Assignmen 110: A Study of the Zeitgeist of the Twentieth Century Literature

 

Name: - Trushali Dodiya

Roll No: - 19

Semester: - 2(Batch 2022-24)

Enrolment number: - 4069206420220011

Paper No: - 110

Paper name: - History of the Twentieth Century Literature

Paper code: - 22343

Topic: - A Study of the Zeitgeist of the Twentieth Century Literature

Submitted to: - Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Date of Submission:- 31/03/2023

Email Address: - trushalidodiya84@gmail.com

A Study of the Zeitgeist of 20th Century Literature

Table of Contents:

• Introduction

• Historical Background

• Characteristics of the 20th century

• Literature of the 20th century

• Prominent literary Writers of the 20th century

• Conclusion

Introduction: 

              The 20th century was a time of great change and upheaval in the world of English literature. It saw the emergence of many new styles and movements, as well as the continuation and development of older ones. The century saw the emergence of many new literary movements and styles, including modernism, postmodernism, and the Beat Generation etc.

Historical Background:

 

          The Twentieth century marks the end of the rule of Queen Victoria(1837) and beginning of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II(1952-2002). The first fifty years of the 20th century remain barren in rule as there was no ruler during half a century. But  in the first fifty years of the twentieth century the human race moved through a remarkable series of upheavals than during perhaps fifty generations in the past. The two great World Wars (World War I from 1914 to 1918 and World War II from 1939-1945) took place during the first half of the twentieth century. The advent of scientific inventions changed the whole of the century and thus human life.

Characteristics of the Twentieth Century:

The 20th century stands out from previous centuries due to the profound impact of scientific inventions.  This century witnessed twofold speeds in the development:

• Progress in Man's growing mastery of the physical world and its material resources. 

• Progress and regress, both are the fruits of the Scientific Revolution 

• Science has led to a dual outcome with its numerous inventions. On one hand, it has saved countless human lives and provided us with tools like medical advancements, vehicles such as aeroplanes, cars and motorcycles, making life easier. On the other hand, some inventions such as mass slaughter weapons and nuclear bombs have resulted in the taking of human lives. These inventions have played a catastrophic role in two world wars, and with the development of nuclear power, there is the potential for universal destruction. However, these weapons also hold the possibility of world protection, as nations fear the mutual annihilation that would result from using them.

Fall of Victorian Values and ways of living

• The 20th century also marked a departure from Victorian values and ways of living. As A. C. Ward notes,

“Young men and young women during the twentieth century looked back upon the Victorian age as dull and hypocritical. Victorian ideals appeared mean and superficial and stupid.” (Ward)

• The Voice of authorities and its permanence which was prevailing in the 19th century, no longer exist in this century. This voice of authority is being questioned. 

• Victorian beautiful thought being considered hideous.

Due to the growth of mass production, standards of aesthetics, craftsmanship and of aesthetic appreciation began to change fundamentally and resulted into the death of Craftsmanship.

            During the 19th century, there was a firm belief in the permanent nature of institutions, both temporal and spiritual. These institutions were considered to be built on unshakable foundations and established in perpetuity. The home, the constitution, the Empire, and the Christian religion were all seen as final revelations, and it was not acceptable to suggest that any or all of them might be displaced or superseded by the natural processes of change. However, as the century drew to a close, this belief was displaced by a sense of universal mutability. There was a revolt from Victorianism, which rejected its sense of stability, its striving for order, and its consciousness of dignity. This revolt left a spiritual vacuum for the masses, as they struggled to find meaning in a world where the old certainties were no longer certain.

           The 19th century witnessed a rise in scepticism, which emphasised the importance of critically examining information before accepting it as true. This movement was exemplified by Charles Darwin's "The Descent of Man," which advocated for scepticism in the face of new ideas. As a result, many individuals began to question religious beliefs, which often rely on faith rather than empirical evidence, as they were not conducive to a sceptical mindset.

All of these developments had a lasting impact on literature in the 20th century.

Literature of the 20th century:

Literature of this century likewise its background moved away from Victotian values and ideals. A. C. Ward notes that,

"From 1901 to 1925, English literature was directed by mental attitudes, moral ideals and spiritual values at almost the opposite extreme to the attitudes, ideals and values governing Victorian literature.  The old certainties were certainties no longer. everything was held to be open to question." (Ward)

        In the early twentieth century, writers began to reject the Victorian idea of the permanence of institutions and instead embraced a sense of universal mutability. One of these writers was H.G. Wells, who spoke of "the flow of things" and described a group of people haunted by the idea embodied in the word "Meanwhile." Wells believed that as people saw life more clearly, the world ceased to be a home and became a mere sight of a home, on which people camped. They were unable to live fully and completely in this world. Wells also believed that all of human history up to that point was merely a prelude to a true civilization that was yet to come.

