Tutorial Letter 201/1/2024

Structuralist and Semiotic Theories of Literature

THL2602

Semester 1

Department of Afrikaans & Theory of

Literature

This tutorial letter contains:

Feedback on Assessment 01
Feedback on Assessment 02
Examination preparation

BAR CODE
Dear Student

1. INTRODUCTION
Students had to submit Assessment 01 (Multiple choice/quiz) to get admission to the examination.
Students were also strongly advised to submit Assessment 02 (Essays) because it makes up 20% of
the final mark. Assessment 02 consists of three parts: Part 1: Poetry; Part 2: Narrative; Part 3: Drama.

2. ANSWERS: ASSESSMENT 1: Multichoice Assignment

The feedback of the correct answers is available online on myModules.

If you have questions concerning specific multiple-choice questions (MCQs), please contact me
privately in an email or raise the question on a discussion forum on myModules.

3. ASSESSMENT 2

PART 1: POETRY

QUESTIONS 1 & 2: POETRY

1. INTRODUCTION

The question focused in the syntactic forms of foregrounding in poetry. This is set out in Study Unit 2
under Section 3.2 of the Study Guide. Revise this section carefully and study the examples given for
each form of syntactical foreground before applying your knowledge and insight to the poems given in
the assignment.

However do not go directly to this section if you have not gone over Study Units 1 and 2 making sure
you understand the nature of poetic communication, metaphorical language and literary codes. All
these are important for a full understanding of the nature of poetic communication.

2. SYNTACTIC AND TYPOGRAPHICAL DEVICES OF FOREGROUNDING

To refresh your memory, the main forms, or devices of syntactic foregrounding in poetic language
are:

• accentuation
• creation of hierarchies
• shifts of accent
• ambiguity
• semanticisation
• establishment of relationships

Semantic foregrounding serves to highlight a particular metaphoric construction or part of the means
of syntactic foregrounding. It directs the attention of the reader towards the metaphorical information
 embedded in the phrase and serves to link other metaphorical constructions with each other across
the entire poem. In other words, syntax is the structural aspect that organises the global tenor-vehicle
connections in a poem and the cross-references between tenor, vehicle and focus expressions
throughout the poem to perform an important function in enhancing the semantic cohesion and
coherence of the poem.

A brief recapitulation of each is necessary here since it will assist in arriving at a clear grasp of each
syntactic device. It is hierarchical insofar as there is a ranking of the importance of the successive
phrases.

2.1 Accentuation

This form of foregrounding serves to accentuate the figurative and metaphorical information in a poetic
text. Words or phrases can be highlighted by means of the following syntactical deviation or extra-
patterning. These are:

• displacement: placing a word or a phrase out of its conventional grammatical position

• deletion: deleting a word or a phrase in a sentence where it would conventionally be expected
• selective deviation: by selecting to deviate some phrases and sentences in a text that generally
observes conventional grammar
• repetition: repeating words, phrases and sentence
• typography: the spatial and visual foregrounding of words

All these draw attention to metaphorical expressions and guides the reader's process of
decoding the metaphorical information and the central meaning of the poem. Of particular
importance is typographical accentuation, since, for instance, by placing key phases at the
beginning and at the end of poems enables the reader to connect initial metaphorical information
with subsequent information and the other way round.

2.2 Creation of hierarchies

In poetry, one frequently finds independent syntactic units that are extended over a number of lines
and stanzas. Sometimes this can run over an entire poem. These lines are interdependent. The
phrases are arranged in a hierarchical order following a sequence running from the specific to the
general or from the general to the specific in such a way that meaning is constructed from the bottom
up or from below upwards.

The most frequent form that is used involves a gradual movement from the beginning of the poem to
its end in step-by-step interlinking of phrases in such a way that each progressively contribute to and
advance the meaning of the poem. It unfolds in stages structured like a stepladder along which one
moves downwards to the final insight which is logically linked to the metaphorical information which
precedes it.

2.3 Shift of accents

Instances of syntactic deviance or extra-patterning generally speaking can be identified as forms of

external deviation by applying the norms of standard language. That is the intratextual language in a
poem deviate from the extratextual convention and rules of standard or ordinary non-poetic language.
 Syntactic deviation can also intratextual when there is a disruption in the language pattern established
within a poem. This involves internal shifts and deviations.

