BACK TO THE PAST

i was hoping to find maybe a post from one of my literature peers but unfortunately its me posting the next post
honestly if this keeps up i may as well change the blog name to Arththi's Critical Appreciation!!! lol
anyways melodramatics aside let's take a trip to the past to find out what happened in

WEEK 4

this lecture was all about HISTORY, well to be more precise HISTORICAL FICTION
what are the key elements in historical fiction?

1. its a type of realistic fiction
2. the plot reflects problems or events of the period
3. sometimes the story is based on actual historical events and people of that period
4. details about clothing, tools, food MUST be authentic to that period

there are 4 types of historical fiction

1. real historical figures in the context of the challenges they faced
2. real historical figures in imagined situations
3. fictional characters in documented historical situations
4. fictional characters in fictional situations, but in context of the historical period

* historical fiction= artistic mix of fiction and historical facts
* there should be a harmony between characters and setting
* historical fiction is about CHARACTERS not the event

historian= focuses on events
historical fiction writer= focuses on characters of those events

3 permutations of historical fiction

1. timeshift stories - modern/historical character transported out of their time zones
   
2. alternate history- "what if" situations in history eg, Nazi victory in WWII
3. historical fantasy- characters in historical period depicted alongside elements of fantasy, dragons, wizards, mermaids

well that is pretty much it
i apologize if this post seems not in depth enough
and also for the lack of inspiration due to personal reasons that would put your to sleep
till the next post (hopefully from SOMEONE ELSE)

Arththi Sathananthar
15/1/10

OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M DOING THIS

oh my god indeed i can't believe I'm posting another entry right after the last one consecutively
well enough idle chatter for we need to focus on what went down during

WEEK 3

this class was all about dragons, princesses, elves, wizards, talking animals, castles not because we magically got transported into a magical land but because we learned about the FANTASY genre

fantasy is broken to

1. fables
2. fairy tales
3. myths
4. tall tales

fantasy = not real, imagination, can be modern or ancient

FABLES

1. there's always a lesson/morale at the end of the story
2. not real/ imaginative/ fantasy
3. a very short story
4. characters usually talking animals and minimal

fable dissection chart

1. Exposition - characters and setting
2. Rising Action- events leading to conflict
3. Conflict- struggle in the story
4. Falling Action- events resulting from conflict
5. Moral - lesson learnt

FAIRY TALES

1. distant past, Once upon a time...
2. a seemingly impossible problem is presented but always solved
3. battle between good vs evil
4. has a happy ending where good triumphs over evil, And they lived happily ever after....
5. set in castles, forested countrysides, villages
6. characters are royalty, mermaids, unicorns, giants, elves, witches, dragons, beasts.....

TALL TALES

1. usually about a hero that's larger than life
2. situations/ problems solved in humorous way
3. exaggerated details
4. based on actual people or a composite of them

MYTHS

1. stories past from generation to generation
2. imaginative plots and characters to explain human behaviouristic patterns
3. set in nature, ancient times
4. stories told that belong to a culture

LEGENDS

1. about a hero
2. may be based on facts and real history but becomes distorted through re-tellings

FOLKTALES

1. originally told orally
2. 3rd person point of view
3. past from generation to generation
4. ancient times
5. animals talking, inanimate objects, some human beings, magical creatures
6. good and intelligence always prevail over evil and foolishness
7. authors usually unknown

well that rounds up all 3 classes in 2 entries
many apologies if this last post was rather dull and lifeless
i suppose that's what happens if you sit in front of your laptop for hours on end and spent the past one and a half hours blogging
its clears my creative juices have all dried up

but till next class there will be new creative beverages to be served.
so for now do be kind and leave a comment or two for comments are as rare as leprechauns' gold and if i had any i would be over the moon
thanks

Arththi Sathananthar 8/1/10

RISING FROM THE DEAD

just when you thought this blog had gone into an enchanted slumber
I've given it the "true Love's kiss" and its back and here to stay (well for another semester at least)
so then this semester me and my fellow course mates are taking INTRODUCTION TO GENRES
taught by the lovely, witty Dr. Arezou
now its been 3 weeks into class so I'm gonna be posting all 3 weeks worth of reports lol in this post
FYI this time around I've got to start typing properly enough with the annoying short forms
its time to get serious right?

WEEK 1

an important question posed was WHAT IS LITERATURE FOR???
i came up with a few answers

1. to understand other cultures, ways of living
2. to inspire you creatively, kick start your imagination
3. to emphatize with other people's life experiences, situations gone through
4. to make you realise and see mundane things in a different perspective
5. serves as a form of escapism from the real world

However according to HORACE( greek poet) literature is for ~

1. enjoyment
2. understanding

GENRE is broken into~

1. poetry
2. drama
   
3. prose ( novels, short stories)

*novels and short stories are formats NOT genres
* in literature many answers are accepted so long as there's evidence

and thats round 1
moving on to the next round

WEEK 2

this time we focused of the non-fiction genre

5 types of fiction genres ( these aren't all the genres)

1. mystery
2. fantasy
3. science fiction/speculative fiction
4. realistic fiction
5. historical fiction
   

2 types of non- fiction genres

1. biography
2. autobiography

autobiography= biography of yourself written by you
biography= biography of yourself written by another

elements in autobiographies and biographies~

1. may be a lifespan, or an important part in that person' s life
2. almost always told in CHRONOLOGICAL order
3. important details about the person's life, how he/she thinks or feels

WRITING STYLES~

1. narrative - telling a story ( fiction), but can be used in non-fiction if an autobiography in done in a narrative style or in history too
2. expository - facts, reality ( non-fiction) used in history, science, politics, philosophy etc.

memoirs= anecdote, a part of your life, focuses more on feelings and has higher emotional level, not neccessarily chronological, narrative structure

diary/journal= discrete entries arranged by date reporting daily events, not meant to be published

autobiography= more time centered, dates and facts, intention of publishing

now i hope you lot found that a thorough analysis because i sure did and my brain is still oozing with more juices for the next post


Arththi Sathananthar

8/1/10