         George Bernard Shaw was one who advocated for change in the early twentieth century. He attacked both the "old superstition" of religion and the "new superstition" of science. However, his attacks were not motivated by a general opposition to either religion or science. “In his view, every dogma is a superstition until it has been personally examined and consciously accepted by the individual believer”. And Question! Examine! Test! These were the watchwords of his creed.

         The  Voice of Authority and the Reign of the expert were also questioned. G. B. Shaw in Shaw  Major Barbara states: “That is what is wrong with the world at present. It scraps its obsolete steam engines and dynamos; but it won't scrap its old prejudices and its old moralities and its old religions and its old political constitutions”. Which connotes the creed of the twentieth century.

          During the Victorian era, writers held the belief that art should be created for the sake of life or for the betterment of the community. This was in contrast to the idea of "art for art's sake," which held that art should be created purely for its own sake.

However in the 20th century also two groups were holding up two different ideologies regarding art.

Bloomsbury Group

         The Bloomsbury Group was a circle of English writers, philosophers, and artists who met regularly between 1907 and 1930 in the Bloomsbury district of London. They discussed aesthetic and philosophical issues and were influenced by G.E. Moore's Principia Ethica and Whitehead's and Russell's Principia Mathematica. They questioned conventional ideas and had an irreverent attitude towards societal norms and values. The group included notable members such as Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, and Clive Bell. (“Bloomsbury group | History, Members, & Facts | Britannica”)

This group’s major concern was to take ‘art for the sake of art’.

The Fabian Society

        The Fabian Society was a socialist organisation founded in London in 1884. Its main objective was to establish a democratic socialist state in Great Britain. The society included prominent members such as G.B. Shaw, H.G. Wells, Sidney Webb, Annie Besant, Edward Pease, and Graham Wallas.

The Fabian Society believed in the concept of "art for life's sake" or for the betterment of the community. (Lamb)

Modernist literature is Esoteric- very obscure and incomprehensible to grab its core. It connotes the hidden or complicated ideas which can be understood only by a few learned people. 

       The impact of two world wars and the growth of the mass production method industry brought the death of individual skills and Craftsmanship. Simultaneously, during the 1950s, there was a growing disregard for the importance of form and style in writing. The focus shifted towards creating works that were intentionally chaotic and lacked any clear artistic vision. Thus the anti-art movement gained popularity and became widely accepted, with chaos as a new form of artistic expression.

Samuel Becket’s Waiting for Godot, James Joyce’s Ulysses and T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land are notable examples of this.

Modernism:

           The term modernism is widely used to identify new and distinctive features in the subjects, forms, concepts, and styles of literature and the other arts in the early decades of the present century, but especially after World War I (1914-18). (Abrams)The modernist movement was influenced by intellectual predecessors who challenged the established certainties that had underpinned traditional social structures, religious beliefs, moral principles, and notions of individual identity. Among these influential thinkers were Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and James G. Frazer. Frazer's The Golden Bough (1890-1915) emphasised the similarities between key Christian doctrines and pagan rituals, many of which were considered primitive and savage.Modernism in Literature marks many anti-art movements. Like Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Absurd Theatre. (Kuiper)

Dadaism:

            Dadaism was a movement of young artists and writers in Paris during and after the first world war. It aimed at suppressing the relationship between ideas and statements. An absolute freedom held meetings at bars and theatres and delivered itself of numerous nonsensical and semi-nonsensical manifestos. It was meant to signify everything and nothing. It became popular in Peris immediately after the first world war. Nothing was the basic word in the vocabulary of Dadaism. (“Dada | Definition & History | Britannica”)

           In art and literature manifestos of this esthetic were mostly collage effects. The arrangement of unrelated objects and words in a random fashion. Dada artists felt the war called into question every aspect of a society capable of starting and then prolonging it- including its art. Their aim was to destroy traditional values in art and to create a new art to replace the old. It was opposed to forming an order.  

        The word Dada was accidentally discovered by Hugo Ball which means wooden horse. Dadaism was founded in ZURICH in 1960 by Tristan Tsara about the object of poverty and demolishing the tenets of art, philosophy and logic and substituting them with conscious madness as protest against madness of war.

