WEEK 12 兒童文學筆記

1. Information 

a. bildungsroman

In literary criticism, a Bildungsroman, novel of formation, novel of education, or coming-of-age story (though it may also be known as a subset of the coming-of-age story) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age), in which character change is extremely important. For example, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

b. Gothic fiction

Gothic fiction, which is largely known by the subgenre of Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature and film that combines fiction and horror, death, and at times romance. Its origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled (in its second edition) "A Gothic Story." The effect of Gothic fiction feeds on a pleasing sort of terror, an extension of Romantic literary pleasures that were relatively new at the time of Walpole's novel. It originated in England in the second half of the 18th century and had much success in the 19th, as witnessed by Mary Shelley’ s Frankenstein and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Another well known novel in this genre, dating from the late Victorian era, is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The name Gothic refers to the (pseudo)-medieval buildings, emulating Gothic architecture, in which many of these stories take place.6

c. didacticism

Didacticism is a philosophy that emphasizes instructional and informative qualities in literature and other types of art.
The term has its origin in the Ancient Greek, "related to education and teaching", and signified learning in a fascinating and intriguing manner.
Didactic art was meant both to entertain and to instruct. Didactic plays, for instance, were intended to convey a moral theme or other rich truth to the audience. An example of didactic writing is Alexander Pope's An Essay on Criticism (1711), which offers a range of advice about critics and criticism.
Around the 19th century the term didactic came to also be used as a criticism for work that appears to be overburdened with instructive, factual, or otherwise educational information, to the detriment of the enjoyment of the reader (a meaning that was quite foreign to Greek thought). Edgar Allan Poe even called didacticism the worst of "heresies" in his essay The Poetic Principle.

d. What kind of man are you?

"What kind of man you are" is a grammar mistake.

In the film, Bob Ewell says this when he confronts Atticus in the street before Tom's trial. He is trying to intimidate Atticus beforehand, and making a poor attempt to connect with Atticus, adding "You got chillun of your own." Even though it was most assuredly Bob who raped and beat his daughter Mayella, he dares to challenge Atticus' methods of raising his children.

However, this scene was not written into the original novel. The filmmakers may have felt it would heighten the tension, and develop Bob's character more fully to have him confront Atticus before the trial, but no such addition was needed in the book.

2. extra information

a. Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson first published in 1886. The work is commonly known today as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or simply Jekyll & Hyde. It is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next.

b.  Once upon a dream

Once upon a dream
I was lost in love's embrace
There I found a perfect place
Once upon a dream

Once there was a time
Like no other time before
Hope was still an open door
Once upon a dream

And I was unafraid
The dream was so exciting
But now I see it fade
And I am here alone

Once Upon a dream
You were heaven-sent to me
But it wasn't meant to be
Now you're just a dream

Could we begin again
Once upon a dream 

 

c. John Denver Today

Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,

I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.

A million tomorrows shall all pass away, 'ere I forget all the joy that is mine, today.

(省略th，讓曲調更順利)

I'll be a dandy and I'll be a rover, you'll know who I am by the songs that I sing.

I'll feast at your table, I'll sleep in your clover, who cares what tomorrow shall bring?

Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,

I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.

A million tomorrows shall all pass away, 'ere I forget all the joy that is mine, today.

I can't be contented with yesterday's glory, I can't live on promises winter to spring.

Today is my moment, and now is my story, I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing.

Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,

I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.

A million tomorrows shall all pass away, 'ere I forget all the joy that is mine, today.

d. To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

"To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is a poem written by English Cavalier poet Robert Herrick in the 17th century. The poem is in the genre of carpe diem, Latin for seize the day. It goes as follows:

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

(有花堪折直須折)

Old Time is still a-flying;

And this same flower that smiles today

To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,

The higher he's a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run,

And nearer he's to setting.

That age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

Times still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time,

And, while ye may, go marry:

For having lost but once your prime,

You may forever tarry.

e. Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. Originating in 12th-century France and lasting into the 16th century, Gothic architecture was known during the period as Opus Francigenum ("French work") with the term Gothic first appearing during the later part of the Renaissance. Its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault (which evolved from the joint vaulting of Romanesque architecture) and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and churches of Europe. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings, such as dorms and rooms.

3.  prefix, root and suffix  

mor, mort : death                                mortician, immortal, morgue

mortician (n.) someone whose job is to arrange funerals. The British word is undertaker

immortal (a.) living or existing for ever

morgue (n.) a building or room where dead bodies are kept temporarily

ad : forward                                        advocate, adventure, advanced

advocate (v.) to publicly support a particular policy or way of doing things