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THL1502/1/2018-2021

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
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 THL1502/1/2018-2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page

General Introduction ............................................................................................................ v

Orientation ............................................................................................................................. v

Overview ............................................................................................................................. vi

PART I: POETIC TEXT ................................................................................................... 1

Study unit 1: What is Poetry? ............................................................................................. 3

1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 3
1.2 An interactive exploration .............................................................................................. 3
1.3 Closer descriptions and definitions of poetry ................................................................. 4
1.4 Intratextual approaches to the study of poetry ............................................................. 10
1.5 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 10

Study unit 2: Figurative language and the metaphor...................................................... 11

2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 11
2.2 Figurative language ..................................................................................................... 11
2.3 Metaphorical language ................................................................................................ 16
2.4 Close scrutiny: the building blocks of metaphors ......................................................... 19
2.5 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 26

Study unit 3: Syntactic organisation ................................................................................ 28

3.1 To deviate, devise patterns, surprise the reader – thereby devising new/altered
meanings ..................................................................................................................... 28
3.2 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 32

Study unit 4: Sound in poetry ........................................................................................... 33

4.1 Sound is the fine tuning in poetry ................................................................................ 33
4.2 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 39

Study unit 5: Rhythm and metre ....................................................................................... 40

5.1 Rhythm and metre create poetic structure ... A deliberate foregrounding technique ...
An artifice used to create meaning ... .......................................................................... 40
5.2 Regular repetition as opposed to fixed regularly.......................................................... 40
5.3 Scansion ...................................................................................................................... 41
5.4 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 47

Study unit 6: A medical procedure ................................................................................... 48

6.1 The analysis of a poem ............................................................................................... 48
6.2 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 52
Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 53

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PART II: NARRATIVE TEXTS..................................................................................... 55

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 56

Study unit 1: What is a narrative text ............................................................................... 57

Study unit 2: The story or fabula ...................................................................................... 64

Study unit 3: The narrative text ........................................................................................ 67

3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 67
3.2 The focaliser ................................................................................................................ 67
3.3 Space .......................................................................................................................... 80
3.4 Time and the presentation of events ........................................................................... 82

Study unit 4: The act of narration ..................................................................................... 88

4.1. The narrator ................................................................................................................. 88
4.2 External and internal narrator ...................................................................................... 89
4.3 Rendering of language utterance ................................................................................ 91
4.4 The reader in the text .................................................................................................. 92

Study unit 5: Structuralist analysis of “The Suit”. .......................................................... 93

5.1 The story or fabula....................................................................................................... 93
5.2 The narrative text ......................................................................................................... 94
5.3 Narration ...................................................................................................................... 98
5.4 Concluding remarks................................................................................................... 100

PART III: DRAMATIC TEXT ...................................................................................... 103

Introduction ................................................................................................................ 103
Study unit 1: The play – a performance ................................................................. 104
Study unit 2: Dramatic characters ......................................................................... 116
Study unit 3: Time and space ................................................................................. 125
Study unit 4: Dramatic action and the structure of the play ................................ 130
Study unit 5: Dialogue and didascalia ................................................................... 136
Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 147

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GENERAL INTRODUCTION
Orientation

As mentioned on the Welcome page of this module, THL1502 consist of three parts:

PART I: Poetic texts

This part provides an introduction to core aspects of poetic structure, namely figurative
language and metaphor, syntax, sound, and rhythm and metre.

PART II: Narrative texts

This part provides an introduction to core aspects of narrative structure. You are introduced to
various levels that can be distinguished in narratives, including time, characterisation and
narrators.

PART III: Dramatic texts

In this part we introduce you to the core aspects of the dramatic text. These include the
performance orientation of a play, dramatic characters, time and space, structure, dialogue and
didascalia.

The purpose of this module is to furnish you with the necessary knowledge and skills to read,
analyse, and understand the different literary genres by providing:

• hands-on study materials for the practical application of theory to the reading of the different
literary genres
• theoretical and conceptual tools to help you distinguish between the three different genres
• theoretical information, methods and exercises that will enable you to study, analyse and
understand the distinctive features of each literary genre
• materials and exercises through which you can assess your own answers and evaluate your
learning performance and progress
• opportunities through assignments for you to communicate, orally and in writing, your
understanding of each literary genre

The outcome of this module is to provide you with the necessary skills to:

• distinguish the different literary genres from one another

• read effectively, and arrive at an understanding of the main distinguishing features specific
to each genre
• use a variety of literary texts from the different genres to demonstrate an understanding of
the role of the various formal conventions in each genre
• apply the theories to texts from the three genres written in any language you are fluent in
• critically assess the extent to which these theories and conventions are manifest in a range
of texts from each of the genres
• evaluate the extent to which these theories contribute to the aesthetic, intellectual, cultural,
emotive and other communicative aspects in texts from the different genres
• communicate, orally and in writing, knowledge, insights, understandings and criticisms of the
theories and their applicability to the study of texts from the different genres

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Although it is important that you try to gain high marks in your assignments and in the exam, we
also want to ensure that this course will continue to be valuable to you even after you have
successfully completed the examination. For this reason it is essential that you also learn to
apply the theoretical principles to a broader range of examples than those that you will study for
the assignments and exam.

Overview

The Communication Situation in Literary Genres

When distinguishing the general characteristics of the three main literary genres, namely poetry,
narrative and drama, we find that the characteristics traditionally attributed to each are the
following:

Poetry is a monologue by a singe voice expressing personal thoughts and feelings arranged in
a distinctive typographic pattern on the printed page.

Narrative is dialogical, entailing a narration of events and a portrayal of the thoughts, feelings,
deeds and conversations and experiences of several characters written in prose.

Drama is dialogical, entailing the dramatisation of the deeds, thoughts, feelings, experiences
and conversations of one or more characters.
This kind of characterisation is based on the specific communication situation in each genre.
Texts can be classified according to the appearance and function of the speaker(s) who express
these texts.

Where only one spokesperson takes the floor, the text concerned is designated a monologue;
and although monologues may be found in other genres such as plays, poetry is the traditional
domain of this type of text.

When narration is largely entrusted to a single spokesperson, with occasional interludes where
other actors speak, the text is known as a narrative or epic. These texts are characterised by
the intrinsic inequality of the various speakers: although the main speaker, who is the narrator,
may quote the words of other actors, the reverse is not possible. In fact, the actors do not know
that they are being quoted and that their words are therefore embedded in those of the main
speaker or narrator. When different actors are collectively employed as speakers, the text is
dramatic. Here the actors are intrinsically equal in that they speak in turn and also hear each
other speaking.

According to the above outline, the speaker(s) in a text determine(s) to which category a
particular literary text will be assigned. The text may be classified as:

(i) a poetic or lyric text having one speaker only

(ii) a narrative or epic text accommodating a narrator and other speakers
(iii) a dramatic text characterised by different speakers without the mediation of a narrator.

The communication situation found in the three genres provides us with a basic form of genre
differentiation. There are further aspects which are specific to each genre. In the three parts
which make up this study each of the genres and their distinctive properties are discussed in
detail.

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PART I: POETIC TEXTS
In this part of the module you will be introduced to the poetic text and the way in which it differs
from the narrative and the dramatic. We will investigate intratextual approaches to the study of
poetry, metaphorical language, syntactic deviation, syntactic (over)regulation, typography,
sound, rhythm and metre.

The content sections of this module are as follows:

General Introduction v–vi

Study unit 1: What is poetry?
Study unit 2: Figurative language and the metaphor
Study unit 3: Syntactic organisation
Study unit 4: Sound in poetry
Study unit 5: Rhythm and metre
Study unit 6: A medical procedure?
Conclusion

Introduction

A hearty welcome to the English poetry course for the module THL1502. This course is
presented in both Afrikaans and English. Textual material such as definitions, quotations and
poems and other examples will therefore not necessarily be the same in English and Afrikaans.

The main purpose in undertaking any study is self-empowerment. The objectives of this part are
therefore the following:

• to accompany you as you gradually discover poetry and learn to understand and appreciate
it as a literary art form, while gaining new insights
• to provide you with a "road map" on this journey of discovery, showing a network of "main
roads" and serving as a guide to help you reach your final destination, which is the
communicative meaning of the poem; these "main roads" are the structural elements of the
poem as derived from literary theory or the aesthetic aspects of poetry
• to achieve the above objective by focusing specifically on the textually grounded approach,
similar to Russian Formalism and the "New Critics", as a communicative point of departure
in unlocking and explaining the nature of poetry
• to give you practical exposure to literary theory by means of activities and accompany you
as you learn about the theory and become more comfortable with identifying, interpreting
and applying elements in the world of poetry
• to make you aware of the wealth of meanings in poems and the way in which they can
fruitfully contribute to the expansion of your knowledge
• to enable you, when you have completed this section, to reflect on the value of acquiring
greater insight into and understanding of the nature of poetry for yourself and the world
around you

To help you get to grips with some rather complicated terminology, I have supplied subject-
related definitions as marginal notes.

You will be pleased to know that answers to activity questions are provided. These answers will
give you the opportunity to evaluate the knowledge you have acquired by working through the
activities systematically.

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Two books are recommended. You should find them both useful as you strive to understand
literary theory.

• Furniss, T & Bath, M. 1996. Reading poetry: an introduction. London: Prentice Hall.
• Wainwright, J. 2004. Poetry: the basics. London: Routledge.

Visit the following website for more information on Wainwright's book:

http://www.jeffreywainwright.co.uk/pp003.shtml.

At the end of each study unit we supply a brief summary of the learning matter that we have
worked through. A reading list for enrichment is provided as well. We recommend that you
consult these sources in order to expand your knowledge.

This part of the module section consists of six study units. The first five study units deal with
theoretical aspects, but the approach followed is as practical as possible. The last study unit
serves as a test of what you have learned in the previous five study units.

In this online study guide we focus specifically on the "medium of poetry", in other words the
technical or structural elements of the verse that communicate meaning in the poetic text.

As a reader of poetry you will have to learn to look at and listen to poetic texts differently – in
other words you will have to learn to know the "delicate web of words". Welcome once again.
Good luck and enjoy your studies.

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Study unit 1: What is poetry?

1.1 Introduction

This study unit, which is presented in an interactive manner, explores the problems surrounding
the recognition and definition of poetry. The variety of poetic articulations are explored by linking
them to a wealth of examples. The point of departure for this section is therefore the formulation
of a definition of poetry. The theoretical approach followed in this section is discussed at the end
of this study unit.

1.2 An interactive exploration

Poetry is a very old art form whose medium is language. It may be assumed that most literate
people, and even people who are illiterate but have been exposed to oral recitation, would have
no trouble in recognising a poem. Kirsznen and Mandell (2004:550) point out that scholars of
poetry or even poets themselves find it difficult to define poetry.

An amusing anecdote is told about IA Richards. As a lecturer and leading figure in the Anglo-
American New Criticism movement he gave his students at one of his lectures a poem to
analyse – a list of names that the previous lecturer had written on the blackboard. The students
were not told the true nature of what he had written on the board. They set to work eagerly and
discussed, analysed and interpreted the names as if they were a poem.

What does this anecdote mean? Was it a cynical joke or an indication that the status of literary
texts depends on the context in which they figure? To put this differently, is it true that poetry
cannot be distinguished from other texts unless it is explicitly presented to the readers as poetry
in books or in lectures? Can any text be a poem? If the answer to all these questions is "No",
then how can poems be distinguished from other texts?

Despite the fact that we were all exposed to poetry at school or possibly at university, our
assumption about what poetry is may well be based on preconceived or limited models. The
fact is, however, that poetry can take various forms.

In the General Introduction of this module, poetic, narrative and dramatic texts are distinguished
from one another on the basis of Plato's typology of literature. The determinants are the number
of speakers and the function of each of the speakers in the poetic, narrative and dramatic texts.
This distinction is a simplification. Plato's typology depends on only one poetic form, namely the
lyrical poem. This is why he divided literary genres into "lyrical", "epic" and "dramatic" texts.

Lyrical poetry is an important subgenre of poetry but it cannot be a model for all poetry. This is
the only form of poetry in which there is usually, but not necessarily, a single speaker,
addressing an isolated reader or listener.

The monologic communication situation doesn't apply to oral poetry. Recited poetry is
addressed to a crowd. They respond by means of a dynamic dialogue in which, as the
audience, they form an integral part of the poetic recitation and reception process. Today the
oral tradition is evident in the recited poetry of "rap" and "performance" poets throughout the
world. Furthermore, the classical epic, which is a narrative poem, is written in verse form.

3
We can conclude from the above that a poem may be narrative, dramatic or lyrical. It is also
possible for all these aspects to be found in one poem. World literature is full of these hybrid or
mixed forms.

Answer the questions in "Activity 1.1" found under Additional Resources to discover the
variety of poetic forms on your own.

ACTIVITY 1.1

Read through an anthology of poems by a large number of poets and do the following:

(1) Write down the title of the anthology and the name of the compiler.
(2) Identify a poem in which there is a single speaker and write down the title of the poem and
the name of the poet.
(3) Identify a poem in which there is more than one speaker and write down the title of the
poem and the name of the poet.
(4) Identify a poem in which a story is told and write down the title of the poem and the name
of the poet.
(5) Write short notes on what you have learned from this activity.

The aim of the above activity is to spur you on to discover the variety of poetic forms on your
own. This emphasises the fact that basic genre classifications are necessary and important, but
that we also need to note that all genre forms show an internal diversity that oversteps and
disregards rigid classification guidelines. This does not mean, however, that we can get away
from the necessity for clear and theoretically defensible distinctions between the various literary
genres.

1.3 Closer descriptions and definitions of poetry

Answer the following questions:

1. Is it important for scholars and students of literature to be able to give precise definitions of
literary genres?
2. Is it possible to reach a "final verdict" on literary genres as art forms?

The above questions are related to the nature of theoretical approaches and the emphasis this
places on the need for accurate definitions. Since the study object here is poetry, we should try
to define poetry as accurately as possible.

Poetic, narrative and dramatic texts are language objects. They can be distinguished from other
forms of language use and communication because they are specific forms of linguistic art. In
defining poetry, we therefore have to proceed from the hypothesis that language is an aesthetic
phenomenon. What does this involve?

Refer to the title, "the fine, fine net of the word" at the beginning of this part. It is a quotation
from Raka, a poem by NP van Wyk Louw. This poem is an epic or a narrative poem in which the
life and fortunes of a heroic figure are depicted. The poem tells the story of the life of Koki, the
leader of a community somewhere in Africa. Koki is threatened by Raka, a figure who is half

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man and half animal and who penetrates the tribe in order to take it over. In the following
passage Koki addresses the members of his community:

... Does he Raka,

the strong beast know
our fine, fine net
of the word, with which
we fetch shining and fat
fish from many waters?

(1) What do you think of the phrase "our fine, fine net/of the word" refers to?
(2) Why does Koki refer to Raka as "the strong beast" and how is this related to the possible
meaning of the phrase?
(3) How do you understand the phrase "with which/we fetch shining and fat/fish from many
waters"?
(4) Why do you think the word "fine" is repeated in the phrase?
(5) What is the relationship between language and poetry as reflected by the above passage?

Share your thoughts on these questions in the Discussion Forum under the heading "Poetry
as a special kind of linguistic phenomenon".

