Literary Links

new Graeme Thomson
Silvia Maglioni
Literary
LIN K S
Textures,
Forms
and
Styles
CD-ROM
New Literary Links 1 - Blackcat © 2011 De Agostini Scuola S.p.A. - Novara

new Graeme Thomson
Silvia Maglioni
Literary
LIN K S
Textures,
Forms
and
Styles

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Detail from Lake Afternoon (1935) by Arthur Dove.
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To the Student
You are about to set off on a long journey. As with all journeys, you need some basic
information in order to know how to prepare yourself and what to expect.
It’s a journey into a foreign land that is governed by the imagination. A land made of sounds,
visions, rhythms, warnings, jokes, games, dreams and memories. New Literary Links –
Textures, Forms and Styles is your guidebook to this land.
1 What will I find there?

New Literary Links – Textures, Forms and Styles is divided into five principal modules.
Each module is like a region with its own customs and its own borders. Before entering, you
will find a map detailing the areas you will study, the people you will meet and some of their
works which have been chosen to give you a clear idea of the different aspects of the region’s
culture and language. Before leaving the module there’s a checkpoint where you will be
given a short test to see how much you have learned and how well you have travelled. This is
to help you preserve your memories, since these will be of help to you during your
subsequent travels.
A Tell Me a Story
B The Art of Fiction
C The Art of Poetry
D The Art of Drama
E The Art of Reality
The first module is an introduction to reading and storytelling, while the other sections
provide an imaginative look at the basic elements of the form in question, which are
illustrated by specially chosen extracts from a wide range of texts and authors taken from all
over the literary planet. As you proceed through the book, you’ll find you can make
surprising connections between writers who on the surface seem extremely far from each
other, both in time and in space. Moreover, the images which accompany the texts are
designed to evoke mental and emotional associations with the words on the page.
• A series of HOTLINKS connect you to useful related information on subjects as varied
as European literature, philosophy, history, art, science, music, film and TV enabling you
to integrate your studies in different fields.
• The book will also supply you with FILMOGRAPHIES and MOVIELINKS .
It would be absurd to write a book about literature these days without devoting some space
to cinema. Not only are the movies increasingly the dominant fictional form in our society,
for a long time now they have also had a huge influence on writers, while at the same time
often using novels and plays as source material. Moreover, New Literary Links –
Textures, Forms and Styles features a range of key films of recent years, from William
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to Blade Runner, derived from or inspired by literary texts
covered in the book. Sequences from these films are presented on the video cassette which
your teacher will show you in class, while in the book itself you’ll find reviews of the films
and activities to help you get the most out of them.

• The CD which accompanies your book includes not only readings of key texts in each
section, but also recordings of songs. A special multimedia section called FILMFLASH
features short clips of six films. Here, on your personal or class computer you can look in
detail at the narrative and expressive techniques of cinema guided by a series of activities.
The exceptional quality of the images will help you to appreciate the art of filmmaking
even more.
2 How will I move around?
New Literary Links – Textures, Forms and Styles is not anchored to the weight of history
but to the texts themselves. Our premise is that literature travels light. It goes forward into
the future leaving behind everything that isn’t essential to its survival, moving faster than the
speed of thought. What interests us most is what literature of the past has to say to us now,
and how we can use it to give shape to our desires, or fears. That’s why we’ve tried to provide
contemporary contexts for the texts included in the book, enabling authors and works from
different periods to converse across time, constructing thematic maps. The LINKS which
connect them are essentially of three types:
Thematic: dealing with areas such as love, war, travel, the sea, the role of women,
colonialism, romance, chaos.
Formal: allowing comparison between texts which demonstrate similar formal
characteristics, covering such areas as narrator, characterisation, rewriting, style, literary
movements.
General: connecting a text to other works by the same author as well as allowing
comparison of the use of a general feature such as setting.
New Literary Links – Textures, Forms and Styles is self contained with its own links
between works. However, you’ll also find links to New Literary Links – From the Origins to
the Romantic Age and New Literary Links – From the Victorian Age to Contemporary
Times. They are like signposts to future destinations. Others refer to CITYLINK , the CD-
ROM which accompanies the series. CITYLINK is a virtual city of literature and art which
functions both as an extension to the books and also as a fully-interactive creative laboratory,
enabling you to combine image, sound and text.
3 How will I be able to orient myself?
The texts in each section are accompanied by structured guided activities as well as wide-
ranging topics for class and group discussion. Detailed lexical notes allow easy
comprehension even in the more difficult passages. The activities are divided into two
groups: Overview, which deals with questions of general comprehension and Zoom in,
where we look in detail at some of the techniques used in a work’s creation. Each section
also provides extensive questions to revise what you have read.
In addition you will have the opportunity to express yourself in Write away!, a series of
creative writing activities linked to selected units. And at the end of each module you will
have the chance to participate in the group projects featured in the Ideas Lab.
4 Where am I going next?
Once you are familiar with the basics of literature, you will be ready to continue your
journey. Starting from the origins of Britain, New Literary Links – From the Origins to the
Romantic Age and New Literary Links – From the Victorian Age to Contemporary Times
will chart the course of literature in English for you up to the end of the 20th century.
Of course you should keep New Literary Links – Textures, Forms and Styles handy as a trusty guide!
The Authors

Contents
MODULE A Tell Me a Story 9
Unit 1 The Origins of Storytelling 11
Unit 2 The Birth of the Reader 12

A History of Reading by Alberto Manguel 13
HOTLINK ITALO CALVINO: THE IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR READING 16
Unit 3 The Elements of a Story 17

Genesis and Catastrophe by Roald Dahl 18
Part 1 18
Part 2 20
Part 3 22
Part 4 24
Filmography 27
Unit 4 Where Do Stories Come From? 28

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding 29
Filmography 30
2 Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie 32
HOTLINK INTERTEXTUALITY 34
Ideas Lab 1: Find a Storyteller 35
Test your knowledge 36
MODULE B The Art of Fiction 37
Unit 1 What is Fiction? 39
Unit 2 The Story and the Novel 41

Aspects of the Novel by E. M. Forster 43
Unit 3 Popular Fiction 46

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick 47
Filmography 49
Herbert West–Reanimator by H. P. Lovecraft 50
Filmography 51
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 52
Filmography 53
HOTLINK WATCHING THE DETECTIVES 54
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks 55
The Secret Pilgrim by John Le Carré 57
Filmography 59
Unit 4 The Narrator 60

The First-Person Narrator 60
The Narrator as Protagonist 61
3 Voyage in the Dark by Jean Rhys 62
HOTLINK QUESTIONS OF TRAVEL 66
The Narrator as Witness 68
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 68

Filmography 71
The Narrator as Listener 72
4 Youth by Joseph Conrad 72
The Third-Person Narrator 75
The Omniscient Narrator 75
The Intrusive Narrator 75
Vanity Fair by William Thackeray 76
Filmography 78
The Non-Intrusive Narrator 78
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 79
Filmography 83
The Non-Omniscient Narrator 84
Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard 85
Filmography 88
Unit 5 Character 89
Novel as Character 89
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 91
Filmography 94
Characters in Conflict 94
The Awakening by Kate Chopin 95
The Disintegration of Character 100
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf 101
Filmography 104
5 The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett 105
Unit 6 Setting 108

6 The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles 109
Filmography 111
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe 112
Filmography 114
Ideas Lab 2: The Book Show 115
MODULE C The Art of Poetry 117
Unit 1 What is Poetry? 119
Unit 2 The Uses of Poetry 120