2.4 Ambiguity

Where internal deviation coincides with a new or unexpected shift in accent, external deviations such
as displacement and deletion, often result in ambiguity in the presentation of information. Ambiguity
refers here to instances where a word or a phrase can have more than one meaning. It also refers to
instances where the meaning of a word or a phrase is not immediately apparent. This is because the
reader usually has to perform two analytical steps:
(1) to reconstruct the normal grammatical form from which the displacement or deletion
deviates, and
(2) to establish the new semantic associations that are implied by the functional deviation from
standard language. It stands to reason that ambiguity influences a reader's analysis and
interpretation of metaphorical constructions.

2.5 Semanticisation

Ambiguity can also be achieved by a concealed selectional deviation within a displacement. In this
case, a word belonging to one part of speech is made to function in the place of another. For instance,
where a noun is made to function as a verb.

2.6 Creation of relationships

Forms of repetition, such as coupling, and parallelism serve to connect metaphorical constructions
across syntactic boundaries. Often, the reader's only guideline when paradigmatically combining
metaphorical constructions at the local syntactic level with the metaphorical constructions which
permeate the poem, are the relationships constructed at local and global levels.

  

PART 2: NARRATIVE

PART 2: NARRATIVE

In this section you had to answer only one of the questions by using a short story of your own choice. Short
stories that are discussed in the study guide should not have been used as examples.

QUESTION 1
Discuss narrative time and its different features in view of your selected short story. Note that you must give
a complete theoretical account of order, duration and frequency. These three aspects must be applied
analytically to your chosen short story. (35)

In Question 1 you had to discuss narrative time and its different features in view of your selected short story.
You had to give a full theoretical account of order, duration and frequency. These three aspects had to be
applied analytically to your chosen short story. What follows gives a short account of what was necessary to
discuss narrative time with reference to your chosen short story.

In study unit 3 it is said that order is “the temporal relation between the succession of events in the story
and their linear presentation in the narrative text” (Oliphant, 2010:89); duration is described as “the time that
the events in the story and the amount of space that is allocated to their narration” (Oliphant, 2010:89);
frequency refers to “the number of times that an event occurs in the story and the number of times that it is
narrated in the text” (Oliphant, 2010:89). It is, however, not enough to give these definitions. In the
discussion of narrative time, the theoretical aspects of order, duration and frequency had to be discussed in
detail with reference to relevant examples from the chosen short story.

With regard to order, “time deviations” (or “anachronies” in Genette’s terms) had to be illustrated with
examples from your chosen short story. A narrator can look “backward in time and narrate a past event”, as
well as “forward from the present to narrate something that will take place in the future” (Oliphant, 2010:89).
To look back into the past and tell an event from the past is called a “flashback” or “retrospection” (or
“analepsis” in Genette’s terms); to look forward and tell something that will happen in the future is called a
“flash-forward” of events (or “prolepsis” in Genette’s terme) (Oliphant, 2010:90)

The question occurs how time deviations (“anachronies”) are identified by the reader. Time deviations are
identified by comparing the chronological sequence of events on the story level (or “fabula”) with the events
in the narrative text (or “sjužet”). In other words, it is necessary to reconstruct the events on story level, and
compare it with the course of events in the narrative text. In the study guide an example is given of the
reconstructed sequence of events in the short story, You name it, and is compared with the narrative text. It
is shown that most of the story is told in the form of an “analepsis”, which brings the reader under the
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impression of her inward-looking nature and her failure to live in the present (Oliphant, 2010:91-
92).

With regard to duration, “story time” and “text time” are distinguished. “Story time” is the “number
of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or tears that an event in the story or history lasts, which
can usually be objectively established” (Oliphant, 2010:92). The way “text time” is established, is
to “the time that the reader takes to read the narrated events” (Oliphant, 2010:92). Furthermore, it
is important to mention that not all of us read at the same rate, and that it is difficult to express text
in temporal terms. The solution for this is to use a “spatial criterion” (the number of lines,
paragraphs, or pages) to express the amount of “text time”. In this way the comparison between
the “story time” and “text time” rests on a “temporal- spatial” basis (Oliphant, 2010:92).