The above activity is intended to draw you attention to the fact that poetry is a special kind of
linguistic phenomenon. Language is a supple network of signs. It is an instrument for use in all
domains of knowledge, and it can catch many "shining and fat fish from many water". In this
sense it is a net. In poetry language takes on a highly refined form. Then it becomes a "fine, fine
net" of form and meaning. It is the repetition of "fine" that draws the reader's attention to the fact
that we are dealing here with both language and poetry.

Complete the questions of "Activity 1.2" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 1.2

Read the texts below:

Text 1: ROBBEN ISLAND

1 Out there, with little else to do,

A man might spend a year or two
Holding within his splendid view

2 A mountain mutable, no less

Than the city of changefulness
Crooked in its cradling careee;

3 For there's a third-degree, a fray

Of time and tide fretting away
From Rocklands round to Graiger Bay;

4 But slowly, slow as time is to

A man with little else to do

5
 But gaze and gaze on a splendid view.
(Dederick in Cope, J & Krige, U. 1966:72)

Text 2: "LAUGHTER and forgetting"

For some, Tsotsi provided heart-stoppingly dramatic movements of violence; for others it was a
laugh a minute. Justice Malala can't help but wonder why.

IT WAS such an obvious truth that I had never ever given it a second thought. And yet, when it
was said out loud, its implications rammed at me with such a horror that I felt like something
was falling on me ... (Malala, 2006:12)

Text 3: The Accident

A MAN CARRYING a packet of tomatoes was knocked down by a car, as he was crossing
Cripps Road. He travelled in the air for twenty feet before he dropped to the side of the road. No
one actually saw him hit. He fell on his left side and face and did not move. His thigh was
broken and twisted under him so that the foot faced backwards. His left arm lay twisted under
him and the right was flung out backwards, palm up, as if he was asking for something ...
(Mungoshi, 1991:55)

Text 4: The blood knot

MORRIS: How did it go today?

ZACHARIAH: He's got me standing again.
MORRIS: At the gate?
ZACHARIAH: Ja.
MORRIS: But didn't you tell him, Zach? I told you to tell him that your feet are calloused
and that you wanted to go back to pots.
ZACHARIAH: I did.
MORRIS: And then?
ZACHARIAH: He said, "Go to the gate or go to hell."
(Fugard,1965:6)

Here we are dealing with differences of degree. To explain: Read the titles of each of the texts
above again. Can you see that the Fugard text, for example, is very "different" from the
newspaper report? Look at the way the poem is printed. It contains no punctuation. The
dramatic text also looks completely different.

(1) What do the four texts have in common?

(2) Which text does the phrase "Fine, fine net of the word" most appropriately refer to? Write
down the number and title of the text in question.
(3) Name and describe all the differences in language use and text form that you can identify
between Text 1 and the other three texts.
(4) Consult any English literary dictionary and write down the meanings of each of the four
terms, genre, prose, drama and poetry.
(5) Name the genres under which the four texts quoted above fall on the basis of your answer
to question 4 above.

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ANSWERS ACTIVITY 1.2

(1) They all deal with some form of injustice or cruelty

(2) "Robben Island" – R Dederick
(3) Text 1 is written in verse form. Text 2 is written in factual prose. Text 3 is written in
descriptive prose. Text 4 is written in dialogue form 1
(4) Genre: Odendal and Gouws (2000:276) describe this as a kind or type especially of
literature and art.
Novel: Odendal and Gouws (2000:924) define this as a story in prose of considerable
length in which a number of connected episodes are recounted.
Poetry: This consists of poems.
Drama: This is a direct presentation through action, dialogue, mime and gesture, usually a
representation of a clash between people and/or in a person's mind (Odendal &
Gouws 2000:147).
(5) Text 1: Poetry
Text 2: Newspaper report
Text 3: Prose or narrative
Text 4: Drama

All the above texts deal with human conflict and violence from various eras in the history of
South African society. The content therefore has a lot in common and the texts are similar in
that respect. The feature that distinguishes the texts from one another is their difference in form.
It is these differences in form that make it possible to identify texts as specific genres. Text 1 is
a poem. It consists of short phrases without capitals and punctuation. It is divided into stanzas
and the language used is not immediately accessible or comprehensible. Text 2 is a newspaper
report. It is written in full sentences, with punctuation, and is a report on a murder. The language
is easy to understand. Text 3 is a dramatic text. It consists of a dialogue between two
characters and includes stage directions. Text 4 is a story. It describes an accident in which a
child was run over and killed. It consists of descriptive prose with full sentences, dialogue and
punctuation. The differences between the texts indicate how form can be used to distinguish
texts from one another. This is the basis for genre classification.

On the basis of Activity 1.2 we are now going to attempt to define poetry. We will give a
definition from an ordinary dictionary first and follow this with one from a literary dictionary. We
will then formulate a definition of poetry for use specifically with this module.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines poetry as follows:

Art or work of the poet; elevated expression of elevated thought or feeling in metrical
form ...

In turn "metre" is defined as: "any form of poetic rhythm determined by the character and
number of feet". This definition identifies metre as the distinguishing form of poetry and
refers to the elevated nature of the content. Metre, however, is only one feature of poetic
texts.

The above dictionary definition does not give the reader a concise and accurate definition
of poetry. JA Cudden's Dictionary of literary terms and literary theory defines poetry thus;
It is a comprehensive term which can be taken to cover any kind of metrical composition.
This definition is not very helpful either.

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It is therefore not unusual to find that even after extensive research it is difficult to arrive at a
satisfactory definition of poetry. Kirszner and MandeU's (2004:550) definition is closer to the
mark:

One way of defining poetry is to say that it uses language to condense experience into
an intensely concentrated package with each sound, each word and each image carrying
great weight.

This is a very useful definition. It draws our attention to the fact that poems, except for epic
poems, are more condensed than narrative and dramatic texts. It also draws our attention to the
way in which words, images and sounds in poetry are loaded with meaning.

The definition states that poetry "condenses experience" but shies away from the technical
concepts in poetry. It is nevertheless a useful point of departure for a definition that is well
grounded in theory.

1.3.1 A definition of poetry

In THL1501 (Introduction to Theory of Literature) the question: "What is a theory?" is answered

as follows: "A theory defines, describes and/or explains object, events or phenomena." The
object being defined here is poetry or poetic texts in general and not a specific text. A
theoretically grounded definition must define poetry as accurately as possible because it will
direct the systematic description and explanation of poetry as a literary phenomenon. The word
poetry is derived from the Latin "poetria", which comes from the Greek "pots". This means "do"
or "create". The following definition is suggested:

Poetry is a literary art form which consists of lines of verse and in which the figurative,
syntactical, typographic, strophic and sound-related elements of language are creatively
exploited and charged with meaning in order to achieve a variety of poetic-
communicative effects.

This definition was formulated for the purposes of this module. This is what distinguishes poetry
as a genre from other literary forms and other forms of communication. It identifies the main
elements of poetry: (1) figurative language, (2) syntax, (3) typography, (4) metrical structure, (5)
stanza structure and (6) sound. These aspects are the building blocks of poetry. Each of these
aspects will be defined and discussed in subsequent study units.

Share your thoughts on the following questions in the Discussion Forum under the heading "A
definition of poetry":

(1) Compare the definition of poetry which you looked up for Activity 1.5(4) with the definition
formulated for the purposes of this module. Write down the similarities and differences
between the two.
(2) Do you think the definition formulated for the purposes of this module is satisfactory?
Explain your answer.
(3) If your answer to (2) was "No", formulate your own definition of poetry and briefly explain
why it is better than the definition formulated for the purposes of this module.

Complete the questions for "Activity 1.3" found under Additional Resources.

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ACTIVITY 1.3

Read the poem, "ROBBEN ISLAND" and answer the following questions:

ROBBEN ISLAND

1 Out there, with little else to do,

A man might spend a year or two
Holding within his splendid view

2 A mountain mutable, no less

Than the city of changefulness
Crooked in its cradling careee;

3 For there's a third-degree, a fray

Of time and tide fretting away
From Rocklands round to Graiger Bay;

4 But slowly, slow as time is to

A man with little else to do
But gaze and gaze on a splendid view.
(Dederick in Cope, J & Krige, U. 1966:72)

(1) Give two examples of the figurative use of language in the poem.
(2) Which examples of syntactic parallelism (similarities) can you find in stanza 1 and the last
stanza?
(3) Identify an example of unusual syntactical structuring in stanza 2, for example unusual
word order.
(4) Give examples of sound repetition such as alliteration and assonance (see study unit 4).
(5) The words "gaze" and "splendid" in the concluding line each contain a particular metrical
pattern. Name this pattern (see study unit 5).

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 1.3

Individual answers must be given to all the questions.

(1) "A mountain mutable" and "a fray of time and tide fretting away"
(2) The sentence construction "... with little else to do"
(3) "A mountain mutable, ..."
(4) Alliteration:

"A man might spend ..."

"A mountain mutable ..."
"Crooked in its cradling caress"
"But slowly, slow as time is to ..."
"From Rocklands round to Graiger Bay; ..."
"But gaze and gaze ..."

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 Assonance:

"Holding within his splendid view"

"... to Graiger Bay;"
"A man with little else to do
But gaze and gaze on a splendid view."
(5) lambic

1.4 Intratextual approaches to the study of poetry

Having formulated a definition that identifies the various aspects of poetry, it is necessary to find
the most suitable approach(es) to the study of these aspects.

In THL1501 (Introduction to the Theory of Literature) literature is presented as a specific form of

communication consisting of a sender, a message, a receiver and a context. This makes it
possible to distinguish between the intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic (external) aspects of the
aesthetic objects and determine which theories concentrate on which of these aspects.

The approaches in literary theory that focus on the intrinsic aspects of the literary-aesthetic
object are Russian Formalism and New Criticism. Furniss and Bath (1993:86) state that Russian
Formalism emphasises the way poetry uses the poetic structural elements and foregrounds
them to make the familiar world "strange". Investigating the way these internal aspects of a
poem work requires, as Van der Merwe and Viljoen (1998:99) state with reference to the New
Critics' procedure of "close reading", a kind of reading where one keeps one's nose in the text,
in order to detect every explicit and implicit element of meaning.

Our point of departure is the practice represented by the above two text-directed approaches,
but we do not confine ourselves to Russian Formalism and New Criticism. This introductory
discussion involves a more comprehensive technical and theoretical study of the intrinsic
workings and internal relationships of the poem. It sets out to give a comprehensive account of
the intratextual means of communication in poetry in contrast to those means that are
extratextual or outside the text.

1.5 Summary

In this study unit we explored the nature of poetry and formulated a definition of the genre. In
the process the basic building blocks of poetry were identified and light was cast on the
theoretical approach that will be followed.

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Study unit 2: Figurative language and the metaphor

2.1 Introduction

This study unit explores the nature of the figurative use of language in poetry. It explains and
illustrates the difference between the figurative and literal use of language. Definitions and
examples of the best known forms of figurative language, also known as figures of speech, are
provided.

The metaphor, one of the principal forms of figurative language in poetic texts, is analysed in
depth, discussed, and illustrated by means of examples. The aim of this study unit is to enable
you to study figurative language in general and metaphors in particular, as they occur in poetic
texts, in a theoretically accountable manner.

2.2 Figurative language

The definition of poetry in study unit 1 states that poetry is, among other things, "a concentrated
literary form in which the figurative ... aspects of the language are creatively exploited". So what
is figurative language? How does it differ from language that we would not describe as
figurative? These questions can be answered with reference to the difference between the
phrases in group 1 and group 2:

Group 1

The window is open.

The dog barks.
There are piles of books lying on the desk.
The sweet potato vines don't grow luxuriantly next to the railway line.

Group 2

The sky is an open window.

The night barks.
The desk is groaning under the load of books.
The sweet potato vines next to the railway line have sore ears.

The sentences in group 1 are literal forms of language. The sentences in group 2 are figurative
forms of language which cannot be understood literally.

We can see that figurative language consists of statements that cannot be understood or
interpreted literally. The phrases in group 1 are logical, practical and in line with reality. An
open window, a barking dog, books on a desk, sweet potato vines that are struggling to grow
next to a railway line, are all phenomena that are found in the real world. These phrases are
therefore examples of the literal use of language.

The phrases in group 2, on the other hand, cannot be taken or understood in a literal sense.
The kinds of phenomena described in the phrases do not exist in the real world. The sky is not
an open window. The night is not a barking dog. A desk cannot groan under a load like a man
or an animal. Sweet potato vines do not have ears. Figurative language is made up of

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statements that appear to be illogical, absurd and impossible in the real world. These
statements cannot be intended or interpreted literally. As we indicated previously, our concern
in this study unit is with the figurative use of language in general and with metaphors in
particular.

The figurative use of language is defined as follows by Furniss and Bath (1996:105–106):

'Figurative language' is a general term for a group of linguistic devices called

'figures of speech'... Figures of speech occur in all kinds of language uses and
situations ... We know that a word, phrase or statement is figurative when it cannot
be taken literally. Some figurative word or phrases cannot be literally true in any
circumstance. When we hear the commonplace phrase 'love is blind', we do not
stop and wonder how love could have eyes and how it could have been blinded.
The statement cannot be literally true, and we automatically understand it in a
figurative sense. Other figurative phrases can be literally true in some contexts,
but we realize that they must be understood figuratively in the context in which
they are used. Thus, the phrase 'look before you leap' could be used literally in a
specific situation, but in most contexts (where no actual leaping is involved) we
automatically interpret it figuratively.

Figurative language is therefore a general term for a variety of linguistic expressions that are not
meant literally and cannot be understood in a literal sense. The creative exploitation of figurative
language, as the definition of poetry in study unit 1 suggests, is one of the distinguishing
characteristics of poetic texts. A list of the most important figures of speech or forms of figurative
language is given below, illustrated with examples from English poetry.

This list of figures of speech is nowhere near complete. The purpose of the list is primarily to
draw your attention to the fact that the metaphor is one of a variety of figurative uses of
language that can be creatively exploited in poetic texts.

Comparison or simile
From: "Sounds of a Cowhide Drum"

I prick my ears
Like a buck ready to flee from ar\ imminent storm.

Oswald Mtshali

Metaphor
From: "To Drink its Water"

In a hot country
Light is a leper,
Water the eye of a goat
On the fork of an honoured guest.

Ingrid de Kok

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Personification
From: "There Came a Day"

There came a day that caught the summer

Wrung its neck
Plucked it
And eat it.

Ted Hughes

Symbolism
From: "The Dove"

For the gun it will scare her

And she will fly away.
And then there'll be weeping
By night and by day

Ewan McColl

Metonomy
From: "Stubborn Death"

When you hear your grandfather

scream and plead for death
do know he hears the unheard –
the screaming flames;
the groaning smoke

Agifi Proctor Dladla

Synecdoche
From: "Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock"

I should have been a pair of ragged claws

Scuttling across the floors of silent seas.

TS Eliot

Onomatopoeia
From: "Chamber Music XXXV"

All day long I hear the waters

Making moan
Sad as the seabird is when going
Forth alone
He hears the winds cry to the waters
Monotone.

James Joyce

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Allegory
From: "This Bread I Break"

This bread I break was once the oat,

This wine upon a foreign tree
Plunged in its fruit;
Man in the day or wind at night
Laid the crops low, broke the grape's joy.