Sonnet 55 by William Shakespeare 121
Unit 3 Sounds 123

Vowels 123
Consonants 125
7 She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways by William Wordsworth 126/130
Sound Effects 127
Rhyme 128
Rhyme Scheme 128
8 So We’ll Go No More A-Roving by Lord Byron 131
Rhyme and Meaning 133
9 Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost 134

Songs without Words 136
10 Dada Lama by bp nichol 137
HOTLINK THE DADA MOVEMENT 138
Unit 4 Rhythm and Metre 139

Rhythm 139
Metre 140
14 Sonnet 73 by William Shakespeare 141
15
Rhythm and Movement 143
16 Night Mail by W. H. Auden 144
Filmography 146
HOTLINK SPEED AND POETRY 147
17 Poem by William Carlos Williams 148
HOTLINK SLOWNESS 149
Unit 5 The Poem on Paper 150

Prayer by Carol Ann Duffy 152
Poetry and Space 154
HOTLINK CALLIGRAMS 155
18 In a Station of the Metro by Ezra Pound 156
Unit 6 Poetic Language 157

Simile 157
19 The Old Men Admiring Themselves in the Water by W. B. Yeats 158
20 Mind by Richard Wilbur 160
Metaphor 162
21 Watermelons by Charles Simic 163
22 A Martian Sends a Postcard Home by Craig Raine 164
Symbolism 167
Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers by Adrienne Rich 168
Poetry by Other Means 170
23 The Motorcade Sped On by Steinski & Mass Media 171
24 (Untitled) (1967) by John Giorno 171
HOTLINK THE BEAT GENERATION 173
The Story of White Man Leading Vietcong Patrol by Eric Torgersen 174
HOTLINK VIETNAM – A WAR ON FILM 176
Unit 7 From Poetry to Pop 177

25 Follow the Leader by Eric B & Rakim 178
26 Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday 180
Filmography 182
27 The River by Bruce Springsteen 183
Ideas Lab 3: Cut-up Poetry 186
MODULE D The Art of Drama 189
Unit 1 What is Theatre? 191

Structure of a Play 191
Techniques 191
Stage Directions 191

The Beginnings of Theatre 192
Unit 2 Tragedy 194

28 Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare 196
Filmography 199
The Tragic Hero 200
Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe 201
Filmography 204
HOTLINK FAUST THROUGH THE AGES 205
29 Macbeth by William Shakespeare 206
Filmography 210
Unit 3 Comedy 211

The Structure of Comedy 211
Comic Suspense 212
30 As You Like It by William Shakespeare 213
Filmography 216
Comic Characters 216
A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde 217
Unit 4 Modern Drama 222

Structure 222
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett 224
HOTLINK DOUBLE ACTS 230
Content 231
31 Pravda by David Hare and Howard Brenton 232
HOTLINK BRECHT AND EPIC THEATRE 236
Language 237
Top Girls by Caryl Churchill 239
Ideas Lab 4: Staging a Play 243
MODULE E The Art of Reality 245
Unit 1 What is Non-Fiction? 247
Unit 2 Diary 248

A Writer’s Diary by Virginia Woolf 249
Unit 3 Autobiography 252

Experience by Martin Amis 253
Unit 4 Travel Writing 256

The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin 257
Unit 5 Science Writing 260

The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins 261
HOTLINK BRIDGING THE GAP 264
Ideas Lab 5: Writing a Travelogue 265
Filmflash 267
Movie Links 268
Glossary of Literary Terms 276
Index 284
MODULE A Tell Me a Story
Prerequisites
• You should be able to read a simple text in English and have some notion
of the logical or chronological sequencing of ideas or events.
• You should be able to use a dictionary to obtain the meaning of a word in terms
of the context in which it is used.
• You should be able to relate previous reading experiences in your own language
to the work you do in this module.
• You should be able to write a simple short text in English.
• Naturally, a passion for reading always helps!
Objectives
• Learn about the origins of storytelling and the differences between storytelling
in oral cultures and in written fiction.
• Reflect on the role of the reader in relation to personal reading habits.
• Analyse the constituent elements of fiction (plot, narrator, character, setting, theme,
style, effect) through the reading of a short story.
• Consider the way stories and novels always refer in part to prior texts.
• Express personal opinions.
• Relate a text to personal experience.
• Improve writing skills.
Texts
• Alberto Manguel, A History of Reading (1996)
• Roald Dahl, Genesis and Catastrophe (1953)
• Henry Fielding, Tom Jones (1749)
• Salman Rushdie, Haroun and the Sea of Stories (1990)

Here are some comments that famous writers have written on storytelling and reading. Discuss
them in pairs.
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

Sir Richard Steel
Some people say that life is the thing but I prefer reading.
Logan Pearsall Smith – Afterthoughts
The storyteller takes what he tells from experience – his own or that reported by others.
And he in turn makes it the experience of those who are listening to his tale.
Walter Benjamin – ‘The Storyteller’
In books lies the soul of the whole Past Time; the articulate audible voice of the Past, when
the body and material substance of it has vanished like a dream.
Thomas Carlyle – On Heroes, Hero – Worship and the Heroic
For discussion
1 Which quotation do you find the most illuminating? Why?
2 Do you remember any of the stories adults told you when you were little?
3 Do you like reading? What kind of things do you like reading in particular? Choose from among the
following:
comics fairytales novels short stories history books
essays poetry biographies science books diaries
10
1 The Origins of Storytelling
Unit 1 The Origins of Storytelling

The practice of storytelling is almost as old as our species. Long before the advent of
writing, it was an important part of primitive human societies, a crucial instrument for
transmitting knowledge and experience from generation to generation. In the oral
cultures of the past, storytellers occupied a special place and were revered as a source of The first
wisdom and power. This was partly because they were the official keepers of their tribe’s storytellers
‘memory’ and guaranteed the continuity of its identity.
As people living in a world of artificial memory devices, from printed books to
computers, it is almost impossible for us to imagine a culture whose memory was
preserved without the help of writing. How was the storyteller able to remember so
much? And how could listeners remember what they had heard?
Early stories were more like long poems and had certain characteristics which made
them ‘memorable’: formulaic expressions, repetition, familiar themes and situations, a
sense of rhythm. Using such devices, storytellers recounted or sometimes even sang the A help to
traditional stories that they themselves had heard and memorised. They did not invent memory
or make up stories from their own imagination. Their originality lay in the way they
interacted with a particular audience, in the atmosphere they created while telling the
story and in the authority they gave to the events they were recounting.
We can therefore say that storytelling had a public and social dimension that it does not A social act
have today. Because they were usually rooted in experience, stories contained something
useful for their listeners, in the form of a moral or a proverb or simply a piece of
advice. In the West the art of oral storytelling continued to flourish until well into the
Middle Ages, and persisted even later in places where, for most people, knowledge was
still inseparable from their actual experience. There was no longer an official storyteller
of the tribe, but village artisans and craftsmen continued the tradition of learning and
recounting local tales and legends, while sailors and other travellers returned from their
voyages with tales of foreign lands. Indeed, it might be said that these two elements –
fascination with the past on the one hand, and with faraway places on the other –
together constituted the essence of storytelling.
Check what you know