Furthermore, the term “global rhythms” and the five different tempos of narrative texts must be
taken in consideration. The five tempos of narrative texts need to be illustrated with examples from
your chosen short story. They are: (1) ellipsis, (2) summary, (3) scene (dramatic or scenic
representation), (4) slowdown, and (5) pause. These five tempos are explained in detail from
pages 93 to 95 of the study guide. The comparison between “story time” and “text time” must be
illustrated with examples from your chosen short story, as well as the five different tempos of
narrative texts. If you can’t find examples of one of the tempos in the short story, it must be
indicated as such (you will receive bonus points if you give examples from other short stories
instead).

Frequency is described as “the ration between the number of times that an event occurs in a story
and the number of times that it is narrated or mentioned in the text” (Oliphant, 2010:96). This
description of frequency introduces the principle of “repetition”. Repetition involves the
investigation to “similarities” and “variations” (or “differences”), since “no event can ever be exactly
the same when it is recalled” (Oliphant, 2010:96). To distinguish between “similarities” and
“variations” one could say that “similarities” reside in “the repeated event itself”, while “variations”
are affected “by the changes in the text segments in which the repeated element is situated”
(Oliphant, 2010:96). Important for the interpretation of a narrative text, is the guideline on page 96
of the study guide: “…the similar elements conventionally effect emphasis. The ones that vary
usually record development from one repetition to the next” (Oliphant, 2010:96).

What is also important, is to distinguish between “repetition” and “iteration”. “Repetition” involves
the “repeated telling of an event that takes place only once in the story” (Oliphant, 2010:96);
“iteration” entails a “condensed recounting of events that occur regularly in the story” (Oliphant,
2010:96). Study the diagram on page 96 to get a better understanding of the difference between a
“repetitive” and “iterative” narrative. Also see the example of the Bible story, wherein frequency is
described as a significant technique. Look for examples of “repetition” and “iteration” in your
chosen short story to illustrate the narratological terms.

QUESTION 2

With regard to this question, you had to give a theoretical explanation of focalisation in the view of
your selected short story. You had to distinguish between “internal” and “external” focalisation,
and between narrator and character focalisation. These categories must further be expanded
with reference to perceptual, psychological or ideological facets of focalisation in your chosen
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story. What follows is a short summary of what is necessary to discuss focalisation with reference
to your short story.

The difference between the narrator and the focaliser can be expressed as follows: A narrates
(narrator) that B sees (focaliser) what C does (character). From this can be deduced that the
focaliser is the instance that observes the elements of the story (Oliphant, 2010:104).

The elements that are important when investigating focalisation in a narrative text can be
summarised as follows (Oliphant, 2010:105):

1. The focaliser. Who sees? (B in the formula above)

2. The focalised object. Who or what is seen? (C in the formula above)
3. The manner of focalising. How is the object seen and interpreted?
4. The significance of focalisation. How does the manner of focalisation determine your reading
of the story?

Internal and external focalisation

The focaliser’s position in the fictive world can vary, and it is therefore important to distinguish
between different levels of focalisation, namely “external focalisation” and “internal focalisation”
(Oliphant, 2010:106). “External focalisation” means that the narrator observes the story from
“outside” and that the focaliser is, to some extent, dissociated from the actors and events at the
story level. In “internal focalisation” a character focuses on the events that he/she, as an actor at
story level, experiences or causes (Oliphant, 2010:106).

Narrator and character focalisation

It is important to mention that the “narrator” is always the “first focaliser” – it is not possible to “tell”
something without “focalising”. Usually, “narrator focalisation” is essentially “external focalisation”,
because the narrator is removed from or outside the story when it is begun told. In “auctorial” texts,
it is evident that the narrator stands on a plane outside the events (Oliphant, 2010:106). Even in a
first-person text the narrating “I” is usually a narrator focaliser – compare the example in the study
guide (Olpihant, 2010:106). “Character focalisation” is in essence “internal focalisation”, because

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the character is part of the story, and participates in the events in the fictive world (Oliphant,
2007:106).

Facets of focalisation

The following facets of focalisation should be discussed: the perceptual facet, the psychological
facet, and the ideological facet. The perceptual facet is influenced by factors such as space and
time. In respect of space, the focaliser has a “panoramic” view of the fictive world, whereas the
internal focaliser has a “restricted” view within the story. In respect of time, the external focaliser
knows the past, present and future, whereas the internal focaliser is limited to the present of the
characters in the narrative text (Oliphant, 2010:113). The psychological facet is associated with the
focaliser’s “intellectual” and “emotional” orientation towards the focalised objects. The external
focaliser has unlimited knowledge of the fictive world (and will give an objective view of the fictive
world), whereas the focaliser knows only what he/she himself/herself experiences (and will give a
subjective view of the fictive world) (Oliphant, 2010:114). The ideological facet refers to norms
governing the fictive world according to the ideological orientation of the focalisers. The external
focaliser’s opinions is seen as authoritative; however, the norms of other focalisers are always
evaluated from the “higher” position” that the narrator-focaliser occupies among the characters and
events (Oliphant, 2010:114).