Dylan Thomas

Hyperbole
From: "Encounter"

I came into a great plain,

Without horizon or any vegetation
A kind of long colourless glacier
That seemed to have not known any living thing,
Almost suspended between the void and creation;
This region had never heard laughter, Not tide,
Nor wind.

Leonard Clark

Euphemism
From: "Once Upon a Time"

I have learned to
to laugh with only my teeth
and shake hands without my heart.
I have learnt to say "Goodbye"
When I mean "Good-riddance":
To say "Glad to meet you",
Without being glad; and to say "It's been
nice talking to you", after being bored.

Gabriel Okara

Paradox
From: "Death Be Not Proud, Though Some Have Called Thee"

One short sleep, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more, death thou shall die

John Donne

Antithesis
From: "Virginia"

Living, living,
Never moving. Ever moving

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Iron thoughts came with me
And go with me:
Red river, river, river.

TS Eliot

Irony
From: "Of Alphus"

No egg on Friday Alphus will eat

But drunken he shall be
On Friday still, Oh, what a pure
Religious man is he!

Anonymous

Phanapoeia
From: "Snake"

He reached down from the fissures in the earth-wall in the gloom

And trailed his yellow-brown slackness soft-bellied down, over
The edge of the stone trough
And rested his throat upon the stone bottom,
And where the water had dripped from the tap, in a small
Clearness,
He sipped with his straight mouth,
Softly drank through his straight gums, into his slack long body,
Silently.

DH Lawrence

Synaesthesia
From: "Was Worm"

Was worm
Swaddled in white
Now, tiny queen
in sequin coat
peacock-bright
drinks the wind and feeds
on the seat of the leaves.

May Swenson

Write brief notes on the way the examples from the poetic texts above illustrate each of the
figures of speech and share your thoughts with the other students in the Discussion Forum
under the heading "Figures of speech".

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2.3 Metaphorical language

If the metaphor is only one of numerous forms of figurative language, why do we focus so
closely on the metaphor in this study unit? For three reasons.

• Firstly, the metaphor is the figure of speech that is most widely found in poetry.
• Secondly, a study of the other figures of speech above soon shows us that most of them
reveal a relationship between divergent things or occurrences. For example, similes and
paradoxes relate two phenomena to one another in different ways. In similes two
phenomena are compared to one another. In paradoxes apparent opposites are related to
one another.
• Thirdly, the specific characteristic of the metaphor is to describe one phenomenon in terms
of another. Because it creates a relationship between different things, the metaphor
illustrates an important general characteristic of figurative language. You will therefore find it
rewarding to study metaphors as representative examples of figurative language in poetic
texts.

For the above reasons we have singled out the metaphor for theoretical study. Can you think of
any other reasons that would justify the decision to single out the metaphor? Can you think of
any counterarguments to suggest that the metaphor is not representative of figurative
language?

Answer the questions of "Activity 2.1" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 2.1

Read the definitions and examples of figurative language given in activity 2.1.

(1) Identify all the figures of speech in which one phenomenon is related to another.
(2) With reference to the definition of the metaphor and your answers to (1), what conclusions
can you reach?

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.1

(1) Comparison (simile), metonomy, personification, synecdoche, allegory, symbolism,

eufemism, antithesis, paradox, irony, and synaesthesia.
(2) Most forms of figurative language relate different things to each other. Figurative language
can therefore be studied in depth with reference to one figure of speech, for instance the
metaphor.

In addition to the three reasons given above, we have singled out the metaphor because
modern philosophy regards this stylistic figure as one of the most important ways in which
meaning is constructed in language. Max Black makes the observation that metaphorical
language is not merely a decorative or cosmetic phenomenon intended to lend colour to the
language, as it was considered to be from the time of Plato to the beginning of the twentieth
century. Black (1881:54) says that human thought is inherently metaphorical in nature.

Thought is metaphoric, and proceeds by comparison, and the metaphors of

language derive there from.

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The importance of the metaphor in human thought is confirmed by cognitive linguistics, which
studies the role of language in thinking and the attribution of meaning. According to Zotan
Kovecses (2002:4), the metaphor in cognitive linguistics is seen as an intellectual strategy in
which one conceptual domain is described and interpreted in terms of another conceptual
domain. The term "conceptual domain" signifies "any coherent organisation of experience".

The domain from which the expression used to interpret another domain is taken is known as
the "source domain". The domain which is interpreted through the expression taken from the
source domain is known as the "target domain". The expressions taken from the source domain
are usually, but by no means always, concrete while the expressions from the target domain
are abstract. Study the following examples, which have been translated and adapted from
Kovecses:

1. She is playing with the idea.

2. Life is a long, bumpy road.
3. He shot down my argument.
4. The essay is full of raw facts and half-baked ideas.

The above expressions, which are part of everyday language, can be analysed as follows on
the basis of the concepts proposed by cognitive linguistics:

The definition in 1.2 defines the metaphor as a figure of speech in which one phenomenon is
described in terms of another. The metaphor therefore operates on the assumption that
comparisons can be drawn between two divergent phenomena. The similarities are not confined
to a concrete/abstract pattern. Associations can also be made between two concrete
phenomena. Furniss and Bath (1996:108) give the following example:

In the 1991 Gulf War the bombardment of the Iraqui installations was referred to as "surgical
strikes". This metaphor suggests that the concrete bombardment was similar in some way to
surgery. In the metaphor the bombardment is surgery. That is to say it is scientifically precise
and curative in that it removed the morbid elements from the world in a clinical manner. Note the
comparisons the metaphor draws between divergent matters: bombardment and surgery. A
bombardment cannot literally be carried out in a hospital theatre. The aim of the metaphor is to
divert attention from the random destruction and extermination of innocent people in the war. It
is therefore a figurative use of language which cannot be taken literally.

The importance of the metaphor for human thought and general communication should be
clear. However, the emphasis in this study unit falls on the role and nature of metaphorical
language in poetical texts. What distinguishes poetical texts from everyday language is not so
much the fact that they contain figurative language, and specifically metaphorical expressions.

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The distinction lies in the frequency and nature of the figurative language that occurs in poetic
texts. What does this mean?

In poetic texts figurative language, and metaphorical language in particular, occurs in high
frequency and is highly charged. Furthermore, figurative language in poetic texts is used in an
original and creative manner to foreground the figurative and constructed nature of poetry for
aesthetic purposes. In other words, the way language is used emphasises that poetry is a form
of word art and not a form of general communication. This is what Russian Formalism means by
foregrounding. This applies to the metaphorical use of language as well as to all the other
intratextual aspects which occur in poetic texts and which are dealt with in this study unit.

Metaphors represent a deviation from literal communication and that they are a core component
of poetic texts. The reason why metaphorical language may leave us floundering is that the
conventions of literal language use are infringed in such a way that the reader who is not alert to
the figurative nature of metaphors may be nonplussed. The poet and literary scholar Jeffrey
Wainwright (2004:156) comments on this as follows:

We might call someone "daft as a brush", or say of something that doesn't work
very well that is a "lemon", or, faced with an important decision, that we are "at the
crossroads", or that "things are looking up". All these phrases are making use of
the figure of speech known as metaphor. There are many different types of
metaphor but they share the characteristic of saying one thing in terms of
another. At the heart of the metaphor, the vehicle, which connects the subject of
the utterance with the quality being evoked, is an image: the brush, the lemon, the
crossroads, the act of lifting the eyes.

Wainwright's definition reiterates that in a metaphor a certain matter, thing or element

immediately takes over the properties or character of another matter, thing or element. Abrams
(1971:61) shares this view:

In a metaphor a word which in standard (or literal) usage denotes one kind of
thing, quality, or action is applied to another, in the form of a statement of identity
instead of comparison.

These definitions are essentially in agreement with the approach of cognitive linguistics to
metaphors.

Answer the question in "Activity 2.2" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 2.2

(1) Briefly explain the similarities of language found in the two expressions below:

"You weep tears ... I of the burning alphabet"

(Neruda, 1975:71)
"To praise the blue whale's crystal jet, ..."
(Enright, 1995:242)

(2) Are the descriptions in the expressions logically or literally possible? Explain your answers.
(a) You weep tears ... of the burning alphabet.
(b) To praise the blue whale's crystal jet.

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(3) Read (a) above again and explain what has happened to language in terms of meaning?
(4) Do you think the use of language in the expression is deliberate practice on the part of the
poet or not? Explain your answer to the best of your ability.

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.2

(1) Both refer to an unusual or figurative expression.

(2) No, both sentences are examples of descriptions that are logically impossible.
(3) There is a deviation from the usual manner of speaking. The sentences refer to a figurative
(symbolic) situation. It is not literally possible to weep tears of the burning alphabet. It is
also not possible for the blue to have a crystal jet.
(4) Yes, this is done deliberately to draw attention to something deeper in the expressions that
has nonliteral or symbolic meanings.

Foregrounding techniques

In this activity we looked at the figurative meaning, and therefore at the impracticability,
illogicality and absurdity that characterise the metaphorical use of language. The fact that the
metaphorical construction communicates meaning in a different or unusual manner in the poem
makes the metaphor an important foregrounding technique in the poetic text.

2.4 Close scrutiny: the building blocks of metaphors

Having described the metaphor from various angles, we can take a closer look at metaphorical
constructions. We do this by answering a number of related questions. How are metaphors
created? Are all metaphors the same? If not, how does one metaphor differ from the next? Can
we speak of specific metaphorical constructions on the basis of these differences? If so, what
are the different kinds of metaphorical constructions?

The answer to the last question is that four specific metaphorical constructions can be
distinguished, namely:

• Focus and framework constructions

• Tenor and vehicle constructions
• Genitive constructions
• Sentence metaphors

This implies that not all metaphors in a poem are constructed or created in the same way. The
four constructions above are each different kinds of metaphorical constructions which are put
together or constructed in different ways. Recognising the different kinds of constructions
requires very close reading, a basic knowledge of English syntax and a keen nose for the
frequently "hidden" metaphors in poetic texts.

2.4.1 Focus and frame constructions

What is a focus and frame metaphorical construction? How is it put together linguistically?

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In order to understand metaphors of this kind it is important that you are able to distinguish
between the concepts, focus and frame. The two concepts were suggested by Max Black
(1981:65–66) in the late nineteen fifties in an attempt to identify, analyse and characterise the
nature of metaphorical constructions precisely.

• The focus of a metaphorical expression is the word that does not "fit" into the sentence. For
example: "The sea is a monster". Why does the word "monster" not fit into this sentence?
Because it is absurd and illogical, and it is not literally possible for the sea to be a monster,
that is a roaring, ferocious beast.
• The frame of metaphorical constructions is the syntactical environment in which they appear.
In the above example, "The sea is" is the syntactical environment of "a monster".

This type of metaphorical construction in a poem can be recognised as soon as there is a

contradiction or clash between the literal meaning of the focus (monster) as opposed to the
frame (The sea is). Determining the nature of the effect of this clash or contradiction between
the focus and the frame requires knowledge of the grammatical function of classes of words in
English. Study the function of the parts of speech in English as shown in the table below. The
main parts of speech are nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.

The four parts of speech can be further simplified by saying that in English we are mainly
concerned with two parts of speech when analysing all metaphorical constructions:

• Class 1: Nouns
• Class 2: Verbs, adjectives and adverbs, which all provide more information about nouns and
are therefore descriptive.

To see whether you understand this in practice, try "Activity 2.3" found under Additional
Resources.

ACTIVITY 2.3

Read the first stanza from the poem "Word" by Pablo Neruba, which is found in his anthology,
entitled Selected poems (1975:203) and then answer the following questions:

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1 The word
2 was born in the blood,
3 grew in the dark body, beating,
4 and flew through the lips and the mouth.
(Neruda,1975:203)

(1) Identify the metaphorical words in the above stanza.

(2) What are these words called? Give reasons for your answer.
(3) Provide the framework (within which these words appear) for each line. Explain using your
own words, what the word "framework" means.
(4) What is the function of the adjective in line 3?
(5) Identify the noun in the above stanza.
(6) Indicate the verb in the above stanza.
(7) Does this stanza contain any examples of adverbs? If so, write them down.
(8) What is the function of an adverb?
For answers, turn to the next page.

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.3

(1) "word", "was", "born", "grew", "beating" and "flew"

(2) Focuses because the word concerned does not represent the normal manner of speaking. It
does not "fit" in the sentence.
(3) "The word
was born in the blood,
grew in the dark body, beating,
and flew through the lips and the mouth"

The framework is the syntactical environment (words in bold) in which the focuses in each
line of verse appear.

(4) This describes the noun "body".

(5) "word", "blood", "body", "lips" and "mouth".
(6) "was", "born", "grew" and "flew".
(7) No
(8) It describes a verb.

In the section above we looked among other things at the focus and the frame. The focus
represents that part of the metaphorical construction which can be described as illogical,
deviant, or different.

Note that this focus may consist of nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs as single words or as
phrases. Such phrases are known as focal phrases, which may be nominal, adjectival or
adverbial phrases.

The activity above tested your ability to recognise adjectives and adverbs. These two
descriptive words can describe the two main parts of speech in a metaphorical construction by
means of the following focal phrases:

(a) an adjectival focus and objective focal phrase (which describe or qualify the noun/nouns in
the sentence)

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(b) an adverbial focus phrase and adjectival focal phrase (which describe or qualify the verb
and therefore indirectly provide information via the verb on the action performed by one
or more nouns in the sentence)
(c) a verbal focus and a verbal focal phrase (which specify the action of the noun in a
sentence)

Now do the following "Activity 2.4" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 2.4

(1) Identify the adjectival, adverbial and verbal foci (focal phrases) in the metaphorical
constructions of the first two stanzas of the poem "The River in March" by Ted Hughes
(1995:236):

Now the river is rich, but her voice is low.

It is her Mighty Majesty the sea
Travelling among the villages incognito.
Now the river is poor. No song, just a this mad whisper.
The winter floods have ruined her.
She squats between draggled banks, fingering her rags and rubbish.
(Enright, 1995:236)

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.4

Adjectival focal phrases:

"... river is rich ... voice is low."
"... Mighty Majesty ..."
"... river is poor ..."
"... draggled banks, ..."
"... villages incognito."

Adverbial focal phrases:

"... mad whisper."

Verbal focal phrases:

"mad whisper."
"The winter floods have ruined her."
"She squats ... fingering her rags and rubbish"

Now that you are able to recognise the specific functions of different words and phrases in
sentences and the part played by each in frame and focus metaphorical constructions, you
should be able to identify the following metaphorical constructions:

• an adjectival focus or focal phrase

• an adverbial focus or focal phrase
• a verbal focus or focal phrase

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But what about a metaphorical construction that consists of a nominal focus? Is this a
completely different kind of metaphorical construction? If so, how does it differ from frame and
focus constructions? This is precisely what we discuss and explain next.

2.4.2 Tenor and vehicle constructions

In Wainwright's definition there is a reference to the term vehicle. What does this term mean
and how is it related to the second group of metaphorical expressions, which we could describe
as "tenor and vehicle" constructions?