1 Are the following statements true or false? Correct the false ones.
T F
a Storytelling is a very ancient practice.
b Stories were used solely as a form of entertainment.
c Storytellers were highly respected by the community.
d Formulaic expressions, repetition, familiar themes and rhythm were some of the
elements that helped the storyteller and his public to remember stories.
e Storytellers invented stories from their own imagination.
f The social dimension of storytelling has been lost.
g The art of storytelling died out completely during the Middle Ages.
h Stories were concerned exclusively with local events and history.
11
Unit 2 The Birth of the Reader
Homo Sapiens existed on this planet for nearly 50,000 years before he invented writing.
The first known examples of writing, on clay tablets, appeared in Mesopotamia and date
Inseparable from around 3500 BC. With writing, messages could be not only preserved in time but
skills also transmitted across space. But the invention of writing also gave birth to the
reader, since written messages were useless without someone able to understand them.
Reading and writing went hand in hand – a writer had also to be able to read – and were
learnt at the same time. Unlike the storyteller, who was inseparable from the stories he
told, the writer was no longer present once he had written his text. It was the reader
who deciphered its meaning.
For a long time, however, the arts of both writing and reading were known only to a
small educated minority, and oral models of cultural transmission continued to
predominate. It was only with the advent of printing in the mid 15th century that books
were made more available and reading became a more widespread phenomenon.
The solitude The relationship between the (absent) writer and the reader is very different from that
of printing between the storyteller and his listeners. While storytelling was a public, social act,
reading, for the most part, is individual and takes place in private. With reading, and in
particular with the advent of the novel, was born a form of solitude which reflected
the solitude of the writer and also the increasing fragmentation of culture. To counter
this isolation, however, we readers have a great amount of freedom. It is we who give life
to the words on the page through the thoughts, imaginings and sensations they provoke
in us. At the same time reading permits us to explore worlds, places, times, emotions
and ideas that do not exist in any other form.
Check what you know

1 Look at the following sentences which summarise the main points of this section.
Fill in the missing words in each sentence using the words below:
printing solitude space private Mesopotamia freedom

reader present individual preserving social
a Writing first appeared in ....................... around 3500 BC.

b Writing was a way of both ....................... messages in time and transmitting them across ....................... .
c The invention of writing saw the birth of the ....................... .
d Unlike the storyteller, the writer was no longer ....................... once he had written his text.
e It was only with the invention of ....................... in the mid 15th century that reading became a more
diffuse phenomenon.
f While storytelling was a ....................... act, reading is generally ....................... and takes place in
....................... .
g Reading gave rise to a form of ....................... which reflected that of the writer.
h Readers have considerable ....................... to recreate the text in their own minds.
12
2 The Birth of the Reader
A History of Reading (1996)

by Alberto Manguel (b. 1948)
Born in Argentina, Alberto Manguel is an editor, translator and bibliophile. One

of his first jobs was reading to the blind writer Jorge Louis Borges. His books
include A History of Reading (1996) and The Dictionary of Imaginary Places
(2000).
In this passage, taken from Manguel’s introduction to his unusual study of the
history of reading, the author explains the genesis of his passion for books during
an itinerant childhood.
Before you read

1 Do you have a favourite place for reading?
2 When is your favourite time to read? Put the following in order of preference:
a before falling asleep e during the summer
b in the afternoon f during long wintry nights
c at weekends g on holiday
d early in the morning
3 Now read Manguel’s text and find out about his reading habits as a child.
5
R eading gave me an excuse for privacy, or perhaps gave a sense to the
privacy imposed on me, since throughout 1 my childhood, 2 after we
returned to Argentina in 1955, I lived apart from the rest of my family,
looked after by my nurse 3 in a separate section of the house. Then my favourite
reading-place was on the floor of my room, lying on my stomach, feet hooked 4
1 throughout : during.
2 childhood : period of
someone’s life when
they are a child.
3 nurse : (here) in rich
families, woman
employed to take care
of young children.
under a chair. Afterwards, my bed late at night became the safest, most secluded 5 4 hooked : attached,
fastened.
place for reading in that nebulous region between being awake and being asleep. I 5 secluded : isolated,
don’t remember ever feeling lonely; in fact, on the rare occasions when I met other hidden.
6 a great deal : a lot.
children I found their games and their talk far less interesting than the adventures
7 as I felt like : as I
10 and dialogues I read in my books. desired.
[...] 8 unintelligible :
impossible to
Since my father was in the diplomatic service, we travelled a great deal; 6 books understand.
9 would : (here) used
gave me a permanent home, and one I could inhabit exactly as I felt like, 7 at any to.
time, no matter how strange the room in which I had to sleep or how 10 knitting-machine :
machine for producing
unintelligible 8 the voices outside my door. Many nights I would 9 turn on my clothes from wool.
15 bedside lamp, while my nurse either worked away at her electric knitting- 11 snoring : breathing
noisily while sleeping.
machine 10 or slept snoring 11 in the bed across from mine, and try both to reach 12 12 reach : arrive at.
the end of the book I was reading, and to delay 13 the end as much as possible, 13 delay : postpone.
going back a few pages, looking for a section I had enjoyed, checking details that I
thought had escaped me.
13
I never talked to anyone about my reading; the need to share came afterwards. 20
At the time, I was superbly selfish, 14 and I identified completely with
Stevenson’s 15 lines:
This was the world and I was king;
For me the bees came by 16 to sing,
For me the swallows 17 flew. 25
14 selfish : egoistic. Each book was a world unto itself, and in it I took refuge. Though I knew
15 Stevenson : Robert myself incapable of making up 18 stories such as my favourite authors wrote. I felt
Louis Stevenson
(1850-94) novelist, that my opinions frequently coincided with theirs, and (to use Montaigne’s 19
poet, playwright and
essayist. phrase) ‘I took to 20 trailing far behind 21 them, murmuring, “Hear, hear” ’. 22 Later
16 came by : came near. I was able to dissociate myself from their fiction; but in my childhood and much of 30
17 swallows : long-
winged migratory my adolescence, what the book told me, however fantastical, was true at the time
birds.
18 making up :
of my reading, and as tangible 23 as the stuff of which the book itself was made.
inventing.
19 Montaigne : Michel
de Montaigne (1533-
92) French essayist.
20 took to : began.
21 trailing... behind :
following at a distance.
22 ‘Hear, hear’ :
exclamation of
agreement or
approval.
23 tangible : materially
visible.
Where the Wild Things Are (1963) by Maurice Sendak.
Overview
1 Focus on the first paragraph and complete the following statements:
a Reading gave the author an excuse for ................................... .
b The author’s family returned to Argentina in ................................... .
c He was placed in the care of a ................................... .
d His favourite place to read was initially ................................... and then ................................... .
e He found the other children he encountered ................................... .
14
2 The Birth of the Reader
2 Now look at the second paragraph. Are the following sentences true or false? Correct the false ones.
T F
a His father was a university professor.
b He had a very sedentary childhood.
c Books gave him a sense of stability.
d As a child he often read at night.
e He frequently tried to make the book last as long as possible.
3 In the last part of the extract the author describes what books meant to him as a child. What was his
attitude towards literature? Choose from among the following. More than one answer is possible.
a Literature offered him protection from the world outside.
b It was a way of communicating with other people.
c He felt a sense of fellowship with his favourite authors.
d He knew he would become a better writer than his favourite authors.
e He believed in the world of the book he was reading as if it were the real world.
For discussion
1 What do you remember of your early reading experiences as a child? Were they positive?
Compare your recollections with other students.
2 Do you agree with Manguel’s idea that books can be as valuable companions as people?
Write away!
Write a paragraph about your favourite childhood book or story. What did you like about it in particular?
• First of all present the story or book by giving its title. You can use the following sentences:
When I was younger my mum/dad used to read me ... /When I was little my favourite book/story was ...’.
• Secondly, give a general account of the story. Remember to use the past tense.
It was about a ... called ... who ... .
In the end she/he/it ... .
• Now explain what you liked about it. For example:
I liked it because ... .
I particularly liked the bit where ... .
My favourite part was when ... .
LINKS
Thematic: The Educational Experience