Surrealism:

Surrealism ("superrealism") was launched as a concerted artistic movement in France by André Breton's Manifesto on Surrealism (1924). (Abrams) Surreal means beyond reality. It became popular in the 1920s and lasted till the 1940s. Andre Breton published the "Manifesto of Surrealism'' in 1924 where he explained this new movement in detail. It was a movement which was mainly inspired by the phycho-analytical theories by Sigmund Freud. 

Expressionism:

               Expressionism is a German movement in literature and the other arts (especially the visual arts) which was at its height between 1910 and 1925—that is, in the period just before, during, and after World War I. (Abrams) Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Expressionism developed as an Avant Garde style - started before World war I (1914-1918). Later the movement was attributed to literature, theatre, dance, film, music, etc. Its chief precursors were artists and writers who had in various ways departed from realistic depictions of life and the world, by incorporating in their art visionary or powerfully emotional states of mind that are expressed and transmitted by means of distorted representations of the outer world. Among these precursors in painting were Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, and the Norwegian Edvard Munch. 

         The main aim of expressionism is to express inner world subjectivity, emotions rather than the external world and the physical reality. The term refers to an "artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict not objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse within a person". Expressionism is the tendency of an artist to distort reality for an emotional effect. This term refers to imitating reproducing or repeating existence. 

Absurd Theatre:

          Absurd drama as M. H. Abrams notes, "works in drama and prose fiction which have in common the sense that the human condition is essentially absurd, and that this condition can be adequately represented only in works of literature that are themselves absurd”. (Abrams)

Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting For Godot’ is one of the best examples of the Absurd play.

Postmodernism:

The term postmodernism is often applied to the literature and art after World War II (1939-45), when the effects on Western morale of the first war were greatly exacerbated by the experience of Nazi totalitarianism and mass extermination, the threat of total destruction by the atomic bomb, the progressive devastation of the natural environment, and the ominous fact of overpopulation. (Abrams)

        Postmodernism, both continuous and breaks away from the counter traditional experiments of modernism, while also challenging the art. Works of postmodern literature, such as those by Borges, Beckett, Nabokov, and Pynchon, resist classification by blending genres, cultural and stylistic levels, and serious and playful elements. 

Prominent Literary writers of the 20th century:

Virginia Woolf - A prominent modernist writer known for her stream-of-consciousness writing style and exploration of feminist themes. Her notable works include "Mrs. Dalloway," "To the Lighthouse," and "The Waves."

James Joyce - Joyce is known for his complex and experimental narrative techniques. His most famous work, "Ulysses," is often considered one of the greatest novels of the 20th century.

T.S. Eliot - A major figure in the modernist movement.  His notable works include "The Waste Land".

George Orwell - Best known for his political and social commentary, Orwell's works often explored themes of totalitarianism, oppression, and the corrupting influence of power. His most famous works include "1984" and "Animal Farm."

D.H. Lawrence - Lawrence was known for his exploration of human sexuality and relationships. His notable works include "Sons and Lovers," "Women in Love," and "Lady Chatterley's Lover."

Samuel Beckett - Beckett's works deal with themes of existentialism and the absurdity of human existence. His most famous work, "Waiting for Godot," is a classic of modern theatre.

Conclusion:

             Thus, English literature underwent significant transformations during the 20th century, marked by the emergence of new literary styles and movements alongside the continued development of older ones. This period was characterised by a great deal of change and upheaval in the literary world.

          

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Works Cited

Abrams, Meyer Howard. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999.

“Bloomsbury group | History, Members, & Facts | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bloomsbury-group. Accessed 30 March 2023.

“Dada | Definition & History | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 February 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/Dada. Accessed 30 March 2023.

Kuiper, Kathleen. “Modernism | Definition, Characteristics, History, Art, Literature, Time Period, Postmodernism, & Examples.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 March 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/Modernism-art. Accessed 30 March 2023.

Lamb, Peter. “Fabian Society | socialist society | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 March 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Fabian-Society. Accessed 30 March 2023.

Ward, Alfred Charles. Twentieth Century Literature. Shubhi Publications, 2015.

