Medievalism in contemporary Fantasy: a new Species of Romance

Contemporary fantasists are often inspired by the texts from and with medieval context. This paper taps into Horace Walpole’s principles revealed in the preface to The Castle of Otranto to show that the works of medieval fantasy and contemporary fantasy subgenres written in 20th and 21st centuries have a lot in common with Walpole’s recipe for creating ‘a new species of romance’. When considered from the present time, the Medieval period can be seen as being halfway between fantasy and reality, in a blurry area where the two overlap, and contemporary fantasists use this trait to build their fictional worlds as effective reverberators of universal themes that remain interesting, appealing and worth repeating

Graham Greene's novel: The peculiar experiment in modern fiction

Graham Greene's The Quiet American could be understood as the specific and unique example in experimental modern and post modern fiction during the twentieth century. This novel could be accepted as the peculiar application of the experiment what makes it almost the exceptional case in modern fiction. Greene used some innovative and usual modern elements expressing them through the prism of completely unusual experimental aspect of form. In the novel, Greene made the combination of already known innovative and usual modern elements and traditional elements of form. Actually, he covered the experimental innovations with the common thematic structure, narrative form and partly with the specific psychoanalytical presentation of character's minds, observing and expressing them all at the same time

Jewish postmodern writers and national identity

The expression of the peculiarity in Jewish national identity has been a very actual detail for hundreds of years to this day. It has been a matter of controversy from the time of patriarchate, especially after the creation of Diaspora, not only among Jews but among all people in the world. Recent disputations in Jewish Knesset, about who can be called a Jew, summarize all the questions of Jewish origins and the question above all questions - what essentially determines the essence of Jewish identity in relation to other nations? We find two types of classification which relate to Jewish writers: 1. by the language; 2. by the topic. Some of the significant authors, especially in America, who had written prose with Jewish subject matter, could be classified into two main groups by the language in which they had written: Hebrew and English. A strict classification by topic is not possible, but comparing the writers' attitudes towards different questions of life, Judaism and modern tendencies, the following topics have emerged as the unique themes being shared by the various numbers of authors: religious and mythological questions; historical questions; solitude and alienation; infiltration into another societies; Jewish sufferings; family in Jewish community. In this paper we shall try to express the most frequent indicators of the Jewish construction in their literary works as the main characteristics of Jewish national figure and their identity. They have represented the indicators of their bad destiny, their sacrifice for the better world by the solitude and alienation of Jewish individual in America, turning back to the historical facts (since World War II) as the cause for anti-Jewish atrocity and suffering then and now. The writers put the Jews on the pedestal of a sublime nation and at the same time made them the victims of modern society

Modern experimental prose through the prism of psychoanalytical theories

The balance between the subjective and the objective perspectives in experimental prose must be accomplished in order to achieve the effect of intensive reflective and spiritual reality. Deleuze and Guattari take the method of William Burroughs and James Joyce as examples of the so- called 'butchered text method' which refers to the temporal-spatial perspective. Furthermore, they mention Nietzsche's interlocking of 'eternal return of the present as something that opinion does not know' and the theory of Stephen Mallarme, who combines well known, fragmented style with alchemical dream. According to him, the primary purpose of the modern text is to get closer to the reader so that any reader can interpret it in his own way. Trying to demystify scientific fantasy of objectivity, Lacan does not attribute impersonality and exteriority to art, but science and theory. According to him, a text without the influence of psychological factors, which make both life and characters more realistic, is not art. The connection between the external world and a man is expressed through a mirror, which Lacan tentatively calls 'imago'. Imago of the outside world or one's appearance is present in hallucinations or dreams, always reflecting the internal condition of the individual, its fragility (senility) or its fair projection, thereby making this 'subjective-objective' relationship unbreakable

A concise culture review of Aboriginal and Australian fiction

Interpreting the Australian fiction, we have suggested that some blossoming of this Australian genre happened during the nineteenth century, so in this review we have to start with some earlier works to express the cultural and poetical picture just unpretentious but completely. Firstly, it ought to be the Aboriginal literature which is of great importance to many both within Australia and internationally. This culture review will relate to the Aboriginal writing in English. The transformative survey of Aboriginal writing presents the stories and patterns of Australian culture and society in new ways, foregrounding and celebrating Indigenous experience and expression. It introduces powerful and creative individual voices as it also reveals a larger history of struggle, suffering and strength

Drama of the English classicism

From the numerous dramatic forms that have emerged during the English Classicism, there are few who could be considered the successors of the rich theatrical tradition. The dramatic genres that were created by mixing many traditional comic elements with the modern influences would be short-lived or become part of the commercial milieu of contemporary theater. On the other hand, the tragedy has lost its lofty character and the primacy over the comedy that has not been restored until today. However, few tragedies that have managed to avoid the rules and spirit of the Classicism have hinted the element of modern tragedy: the main roles are finally given to the ordinary citizens with their everyday problems. Although this shift was made due to the strengthening of the middle class and was a part of the actual intellectual climate, it has created the conditions for the birth of the modern tragedy that will begin to conquer the stage with Henrik Ibsen.

National elements in modern Irish drama

The first performances of the Irish National Theatre took place in 1899. Soon after, in 1902, the Abbey Theatre took the role of the main national theatrical institution due to a small group of enthusiasts who believed that Irish drama could achieve European prominence. The main innovator of this institution was W. B. Yeats with his poetic and highly symbolic plays. In the plays he depicted historical events, the Celtic myths and legends from the folk past, and he also advised the other young Irish playwrights (Synge, O’Casey and others) to do the same. He wrote guided by the idea that the Irishman need to know and discover their national identity and essence. Irish dramatists used some national legends, historical figures, aspects of traditional village life and wild nature of Ireland to express and to restore to life the sense of national oppression, traditional and cultural essence in modern time. The plays of already mentioned Irish playwrights are the expressionistic evidence of man's spiritual reality and the Irish consciousness through the process of national identity as the catharsis

Generic mix in Chaucer's The Canterbury tales

This paper will explore usage of different genres in individual Chaucer’s tales and explain the advantage of their mixture. The tale in which the intergeneric communication is most evident is The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, but it is also present in others. The one mentioned will be the main subject of the paper in which the beast fable, romance, dream vision and moral debate are successfully blended together to display the biggest flaws of the time through the context of animal characters

Theme and symbolism in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck aims to express the American political and social system as the reflection on characterization, plot, and symbols in The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck’s characters struggle desperately against forces beyond their understanding or control. Many of those characters suffer tragic fates, yet they almost always marriage to exhibit bravery and retain a sense of dignity throughout their struggles. Steinbeck’s ability to combine harsh critiques of the political and social systems of his times with genuine artistry in his characterization, plot, and language is unique in American literature. The Grapes of Wrath is the historically authentic story of the Joad family; Oklahoma farmers dispossessed of their land and forced to become migrant farmers in California. 'The Turtle' is an excerpt from the opening pages of this novel, which won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. The book aroused public sympathy for the plight of migratory farm workers and established Steinbeck as one of the most highly regarded writers of his day. Steinbeck’s belief in social justice, and in the human ability to learn from and rise above suffering, infused all his work