• Amis, Experience, Vol. 1, pp. 253-4
• Chatwin, The Songlines, Vol. 1, pp. 257-8
• Dickens, Hard Times, Vol. 3
15
HOTLINK
ITALO CALVINO: THE IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR READING
The beginning of Italo Calvino’s novel Se una notte d’inverno un

viaggiatore (If on a winter’s night a traveller) (1979) is highly original for
the way it immediately seems to ‘speak’ to the reader personally,
anticipating us even before we start to read the book. Here, in the
opening paragraphs, the narrator offers the reader advice on the best
conditions for reading the novel he is writing.
You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino’s new novel, If on a

winter’s night a traveller. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other
thought. Let the world around you fade. 1 Best to close the door;
the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away,
‘No, I don’t want to watch TV!’ Raise your voice–they won’t hear
you otherwise–‘I’m reading. I don’t want to be disturbed!’ Maybe
1 fade : they haven’t heard you, with all that racket; 2 speak louder, yell: 3 ‘I’m beginning to
disappear.
2 racket :
read Italo Calvino’s new novel!’ Or if you prefer, don’t say anything; just hope
noise. they’ll leave you alone.
3 yell : shout.
4 curled up :
Find the most comfortable position: seated, stretched out, curled up, 4 or lying flat.
in a foetal Flat on your back, on your side, on your stomach. In an easy chair, on the sofa, in
position.
5 rocker : the rocker, 5 the deck chair, on the hassock. 6 In the hammock, 7 if you have a
rocking chair. hammock. On top of your bed, of course, or in the bed. You can even stand on your
6 hassock :
stool. hands, head down, in the yoga position. With the book upside down, naturally.
7 hammock : Of course, the ideal position for reading is something you can never find. In the
suspended
bed, usually old days they used to read standing up, at a lectern. 8 People were accustomed to
made of
canvas. standing on their feet, without moving. They rested like that when they were tired
8 lectern : of horseback riding. Nobody ever thought of reading on horseback; and yet now,
stand for
books used the idea of sitting in the saddle, the book propped against the horse’s mane, 9 or
for public
reading, often maybe tied to the horse’s ear with a special harness, 10 seems attractive to you.
in a church.
With your feet in the stirrups, you should feel quite comfortable for reading;
9 mane : long
hair on the having your feet up is the first condition for enjoying a read.
back of a
horse’s head. Well, what are you waiting for? Stretch your legs, go ahead and put your feet on a
10 harness : cushion, on two cushions, on the arms of the sofa, on the wings of the chair, on the
arrangement
of straps. coffee table, on the desk, on the piano, on the globe. Take your shoes off first. If
11 strain : tire. you want to, put your feet up; if not, put them back. Now don’t stand there with
12 budging :
moving. your shoes in one hand and the book in the other.
13 clotting :
(here)
Adjust the light so you won’t strain 11 your eyes. Do it now, because once you’re
concentration. absorbed in reading there will be no budging 12 you. Make sure the page isn’t in
14 glare : shine
with excessive shadow, a clotting 13 of black letters on a grey background, uniform as a pack of mice;
brightness. but be careful that the light cast on it isn’t too strong, doesn’t glare 14 on the cruel
15 gnawing :
eating. white of the paper, gnawing 15 at the shadows of the letters as in a southern noonday.
Translated by William Weaver
16
3 The Elements of a Story
Unit 3 The Elements of a Story

We can read a story purely for pleasure, but if we want to analyse it more deeply we
have to consider its structural elements:
1 Plot
The plot is the series of events as the author presents and connects them in his/her text.
The author can narrate these in chronological order from beginning to middle to end in
which case we say that the story is told in a linear way. But events can also be narrated
in a non-linear way, using flashbacks, anticipations and digressions, depending on the
effect the writer is trying to create in the reader’s mind.
2 Narrator
The narrator in a novel or short story is the person, or voice, who tells the story and
provides the perspective or point of view from which the story is told. The narrator
may be a character in the story, or else may be a voice from outside the story, like that of
a traditional storyteller or a simple observer.
3 Characters
By characters we mean the fictitious people involved in the narration. In a novel or short
story, characters can be presented either directly by the narrator, who may give us
details about their physical appearance, social status, personality and so on, or
indirectly, through descriptions of their behaviour and through their dialogues.
4 Setting
By setting we mean the place(s) and time period(s) in which the story takes place. The
choice and description of the setting can contribute greatly to the story’s meaning.
5 Theme
By themes we generally mean the abstract ideas that the story tries to explore. Novels
usually have more than one theme and it often happens that new themes emerge in
subsequent interpretations. The themes discovered in a novel, in fact, reflect the
mentality of critics and readers and the age in which they live, as much as they do any
implicit message that the author wished to convey.
6 Style
This refers to many things: the type of language used to tell the story (matter of fact,
sophisticated, ornate, technical), the rhythm of the sentences, the tone of voice of the
narrator (detached, lyrical, ironic etc.). All of these contribute to both the meaning of
the story and to the emotional effect it has on us.
7 Effect
The way the story is written plays a large part in the final effect it has on the reader. The
writer may wish to surprise the reader, which he can do by keeping back vital
information until the end or by introducing a bizarre turn of events. On the other
hand, he may wish to amuse the reader with a playful or ironic style. Another effect
common in many modern short stories is one of leaving readers with a sense of
perplexity or anxiety as if the real meaning of the story cannot be found.
Now we are going to consider some of these aspects by looking at a short story by Roald Dahl.
17
Genesis and Catastrophe (1953)
by Roald Dahl (1916-90)
Roald Dahl was born in Wales of Norwegian parentage. He is internationally famous

for his short stories and is one of the most well-known writers of children’s literature.
Some of his most famous works include: James and the Giant Peach (1961), Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory (1964) and Tales of the Unexpected (1979).
This story by Dahl is one of his well-known ‘tales of the unexpected’. These are stories in
which the reader’s expectations are upset by a shock occurrence or discovery.
Before you read

1 From the title what do you think the story is going to be about? Give reasons for your answers.
E
Part 1 verything is normal,’ the doctor was saying. ‘Just lie back and relax.’ His
voice was miles away in the distance and he seemed to be shouting at her.
‘You have a son.’
‘What?’
‘You have a fine son. You understand that, don’t you? A fine son. Did you hear 5
him crying?’
1 patting : touching ‘Is he all right, Doctor?’
lightly.
2 spare us a moment
‘Of course he is all right.’
or two : give us time. ‘Please let me see him.’
3 swear : promise.
‘You’ll see him in a moment.’ 10
‘You are certain he is all right?’
‘I am quite certain.’
‘Is he still crying?’
‘Try to rest. There is nothing to worry about.’
‘Why has he stopped crying, Doctor? What happened?’ 15
‘Don’t excite yourself, please. Everything is normal.’
‘I want to see him. Please let me see him.’
‘Dear lady,’ the doctor said, patting 1 her hand. ‘You have a fine strong healthy
child. Don’t you believe me when I tell you that?’
‘What is the woman over there doing to him?’ 20
‘Your baby is being made to look pretty for you,’ the doctor said. ‘We are giving
him a little wash, that is all. You must spare us a moment or two 2 for that.’
‘You swear 3 he is all right?’
‘I swear it. Now lie back and relax. Close your eyes. Go on, close your eyes.
That’s right. That’s better. Good girl…’ 25
‘I have prayed and prayed that he will live, Doctor.’
‘Of course he will live. What are you talking about?’
‘The others didn’t.’
‘What?’
‘None of my other ones lived, Doctor.’ 30
18
To Pray Without Ceasing (1992).