Assignment 109: The Four Mythoi and The Great Chain of Being in ‘The Archetypes of Literature’

Name: - Trushali Dodiya

Roll No: - 19

Semester: - 2(Batch 2022-24)

Enrolment number: - 4069206420220011

Paper No: - 109

Paper name: - Indian and Western Literary Theory and Criticism

Paper code: - 22342

Topic: - The Four Mythoi and The Great Chain of Being in ‘The Archetypes of Literature’

Submitted to: - Smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English, Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University

Date of Submission:- 31/03/2023

Email Address: - trushalidodiya84@gmail.com

The Four Mythoi and The great Chain of Being in ‘The Archetypes of Literature’

Table of Contents:

• Introduction

• Myths and Archetypes

• Four Mythoi 

• The Great Chain of Being

• Conclusion

Introduction:

             Northrop Frye's book Anatomy of Criticism, published in 1957, revolutionised the field of literary criticism by introducing his archetypal approach. This approach focuses on identifying recurring patterns and themes in literature and situating them within cultural and historical contexts. Frye's work represents a departure from traditional methods of literary analysis and has had a lasting impact on the way we understand and interpret literature. M. H. Abrams in his ‘A Glossary of Literary Terms’ notes that,

“In literary criticism the term archetype denotes recurrent narrative designs, patterns of action, character-types, themes, and images which are identifiable in a wide variety of works of literature, as well as in myths, dreams, and even social rituals.” (Abrams)

       In his essay "The Archetypes of Literature," Northrop Frye presents his archetypal theory of literature, which involves the systematic and scientific study of literary works and their recurrent narrative designs, patterns of action, character-types, themes, and images. Frye draws upon the ideas of James G. Frazer, who identified elemental patterns of myth and ritual in diverse cultures and religions, as well as the depth psychology of Carl G. Jung, who used the term "archetype" to refer to primordial images that survive in the collective unconscious of the human race and are expressed in myths, religion, dreams, and literature. Frye's essay thus offers a framework for analysing and interpreting the deeper meanings and themes that recur in works of literature, drawing on a rich history of scholarly inquiry into the universal patterns and motifs that shape human experience.

Myth & Archetypes:

         The synchronisation of human nature with the cycles of nature has given rise to various rituals that are associated with the stages of life from birth to death. These natural cycle rituals can be found in myths from all cultures. Northrop Frye argues that the myth is the essential force that instils ritual with archetypal significance and oracular narratives with archetypal meaning, as he says, “The myth is the central informing power that gives archetypal significance to the ritual and archetypal narrative to the oracle. Hence the myth is the archetype, though it might be convenient to say myth only when referring to narrative, and archetype when speaking of significance.” (Frye)

        Thus, the myth is itself an archetype, although the term "myth" is usually used when referring to narrative, and "archetype" when discussing significance. Frye's argument highlights the importance of myth as a foundational element of human culture, shaping our understanding of the world and our place within it. In the solar cycle of the day, the seasonal cycle of the year, and the organic cycle of human life, there is a single pattern of significance, out of which myth constructs a central narrative around a figure who is partly the sun, partly vegetative fertility and partly a god or archetypal human being. (Abrams #)

          Thus myth introduces the universal archetypes which are there in the collective unconscious of the human mind. Frye notes that “The crucial importance of this myth has been forced on literary critics by Jung and Frazer in particular”. 

 

Walter K. Gordon stated that, "The basic connection of archetypal Criticism is that literary expression is an unconscious product of the collective experience of the entire species. As such literature is therefore integral related with man's cultural past". (Brown)

 In ‘The Archetypes of Literature’, Frye gives two tables of archetypes:

• Mythos Grid

• The Great Chain of Being

Mythos Grid:

 According to Northrop Frye, all literary works together form a "self-contained literary universe" that has been created over time by the human imagination. This universe serves to assimilate the indifferent world of nature into archetypal forms that fulfil enduring human desires and needs. Within this literary universe, there are four radical mythologies that correspond to the four seasons of the natural world. Northrope Frye gives a table of various phases in archetypal reading of literature which are the four mythoi of the archetypal criticism, which are

By understanding the archetypes that are present in literature, readers can gain a greater understanding of the human experience and the ways in which certain themes and ideas are shared across cultures and time periods.

1. The Dawn, Spring, and birth phase. 

• Myths of the birth of the hero, of revival and resurrection, of creation and (because the four phases are a cycle) of the defeat of the powers of darkness, winter and death. 

• Subordinate characters: the father and the mother. 

• The archetype of romance and of most dithyrambic and rhapsodic poetry.

2. The Zenith, Summer, and marriage or triumph phase. 

• Myths of apotheosis, of the sacred marriage, and of entering into Paradise. 

• Subordinate characters: the companion and the bride. 

• The archetype of comedy, pastoral, and idyll.

3. The Sunset, Autumn, and death phase. 

• Myths of fall, of the dying god, of violent death and sacrifice and of the isolation of the hero.

• Subordinate characters: the traitor and the siren.