In this kind of metaphorical construction the vehicle is the image or metaphorical word which
describes the subject, concept, thing or idea which is the real concern and which is called the
tenor. In the sentence:

The woman is a tigress

The subject of the sentence, the woman, is not described or qualified by an adjectival, adverbial
or verbal focus. The reason for this is that the focus of the sentence, namely the tigress is also a
noun. On the basis of IA Richards' (1981:54) concepts "tenor" and "vehicle" which were
proposed in the nineteen thirties, the construction can be described as follows:

(a) The part, The woman is a ... represents the frame of the sentence. Further, the main subject
of the sentence is the woman and this is called the tenor.
(b) The tigress, on the other hand, is the nominal focus, the focal subject, and is called the
vehicle.
(c) The function of the vehicle is to describe or qualify the tenor by means of a metaphor.

Note that this type of metaphorical construction is called the nominal metaphor because the two
nouns, the main subject from the frame and the nominal focus or focal subject, are joined by a
form of the verb "to be".

By this time you should be able to distinguish between the tenor-vehicle or nominal
metaphorical construction and the focus-frame construction. Do the "Activity 2.5" found under
Additional Resources to test your ability to tell these two constructions apart.

ACTIVITY 2.5

(1) Explain the metaphorical construction which is evident in the third stanza of Ted Hughes'
"The River in March" (1995:236):

And now the river is rich. A deep choir.

It is the lofty clouds that work in heaven.
Going on their holiday to the sea.

(Hughes in Enright,1995:236)

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ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.5

"And now the river is rich. A deep choir.

It is the lofty clouds, that work in heaven'
Going on their holiday to the sea."

river is the tenor (noun)

rich is the adjectival focus
deep is the adjectival focus
choir is the vehicle (noun)/nominal focus or focus subject

it (the choir) is the underlying tenor

lofty is the adjectival focus
clouds is the vehicle (noun) and nominal focus/focus subject
work is the verbal focus
Going on ... holiday ... is the verbal focal phrase

2.4.3 Genitive constructions

The possessive relationship is clearly recognisable by the words "of" and " 's" in the second
stanza of "Lore" by RS Thomas.

Miserable? Kick me arse!

It needs more than the rain's hearse,
Wind-drawn, to pull me off
The great perch of my laugh.

(Enright, 1995:44)

The reason why this sort of metaphor is seen as a variation of the tenor-vehicle construction is
because there is clearly a relationship between the nouns. In reality, this type of metaphorical
construction is regarded as an explicit or implied tenor-vehicle relationship. I will explain this by
means of the following two examples:

(a) Gauteng is the Hollywood of South Africa.

Three nouns are at work here in an interactive way: Gauteng, Hollywood and South Africa.
Generally speaking, two nouns form a tenor-vehicle relationship. Gauteng and South Africa
should be viewed as the literal terms, while Hollywood should be viewed as the
focus/metaphorical term in the expression. Gauteng is the tenor and Hollywood the vehicle.

(b) A deluge of fans

This is an example of a normal tenor-vehicle relationship which forms part of genitive
construction. The two nouns are deluge and fans. The normal order of the tenor-vehicle
relationship has, however, been turned around. Deluge is the metaphorical terms, while
fans is the literal term. In other words, the fans (are like) a deluge. With this type of genitive
construction, the first term always qualifies/describes the second metaphorical term.

Remember: Not all genitive constructions are necessarily metaphorical/figurative. They are only
metaphorical when there is something unusual or absurd in the focus-framework relationship
and in the tenor-vehicle relationship.

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Master "Activity 2.6" found under Additional Resources to test your insight into genitive
construction.

ACTIVITY 2.6

(1) Explain the components of the following genitive constructions. Indicate whether any
underlying tenor-vehicle relationships can be derived from these constructions.

To weep tears .../ of the burning alphabet" (Neruda, 1975:71)

To praise the blue whale's crystal jet, ..." (Enright, 1995:242)

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.6

In the first place the genitive structure indicates possession. This is identified in the two
examples by "of" and the apostrophe "s" ('s).

Example

"tears" (noun) is the tenor and "alphabet" (noun) the vehicle.

"burning" is the verbal focus

Example

"whale" (noun) is the tenor and "jet" (noun) the vehicle.

"crystal" is the adjectival focus

Each of the above examples is an example of a nominal metaphorical construction because

there are two nouns present.

2.4.4 The sentence metaphor

In all the above metaphorical constructions the reader was frequently aware of a kind of internal
tension between the various constituent parts of the construction. I shall briefly sum up the
internal tensions to help you to understand the last in the series of metaphorical constructions,
the sentence metaphor. Internal tensions are commonly due to the following:

• a clash between the literal meaning of the focus or focal phrase and the frame
• a logical absurdity in the combination of tenor and vehicle
• a strangeness in the combination of nouns in the genitive construction

It is sometimes a word that is metaphorical and sometimes the entire construction. Nevertheless
the reader cannot spot this immediately. He or she first has to take the broader context of the
poem into account or gather more information. In such a case a sentence in a poem may be
regarded as literal, while it is in fact metaphorical. Let us take the following example, "In time of
war", by WH Auden in Gräbe (2002:29):

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1 Here war is simple like a monument:
2 A telephone is speaking to a man
3 Flags on a map assert that troops were sent:
4 A boy brings milk in bowls. There is a plan

(Auden in Gräbe, 2002:29)

Although sentence 4 is literally possible, it does not fit into the broader context of the poem,
where lines 1–3 are metaphorical constructions.

The metaphorical content of sentence 4 becomes clear when the human action which is literally
possible becomes dehumanised within the broader context of the poem because it takes place
within a space where human actions replace mechanical planning.

The sentence metaphor is therefore a kind of construction which is literally possible in isolation,
but which functions metaphorically/figuratively within a larger whole.

Now try "Activity 2.7" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 2.7

(1) How does the sentence metaphor differ from all the previous metaphorical constructions
discussed in this study unit? Briefly explain.

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.7

(1) This type of metaphoric construction has literal meaning if read in isolation. Yet within the
poetic context it functions as a metaphor (figurative language).

2.5 Summary

Using the theoretical background provided in this study unit, you will have the necessary insight
to study and analyse figurative language, which was identified in study unit 1 as an inherent
aspect of poetic texts, on the basis of the following:

• the distinction between figurative and literal language

• the various forms of figurative language
• the meaning and importance of metaphorical language
• the metaphor as an important foregrounding technique in poetry
• the operation and identification of metaphorical constructions
• the identification and operation of focus and frame constructions
• the identification and operation of tenor and vehicle constructions
• verbal, adjectival, adverbial and nominal focus phrases
• the genitive construction
• the sentence metaphor

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The metaphor, as one form of figurative language, is not the only example of intratextual
communication devices in poetic texts. In the following study units you will be introduced to
other aspects of intracommunication elements in poetry that were identified in the definition of
poetry in study unit 1. But before going any further, share your thoughts on the study unit under
the heading "Review – study unit 2" found in the Discussion Forum.

Review – study unit 2

(1) Write brief notes on what you have learned from this study unit.
(2) List any sections that you did not fully understand and go back and study them carefully
again.
(3) If after doing (2) above you still have any problems, formulate brief questions and direct
them – in writing, by telephone, at a discussion class or in person, by appointment – to the
study leader for this part of the poetry section.

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Study unit 3: Syntactic organisation

3.1 To deviate, devise patterns, surprise the reader – thereby devising new/altered
meanings

To craft a densely woven sentence (or write good poetry) the poet is required to do three
important things, deliberately and with fine judgment:

• deviate from grammatical rules

• create patterns (extra patterning)
• introduce the unexpected (surprise the reader) through a play on or tension between
line/stanza (typographical units) and syntax

In this study unit I shall explain step by step how the "forced" actions of the poet in respect of
the syntactic and typographic organisation constitute a foregrounding technique in a poem.
Like the figurative language of the metaphor, the syntactic and typographical organisation offers
the poet an alternative technique for effectively communicating different and new meanings to
the reader.

3.1.1 Syntactic deviation: contravention of grammatical rules

Let's return for a moment to what was said in the above definition about deviating from
grammatical rules. How is deviation from grammatical rules accomplished in poetic language?
By using the following three techniques (also known as syntactic phenomena/deviations), or by
carrying out the following actions within the poetic sentence:

• displacement/dislocation (disturbance of the normal sequence of the constituents of the

sentence (subject, verb, object) and the creation of unusual sequences)
• deletion (omission of certain constituents so that gaps are created)
• expansion (addition of an abnormal number of constituents)

I should like to remind you that the above deviations in poetic language are deliberately
introduced to create new or altered meaning. It is left up to the reader to interpret these
deviations in a specific manner. How is this done? By using the devices of displacement and
deletion to draw attention to

• the new meaning created by means of the syntactic deviation

• the altered communication created by means of normal syntax

To sum up: by using syntactic deviations such as displacement and deletion, the poet
succeeds in saying more than he could have with the aid of normal sentence constructions.

Not only to help you gain a fuller understanding of the above, but also to augment the
knowledge you have already acquired, it is important that you should answer the questions in
"Activity 3.1" found under Additional Resources.

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ACTIVITY 3.1

Study the specimen sentences from the following poems, "Me up at does" by EE Cummings
and "Song of Myself" by Walt Whitman (1970:230) as well as Hopkins' "Spring and Fall: To a
Young Child" and "No Worst, There Is None".

Text 1:

... What
Have I done that
You wouldn't have
(Cummings in Gräbe, 2002:55)

Text 2:

Apart from the pulling and haulings stands what I am;

Stands amused, complacent, compassionating, idle, unitary; ...
(Whitman in Simpson, 1970:230)

Text 3:

Leaves, like the things of man, you

With your fresh thoughts care for you, can you?
(Hopkins in Simpson, 1970:249)

Text 4:

No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,

More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.
(Hopkins in Simpson, 1970:250)

Questions:

(1) Identify the kind of syntactical deviation (phenomenon) that occurs in the poetic use of
language in text 1 above.
(2) Which syntactic deviation is particularly striking in the poetic use of language in text 2
above?
(3) Identify the sentence in text 3 in which the normal sequence of sentence constituents
occurs.
(4) Now indicate the sentence in text 3 in which there is an obvious syntactic deviation from the
normal sequence of sentence constituents.
(5) What is the function of syntactic deviations in poetic language?

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 3.1

(1) Deletion
(2) Expansion
(3) Now no matter, child, the name:
Sorrow's springs are the same.
(Gerard Manley Hopkins in Simpson, 1970:249)

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... What
Have I done that
You wouldn't have
(EE Cummings in Gräbe, 2002:55)

(4) ... you

With your fresh thoughts care for you, can you?
(Gerard Manley Hopkins in Simpson, 1970:249)

(5) This focuses the reader's attention on the deeper "hidden" meaning in the poem. It therefore
has a communicative function.

3.1.2 Syntactic (over)regulation: extra patterning

Syntactic (over)regulation (extra patterning) is an alternative foregrounding technique in the

poetic use of language. Here the procedure followed is the opposite to syntactic deviation. Note
that the poet does not use this technique to break overly restrictive grammatical rules. Instead,
extra restrictions are placed on the underlying regularity of grammatical constructions.

To explain this: according to the rules of grammar it is permissible to create various syntactic
combinations in language. In poetic language the poet follows a different procedure: he or she
deliberately repeats the same syntactic patterns/structure. This striking use of patterning is
called syntactic (over)regulation or extra patterning.

The aim of the poet in creating this similar syntactic structuring (extra patterning) is to

• create equivalent meaning (semantic equivalence) and

• create equivalence between lexical items of the same part of speech in the same syntactic
position

I shall illustrate this deliberately similar syntactic structure by quoting part of the third stanza of
the poem "Jerusalem" by William Blake (in Simpson, 1970:166).

Bring me my Bow of burning gold!

Bring me my Arrows of desire!
Bring me my Spear! O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

The syntactic structure of the first part of lines 1–4 of the above stanza is graphically
represented as follows:

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In the above example we observe the following:

• semantic equivalence in respect of the lexical items "Bring", "me" and "my".
• "Bring", "me" and "my" is another example of equivalence between lexical items of the same
part of speech and in the same syntactic position Semantic equivalence includes both the
coupling of synonyms and the coupling of antonyms.

In the above example we see the identical syntactic position of the words "Bring", "me" and
"my". This syntactic patterning (the use of the imperative form of the verb in each line)
emphasises the semantic equivalence. The first three words and parts of speech in each line
are the same (synonymous). They are also placed in the same position in the sentence. As a
result there is greater emphasis on these two words for the reader. Within the context of the
poem this accentuates the urgency of preserving this precious heritage (the belief that Jesus
Christ lived in England).

The poet also makes the reader aware of the differences in the repeated pattern. Here we could
speak of antonymous relationships. Note the following example from Ted Hughes' poem, "The
River in March" (Enright, 1995:236):

Now the river is rich ...

…
Now the river is poor ...

Only the beginning of stanza 1, line 1 and stanza 2, line 1 is the same, namely "Now the river is
...". The identical beginning makes the reader compare the rest of the lines with each other even
if there is no further syntactic correspondence. The poet also makes the reader aware of the
differences within the repeated pattern. Then we speak of antonymous relationships. The
adjectives "rich" and "poor" are clearly contrasted: to demonstrate the ebb and flow of the river
and of life.

3.1.3 Typography – tension between line/stanza and syntax

Poetic texts are not structured only as sentences or phrases, but are also grouped into
typographic units (lines/stanzas). Occasionally a typographic unit (line) does not fully "cover"
(correspond to) the sentence/phrase. This can alter the meaning, as in the following example
from the poem "Pity this busy monster man unkind" by ee cummings:

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 Pity this busy monster, manunkind,
Not

There is a pause with a comma at the end of line one. However, the sentence ends with "Not"
followed by a stop in line two. Taken by itself, line one is a positive statement, namely that the
"monster"

There is a pause with a comma at the end of line one. However, the sentence ends with "Not"
followed by a stop in line two. Taken by itself, line one is a positive statement, namely that the
"monster" should be pitied. This would be an erroneous reading of the text because "not" in line
two changes the meaning to a negative (do not pity the monster).

It is therefore clear that syntactic-typographical organisation in a text can alter the semantic
content significantly.

3.2 Summary

In this study unit the emphasis was placed on the following:

• the concept or phenomenon of syntactic deviation

• the function of syntactic deviation in the poetic use of language
• the new or different meaning that syntactic deviation can introduce in a poem
• syntactic overregulation (extra patterning)
• semantic equivalence
• typographic tension between lines/stanzas and syntax

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Study unit 4: Sound in poetry

4.1 Sound is the fine tuning in poetry

The concept sound is a fundamental phenomenon in poetry and is the focus of this study unit.

The writing of a poem is a creative process in which both the writer/poet and the words that are
written are formed and shaped. They both grow into something more than they were originally:
the writer becomes a poet and the lines that are written achieve the status of a poem.

During this intensive and difficult process the author has to use his heightened perception of
sounds in the way that an insect uses its tentacles. He therefore has to use this delicate
perception (just as an insect uses its senses to explore the world) to pick his way through
vowels and diphthongs and create meaning. Note how effective the metaphorical image of the
insect is in demonstrating how sound works in a poem.

Bear in mind that an orchestra is made up of a variety of musical instruments, all producing
different sounds. Vowels and diphthongs (combinations of two vowels) are two kinds of sounds
in a poem that can be produced by the "musical instrument" called assonance (pattern of sound
repetition). Other kinds of "musical instruments" produce other kinds of sounds (patterns of
sound repetition) in a poem. We discuss this in greater depth later on.

In the above paragraph I was referring to the inherent nature of a poem. And to the fact that we
instinctively experience the inherent nature of a poem as melodic (musical). This musical quality
is referred to as the sound in the poetic use of language. A close examination of sound soon
shows us that it is a very concrete and/or physical aspect of the poetic use of language.

