43. Sterne, Smollet and Scottish Voices Flashcards
(61-63) (15 cards)
What can you say about the writing form in the middle of the 18th cen.?
We have new forms of humour, expression of emotion, extension to imagination and awareness of language.
Who’s thought to be the originator for the stream of consciousness?
Sterne. The stream of consciousness appears in the 20th c.
What did Stern think of the natural novel order (beginning, middle, end)?
He didn’t really follow it: Tristam Shandy is born in Volume III (in about 130 pages)
What’s an important figure for British writing?
The outsider as observer/commentator on Eng. society.
What’s Anglo-Irish contribution?
It made a high-contribution to English literature.
What’s picaresque novel?
The kind of novel which Smollett wrote. Its hero(ine) is through a series of events and misadventures he/she emerges triumphant.
How did letter writers and Smollett treat English?
The letter writers mishandled it while Smollett is known for his linguistic disparity.
What’s the attitude of the society towards sexuality of the 18th century?
The 18th century is the time for sexual openness.
What’s Smollett’s attitude towards homosexuality?
He not so seriously defended it.
What’s “Fanny Hill” about?
Examination of (fe)male sexuality in details and variety.
Who’s the author of “The Man of Feelings”? What is it about?
By Henry Mackenzie. It’s about a new type of hero: a man who cries, that is, character Harley, who is innocent. It’s about feminine elements in a masculine hero. It explores sexual roles in contemporary society.
What type of character Mackenzie gives us beside “a man who cries”?
A sensitive, suffering and suicidal hero. It gets a lasting popularity.
What’s the attitude of the society in 1760s regarding neoclassical theory and practice?
It’s the time of return to simple, natural values against sophisticated society. It’s a reaction against neoclassical theory and practice, a return to a time of innocence and goodness.
Recall the scandal regarding “Ossian”?
Its “Gaelic” source was called fabricated by Mackenzie, making it up, mixing with only a few Gaelic insertions. Despite all the debates, Macpherson’s “Ossian” had readers in an imaginative grip. It created an image of Scotland.
What’s the status for publishing?
It becomes an international business.