Video installation by Bill Viola.
Private collection.
‘I have prayed and prayed

that he will live, Doctor.’
Overview
1 The story begins after a significant event has occurred. What exactly has happened?
2 What is the woman’s state of mind at the beginning of the story? Choose from among the following:
relaxed happy worried indifferent
3 What is the reason for her reaction?

4 What is the attitude of the doctor towards her? Choose from among the following:
angry contemptuous indifferent amused reassuring
5 Has the woman had any other children? If so what happened to them?
Zoom in
1 How is the story told? By a narrator or through the dialogues of the characters?
2 How many characters appear in Part 1? Who are they?
3 What is the setting of the story?
4 In this part of the story there are many questions and repeated phrases. What effect does this have?
Choose from among the following:
a it has a comic effect
b it produces a sense of anxiety
c it makes the scene less realistic
5 Look again at the last five lines. How do you think the story will continue?
19
T
Part 2 he doctor stood beside the bed looking down at the pale exhausted face of
the young woman. He had never seen her before today. She and her
husband were new people in the town. The innkeeper’s 1 wife, who had
come up to assist in the delivery, 2 had told him that the husband worked at the
local customs-house 3 on the border and that the two of them had arrived quite 5
suddenly at the inn with one trunk and one suitcase about three months ago. The
husband was a drunkard, 4 the innkeeper’s wife had said, an arrogant,
overbearing, 5 bullying 6 little drunkard, but the young woman was gentle and
religious. And she was very sad. She never smiled. In the few weeks that she had
been here, the innkeeper’s wife had never once seen her smile. Also there was a 10
rumour 7 that this was the husband’s third marriage, that one wife had died and that
the other had divorced him for unsavoury 8 reasons. But that was only a rumour.
1 innkeeper : someone The doctor bent down and pulled the sheet up a little higher over the patient’s
who manages an inn.
2 delivery : the act of
chest. ‘You have nothing to worry about,’ he said gently. ‘This is a perfectly
giving birth. normal baby.’ 15
3 customs-house : the
office at a port or ‘That’s exactly what they told me about the others. But I lost them all, Doctor.
frontier where In the last eighteen months I have lost all three of my children, so you mustn’t
customs duty is
collected. blame 9 me for being anxious.’
4 drunkard : a person
who is habitually ‘Three?’
drunk. ‘This is my fourth… in four years.’ 20
5 overbearing :
oppressive, dictatorial. The doctor shifted 10 his feet uneasily on the bare floor.
6 bullying : frightening ‘I don’t think you know what it means, Doctor, to lose them all, all three of
or hurting someone
weaker than you. them, slowly, separately, one by one. I keep seeing them. I can see Gustav’s face
7 rumour : information
that may or may not be now as clearly as if he were lying here beside me in the bed. Gustav was a lovely
true. boy, Doctor. But he was always ill. It is terrible when they are always ill and there 25
8 unsavoury :
unpleasant, morally is nothing you can do to help them.’
unacceptable.
‘I know.’
9 blame : (here) judge.
10 shifted : moved. The woman opened her eyes, stared 11 up at the doctor for a few seconds, then
11 stared : looked. closed them again.
12 tiles : pieces of baked ‘My little girl was called Ida. She died a few days before Christmas. That is only 30
clay that are used in
rows for covering
roofs.
four months ago. I just wish you could have seen Ida, Doctor.’
13 creep : walk quietly. ‘You have a new one now.’
14 cradle : baby’s bed. ‘But Ida was so beautiful.’
‘Yes,’ the doctor said. ‘I know.’
‘How can you know?’ she cried. 35
‘I am sure that she was a lovely child. But this new one is also like that.’ The
doctor turned away from the bed and walked over to the window and stood there
looking out. It was a wet, grey April afternoon, and across the street he could see
the red roofs of the houses and the huge raindrops splashing on the tiles. 12
‘Ida was two years old, Doctor… and she was so beautiful I was never able to 40
take my eyes off her from the time I dressed her in the morning until she was safe
in bed again at night. I used to live in holy terror of something happening to that
child. Gustav had gone and my little Otto had also gone and she was all I had left.
Sometimes I used to get up in the night and creep 13 over to the cradle 14 and put
20
45 my ear close to her mouth just to make sure that she was breathing.’
‘Try to rest,’ the doctor said, going back to bed. ‘Please try to rest.’ The woman’s
face was white and bloodless, and there was a slight bluish-grey tinge 15 around the
nostrils 16 and the mouth. A few strands 17 of damp hair hung down over her 15 tinge : shade or
colour.
forehead, sticking to the skin. 16 nostrils : openings at
50 ‘When she died… I was already pregnant again when that happened, Doctor. the end of the nose
through which you
This new one was a good four months on its way when Ida died. “I don’t want it!” breathe.
17 strands : individual
I shouted after the funeral. “I won’t have it! I have buried enough children!” And pieces of hair.
my husband… he was strolling 18 among the guests with a big glass of beer in his 18 strolling [stroυliŋ] :
walking in a relaxed
hand… he turned around quickly and said, “I have news for you, Klara, I have way.
55 good news.” Can you imagine that, Doctor? We had just buried 19 our third child 19 buried : (here) seen
the dead bodies of her
and he stands there with a glass of beer in his hand and tells me that he has good children placed in
graves.
news. “Today I have been posted 20 to Braunau,” he says, “so you can start packing 20 posted : moved (in
at once. This will be a new start for you, Klara,” he says. “It will be a new place terms of job).
and you can have a new doctor…”’
60 ‘Please don’t talk any more.’
‘You are the new doctor, aren’t you, Doctor?’
‘That’s right.’
‘And here we are in Braunau.’
‘Yes.’
Overview
1 In this section we also get to know something more about the woman and her husband. Go back to the
first paragraph and find the words which describe them.
The woman is described as ....................... . The husband is described as ....................... .
2 Do you think they have a good relationship? Why?/ Why not?
3 Why is the woman afraid that her new child will not survive?
4 Which of her three previous children survived the longest? How does she describe this child?
5 Look at the last part of the section. How did the woman feel about being pregnant again?
6 What was the husband’s ‘good news’?
7 How do the husband’s words and attitude reveal his insensitivity?
Zoom in
1 In this second section of the story the narrator makes his presence more felt by supplying us with some
information. What information does the narrator give the reader? Is the narrator one of the characters?
2 In this section we also discover something more about the setting of the story. What time of the year is it?
What is the weather like?
3 What effect does the woman’s situation and emotional state have on the reader? Choose from among the
following:
a it makes us feel sorry for her c it leaves us indifferent
b it makes her seem ridiculous in our eyes
21
I
Part 3 am frightened, Doctor.’
‘Try not to be frightened.’
‘What chance can the fourth one have now?’
‘You must stop thinking like that.’
‘I can’t help it. 1 I am certain there is something inherited 2 that causes my 5
children to die in this way. There must be.’
‘That is nonsense.’
‘Do you know what my husband said to me when Otto was born, Doctor? He
came into the room and he looked into the cradle where Otto was lying and he
said, “Why do all my children have to be so small and weak?”’ 10
‘I am sure he didn’t say that.’
1 I can’t help it : I ‘He put his head right into Otto’s cradle as though he were examining a
can’t stop myself from
doing it. tiny 3 insect and he said, “All I am saying is why can’t they be better specimens? 4
2 inherited : (here) that That’s all I am saying.” And three days after that, Otto was dead. We baptised him
comes from my family
or that of my husband. quickly on the third day and he died the same evening. And then Gustav died. And 15
3 tiny : very small. then Ida died. All of them died, Doctor… and suddenly the whole house was
4 specimens :
examples. empty…’
5 tougher [tfə] :
stronger, more
‘Don’t think about it now.’
resilient. ‘Is this one so very small?’
6 talking his head off :
speaking freely and ‘He is a normal child.’ 20
confidently. ‘But small?’
7 driving you crazy :
annoying you. ‘He is a little small, perhaps. But the small ones are often a lot tougher 5 than the
8 chatter : talk. big ones. Just imagine, Frau Hitler, this time next year he will be almost learning
9 settled on : decided.
how to walk. Isn’t that a lovely thought?’
10 starting up : moving
quickly. She didn’t answer this. 25
11 now, now : used as an ‘And two years from now he will probably be talking his head off 6 and driving
expression of mild
protest. you crazy 7 with his chatter. 8 Have you settled on 9 a name for him yet?’
‘A name?’
‘Yes.’
‘I don’t know. I’m not sure. I think my husband said that if it was a boy we were 30
going to call him Adolfus.’
‘That means he would be called Adolf.’
‘Yes. My husband likes Adolf because it has a certain similarity to Alois. My
husband is called Alois.’
‘Excellent.’ 35
‘Oh no!’ she cried, starting up 10 suddenly from the pillow. ‘That’s the same
question they asked me when Otto was born! It means he is going to die! You are
going to baptise him at once!’
‘Now, now,’ 11 the doctor said, taking her gently by the shoulders. ‘You are quite
wrong. I promise you you are wrong. I was simply being an inquisitive old man, 40
that is all. I love talking about names. I think Adolfus is a particularly fine name. It
is one of my favourites. And look – here he comes now.’
22
Overview
1 Who was Otto? What was wrong with him according to his father?
2 How long did he survive?
3 In the middle of Part 3 we learn the surname of the woman. What is it?
4 What name do the couple decide to give their new baby? Why do they choose this name?
5 What does the doctor think about their choice of name?
Zoom in
1 What effect does it have on the reader when the woman’s identity is revealed?
2 Does this ‘revelation’ change the way we feel about the baby? In what way?
The First People (I-IV) (The Four Seasons) (1990) by Marlene Dumas.
De Pont Foundation, Tilburg.
‘What chance can the fourth one have now?’
23
Part 4
T he innkeeper’s wife, carrying the baby high up on her enormous