The terms "physical" and "concrete" refer to the way in which sound is organised in poetic
language. Besides its expressive role, sound is a powerful means of communication in poetic
language.

The focus in this study unit is on the way the sound in a poem communicates with the reader. In
other words: how does sound help to create meaning in a poem? Do you agree that in order to
convey communicative meaning in a poem, the poet would have to do something with the
sound? The repetition of sounds creates a kind of order or organisation. For this reason it
functions as a kind of foregrounding technique in poetic language.

4.1.1 The repetition of sounds creates order/organization – demands attention ... in

order to communicate meaning ...

Sound is foregrounded in poetry in an ordered manner because it is a melodic or musical

repetitive communication device within the syllable.

The term "sound repetition" includes seven patterns of sound repetition within syllables.

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Semantic Connectives

• Connectives are those full words in which the sound repetition occurs within a poem.
• Semantics has to do with the meaning of words.

To study sound in a poem as a vehicle for communicating meaning, it is necessary that you
should be able to distinguish

• the type of sound

• the sound repetition patterns and the
• connectives, and also
• establish the semantic function of words.

The key issue is that sound has a particular semantic function in a poem. And here we are
trying to establish the nature of this function.

We study the patterns of sound repetition in a poem to discover what relationships of

equivalence there are at the level of semantics (meaning). Our end goal is to be able to interpret
full lines, stanzas and the poem as a whole.

Note that sound repetition does not mean the repetition of an identical letter. It is the repetition
of the same sound segment of language. For example, there is no assonance in the following
words:

soul – some – cotton – tractor – oar

Even if all the above examples contain the letter "o", different vowels are represented by the
same letter.

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It is therefore important to read the poem aloud when trying to identify sound (repetition).
Note further that connectives may occur at both the horizontal and the vertical levels as a
pattern within a poem. Horizontal sound repetition means sound repetition within the same line,
as for instance in the poem, "Spring and Fall: To a Young Child" by Gerard Manley Hopkins
(1970:249–250). For your convenience, I have reproduced the whole text below:

Spring and Fall: To a Young Child

1 Margaret, are you grieving

2 Over Goldengrove unleaving?
3 Leaves, like the things of man, you
4 With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
5 Ah! as the heart grows older
6 It will come to such sights colder
7 By and by, nor spare a sigh
8 Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
9 And yet you will weep and know why.
10 Now no matter, child, the name:
11 Sorrow's springs are the same, ('on i of springs)
12 Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
13 What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
14 It is the blight man was born for, ('on i of is)
15 It is Margaret you mourn for.

(GM Hopkins in Simpson, 1970:249–250)

The phenomenon of alliteration in line 2: Over Goldengrove unleaving as well as the

assonance in the same line. Over Goldengrove unleaving contains examples of horizontal
sound repetition within the same line.

Vertical sound repetition takes place across more than one line or sentence in a poem: The
alliteration of "gr" in grieving and Gold- engrove (lines 1 and 2), the assonance of "i" in "sights"
and "sigh" (lines 6 and 7) are an example of vertical sound repetition:

End rhyme is always a vertical sound relationship, as can be observed in the whole poem
"Spring and Fall: To a Young Child". To explain this, I have quoted the first two lines, but also
lines five and six of the poem:

1 Margaret, are you grieving

2 Over Goldengrove unleaving?
…
5 Ah! as the heart growe older
6 It will come to such sights colder

(Hopkins in Simpson, 1970:249)

In the poem, "Spring and Fall: To a Young Child", above the words "older" and "colder" are
examples of (paired) end rhyme but there is also a semantic relationship between them: the
increase in age implies a form of accompanying decline, although not necessarily in the
negative sense of the word. I shall explain this as follows: the words "older" and "colder" can
have the following corresponding meaning within the context of the poem:

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• "reduction"
• "decline"
• "loss"
• apathy (severity)
• sobriety of heart and mind

The different similarities (relationships) above can have the following semantic significance
within the poem:

The close relationship between the increase in age and the decline in vitality of body and mind
makes way for a new kind of consciousness: that of an inevitable breadth of experience, a
wisdom and insight into the impermanence of this earthly existence.

There are additional similarities within the all-embracing context of the poem, for example the
cyclical/procedural similarities such as the visually perceptible change of seasons and the
inescapable process of life and death the cyclical process. All these are semantically coupled by
means of phonic parallelism.

Semantically equivalent relationships which are established by means of sound repetition

therefore embrace relationships of similarity as set out above. But they also include
relationships or linkages of difference. The opening line of the second verse of the poem
"Devil's food" by Gabeba Baderoon (2006:17) illustrates this clearly. It goes like this:

Learn which mushrooms are perfect, poisonous,

(Baderoon, 2006:17)

The alliteration of the "p" in "perfect" and "poisonous" creates and reinforces a relationship of
divergent meaning between the two words: if something is poisonous it cannot possibly be
perfect at the same time.

4.1.2 The expressive value of sound in the poetic text

In the above discussion our focus was mainly on patterns of sound repetition and the
communicative function of sound repetition in a poetic text. Another aspect of sound is its so-
called expressive or graphic function in poetry.

It is not correct to assume that certain sounds and particular meanings are always related. For
example, the "w" sound in the words "wanwood" and "weep" does not in itself suggest a feeling
of sadness. The same consonant sound, "w" in the word, "worlds" in the same line of the poem
carries no suggestion of distress.

The expressive value of sounds is subject to the meaning of the words within which the sounds
occur. The relationship between sound and meaning in language is arbitrary. Therefore when
you discuss the semantic function of sound in a poetic text, you should remember that a sound,
such as the "w" sound, does not inherently have a certain meaning (for example sadness).

Nevertheless there is a certain expressive potential in language. A striking example is to be

found in the onomatopoeic words "trill" and "flashing" in Gabeba Baderoon's (2006:32) poem
"Sudden music":

her tongue trill in the box of the skull

•••

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and flashing light behind the eyes,
•••

(Baderoon, 2006:32)

The pulsing vibration of the music is not only heard and seen in the mind of the reader – it also
imitates the throbbing (joyful) heartbeat of the child.

The following activity found under Additional Resources should test your knowledge of this
study unit: "Activity 4.1".

ACTIVITY 4.1

Spring and Fall: To a Young Child

1 Márgarét, are you grieving

2 Over Goldengrove unleaving?
3 Léaves, like the things of man, you
4 With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?
5 Ah! ás the heart grows older
6 It will come to such sights co\der
7 By and by, nor spare a sigh
8 Though worlds of wanwood leafmeal lie;
9 And yet you will weep and know why.
10 Now no matter, child, the name:
11 Sórrow's springs áre the same, ('on i of springs)
12 Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed
13 What heart heard of, ghost guessed:
14 It is the blight man was born for, ('on i of is)
15 It is Margaret you mourn for.

(GM Hopkins in Simpson, 1970:249–250)

Carefully read the poem "Spring and Fall: To a Young Child" by Gerard Manley Hopkins
(1970:249–250) quoted above and then answer the questions that follow:

Questions

(1) Why do we study sound in a poem? Explain briefly.

(2) What do you understand by the semantic function of sound?
(3) What should we guard against when identifying sound in a poem? (Which mistake is
frequently made during this process?)
(4) What is meant by the term "semantic relationships of equivalence"?
(5) What are the various kinds of sound repetition in a poem called?
(6) How would you describe assonance? Give examples of assonance in the poem.
(7) Explain what alliteration is by linking it to the two examples from the text.
(8) Consonance is a different kind of rhyme pattern from the above two. Provide two examples
of consonance from the poem.
(9) What is the distinguishing characteristic of end rhyme? Explain with reference to two
appropriate examples from the text.

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(10) Cite one example of diffuse repetition from the text.
(11) How would you describe the term "connective"? Supply two examples.

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 4.1

(1) Because sound is a particular means of communication in poetry. Briefly, it wants to

communicate something to the reader.
(2) The meaning function of sound. The deeper meaning that is demonstrated to the reader
with the help of sound.
(3) One can easily confuse the specific letter with the different sounds that they represent, for
example the letter "e" in words such as "bed" and "refer". These are the same letter but
represent three different sounds.
(4) Sound repetition that indicates relationships of similarity and difference.
(5) Alliteration, assonance, consonance, inverted rhyme, pararhyme, end rhyme and diffuse
repetition.
(6) The horizontal and vertical repetition of the same vocal sounds in lines of verse. Examples
of this are the following:

"Mágarét, are ... is ..." is horizontal repetition of sound.

"... grieving" is horizontal repetition of sound
"Over Goldengrove ..." are two examples of horizontal repetition of sound.
"With your fresh thoughts care for, can you?" is horizontal repetition of sound.
"Ah! as the heart grows older" is two horizontal repetitions of sound.
"It will come to such sights colder" is horizontal repetition of sound.
"By and by, nor spare a sigh" is horizontal repetition of sound.
"... grieving
... unleaving?" is vertical repetition of sound
"... man, you
... can you?" is vertical repetition of sound
"... grows older
... colder" is vertical repetition of sound

(7) The horizontal and/or vertical repetition of the same consonantal sounds in lines of verse:

"And yet you will weep and know why" is two examples of vertical repetition of sound
"Sórrow's springs are the same" is horizontal repetition of sound
"Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed" is two examples of horizontal repetition of sound

(8) "Nor mouth had, no nor mind, expressed" is an example of consonance

"What heart heard of, ghost guessed;" is an example of consonance
(9) This rhyme always appears in a vertical sound context:

"... grieving
... unleaving?"
"... older
... colder

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(10) "It is Margaret you mourn for." is diffuse repetition

"Ah! ás the heart grows older" is diffuse repetition
(11) Words of one or more of the same sounds that rhyme with each other on a vertical level,
for example the end rhyme word of each:

"... grieving
... unleaving?"
"... older
... colder"

4.2 Summary

In this study unit you were introduced to the following:

• the value and function of sound in poetry

• the specific semantic function of sound
• the meaning of the term "relationship of equivalence"
• different kinds of sound phenomena or patterns
• the concepts of assonance, alliteration, consonance, inverse rhyme, pararhyme, end rhyme
and diffuse repetition
• what connectives are
• the concept of semantics
• relationships of equivalence at the semantic level
• the expressive value of sounds in a poetic text

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Study unit 5: Rhythm and metre
5.1 Rhythm and metre create poetic structure ... A deliberate foregrounding technique
... An artifice used to create meaning ...

Survival of any kind on our planet depends on a variety of regulated processes. Consider the
periodic repetitions that take place in nature: the more or less regular rotation of day and night,
summer and winter, the waxing and waning of the moon, the succession of life and death. And
in the midst of all this we are aware of our own heartbeat and breathing ... All of these have a
rhythmic basis.

In this, the second last study unit on poetic texts, we chiefly study the nature of rhythm and
metre and the form they take in poetry. How they figure as a structural foregrounding technique
in poetry and create meaning within the poetic text are matters that we study in greater detail in
the more advanced course. In this module we merely provide an introduction.

Reread all the bolded words in the title of the first section above. Provisionally, these words
form the core of what we shall be learning about rhythm in this section.

A metronome is a device that measures time to guide piano pupils. Its speed can be adjusted to
suit the requirements of a particular piece of music. The important thing about a metronome is
that it provides a continuous indication of mathematically correct time intervals. The process
whereby beats and off beats follow one another at regular intervals (forming "constant waves" –
see also 5.3 below) in a poetic text is called metre.

Metre, like rhythm, is a structural foregrounding technique in poetry – it creates meaning for the
reader. Along with rhythm, this more technical aspect is discussed in greater detail in the
advanced course.

To illustrate the difference between rhythm and metre in practice, try the following: if you do not
have a metronome, listen to the ticking of an alarm clock and try to time your breathing
according to the clock. Then put your middle finger on the artery in your throat and feel your
heartbeat. Do your breathing and heartbeat coincide with the regular beat of the metronome?
What do you think? You will discover that there is a distinct deviation. You will find that rhythm is
emotive and that it moves along a line of verse in its own unique way. As Grove (1986:82) puts
it, rhythm is a self-directed and vigorous energy that opposes the regularity of the metre. Keep
this insight in mind as you progress through the study material.

5.2 Regular repetition as opposed to fixed regularity

It is important that you master the scientific definitions of rhythm and metre supplied by
authorities on theory of literature. Furniss and Bath (1996:29) define rhythm as follows:

[R]hythm occurs whenever there is a regular repetition of similar events which are
divided from each other by recognizably different events. A basic visual example
of this would be a regularly flashing light (like that of a lighthouse). This can be
said to develop a binary sequence which goes as follows: light-dark, light-dark,
light-dark, and so on. An aural example would be the regular sound of a bleeper:

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bleep-quiet, bleep-quiet. Rhythms can occur not only as on-off sequences like
these, but in a variety of different ways. The only requirement is that there is an
alternation between similar but recognizably different events. Walking can become
rhythmical because it involves moving alternate legs ...

To arrive at the scientific definition of metre, we need first of all to recognise the connection
between rhythm and metre.

Nienaber (1971:59) expresses this as follows:

Rhythm really originates because it thrusts in the direction which the metrum tries
to force the course of the verse and simultaneously the poem. In fact, every part
which resists this metrical compulsion, which steps outside of it, creates a
rhythmical deviation and focuses the attention on itself. [own translation]

From the descriptions above, it is clear that rhythm arises when there is a deviation from the
metre. To gain a better understanding of this, note what Furniss and Bath (1996:30) have to say
on the subject:

If we have now articulated the basic building blocks of rhythm, we need to add
only that metrical form (metre) is achieved simply through measuring the way
rhythmic units are combined together that is, through arranging rhythmic units in
groups which are regularly repeated.

The words "form", "measuring" and "arranging" from the above passage are important because
they bear out what Grove (1986:79) has to say about metre:

(that it is) the mathematical correct succession of beats and off beats. ... This
steely pattern is the basis of the metric verse, but a living language cannot totally
be controlled by metrum. For poetry the medium is rather a sort of abstract ideal
that infuses the poet when he creates a poem. [own translation]

Furniss and Bath's definition explains how metre can be found in the rhythmic progression of a
verse. Note, too, that rhythm and metre continually alternate within lines. This is the origin of the
term "metrical-rhythmic structure" of a poetic text. This brings us logically to the next section of
this study unit.

5.3 Scansion

Scansion is a method of identifying metrical feet. But before we can scan, we should first find
out what the concept "metrical feet" means.

In the following section we try to discover how scansion works and how this process makes it
possible to identify various metrical patterns/metrical feet in poetic texts.

In 5.1 above we spoke of "constant waves" that represent the regularity of the metronome. In
other words, when the beats and off beats of the metrical verse follow each other at regular
intervals, as from the start of one wave to the start of the next, we have a constant wave motion
(underlying metrical pattern). For this reason a poem with a fixed order of beats and off beats
is known as a metrical poem. When this regular pattern is broken, and we have an irregular
scheme, then the poet has deviated from the metre. This deviation takes us closer to rhythm.

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There are six kinds of metrical patterns, three of two syllables and three of three syllables that
belong together. The accent always falls on only one of the syllables. Each of these six different
stressed groups of syllables is called a metrical foot. This will be explained more fully in the next
section.