• The archetype of tragedy and elegy.

4. The Darkness, Winter, and dissolution phase. 

• Myths of the triumph of these powers; myths of floods and the return of chaos, of the defeat of the hero. 

• Subordinate characters: the ogre and the witch. 

• The archetype of satire (Frye)

The same types of archetypal grid can also be found in Indian context, Which denotes the dominance of the cycle of nature in archetypal reading or criticism. The mood of each season puts an emphasis to the particular tone or mood.

             These are ‘Universal archetypes’ that can be found in every myth and culture. They are general archetypes that can be applied to all forms of literature, including poetry, drama, and fiction, and can also be used to analyse other forms of art, such as films and paintings.  Readers or viewers who are familiar with these archetypes can quickly understand what will happen next in a story. For example, if a work of art begins with the theme of Darkness, it signifies that something bad is going to happen in the story. These archetypes are universal and offer a common ground for understanding and interpreting various forms of art. The significance of these mythoi lies in their ability to provide a framework for understanding the underlying structures and patterns that recur in literature across time and place. Frye believed that by identifying these patterns, literary critics could gain insight into the deeper meanings and themes of literary works, and into the ways in which these works participate in larger cultural and historical contexts. By analysing the way that individual works fit into these larger patterns, critics can gain a better understanding of the ways in which literature shapes and is shaped by the world around it.

The Great Chain Of Being:

            For centuries the ‘great chain of being’ held a central place in Western thought. This view saw the Universe as ordered in a linear sequence starting from the inanimate world of rocks. Plants came next, then animals, men, angels and, finally, God. (Nee)

            This mythical idea has been captured by Frye and in the last part of his essay ‘The Archetypes of Literature’, he gives five types of archetypes according to the great chain of being. Frye set forth the central pattern of the comic and tragic visions. One essential principle of archetypal criticism is that the individual and the universal forms of an image are identical, the reasons being too complicated. There are two basic categories in Frye’s framework, i.e., comedic and tragic in each of these five types of archetypes.

1. Human World:

Comic Vision: A community, or a hero who represents the wish-fulfilment of the reader. The archetype of images of symposium, communion, order, friendship, and love. Marriage or some equivalent consummation belongs to the comic vision

Tragic Vision: A tyranny or anarchy, or an individual or isolated man, the leader with his back to his followers, the bullying giant of romance, the deserted or betrayed hero. The harlot, witch, and other varieties of Jung’s “terrible mother” belong to the tragic one

  All divine, heroic, angelic, or other superhuman communities follow the human pattern.

2 Animal:

Comic Vision: A community of domesticated animals, usually a flock of sheep, or a lamb, or one of the gentler birds, usually a dove. The archetype of pastoral images

Tragic Vision: Beasts and birds of prey, wolves, vultures, serpents, dragons, and the like.

3.Vegetable:

Comic Vision: A Garden, grove or park, or a tree of life, or a rose or lotus. 

Tragic Vision: Sinister forest like the one in Comus or at the opening of the Inferno, or a heath or wilderness, or a tree of death. 

Marvell’s green world or of Shakespeare’s forest comedies can be seen under these archetypes.

4. Mineral:

Comic Vision: A city, or one building or temple, or one stone, normally a glowing precious stone.

Tragic Vision: Deserts, rocks and ruins, or of sinister geometrical images like the cross.

The Gravedigger scene in Hamlet can be seen in the Tragic vision of Mineral.

5. Water:

Comic Vision: A river

Tragic Vision: The sea, as the narrative myth of dissolution is so often a flood myth. The combination of the sea and beast images gives us the leviathan and similar water-monsters. (Frye)

These archetypes are also universal archetypes. By examining these archetypes it is easy to get what will be next in the story of any literary work of art. 

Conclusion:

          To sum up, the archetypal criticism provides a framework for understanding the deeper meanings and themes of literary works. By elaborating ‘The four Mythos’ and ‘The Great Chain of Being’, Frye becomes successful to prove his argument of universal archetypes. By examining the use of these archetypes in literature, archetypal criticism aims to uncover deeper meanings and themes that may be present within a literary work.

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Works Cited

Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. Earl McPeek, 1999.

Brown, Daniel Russell. “A Look at Archetypal Criticism.” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, vol. 28, no. 4, 1970, pp. 465–72. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/428486. Accessed 29 Mar. 2023.

Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism. Penguin Books, Limited, 2002.

Nee, Sean. “The great chain of being.” Nature, 25 May 2005, https://www.nature.com/articles/435429a. Accessed 30 March 2023.

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