PART 3: DRAMA

QUESTION 1: PERFORMANCE AS A THEATRICAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS

Since most students discussed option (1), a discussion of that part of the question follows below.
Students who chose option (2) or option (3) received feedback on their assignments individually.
Nevertheless, I share some general comments on these options below.

Characteristics of the theatrical sign

You had to discuss three aspects of the theatrical sign:

(i) the semiotic “richness” of the theatrical sign

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(ii) the theatrical sign as a sign of a sign

(iii) the transformability of the theatrical sign

Although these aspects had been studied by the Prague Structuralists, they were again taken up
by the drama and theatre semioticians and discussed in more depth.

(i) The semiotic “richness” of the theatrical sign

Elam talks of the “semiotisation of everything on stage”. This means that everything in a
performance (the actors, their facial expressions, gestures, body movements, speech, costumes,
all the elements of the décor, etc) is perceived by the spectator of the performance as a theatrical
sign and accordingly interpreted. One can say that a certain frame is put around the performance
and that everything within that frame is seen in a special light by the spectator. Students who
discussed Athol Fugard’s Hello and goodbye often gave as an example the didascalia in the first
act where the interior of the kitchen in which Johnny is sitting is described:

A kitchen table and four chairs lit by a solitary electric light hanging above. On the table is a
bottle of fruit squash, a jug of water, and a glass. Slumped forward in one of the chairs is a
man – his head resting face down on his arms on the table. He holds a spoon in one hand
and is tapping against the side of the glass. (p 93)

All the objects mentioned in the above extract are seen in the light of their correlation to other
objects of the same type (ie all objects are regarded as signs denoting their class of object). The
actor’s presence on stage is, of course, also semiotised. His posture (“slumped”) and action
(“tapping” of a spoon) are recognised by the spectator as intentional signs. The spectator thus
simply decodes and interprets every sign that is send to him/her.

(ii) The theatrical sign as a sign of a sign

Apart from their denotative functions, the above signs obviously also fulfil connotative functions.
These connotative associations depend to a large extent on the real world of the spectator and
the social context within which he/she lives. The above-quoted didascalic reference to setting
would, for example, be associated with lower-class living standards by a largely bourgeois
audience while this setting might appear familiar for a spectator of the same social class and
therefore be devoid of any sympathetic connotation.

(iii) The transformability of the theatrical sign

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In this section of the question, you could have (but need not have) referred to both transformability
and transcodification and given examples to illustrate the difference between them. They can both
be seen as aspects of the mobility of the theatrical sign.

Transformability occurs when one sign vehicle or signifier is transformed so that it obtains two or
more different signifieds. This can occur at either the denotative or connotative level. For example,
in Christine by Bartho Smit, the same actors play various roles; therefore, one sign-vehicle
(actress) has two signifieds (nurse and girl/young Christine).

Transcodification is the inverse operation: here there is one signified that is conveyed by two or
more signifiers/sign vehicles. For example, in Christine, one signified (crucifixion) has three
signifiers (easel, painting and language/ “Crucify me”).

In your discussion on the performance as a theatrical communication process, you may have
referred to iconic, indexical and symbolic sign functions. Regarding an iconic sign function, Keuris
(2010:146) explains that the relationship between the signifier and signified may be characterised
by the way in which an actor represents a fictional character. Thus, a signifier, the actor John Kani,
is an (pseudo) iconic signified for the character Styles in Athol Fugard’s play Sizwe Bansi is dead.
In your discussion, you may have elaborated on how the illusion of iconicity is created. This could,
for example, be via the character’s costume, the gestures he makes and in other ways his
exuberant nature is communicated. You should have mentioned how (social) convention, as well
as visual and auditory sign meanings, can be seen as a function of the iconic sign.