5.3.1 Steps in the process of scansion

In the first year our focus in this section is merely on becoming thoroughly acquainted with the
first two steps in scanning a poem.

These steps are as follows:

5.3.1.1 Identifying stressed syllables (metrically prominent syllables)

The explanation that follows must be regarded as the first step in the scansion of a poem. This
has to do with acquiring the necessary linguistic knowledge to scan a poetic text.

But the sole purpose of scanning a poem (like the purpose of studying the metaphor, syntax
and sound structure) is to open up (interpret) the text, that is, to enrich the reader's
understanding of the poem.

In Afrikaans and English there are certain syllables that are always stressed, in any text.
These stressed syllables fall into the following groups:

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5.3.1.2 Specifying the metrical pattern through the metrical feet

Remember that the metrical pattern of a poem consists of metrically prominent syllables. Here I
am referring to linguistically predictable syllables and variably predictable syllables (refer to
5.3.1.1 above). Each syllable must accordingly be arranged in the strong (S) and weak (W)
positions of the underlying metrical pattern of the poem. This is expressed by the symbols (S)
and (W). The following are a few examples of the iambic metrical foot from the poem, "Tiger", by
AD Hope (Enright, 1995:15).

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ʋ = weakly stressed syllable in a metrical foot

/ = strongly stressed syllable in a metrical foot

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As we said previously, the process of scanning a poem into metrical patterns (metrical feet)
helps the reader to interpret the poem.

In the example of iambic metre above, the words "paper", "tigers", "roar" and "noon" as well as
"sun", "hot" and "high" are prominently emphasised in this stanza of the poem "Tiger".

The paper tigers roar at noon.

The sun is hot, the sun is high.
They roar is chorus, not in tune'
Their plaintive, savage hunting cry.
(Hope in Enright, 1995:15)

Within the context of the poem these words could indicate the following: the slumbering yet
harsh/forbidding and dazzling influence of the artificialities of city life on the defenceless mind of
the young child.

To sum up: by carrying out the first two steps you will already have scanned the poem fairly
accurately. But it is only when you have identified and analysed the tension between the
rhythm and the metre (also known as metrical and rhythmic foregrounding) will your scansion
be fairly complete. But more about this in the advanced course.

To test your knowledge of this section, it is important that you should do "Activity 5.1" found
under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 5.1

Read the first stanza of the poem, "The House of God", by AD Hope and then answer the
questions on it:

The House of God

Morning service! pareon preaches;
People all confess their sins;
God's domesticated creatures
Twine and rub against his shins;
•••
(Hope in Enright, 1995:16)

Questions:

(1) How would you explain to a someone who never reads poetry what rhythm and metre are?
(2) Explain in your own words why you think that rhythm and metre are core components of a
poem.
(3) Scan the above stanza. Which metrical pattern occurs prominently in the poem? Merely
name it.
(4) What do the symbols W and S stand for? Explain your answer by scanning the first stanza
of the poem and indicating weakly and strongly stressed syllables by means of W and S.

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ANSWERS ACTIVITY 5.1

(1) By doing the simple exercise of placing a finger on the throat or on the pulse or listening to
the ticking of a metronome; then trying to breathe in time to the beat of the pulse, throat or
metronome. The fixed beat represents metre. In contrast, natural of regular, flowing,
rhythmical movement is representative of rhythm.
(2) Because it is an important highlighting technique in poetry. It reveals and communicates
the often "hidden" meaning in a poem.
(3)

(4) The strong and weak positions of the syllables of the underlying metric pattern of a poem.
This is expressed by the symbols (S) and (W).

5.4 Summary

In this, the second-last study unit of this part, you learned more about:

• rhythm and metre

• rhythm and metre as key ingredients of a poem
• the concept of scansion
• various metrical patterns
• the placement of syllables in strong and weak positions of the underlying metrical pattern

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Study unit 6: A medical procedure?
6.1 The analysis of a poem

A metaphorical parallel is used when one wishes to explain a matter/aspect or idea by

comparing it to a concrete situation.

In this, the last study unit in this part, I am deliberately using a metaphorical parallel to sum up
the knowledge we have gained in this part of the study guide in the form of an image.

With the knowledge of metaphors that you have built up so far, you should easily be able to
understand the following explanation:

The metaphor, the syntactic and typographic organisation, the sound structure, and the rhythm
and metre of a poem are all part of a set of instruments used in the technical analysis of poetry.
These "poetic instruments" can be compared to the scalpel and similar instruments in the hands
of a surgeon.

The orthopaedic surgeon, for example, cuts through the skin to expose (probably twisted or
degenerating) joints, bones, ligaments and cartilage but also arteries, nerves and muscle tissue.
The aim of the surgeon is to use medical technology (such as laser and other microscopic
procedures) to get to the cause of the patient's disorder (the source of the pain which is
"hidden" under the skin) and do the necessary repair work.

The reader of poetry does the same thing: the technical or poetic instruments enable the reader
of poems to discover the initially obscure "mysteries" that vibrate behind and between words
and interpret them so that they form a logical arrangement.

When the surgeon attaches arteries, ligaments and bones and sews up the skin again, a
process of synthesis has been completed. The same process is carried out when the analysis of
a poem is complete. The surgeon gives the patient meaningful medical feedback after doing the
necessary interpretation during the operation.

While analysing the poem the reader is filled with new and fresh insight – a greater whole which
in retrospect communicates a deeper (life) truth.

Let us test the knowledge we have gained in the above study units by doing "Activity 6.1" found
under Additional Resources. You will probably have to refer back to previous study units to
refresh your memory. The purpose of this concluding activity is to help you to from a poetic
synthesis of the guide.

ACTIVITY 6.1

Read the poem "The River in March" by Ted Hughes (Enright, 1995:273) and the first stanza of
the poem "Tiger" by AD Hope (Enright, 1995:15) carefully and answer the questions that follow.
Use the poem, "The River in March", to answer questions 2–10. Use the poem, "Tiger", to
answer questions 13–14.

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The River in March
Now the river is rich, but her voice is low.
It is her Mighty Majesty the sea
Travelling among the villages incognito.

Now the river is poor. No song, just a thin mad whisper.

The winter floods have ruined her.
She squats between draggled banks, fingering her rags and rubbish.

And now the river is rich. A deep choir.

It is the lofty clouds, that work in heaven,
Going on their holiday to the sea.

The river is poor again. All her bones are showing.

Through a dry wig of bleached flotsam she peers up ashamed
From her slum of sticks.
Now the river is rich, collecting shawls and minerals.
Rain brought fatness, but she takes ninety-nine per cent
Leaving the fields just one per cent to survive on.

And now she is poor. Now she is East wind sick.

She huddles in holes and cornere. The brassy sun gives her a headache.
She has lost all her fish. And she shivers.
But now once more she is rich. She is viewing her lands.
A hoard of king-cups spills from her folds, it blazes, it cannot be hidden
A salmon, a sow of solid silver,
Bulges to glimpse it.

Tiger
The paper tigers roar at noon;
The sun is hot, the sun is high.
They roar in chorus, not in tune,
Their plaintive, savage hunting cry.

(1) The surgical interventions of an orthodpod are a metaphorical parallel for the technical
analysis of a poetic text. What is meant by this metaphor? Briefly explain.
(2) Are there any instances of the "different/unusual" or "unique" use of language? If so, give
examples.
(3) The "different/unusual" or "unique" use of language is an example of a technical
communication element in poetry. How would you describe your answer to (2) above in
technical terms?
(4) Describe how the genitive construction works, using examples from the poem.
(5) What do you understand by the metaphorical concept of the distinction between focus and
frame? Demonstrate your answers by means of suitable examples from the guide.
(6) What is understood by an adjectival, adverbial and verbal focus? There are four examples
in the poem of one of these four focuses. Indicate which one.
(7) Cite an example from the poem of a nominal metaphor.
(8) Explain the terms "tenor" and "vehicle" with reference to a suitable example.
(9) How is the contravention of (deviation from) grammatical rules applied in poetry? Briefly
explain.

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(10) Which syntactic deviation (phenomenon) is particularly striking in the poetic use of
language in the first stanza of the poem?
(11) Discuss the semantic function of sound by referring to all the different kinds of sound
repetition which occur in the poem, "The River in March".
(12) Why is it important to the serious reader of poetry to be able to scan a poem? Briefly
explain.
(13) Now scan the first stanza of the poem, "Tiger", and decide what the predominant metrical
pattern (metrical foot) of this stanza is.
(14) Now explain the role and function of these metrical patterns (question (11) above) within
the context of the poem.

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 6.1

(1) That the opening up (understanding) of the contents of the poem takes place by means of
the expert application and interpretation of verse technical methods. That this delicate
process can be compared to the expert intervention of an orthopaedic surgeon in an
operation.
(2) Yes, the following examples are applicable:

Now the river is ... just a thin mad whisper.

And now the river is ... A deep choir.
But now once more she is rich.
A salmon, a sow of solid silver,

(3) Here more than one metaphorical construction is used to give deeper meaning to the
poem.
(4) This type of metaphorical construction indicates a relationship of possession. The idea of
possession can also be explained as a type of belonging or consisting of or partly
qualifiable as. The possessive relationship can be immediately recognised by the word "of"
in the following examples:

From her slum of sticks.

A salmon, a sow of solid silver,

(5) The focus of the metaphorical expression or construction is that word that does not "fit" in
the sentence. Examples of this include:

It is her Mighty Majesty the sea (The sea is a Mighty Majesty)

Now the river is ... just a thin mad whisper.
And now the river is ... A deep choir.
But now once more she is rich.
***
A salmon, a sow of solid silver,

The words "a thin mad whisper", "A deep choir" and "A salmon, a sow of solid silver" do
not "fit" in these sentences. Because they are absurd and illogical, it is not literally possible
for the river to be these things.

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The framework of the metaphorical construction is that in which they appear. In the above
example the words "Now the river is" indicate the syntactical environment of "die bitter,
droë and donker glas" respectively, as well as the "naverdriet".

(6) An adjectival focus/focal phrase (describes/qualifies the noun in the sentence). An

adverbial phrase/focal phrase (the verb describes/qualifies and thus provides the action
that is carried out by one or more nouns in the sentence indirectly via the verb). A verbal
phrase/focal phrase (specifies the action of the noun in a sentence).

There are four examples of adjectival focus in the poem:

It is her Mighty Majesty the sea (The sea is a Mighty Majesty)

Now the river is ... just a thin mad whisper.
And now the river is A deep choir.
But now once more she is rich.
***
A salmon, a sow of solid silver,

(7) The section "The river is ..." represents the framework of the sentence. In addition the
main subject of the sentence is the river, also called the tenor. In contrast, the words
"Majesty", "whisper", "choir" and "silver" are the nominal focus and the focal subject and
are therefore called the vehicle. The function of the vehicle is to describe (qualify) the tenor
metaphorically.

Note that this type of metaphorical construction is called the nominal metaphor because
the two nouns, the main subject from the framework and the nominal focus or focal subject
are linked by a form of the verb "to be".
(8) See answer in (7) above.
(9) By creating the following three techniques (also called syntactical phenomena/deviations).
In other words: to execute the following actions within the poetical sentence:

Displacement (disturbance of the normal sequence of sentence parts [subject, predicate,

object] to unusual sequences)
Deletion (leaving out some parts of the sentence so that gaps arise) and
Expansion (adding an abnormal number of parts of sentences)

(10) Displacement. Because the word order is turned around in the sentence. Normally the
word order would be as follows:

The sea is her Mighty Majesty

(11) Alliteration:
A salmon, a sow of solid silver,

Assonance:
And now she is poor. Now she is East wind sick.
Through a dry wig of bleached flotsam she peers up ashamed

Consonance:
She huddles in holes and corners.

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 Inverted rhyme
Now the river is rich, ...

Pararhyme:
No example.

End rhyme:
Now the river is poor. No song, just a thin mad whisper.
The winter floods have ruined her.

Diffuse repetition:
And now the river is rich. A deep choir:
…
Now the river is rich, collecting shawls and mineral.

(12) Because the scansion process using the metrical patterns (metrical feet) serves as an
instrument to arrive at a deeper meaning of the poem.

(13)

(14) The words, "paper", "tigers", "roar", "noon", "sun", "hot", "high", "roars", "chorus", "not",
"tune", "plaintive", "savage", "hunting" and "cry" are all strongly emphasised words that
highlight their meaning in the context of the poem. In this poem these words represent the
universal truth concerning the sorrow that moral decay has for the young unformed
psyche. The tiger is here a symbol of decadence.

6.2 Summary

This unit brings us to the end of this module, which was designed to provide you with a
thorough basic knowledge of the theory of poetic literature. Beginning to understand poetic
literature brings you as a student of theory of literature close to the essence of poetry, as
indicated in study unit 1 with reference to the phrase "the fine, fine net of the word".

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Conclusion

Congratulations! You have worked through Part I of THL1502.

You can now complete Assignment 02 which you will find in Tutorial Letter 101.

Please structure your answer to each question in a logical and coherent way. You should also
reference any sources that you use. Use the Plagiarism Guide under "Additional Resources"
to see how to do this.

If you are unsure of anything, please contact Prof Andries Oliphant at oliphaw@unisa.ac.za.

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PART II: NARRATIVE TEXTS
In this part of the module you will be introduced to the narrative text and the way in which it
differs from the poetic and the dramatic. We will investigate important theoretical terms and
concepts, such as the story (or fabula) and the narrative (or sjužet), and examine different
features of the narrative text, including the focaliser, characters and characterisation, space,
time, the presentation of events, and the narrator.

Introduction
Study unit1: What is a narrative text?
Study unit 2: The story or fabula
Study unit 3: The narrative text
Study unit 4: The act of narration
Study unit 5: Structuralist analysis of "The Suit"
Rich talk at UN's poverty summit
"The Suit" by Can Themba
Conclusion

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Introduction

The purpose of this introduction to narrative texts is to provide students with the theoretical
knowledge and practical skills to:

• distinguish narrative texts from the poetic and dramatic

• identify and describe the various elements in narrative fiction
• conduct a practical analysis of the interrelationship of the various narrative elements in
narrative texts
• effectively read any narrative text and arrive at an understanding of the role of its elements
• critically assess the utilisation of the narrative elements in any narrative text
• communicate, orally and in writing, their understanding of narrative theory and its
application to a variety of narrative texts

In approaching the characteristic features of stories, narratives or narrative texts, let us first
review the basic categories into which literature or literary texts may be grouped in terms of the
communication situation outlined in the General Introduction.

When only one speaker is present in a text, it is monological, and is a lyrical or poetic text. Even
though monologues are also found in dramas and in narratives, by far the most poetic texts
have only one speaker.

When narration is largely entrusted to a single spokesperson who occasionally gives other
actors a turn, the text is narrative or epic. These texts are characterised by the intrinsic
inequality of the various speakers: although the main speaker, who is the narrator, may quote
the words of other actors, the reverse is not possible. In fact, the actors do not know that they
are being quoted and their words are therefore embedded in those of the main speaker or
narrator.

When different actors are collectively employed as speakers, the text is dramatic. Here the
actors are intrinsically equal in that they speak in turn and also hear each other speaking.

It is clear from the above outline that the category to which a literary text belongs depends on
the part played by the speaker(s) in it. Accordingly, if a poetic text has one speaker, it is
categorised as a lyric; if a narrative text has both a narrator and secondary speakers, it may be
designated an epic; a text in which the actors function as speakers unmediated by a narrator is
classified as a drama.

