
in Literature |
|
Modernism was
characterized by a strong and deliberate break from the traditional styles of
prose and poetry in the 20th century. |
Postmodernism
was a response against modernism and was marked by its reliance on narrative
techniques such as unreliable narrator, fragmentation, parody, etc. |
|
Modernist
writers deliberately broke away from traditional styles of writing. |
Postmodernist
writers deliberately used a mixture of earlier styles. |
|
Modernists
focused on inner self and consciousness in their writings. |
Postmodernists
prefer multiple meanings within a single literary work or complete lack of
meaning. |
|
The stream of
consciousness style was the major technique introduced during the modernist
movement. |
Including the
stream of consciousness style, postmodernist writers used techniques such as
fragmentation, intertextuality, unreliable narrator, parody, dark humor and
paradox. |
|
Some of the
modernist literary writers include Samuel Beckett, Ernest Hemingway, James
Joyce, Joseph Conrad, T. S. Eliot, William Faulkner, Sylvia Plath, F. Scott
Fitzgerald, William Butler Yeats, and Virginia Woolf, etc. |
Postmodernist
literary writers include Bertrand Russell, Thomas Pynchon, Joseph Heller,
John Barth, Vladimir Nabokov, Umberto Eco, Richard Kalich, Giannina Braschi,
John Hawkes, and Kurt Vonnegu, etc. |
Write
short notes on:
a)
Multiculturalism
Multicultural,
multi-religious, multiethnic literature started in this period as the product
of cultural assimilations and mix-ups. Development of science and technology,
communication, transportation; and trade brought radical changes in arts,
literature and cultures around the world. Cultures around the globe got
influence from the next culture. Multicultural presentation could be seen
clearly in postmodern literature.
Along
with the development of multiculturalism and open market policy, translation
became demand of the people. Many authors wanted to broaden their horizon of
exposure and readers wanted to read the texts written in other languages and
cultures.
Multiculturalism
is the cultures, races and ethnicities, particularly those of minority groups,
deserve special acknowledgment of their differences within a dominant political
culture. Multiculturalism embraces many cultures and where culture itself is an
integral part of the story, such literature opens up the world, allowing all to
hear voices both different from and similar to their own, both from within their own community and beyond.
The
concept of English literature, literature as written in the British Isles,
changed into English literature written in English anywhere in the world. Many
texts from periphery were written in English so that they could get a great
number of readers. Similarly, writers from the mainstream also searched
subjects from different parts of the world and presented in their literary
works.
Moreover,
texts written in English were also translated into many languages so that the
local people could read rich English literature in their own language. It
brought a radical change in literary trends and perception in the second half
of the twenty-first century. So, we can interpret that the term
multiculturalism influences the writers a lot and move according to the trends.
b)
Postmodernism as a Period of experiment and exposure
Postmodern
literature is marked by different experiments in the literature. There started
the visual poems, size and shape poems, absurdist dramas, dadaism, gayism,
lesbianism, pop songs and many others as the ways of seeking freedom from the
modernist thoughts and entering into the world of freedom. A kind of fiction
with mingling and juxtaposition of the realistic and the bizarre started in
literature with skillful time shifts. Miscellaneous use of dreams, myths and
fairy stories, expressionistic and even surrealistic description, the element
of surprise or abrupt shock etc. became famous both in novels and dramas of the
period.
Postmodernism
is characterized by the plurality in meaning. For them, no meaning is final and
every text has infinite chances of meanings. Meanings are contextual. They
differ from person to person depending on their level of knowledge, culture,
social status, or psyche. Postmodern literature has a high level of
self-reflexivity both in high and low levels of works. The writers try to
expose their internal realities in their writings and make others feel it as if
it belongs to them.
Postmodern
literature is a tapestry of different literary trends and movements. There is
no fixed form or style. Neither the theme is well identified. All these are
juxtapositions of different movements in the past. All the grand narratives are
questioned by the postmodern writers. They started studying the established
narratives and literature, and then, analyzed them from different angles.
Stream
of consciousness or flashback techniques in - postmodern art and literature
have dismantled the chronological orientation of the texts. No reader knows
where the text stars from and where it ends. There is a lack of established
norms and beliefs coherent in the texts of this period. Postmodern writers focus
on the temporality and temporal beauty of the text. They say that any text can
be popular for a certain period of time. So, it's true that Postmodernism is a
Period of experiment and exposure.
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