ENG 444-03
    Fall 2000

    Literacy-based Literature Critique (or, the "Lit-Lit" paper)


    last revised Oct 5, 2000 See map below

    Length: at least 1,200 words

    Get topic approved by Oct 3

    Purpose and Objectives

    · Understand cultural and historical modes of language expression (orality, literacy, print culture): the orality of “song” and the literacy of literature
    · Identify these factors in selected works
    · Analyze selected reading(s) and write an essay dealing with the Lit-Lit phenomenon
    · Build an understanding of song and literature that will assist in evaluating new digital forms of expression


    We have been looking at how preliterate “song” and later literature grew out of social and cultural contexts determined largely by the stage of language development.  In other words, preliterate song had certain features that enabled it to thrive and become perfected in a world that knew little or no writing. Literature also developed certain aspects of organization and presentation that reflected what was possible with the technologies of  writing and printing.

    This assignment asks you to

    • Select a piece of “song” or literature,
    • Analyze its features
    • Determine how it reflects the orality of song and/or the literacy of literature in specific ways.
    You should also evaluate the piece in terms of its effectiveness as a work of art, especially in relation to how it uses its “native technology” of song or writing.  One of your main jobs will be to assess to what extent the chosen work is a product of orality or of literacy, or what kind of mixture of the two.

    You should choose a work centered around some form of narrative core—short story, novel, epic, or drama.  Here are some examples of works or categories of works you may have encountered before that could function well in this project:
     

      The Iliad or Odyssey (selected books not discussed in class)
      The Book of Genesis or other biblical history passages
      Gilgamesh
      Beowulf
      One of the Canterbury Tales
      Everyman
      A Shakespearen play
      Short stories (from Poe on)
      Novels (you probably need to be familiar with this choice before you begin the assignment)
      These are suggestions--you are free to propose other topics that might fit the assignment.


    Obviously in an essay of this length, you cannot cover long works in detail; but you can refer to the story or stories contained in those works and discuss selected examples to demonstrate your ideas, as Ong does.

    **A large part of your success will result from a careful laying out of your points about the literacy underlying the chosen piece and full support of those points by connection with the text.**

    Summary:

    You will need to choose a work as described, then

    · Discuss its features reflecting the influence of primary orality, chirographic literacy, and/or print literacy.
    · Analyze how much the work is a product of orality or literacy, or both mixed together.
    · Evaluate its effectiveness as a work of art, especially in terms of the importance and impact of the features you have identified.
    Link to class notes (these will be posted after class discussion):

    On orality
    On literacy-base of fiction
    PowerPoint on Language and Textuality (if you are using MS Explorer you can run this directly from the Web; otherwise, download (right click and save file or target) and run from local computer)


    Lit-Lit Paper: Possible Assignment "Map"

    I. Introduce the work
     

    • Contextualize it: explain where it came from and other relevant details, such as who is responsible for it (if known)
    • How is it generally regarded by readers and/or scholars?
    • Why did you choose it for this assignment?


    II. Discuss Notable Textual Features
     

    • What features indicate influence of oral song? (explain/describe and give examples)
    • What features are made possible by writing and print technology?
    • Consider any "balance" or "tension" between oral and textual elements
      Consider our discussion of features such as
      • Narrative format (prose or verse; point of view of narrator; nature of narrator's personality)
      • Nature and structure of plot (tight, loose, linear, etc.)
      • Characterization--shallow/deep; flat/round; type/individualized
      Also consider:
      • Intertextuality--relationship to other texts (any reference to other written works, influence, etc.)
      You may refer directly to Ong's chapters (ch 5 and 6) to support, clarify your discussion


    III. Evaluate the Work
     

    • Discuss how valuable the work is to you and other readers
    • Explain how the features of orality and/or written textuality contribute to the value of the work


    IV. Conclusion--Review and emphasize your main points