bosom, 1 came sailing across 2 the room towards the bed. ‘Here is the little
beauty!’ she cried, beaming. 3 ‘Would you like to hold him, my dear?
Shall I put him beside you?’
‘Is he well wrapped?’ 4 the doctor asked. ‘It is extremely cold in here.’ 5
‘Certainly he is well wrapped.’
1 bosom : breast. The baby was tightly swaddled 5 in a white woollen shawl, 6 and only the tiny
2 sailing across : pink head protruded. The innkeeper’s wife placed him gently on the bed beside the
moving smoothly and
fast. mother. ‘There you are,’ she said. ‘Now you can lie there and look at him to your
3 beaming : smiling
broadly. heart’s content.’ 7 10
4 well wrapped : ‘I think you will like him,’ the doctor said, smiling. ‘He is a fine little baby.’
covered up against the
cold. ‘He has the most lovely hands!’ the innkeeper’s wife exclaimed. ‘Such long,
5 swaddled : wrapped delicate fingers!’
in a blanket.
6 shawl : piece of cloth
The mother didn’t move. She didn’t even turn her head to look.
worn around the
shoulders or used to
‘Go on!’ cried the innkeeper’s wife. ‘He won’t bite you!’ 15
cover a baby. ‘I am frightened to look. I don’t care to believe that I have another baby and that
7 to your heart’s he is all right.’
content : as much as
you like. ‘Don’t be so stupid.’
8 whiskers : (here)
moustache. ‘Slowly, the mother turned her head and looked at the small, incredibly serene
9 groomed : very neatly face that lay on the pillow beside her.’ 20
combed (said of hair).
‘Is this my baby?’
‘Of course.’
‘Oh… oh… but he is beautiful.’
The doctor turned away and went over to the table and began putting his things
into his bag. The mother lay on the bed gazing at the child and smiling and 25
touching him and making little noises of pleasure. ‘Hello Adolfus,’ she whispered.
‘Hello, my little Adolf…’
‘Ssshh!’ said the innkeeper’s wife. ‘Listen! I think your husband is coming.’
The doctor walked over to the door and
opened it and looked out into the 30
corridor.
‘Herr Hitler!’
‘Yes.’
‘Come in, please.’
A small man in a dark-green uniform 35
stepped softly into the room and looked
around him.
‘Congratulations,’ the doctor said. ‘You
have a son.’
The man had a pair of enormous 40
whiskers 8 meticulously groomed 9 after
Adolf Hitler in one of his most theatrical poses.
As Chaplin realised, Hitler’s monstrous appeal was
in large part based on his skills as a showman.
From Jean-Luc Godard’s Histoire(s) du Cinèma (1999).
24
the manner of the Emperor Franz Joseph, and he smelled strongly of beer. ‘A son?’
‘Yes.’
‘How is he?’
45 ‘He is fine. So is your wife.’
‘Good.’ The father turned and walked with a curious little prancing stride 10 over
to the bed where his wife was lying. ‘Well, Klara,’ he said, smiling through his
whiskers. ‘How did it go?’ He bent down to take a look at the baby. Then he bent
10 prancing stride :
lower. In a series of quick jerky 11 movements, he bent lower and lower until his funny way of walking
50 face was only about twelve inches from the baby’s head. The wife lay sideways on by lifting one’s legs in
the air.
the pillow, staring 12 up at him with a kind of supplicating look. 11 jerky : sudden and
abrupt.
‘He has the most marvellous pair of lungs,’ 13 the innkeeper’s wife announced.
12 staring : looking
‘You should have heard him screaming just after he came into this world.’ intensely.
‘But my God, Klara…’ 13 lungs : respiratory
organs.
55 ‘What is it, dear?’ 14 paces : steps.
‘This one is even smaller than Otto was!’ 15 bewildered :
confused.
The doctor took a couple of quick paces 14 forward. ‘There is nothing wrong 16 stricken : shocked.
with that child,’ he said. 17 talk him into his
grave : (idiomatic)
Slowly, the husband straightened up and turned away from the bed and looked at give up hope of the
60 the doctor. He seemed bewildered 15 and stricken. 16 ‘It’s no good lying, Doctor,’ he child’s survival.
18 sharply : angrily.
said. ‘I know what it means. It’s going to be the same all over again.’ 19 weeping : crying.
‘Now you listen to me,’ the doctor said. 20 squeezed : pressed
firmly.
‘But do you know what happened to the others, Doctor?’ 21 surreptitiously : in a
‘You must forget about the others, Herr Hitler. Give this one a chance.’ way that is not noticed
or declared.
65 ‘But so small and weak!’ 22 stand : bear, tolerate.
‘My dear sir, he has only just been born.’
‘Even so…’
‘What are you trying to do?’ cried the innkeeper’s wife. ‘Talk him into his
grave?’ 17
70 ‘That’s enough!’ the doctor said sharply. 18
The mother was weeping 19 now. Great sobs were shaking her body.
The doctor walked over to the husband and put a hand on his shoulder. ‘Be good
to her,’ he whispered. ‘Please. It is very important.’ Then he squeezed 20 the
husband’s shoulder hard and began pushing him forward surreptitiously 21 to the
75 edge of the bed. The husband hesitated. The doctor squeezed harder, signalling
him urgently through fingers and thumb. At last, reluctantly, the husband bent
down and kissed his wife lightly on the cheek.
‘All right, Klara,’he said. ‘Now stop crying.’
‘I have prayed so hard that he will live, Alois.’
80 ‘Yes.’
‘Every day for months I have gone to the church and begged on my knees that this
one will be allowed to live.’
‘Yes, Klara, I know.’
‘Three dead children is all that I can stand, 22 don’t you realise that?’
85 ‘Of course.’
‘He must live, Alois. He must, he must… Oh God, be merciful unto him now…’
25
Overview
1 Who does the innkeeper’s wife bring into the room?
2 What is the mother’s reaction?
3 How does the husband react when he sees the child?
4 How does the wife respond to her husband’s comments on the child? Choose the most appropriate.
horrified happy frightened angry worried