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Study unit 1: What is a narrative text?
The salient features of a narrative text can be further described as

• a story, consisting of a series of logical and chronological events, that is

• told or narrated by a narrator and some subordinated fellow speakers.

We will now discuss these matters in greater detail.

Since we are dealing with literary texts, we may assume that the sequence of events comprising
the content of the story will be fictional. In other words, the events did not actually take place, or
do not coincide exactly with what actually took place; therefore they are related in the form of a
short story or novel. There is a vast difference between a narrative text and an informative text
such as a newspaper report, which is intended to inform its readers about actual events.

The reader of a narrative text may therefore expect

• someone, a narrator (or narrators), to tell a story about things that happened to imaginary
characters in a fictional world.

Unlike a theatrical performance, a text does not enable the reader to "see" or "hear" what
happened to the characters in a short story or novel: the reader is dependent on a report or
narrative of events witnessed by someone else (often the narrator, but sometimes one or more
of the characters). Thus the narrator tells what he or she observed or what was observed by
one of the characters. The reader does not have direct access to the events and characters but
depends on the perceptions or experiences of the narrator or characters, and of course on what
the narrator chooses to reveal through the medium of language, either spoken or written.

To understand why something is related in a certain way, it is therefore important to know by

whom the events and characters in the story are observed, and also by whom the reader is
informed of these observations. In an analysis of narrative texts, the reader might try to obtain
answers to the following questions:

• Who tells the reader about the world in which these events take place?
• What image of the fictional world is presented to the reader by the various narrators?
• What events form the basis of the story and what is their chronological sequence?

The first question has to do with the mixed language situation of primary and secondary
narrators that is a feature of narrative texts. It concerns the verbalisation of events, the linguistic
or verbal presentation of the story in the form of a spoken or written text.

The second question assumes that the portrayal of the fictional world will be influenced by the
vantage point of the narrator(s), their perception of the fictional world and their arrangement of
the events that take place in it. All this points to the manner in which basic data are artistically
transformed and may be captured under the general term narrative or sjužet. In the third
question it is assumed that the narrative is an adapted or restructured version of a series of
chronological events. This basic raw material constitutes the basic information from which
narratives can be put together in various ways and may be described as the story or fabula.

This is a distinction made by the Russian Formalists: Fabula refers to those events that form the
subject matter of the narrative; sjužet refers to the way in which these events are transformed

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into an artistic structure. This basic distinction is important in our study of narrative texts. It can
be defined as follows:

• The story (or fabula) refers to the series of events that forms the basis of the narrative.
• The narrative (or sjužet) refers to the way in which these events have been observed and
narrated.

This distinction becomes clearer if we remember that the reader has direct access only to the
spoken or written text. In other words: the short story by Can Themba, "The Suit" is the only
concrete access the reader has either to the underlying story or fabula or to the way in which
this story has been observed and narrated. In other words, a narrative text contains two vital
components which have to be "discovered" by the reader during the reading process:

• the underlying events on which the story is based

• the agencies (observers and narrators) who give the reader a particular image of the fictional
world

This relationship between the concrete narrative in its written form on the one hand, and the
underlying events and the way in which they are transmitted on the other, has been further
refined by Gerard Genette (1980).

According to Genette, the term "narrative text" or "discourse" implies both an underlying story
(the events to be related) and a narrative act (a narrator to relate or articulate the events). The
three interdependent levels comprising the narrative text may be represented by the following
diagram:

According to Genette, a text cannot be narrative unless it tells a story; nor can it be a text unless
there is someone who narrates or tells it. On this view, the term "story/history" (French: histoire)
is comparable to the Russian Formalist term fabula, and the term "narrative text/discourse"
(French: recit) corresponds with the Formalists' sjužet. These three interdependent levels,
distinguished by Genette, form the basis of the following explanation of the structure of narrative
texts.

Let us first test your ability to recognise the distinctive features of narrative texts in "Activity 1.1"
found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 1.1

When you attempt this activity, ask yourself the following important question:

• What are the characteristics of the type of texts that are labelled narratives?

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To help you formulate an answer to this question, a number of more specific questions follow
below.

(1) If you compare a narrative text like a novel or a short story with a poem or a drama, the
narrative text differs from the other two types of texts in terms of the way in which it is
presented. What is this difference?
(2) Is the story which is told in a short story always a true story?
(3) What is the story about, generally speaking? (Mention two points in your answer.)
Read the short story "The Suit" by Can Themba and the newspaper article in the list of
examples. Then answer the following questions about both texts:
(4) Is there a narrating agent in the story, and if so, who tells the story? Give examples from
each text to show how you can identify the person telling the story.
(5) Write down how you would summarise the story if you had to explain to someone else
what the story was about (what happens in the story).
(6) Who are involved in the story, in other words what personages cause, experience or
witness the events?
(7) Consider (4) again. Try to write down words or phrases which reveal the narrator's attitude
towards what he tells. How does the difference in narrators affect what is told in each text?

INTRODUCTION: Answers to questions 1–7

This section provides notes to accompany the exercises of Activity 1.1. In some instances, we
provide summaries of important information to help you systematise the main points in this
section. The notes in this chapter are not model answers or complete, final interpretations of
any aspect of any narrative text studied in an exercise in the workbook sections. Rather, they
should be seen as guidelines and should be used as a means of interacting with the study
material. You will, it is hoped, be sufficiently stimulated by the comments in this answer section
to add your own thoughts and insights.

If you can succeed in using the answer book in this interactive and creative way, we will have
realised the objective of this section:

• to give you access to narrative texts by conveying specific principles and reading strategies

At the same time this should help you to account for the fascination of these texts.

The most distinctive feature of narrative texts is that they tell a story. This has three main
implications which distinguish narrative texts from other literary and nonliterary texts. These
emerge in the answers below.

(1) If you compare a narrative text like a novel or a short story with a poem or a drama,
the narrative text differs from the other two types of texts in terms of the way in
which it is presented. What is this difference?

The narrative text, unlike a poem or a drama, is told (narrated) by someone (the narrator). It is
the reporting of a story rather than the enacting of it, as one would find in a drama. This is the
first distinctive feature of narrative texts.

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(2) Is the story which is told in a short story always a true story?

Because what is narrated is a fictional story, we expect that it is not necessarily the factual truth
as we would find in a text that claims to be a truthful report, such as a newspaper report or a
history book. Of course, we may comment on the degree of fictionality which occurs in a
newspaper report or a history book, too. The important point is, however, that in terms of literary
conventions a narrative text is fictional – whereas newspaper reports and history books aim to
give an account of actual events and the people acting in them. This is the second distinctive
feature of narrative texts.

(3) What is the story about, generally speaking? (Mention two points in your answer.)

Read the short story "The Suit" by Can Themba and the newspaper article in the list of
examples. Then answer the following questions about both texts:

Because narrative texts involve the telling of stories, the implication is that there are events
about which the reader (or listener in the case of oral narratives) is told and that there are
personages involved in the events, who cause, experience and witness them. This is the third
distinctive feature of narrative texts.

SUMMARY

The narrative text, then, has the following characteristics: it is told (therefore it is a text) and that
which is told is a story (therefore it is a narrative text). The act of telling (narration) is what
distinguishes a narrative text from other literary texts. In what follows, the study of narrative
texts is based on the distinction of these three levels:

• narrative text
• story/history
• narrative act/narration

(4) Is there a narrating agent in the story, and if so, who tells the story? Give examples
from each text to show how you can identify the person telling the story.

Yes, there is a narrating agent in both cases. The story of "The Suit" is told by a narrator who is
not identified in the text. The fact that the environment is described and the fact that the
characters are described and referred to as "he" and "his wife" (see paragraph 1) indicate that
there is an agent telling the story. It is as if the narrator is an absent "I" in the text, who says, by
implication, "I tell you the following story about Philemon and Matilda".

We can also see the presence of a narrator whenever there is direct speech in the text,
because the quoting of the words of the characters implies that these words are embedded in
those of the narrator. This is evident in for instance

"Son", he said sadly, "if I could've avoided this, believe you me I would, but my
wife is nagging the spice out of my life for not talking to you about it."

The words of Old Maphikela are quoted by the narrator. The narrator adds his interpretation of
the way in which Maphikela is speaking, that is "sadly".

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In the newspaper article, there is a more explicit narrator. It is someone who can be identified in
the text as "I" (see paragraph 7: "I defy anyone to explain the logic ..."). This narrator is part of
the crowd who attended the UN Summit on World Poverty. In this case, therefore, the narrator is
an explicit "I" who reports about the events at and participants in this conference to the readers
of the newspaper. In this example, the narrator's presence is also made evident in the use of
quotations of the speech of the participants in the conference, for example

"And now", said Mr Somavia, raising the conference's gavel which, it was decreed,
should be passed down the chain and out into the streets of Copenhagen, "I pass
the gavel to the people ..."

This question, then, has dealt with the level of the text, the first of the three levels distinguished
in the comments above. Both of the texts studied in this question can be viewed as narrative
texts, because they are both told or reported.

(5) Write down how you would summarise the story if you had to explain to someone
else what the story was about (what happens in the story).

In "The Suit", the events are something like this:

A married couple, Philemon and Matilda, are apparently happy, but then, one
morning on his way to work, the husband is told by a friend, Old Maphikela, that
his wife has been cheating on him for some time. He returns home to find his wife
in bed with her lover. The lover jumps out of the window and runs away in such a
hurry that he leaves his suit behind. Philemon and Matilda never actually discuss
what has happened, but Philemon uses the suit to make Matilda's life miserable.
She has to dish up food for the suit during meals and carry it around when they go
for a walk. She joins a women's organisation and later plans a party to help
improve her state of mind. At this party, Philemon again orders her to serve food
to the suit. She is so humiliated and defeated that she dies after the party.
Philemon discovers her body when he returns from his drinking expedition and is
very shocked.

Compare your own paraphrase with this and note the differences. Perhaps you omitted some
events or perhaps you have a more detailed outline. Try to establish which events you may
have considered to be more important than others when you tried to retell the story. This may
be important when you analyse the way the story is structured.

In the newspaper article, the events are something like this:

I attended the UN Summit on World Poverty this week in Copenhagen together

with a huge crowd of delegates from all over the world. Mr Juan Somavia, the
Chilean Ambassador to the UN, who convened the conference, passed the
conference gavel to the people in a symbolic gesture. The conference was a
failure, however, because no actual aid to the poor resulted from it. The reasons
for this were that it operated on the principle that poverty in the First and Third
Worlds could be viewed and addressed similarly and that rich countries do not
really want to help poor countries. A rival summit was held by nongovernmental
delegates at the same time. This revealed the futility of the main conference,
because those who attended the rival summit are actually involved in helping the
poor.

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This question has dealt with the story/history level. From the above paraphrases it has emerged
that both texts tell a story. In both cases it is possible to give an outline of events following one
another in a kind of "and then" sequence.

(6) Who are involved in the story, in other words what personages cause, experience or
witness the events?

In "The Suit" the personages are Philemon, his wife Matilda, her lover, the gossip-monger Old
Maphikela, Old Maphikela's wife, the women on the bus, and the people who attended the
party. The narrator is not there as a character, but he is an agent in the text nevertheless, who
tells what he knows.

In the newspaper article the personages are the "I" (a reporter who seems to have attended
both the summit and the rival summit), the 20 000 governmental delegates, the 2 500
nongovernmental delegates, Juan Somavia (the Chilean Ambassador to the UN), Mihai Seitan
of Romania and Padraig Flynn (the European Union's social affairs commissioner). The rich and
the poor nations are not really there in the story, although they are what the story is about.

This question has also dealt with the story/history level. In both texts, it is possible to identify
personages or characters to whom the events happen, who cause events or who witness
events.

(7) Consider (4) again. Try to write down words or phrases which reveal the narrator's
attitude towards what he tells. How does the difference in narrators affect what is
told in each text?

When the two texts are compared, it becomes evident that in "The Suit" there is a more complex
relationship between the characters in the sense that one or more can experience events and
witness events at the same time, or that some aspects of an event are hidden from a particular
character at a particular time, but may be known to another character (for instance, Old
Maphikela knew about Matilda's deceit before Philemon did), or that the narrator knows things
about the characters and the events that the characters themselves do not know. In the
newspaper article the relationship between the narrator and the events and characters is much
simpler. The narrator (the reporter) tells the readers all about the events in a fairly
straightforward way, but still manages to put in some personal impressions and interpretation of
the events, such as those in the last three paragraphs, where qualifications like "silliest" and
"incredible" are used. The last sentence, "and that is why the summit is a failure", also reveals
the attitude of the reporter. The events are told more clearly and the attitude of the reporter is
fairly explicit, whereas the attitude of the narrator in "The Suit" is more subtly hidden in the text.
It is effected in the insight available to a character such as Philemon, for instance.

This introduces one of the most interesting aspects of narrative literary texts which will be
studied in more detail below. This question, then, has dealt with the level of narrative act/
narration. This is the level at which the literary nature of the narrative text is most apparent,
because the imaginary storyteller is a literary convention which can be used in various ways to
shape the story and to manipulate the reader subtly. A few final comments about the two texts
compared above:

A few final comments about the two texts compared above:

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The above exercises should reveal that there are similarities and differences
between the two examples. Both texts have a narrating agent who tells about
events and the personages involved in the events. However, the two stories differ
in the way in which they are told. The short story is less straightforward in the way
the events are ordered than the newspaper story and it is more complex because
some of the events that are known to the narrator or to some characters are not
always known to other characters at the same time. This creates tension and
surprise. The two stories differ in another important way, namely that the
newspaper story deals with actual people (the reporter and delegates)
participating in actual events (the UN Summit on World Poverty and the rival
summit) that took place at an actual identifiable place and at a time in the recent
past (Copenhagen, a week or so ago), whereas the short story deals with
imaginary personages and events and an actual place (Sophiatown) at an
unspecified time. The actual place and the details about it may also be said to
have become fictionalised in the short story, because the Sophiatown of the short
story is no longer an exact replica of the real place, but is now part of the fictional
world of this text.

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Study unit 2: The story or fabula
Bear in mind that the story or fabula refers to the chronological sequence of events whereas
narrative text or sjužet refers to a spoken or written discourse in which a narrator tells of the
events. In other words, the narrative text is the physical book which we can read. The
underlying story, however, is not immediately accessible to the reader and has to be abstracted
or deduced from the narrative text.

The story or fabula comprises two components:

• the narrated events abstracted from the narrative text and reconstructed according to their
chronological sequence
• the actors who participate in these events

Along these lines one could define the story or fabula as

• a series of events that are logically or chronologically related and are caused or experienced
by the actors.

A simple example will help to explain how the reader can deduce, from the narrative text, both
the correlation between the events and the role or function of the actors. A story about the
experiences of a fictional character does not have to start with the hero's childhood and relate
chronologically all that happened to him until he died. Indeed, most stories deviate from the
"real" chronological sequence of events. The story of a war hero, for example, may start in the
middle of a battle and hark back to episodes from his childhood or other events that led him to
become a soldier. Even so, the reader will be able to deduce that the hero first became a soldier
and later performed a heroic action during a battle.

Of course, one might well ask:

• What is the use of such an exercise if the actual sequence of events does not appear in the
spoken or written story, the narrative text?