Indexical signs suggest that there is a causal relationship between an object on stage and a sign.
As an example, Keuris (2010:148) mentions Deon Opperman’s More is ‘n lang dag, where the
description of voices, a generator and insects indicate a space beyond an acting area. Another
example is Maishe Maponya’s play The hungry earth (in Gray 1993:70), where a “uniform cap”
indicates that a character is a ticket examiner at a train station. A spotlight can fulfil a similar
function on stage as it directs the audience’s attention to a character or an object.

Keuris (2010:148) also mentions that in the symbolic sign function, the relationship between the
“signifier and signified is based on a cultural convention”. You should have illustrated these
aspects with examples from a play/s of your choice.

Lastly, in your discussion on the performance as a theatrical communication process, you should
have referred to typologies of sign systems in the theatre. According to Keuris (201:149), we may
discuss “different types of signs that occur in a performance”. The study guide contains an
extensive discussion on Kowzan’s 13-sign system (p 149) as well as Elam’s theory of systems and
codes in a performance (p 150). You should have discussed both theoretical approaches
individually or compared and contrasted them.

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Discussing Elam’s approach, Keuris (2010:151) identifies language, facial expressions, gestures,
movements, make-up and costumes as a repertoire or register of signs in the performance. It is
these signs that are coded and decoded according to “certain rules”. However, Kowzan classifies
sign systems that are bound by “mutual associations and similarities between them”. Both these
approaches give us specific information about the communicative interaction (or lack thereof) in
how the audience experiences a performance. Please illustrate your discussion with examples
from a play of your choice. The study guide has a number of examples to guide your own
application of the theory.

QUESTION 2: DRAMATIC CHARACTER, ACTOR AND SPECTATOR

Here you were required to discuss the dramatic character, actor and spectator by focusing on the
relationship between them.

An extensive discussion on the character/actor/spectator relationship is given in Chapter 2 of the

study guide. You can refer to this discussion in your answer and illustrate the theoretical
discussion by means of your chosen play. The relationship between the actor and the character
s/he plays is highlighted on page 173 of the study guide. Another part of this equation is the role of
the spectator as the agent that sees and experiences the relationship between the actor and the
character. In one sense, the spectator is aware that the character that is represented on stage is
being interpreted by an actor.

In another sense you may define and discuss the concept of the triadic collusion and how this
theory helps us to understand the role of the character, actor and spectator in the process of
creating, transmitting and receiving the fictional world. According to Keuris, this collusion is a way
of explaining that the playwright, the playgoers and the actor may be seen as occupying a specific
position “in the process of creating, transmitting and receiving the fictional world”. Similarly, you
may explore how the concept of a contract theatral can be used to analyse the specific relationship
between the players and the spectators. The contract theatral explains why spectators accept what
they see on stage as fictional.

Also discussed in the study guide (Keuris 2010:174) is the view that the performance has a dual
nature wherein the “spectator observes the fictional character and the actor that interprets the
role”. For example, the spectator may see the actor John Kani both as the character “Styles” in the
play Sizwe Bansi is dead and as the talented actor John Kani who is able to convincingly create a
fictional character for the duration of the play.

Another aspect of this question is to consider the manner in which an analysis of metadramatic
techniques expands our understanding of the relationship between the dramatic character, actor

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and spectator. Since metadramatic plays (ie plays that often “play” with certain conventions, for
example role changing, asides and direct addressing of the audience) illustrate this relationship
the best, you should try to mention such an example. If your play does not have examples of all
the metadramatic conventions discussed in the study material, you may refer to the examples in
the study guide and Keuris (1996) for examination purposes.

  

EXAMINATION PAPER

Format of the paper

PART 1: POETRY (Dr A Roux)

Students must answer question 1 or 2 based on poems given in the exam paper for 30 marks.
Subtotal [30]

PART 2: NARRATIVE (Mr D Sibuyi)

Students must answer question 1 or 2 by referring to a short story of their choice (not those
discussed in the Guide) for 35 marks. Subtotal [35]

PART 3: DRAMA (Mr A Xaba)

Students must answer two questions: Question 1 or 2 by referring to a play of their choice for
35 marks. Subtotal [35]
Total: [100]

The examination will be conducted as a take home examination based on an examination

question paper.

The exact date and duration of the exam paper will be communicated as soon as it becomes
available.

Best wishes for the exams!

Mr D Sibuyi
(Module leader: THL2602)
sibuyd@unisa.ac.za
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