calm amused determined
Zoom in
1 In this last section the baby finally appears. Underline the expressions the narrator uses to describe him.
How does he describe the baby’s:
a hands?
b face?
c size?
2 Now look again at the figure of the father. How is he described? Does the description remind you of
anything?
3 Why do you think the story stresses the baby’s ‘smallness’ and ‘weakness’?
4 Consider the woman’s last emphatic statements at the end of the story. Why does Dahl choose to end his
story in this way? Choose from among the following. More than one answer is possible.
a to provide a happy ending
b to make the response of the reader more ambivalent
c to show the parents as innocent victims of history
d to turn our sympathy decisively against the parents
5 Let us now examine how the plot and the characters develop through the story. Do you feel the same way
about the characters at the end of the story as you did at the beginning? Fill in the following text with the
appropriate words:
survival contradiction sympathise manipulates survive
A very interesting aspect of the story is the way it a ....................... the reader’s emotions. At the
beginning of the story readers are likely to b ....................... with the mother, hoping that this time her child
will c ....................... . But later on in the story, when we find out who the child is, we feel an unbearable
d ....................... in our feelings. The child is at the same time a helpless baby and a future monster. Our
concern for the child’s e ....................... is therefore brought into question.
For discussion
1 Did the story have a particular effect on you? What words best describe it?
funny horrifying touching ironic paradoxical confusing sad

fantastical original unrealistic shocking perverse
26
2 Here are some of the main themes of the story. Which do you think are more central?
a The nature of evil.
b The role of heredity in the formation of moral character.
c The role of chance in history.
d The irreversibility of time.
e Our powerlessness before historical forces.
Write away!
Imagine that you were able to travel in a time machine to be present at this scene. What would you do? What
would you tell the parents? Write a short dialogue between you and the characters of the story.
• First of all, to create more intensity the sentences of your dialogue should be quite short and to the point.
Moreover, when you write a dialogue keep in mind what kind of characters are speaking. In this context, for
example, remember that you are talking to people who are quite uneducated. They are therefore likely to use
simple language and probably they will be quite incredulous when they hear what you have to say.
• You might begin your dialogue by saying:
‘Frau Hitler, I must talk to you.’
or ‘Frau Hitler, I’ve got something to tell you. I know you’ll find it hard to believe…’
• Now try to explain to her what her son will become. Remember to use the future tense. For example:
‘Your son will become…’
‘He will...’
• At this stage think of how the parents and the doctor will respond. Try to convey their
shock/surprise/incredulity. For example:
‘No! It can’t be true!’/ ‘I don’t believe a word you are saying!’/ ‘You are completely crazy!’
• To conclude you dialogue consider what advice you want to give them. Remember to use expressions like:
‘If I were you I would... .’
‘I think you should... .’
‘If you want my opinion the best thing to do is to... .’
FILMOGRAPHY
Genesis and Catastrophe was filmed for English television as an episode of the series
Roald Dahl’s ‘Tales of the Unexpected’ in 1979.
LINKS
Thematic: Forces of Evil Nazism and the Holocaust
• Blake, ‘The Lamb’/‘The Tiger’, Vol. 2 • The Holocaust, Vol. 3
• Art Link: Blake, Framing Visions, Vol. 2 • HOTLINK Poetry of Survival, Vol. 3
• Yeats, ‘The Second Coming’, Vol. 3
27
Unit 4 Where Do Stories Come From?
As we have said before, the earliest stories were told orally, by storytellers, and in this
way passed from generation to generation. But with every retelling, a story would be
A store slightly modified by the teller, until it was finally written down. Gradually, through time,
of stories an enormous reserve of myths, stories and fables built up. Writers have always
borrowed from this reserve, taking old stories and modifying and updating them for
their own purposes and audiences. The greatest writers introduce innovations that add
to the tradition, and their work becomes a source for writers of subsequent generations.
Among the sources that writers in the West have traditionally borrowed from are the
classics of Greek mythology, folk tales and Bible stories. Though their form and
meaning may change over time, the oldest stories survive because they continue to tell
us something vital about our lives and about the human condition in general.
All writers, directly or indirectly, refer to the works that have been written before them.
Some try to disguise their influences and make us believe their works are completely
original, or based exclusively on real life events. Others openly refer to the texts they
have borrowed from as part of
The right a game with the reader. This
to steal practice is often regarded as
one of the defining innovations
of the contemporary novel. But
as with everything else, there is
nothing new about it. Already
in the 18 th century Henry
Fielding, one of the pioneers of
the English novel, had declared
his right to ‘steal’ from authors
of ancient times, as we can see
in this extract taken from his
novel Tom Jones.
Scenes from The Romance of Alexander

(Pseudo-Callisthenes) that tells
the story of the legendary
journeys of Alexander
the Great (356-323 BC).
British Library Royal MS 15 E.vi.
Numerous Latin and vernacular versions

of this romance were written in western
Europe during the medieval period.
28
4 Where Do Stories Come From?
Tom Jones (1749)

by Henry Fielding (1707-54)
Henry Fielding was born in Somerset in 1707. One of the most

important of early English novelists, his works include Tom Jones,
Shamela (1741) and Joseph Andrews (1742).
The following passage is taken from Book XII. The narrator, speaking
directly to the reader, reflects on how he composed his novel partly by
stealing from the stories of classical writers, and how he regards this as
a sort of legitimate theft.
Before you read

1 In the passage you are about to read, the narrator anticipates by about 250 years the techniques of
‘sampling’ by which today’s DJs and remixers construct ‘new’ songs from existing records. Do you think this
is a legitimate ‘creative’ practice? Why?/ Why not? Can you think of any record that has extensively sampled
from previous recordings?
T he learned reader must have observed, that in the course of this mighty
work, I have often translated passages out of the best ancient authors,
without quoting the original, or without taking the least notice of the book
from whence 1 they were borrowed.
[...]
1 whence : (here)
which, from what
place.
2 common : (here)
public park, space
open to all.
3 hath : has.
4 tenement : (here)
5 Now to obviate all such imputations for the future, I do here confess and justify place, dwelling.
the fact. The ancients may be considered as a rich common, 2 where every person 5 Parnassus : mountain
in Greece, sacred to
who hath 3 the smallest tenement 4 in Parnassus 5 hath a free right to fatten his artists and associated
with Apollo and the
muse. 6 Or, to place it in a clearer light, we moderns are to the ancients what the muses.
poor are to the rich. By the poor here I mean that large and venerable body which, 6 fatten his muse :
(fig.) feed his
10 in English, we call The Mob. 7 Now, whoever hath had the honour to be admitted imagination.
7 The Mob : the
to any degree of intimacy with this mob, must well know that it is one of their common man.
established maxims, to plunder 8 and pillage 9 their rich neighbours without any 8 plunder : take from,
rob.
reluctance; and that this is held to be 10 neither sin nor shame among them. And so 9 pillage : steal from,
constantly do they abide 11 and act by this maxim, that in every parish almost in the rob.
10 held to be :
15 kingdom, there is a kind of confederacy ever carrying on against a certain person considered.
of opulence called the squire, 12 whose property is considered as free-booty 13 by 11 abide : adhere to.
all his poor neighbours. [...] 12 squire : landowner.
13 free-booty : treasure,
In like manner are the ancients, such as Homer, Virgil, Horace, Cicero, and the free to take.
rest, to be esteemed among us writers, as so many wealthy squires, from whom
20 we, the poor of Parnassus, claim an immemorial custom of taking whatever we can
come at.
29
Overview
1 The narrator says that the learned reader has probably noticed something about the way his work is
composed. What is it? Choose from among the following:
a that everything in it is completely original
b that it contains lengthy citations from classical authors without saying where they came from
c that the story is based on true events
2 Now look at the second paragraph. How does he consider the writers of ancient times? Fill in the following
text with the appropriate words:
rob common steal paying resources territory poor
Defending his right to a ....................... from classical authors, the narrator compares them to ‘a rich
b ....................... .’ By this he means that their work is like the highly fertile and abundant c .......................
of rich landowners. By comparison, he says, modern authors are like the d ....................... who live on this
land (Parnassus, i.e. the mountain in Greece sacred to artists where great writers were said to go after they
died) but who have few e ....................... of their own. Therefore, just like the poor of England (referred to
as ‘The Mob’) who take what they want from the landowners (referred to as ‘squires’) without
f ....................... for it, modern writers are equally free to g ....................... from their richer predecessors.
3 Who, according to the narrator, are some of the ‘wealthy squires’ of literature that modern writers are
free to steal from?
Zoom in
1 How would you describe the narrator’s tone in this extract? Choose from among the following. More than
one is possible.
serious playful complaining arrogant ironic repentant

honest detached indignant humble
2 What kind of language does he use? Choose from among the following:
simple rhetorical poetic scientific sophisticated

informal cultivated crude
For discussion
1 Do you find the narrator’s argument convincing? Why?/ Why not?
2 Do you think it’s true to say that modern writers are inevitably poorer in ideas than their predecessors?
LINKS
FILMOGRAPHY General
Tom Jones (1963, GB) directed by Tony Richardson, • Fielding, Tom Jones, Vol. 2
starring Albert Finney, Susannah York.
Formal: Rewriting
• See Links, Rushdie, Haroun and
the Sea of Stories , Vol. 1, p. 33
30
4 Where Do Stories Come From?
One thing we can say is that no story belongs exclusively to any single writer. An author’s Stories as
originality depends on the particular form he gives to his material. Some people say that collective
literature has by now reached a state of exhaustion because there are no forms that property
haven’t been tried. Yet perhaps there is still hope for storytelling. Salman Rushdie’s
Haroun and the Sea of Stories is a fable for children (and adults) on the possibilities,
as well as the ethical virtues, of fictional narrative. The book begins with a crisis for the
family of master storyteller Rashid whose wife leaves him for a pragmatic businessman.
Rashid’s son Haroun questions the value of his father’s fantastical profession, asking him
‘What’s the use of stories that aren’t even true?’. Rashid, unable to respond, loses his
gift. Just like water, his supply of stories is literally cut off. Indeed, it comes from a sea of
narrative called the Ocean of the Streams of Story. Answering Haroun’s question will
take father and son on a fantastic voyage to the Ocean whose waters, they discover, are
now being polluted by pathetically bad stories. There, they also discover that the evil
Khattam Shud (whose name means ‘completely finished’) wants to silence all storytellers Storytelling
forever and impose a reign of silence and joyless ignorance. Rushdie’s fable portrays a in danger
world in which storytelling is in constant danger, because of its freedom from dogma and
its ability to express truths that those in power would prefer to keep secret.
In the extract we’re going to read, which describes the Ocean of the Streams of Story,
Rushdie shows us how the possible combinations we can make between single stories is
potentially infinite. In the Ocean he offers us a wonderful image of the contemporary
writer’s situation, which he also sees as a great privilege, to have access to the vast
number of stories that are part of the world’s cultural memory.
Lake Afternoon (1935) by Arthur Dove. Phillips collection, Washington, DC.
31

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new Graeme Thomson

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Paintings on the front cover:

© 2003 Black Cat Publishing

First edition: February 2003

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ISBN 978-88-530-0000-2 Book TEXTBOOKS AND

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1 What will I find there?

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Unit 1 The Origins of Storytelling 11

Unit 2 The Birth of the Reader 12

Unit 3 The Elements of a Story 17

Unit 4 Where Do Stories Come From? 28

MODULE B The Art of Fiction 37

Unit 1 What is Fiction? 39

Unit 2 The Story and the Novel 41

Unit 3 Popular Fiction 46

Unit 4 The Narrator 60

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Unit 6 Setting 108

MODULE C The Art of Poetry 117

Unit 1 What is Poetry? 119

Unit 2 The Uses of Poetry 120

Unit 3 Sounds 123

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Unit 4 Rhythm and Metre 139

Unit 5 The Poem on Paper 150

Unit 6 Poetic Language 157

Unit 7 From Poetry to Pop 177

MODULE D The Art of Drama 189

Unit 1 What is Theatre? 191

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Unit 2 Tragedy 194

Unit 3 Comedy 211

Unit 4 Modern Drama 222

MODULE E The Art of Reality 245

Unit 1 What is Non-Fiction? 247

Unit 2 Diary 248

Unit 3 Autobiography 252

Unit 4 Travel Writing 256

Unit 5 Science Writing 260

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Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.

Unit 1 The Origins of Storytelling

Check what you know

Check what you know

printing solitude space private Mesopotamia freedom

a Writing first appeared in ....................... around 3500 BC.

A History of Reading (1996)

Born in Argentina, Alberto Manguel is an editor, translator and bibliophile. One

Before you read

Where the Wild Things Are (1963) by Maurice Sendak.

Thematic: The Educational Experience

ITALO CALVINO: THE IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR READING