The answer lies in the value of an alienation or a defamiliarising technique as a means of

drawing the reader's attention to something the author wants to highlight. That is why the
Russian Formalists placed so much emphasis on the difference between fabula (the underlying
story) and sjužet (the transformation of the basic story data into an artistic narrative text). A
comparison between the straight chronological sequence in the story (fabula) and the
roundabout presentation in the narrative (sjužet) enables the reader to identify foregrounded
data, which makes it easier to interpret the narrative text. Even when the narrative keeps to the
chronological sequence of events (as in the sequence of adultery, discovery, and the reaction of
the two chief protagonists in Can Themba's story "The Suit" – see study unit 5), the reader can
still see which events are foregrounded. For instance, the author relates some events in greater
detail, thereby highlighting them in the narrative text itself.

Such a comparison between the story (fabula) and the concrete narrative text (sjužet) is usually
expanded in the course of an analysis to derive the function of the actors at the story level from
the individual traits and actions of the characters at the narrative level. Note that, at the story
level, we speak not of characters but of actors and actantial roles. This is done in order to
distinguish between

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• the individual character in the narrative text and
• the overall function or role that can be assigned to the character as an actor at the story
level

Once again, the character's function or role is not directly portrayed in the text: it is something
the reader has to deduce from the character's thoughts, words and actions in the concrete
narrative text.

In the story or fabula, therefore, the actors are not individually delineated personages as they
are in the actual narrative text: they are seen as a factor in the story process, where they are
interrelated in certain ways and involved in the events as identifiable groups. These
interrelationships between characters as such and between characters and events can be
worked out in an actantial model.

In such a model the actors will be classified as follows according to their functions in the
sequence of events:

• entrepreneur
• beneficiary
• helper
• opponent and the like

Please note: These categories are based on the work of the French narratologists, especially
Algirdas Julien Greimas, and of the Russian Vladimir Propp. For this module we do not expect
you to have a sophisticated understanding of the actantial model and its application.

In the analysis of Can Themba's story "The Suit" in study unit 5 below we see that the roles of
helper and opponent are decisive in determining the sequence of events.

Please complete the activities in "Activity 2.1" found under Additional Resources and take part
in the discussion on Ahmed Essop's short story "The Hajiji" found under Discussion Forums.

ACTIVITY 2.1

(1) Reread "The Suit" by Can Themba. Study your paraphrase of the story. Now look more
closely at Maphikela's disclosure of Matilda's unfaithfulness to Philemon. What came first:
did Philemon first leave for work on the particular day when the story starts, or did
Matilda's relationship with the other man begin before this day?
(2) Why would you say this event is delayed in the story?

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 2.1

What is told in the narrative text is the story. All narrative texts are essentially stories. For
instance, the word "story" occurs in the label used for the subgenre of short stories, but it may
be helpful to think of a novel for instance, as basically a "storybook". When we study a narrative
text, therefore, we should start at this most basic level. It does not make sense to proceed with
the journey into the text before having grasped the story of the text. First, consider carefully
what is meant by the term story. In study guide 1, two elements are distinguished: the events
and the actors participating in the events. It is possible to view a narrative text such as a short

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story as a special version of the events that constitute the story. If one attempts to re-tell the
story, as you have been required to do above, it emerges that the events do not necessarily
occur in the same sequence in the text as they do in a paraphrase of the story, or that you are
inserting an explanation in the paraphrase about the way a particular event may already have
happened by the time it is discovered, as in "The Suit". This is why there is a distinction
between the story (fabula) level and the text (sjužet) level, as pointed out in study guide 1.

When giving an account of the story, the requirements are that the events should follow in a
logical order (ie when listing the events, the order should be such that what happened first,
naturally or logically, precedes what followed it). We shall call this the "you-must-learn-to-crawl-
before-you-can-walk" sequence. The events should also follow in a chronological order (ie when
listing the events, the order should be such that what happened first in time precedes what
followed it). We shall call this the "clouds-before-rain" sequence.

Question 1

The event of Matilda's unfaithfulness has been delayed in the narrative text. It starts occurring
early in the story, even in the distant past, before the period of time covered in the text itself, but
it is presented later, on the fourth page of the text.

Question 2

The effect of this is that Philemon is unpleasantly surprised by the news of her infidelity. It is
news to him that his wife has been unfaithful. The other characters such as Maphikela and his
wife, who have been gossiping about it, have known of it for some time. Note that the event of
her infidelity itself, however, had to start happening before anyone else found out about it and
continue until Philemon returned to find them in bed. The nature of this event is such that it is
clandestine; part of its purpose is that it should not be known to others. The event in itself has
an element of tension therefore, and a potential for being discovered, with possible bad
consequences.

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Study unit 3: The narrative text
3.1 Introduction

This section has to do with a specific portrayal of the fictional world from the vantage point of
one or more narrators. In a narrative or sjužet, the elements of the story or fabula are presented
in a certain manner. This confronts the reader with a specific perception of the story elements
that form the raw material of the narrative. Focalisation is the technical term for this relationship
between the story elements and the way in which they are perceived. In a narrative text, of
course, the relationship between the observer and the object observed is narrated. One could
therefore state that

3.2 The focaliser

The focaliser is the agency that observes the story elements, and this function may be assigned
either to a narrator or to a character. As stated above, you need to note that at the narrative
level one no longer speaks of an actor but rather of a "personage" or "character" in the
traditional terminology. Once a narrative ascribes specific traits to actors in the narrative, they
are called personages or characters. We shall return to this point in 3.2.1 below.

Narration inevitably entails focalisation, since one can only narrate something of which one has
a particular view or vision. The main focaliser (the one who sees) in a narrative text therefore
always coincides with the main narrator (the one who reports or narrates), and this combination
may be termed the "primary narrator-focaliser". When the narrator and the focaliser are one and
the same – in other words, when the party that tells is also the one that sees – the relationship
set out in Relationship 1 above obviously has to be modified:

In such a case there is no need to distinguish between narrator and focaliser. Where the story
covers a large canvas – as a long novel does – the relationship between the narrator and the
focaliser may vary. For example, the narrator may want to present the fictional world as
observed or experienced by various characters or personages. In such a case a distinction will
often have to be drawn between the narrator and the focaliser. The chief narrator may also
permit a character a temporary role in reporting or telling about the fictional world, so that the
reader will have to keep in mind not only different focalisers but also different narrators. Like a
main narrator, a character acting as a secondary narrator will also be focalising, becoming in
effect a secondary character-focaliser.

Thus, although narration cannot take place without focalisation, the opposite is possible:
someone can focalise without narrating. Thus a chief or primary narrator may narrate that a

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secondary focaliser observes something, and also what such an observation comprises: the
focaliser does not relate it in person. In the following example it is clear that it is the narrator
who places the focaliser at the scene: "She looked out at the land, and it seemed to her bleak
and gray." It then becomes necessary to distinguish between the narrating agency and the
viewing agency, since the narrator and the focaliser in a narrative text are not always one and
the same.

When a focaliser coincides with a character or personage in the narrative text, this personage
will have an advantage over the other characters. Readers will tend to share the view of the
personage-bound focaliser. In other words, the reader will tend to see the narrated story
elements through the eyes of the character. Character-bound focalisation can vary too, so that
the reader is often able to view a matter from more than one perspective, thus obtaining an
objective image of the fictional world.

In the first-person story there is an interchange between the external and the internal focaliser:
the older, narrating "I" generally provides a retrospective view of events but may sometimes
reflect the view of the younger, experiencing "I". The focalisation of the younger, internal "I" can
usually be recognised by an innocent, naive or uninformed view of events, whereas the external
"I" shows greater insight into past events.

It follows, then, that an investigation into the identity of the focaliser enables the reader to
distinguish between the various forms of narrative. When events are presented from the
vantage point of an external narrator, the reader is treated to a different perspective than when
the focaliser is an internal personage with a correspondingly limited perspective on the fictional
world. The analysis of Can Themba's "The Suit" in study unit 5, for instance, shows what a
difference it makes whether the effects of Matilda's adultery on the other characters are
observed by an external chief narrator or whether they are transmitted via the internal
focalisation of the disillusioned husband, Philemon. In the former case the reader is given an
"objective" view from a number of vantage points; in the latter case, an intimate perspective on
the thoughts and feelings of one of the main protagonists.

Let's test your knowledge of focalisation in "Activity 3.1" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 3.1

(1) Read the short story ''The Suit" and then try to identify the focaliser in the following extract
from the story:

Five-thirty in the morning, and the candlewick bedspread frowned as the man under it
stirred.

(2) How is that which is seen in the above quotation viewed by the one who sees?
(3) Study the following quotation from "The Suit" and identify the focaliser in it:

With almost boyishly innocent urgency, he rushed through his kitchen into his bedroom. In
the lightning flash that the eye can whip, he saw it all ... the man beside his wife ... the
chestnut arm around her neck ... the ruffled candlewick bedspread ... the suit across the
chair. But he affected not to see.

(4) How does the focaliser see (or how does he not see)?

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Study the extracts from "The Hajji" by Ahmed Essop and answer the following questions.

(Note: should you wish to read the whole story, you can order Hodge (1985) from the
library.)

The telephone stopped ringing. Hajji Hassen frowned in a contemplative manner,

wondering where his wife was now. Since his return from Mecca after the pilgrimage,
he had discovered novel inadequacies in her, or perhaps he saw the old ones in a more
revealing light. One of her salient inadequacies was never to be around when he wanted
her.
(5) In the part in bold, who is the focaliser?
(6) What does the narrator see?
(7) How does the narrator-focaliser see the character and the situation?
Study the following extract:

The telephone stopped ringing. Hajji Hassen frowned in a contemplative manner,

wondering where his wife was now. Since his return from Mecca after the
pilgrimage, he had discovered novel inadequacies in her, or perhaps he saw the old
ones in a more revealing light. One of her salient inadequacies was never to be around
when he wanted her. She was either across the road confabulating with her sister, or
gossiping with the neighbours, or away on a shopping spree. And now, when the
telephone had gone on assaulting his ears, she was not in the house. He took another
sip of the strongly spiced tea to stifle the irritation within him.

When he heard the kitchen door open he knew that Salima had entered.

(8) In the part in bold, who is the focaliser?

(9) What and how does the character see?

Study the following example of character-focalisation which occurs at the meeting between
Hassen and Catherine and answer the questions that follow:

Outside the house he saw the car. Salima opened the door and whispered, "Caterine". For
a moment he felt Irritated, but realising that he might as well face her he stepped boldly
into the lounge. Catherine was a small woman with firm fleshy legs. She was seated cross-
legged on the settee, smoking a cigarette. Her face was almost boyish, a look that partly
originated in her auburn hair which was cut very short, and partly in the smallness of her
head. Her eye-brows, firmly pencilled, accentuated the grey-green glitter of her eyes. She
was dressed in a dark grey costume.
(10) Who sees?
(11) What does he see?
(12) How does he see Catherine?

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 3.1

In section 2.1 above, where we outlined the characteristics of narrative texts, we mentioned that
narrative texts involve the telling of stories and that this has the following implications:

• there is a narrating agent who does the telling

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• there are events and personages involved that cause, experience and witness the events
about which the reader (or listener) is told

These two implications raise the issue of focalisation. If you are the narrator telling about events
and characters, your ability to tell presupposes that you have observed what you are telling
about. This observation or seeing, which is a prerequisite for telling, is termed "focalisation"; the
one who sees in a given instance is a "focaliser". The narrator, therefore, is always
simultaneously a focaliser of the entire fictional world, including the events and the personages
involved in them. When such a narrator is the main focaliser, we term this a narrator-focaliser.
An example of this occurs in the first sentence of "The Suit":

"Five-thirty in the morning, and the candlewick bedspread frowned as the man under it stirred."

The personages who are involved in the events, however, also observe or see. This implies that
characters can also be focalisers. We have already seen from our examination of the order of
events in "The Suit" that an event or something about a character can be hidden from another
character. Philemon, for instance, did not notice (observe or see) that Matilda was being
unfaithful to him. He made the discovery only after he was told about it by Old Maphikela,
whose wife had presumably actually seen the lover visiting Matilda during Philemon's absence.
Old Maphikela's wife is therefore a focaliser of the affair at the time when it actually happened in
the story. Philemon becomes a focaliser of this event, too, when he returns and sees his wife
and her lover in bed. The change from his lack of seeing and his seeing of this unwanted sight
is his moment of discovery and it is vividly described in the passage, as will be shown below.

Question 1

The difference between narrator, focaliser and character can be explained as follows:

A narrates that B sees what C does,

(narrator) (focaliser) (character)

The example from "The Suit" demonstrates this in the following way: the narrator sees what
Philemon does. Therefore, the narrator is at the same time narrator and focaliser; or, as it is
presented in the following diagram:

A narrates that B sees what C does,

(narrator) (focaliser) (character)

Question 2

The narrator here sees a personage, Philemon, who is lying in bed next to his wife and he tells
what he observes. The narrator's act of telling reveals something about the narrating agent and
also something about what is seen, for instance in the way the narrator's imaginative way of
thinking is revealed in his use of metaphorical language to describe the appearance of the
bedspread ("the candlewick bedspread frowned"). The actions of the man who is seen by the
narrator in turn reveal something about the personage, such as that he is exceptionally
considerate towards his wife ("he did not like to wake his wife ...").

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Question 3

A narrates that B sees what C does,

(narrator) (focaliser) (character)

In the above example, the narrator tells that Philemon sees what Matilda and her lover are
doing. In this case, therefore, A is the narrator, B is the character-focaliser and C is another
character who is seen by the character-focaliser.

Question 4

Although Philemon is here confronted with his wife's unfaithfulness, his reaction is that he
pretends not to see. As a focaliser, his previously incomplete focalisation of the crucial event of
the story is now complete, but he hides from Matilda the extent of its effect on him. Previously,
she was the one who hid things from him.

Please note

The difference between narrator-focalisation and character-focalisation can therefore be

reflected in the formula of A narrates that B sees what C does. When A is in both the first and
second positions, focalisation is by a narrator-focaliser, as in the first sentence of "The Suit".
When A is only in the narrating position and B is different from A, there is a character-focaliser,
as in the discovery scene in "The Suit".

The above examples should give an indication of how focalisation can be used to communicate
important features about characters or events.

The important points to remember about focalisation are:

• focalisation is seeing or observing

• the narrator by definition always focalises (NF)
• characters can also focalise (CF)

Question 5

The narrator is the focaliser.

Question 6

The narrator notes a telephone ringing, and Hajji Hassen, who is sitting on a settee in the
lounge, in turn hears the phone ringing and wonders where his wife is.

Question 7

When he heard the kitchen door open he knew that Salima had entered.

The narrator notes without evaluating the ringing of the telephone, but observes Hassen's facial
expression and interprets it for us: "frowned in a contemplative manner".

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The narrator's seeing is presented in such a matter-of-fact way that the irony of Hassen's
behaviour is emphasised when we realise that he does not answer the telephone even though
he is able to do so, because he expects his wife to come and answer it for him.

On the whole, the narrator-focaliser does not give an interpretation of what is seen, but only tells
exactly what is seen: that is, the actions and thoughts of the character, which then speak for
themselves to convey the chauvinism of the character. The narrator-focaliser is able to see
inside the mind of the character. The narrator-focaliser is able to focalise not only the
expression on Hassen's face and to interpret it ("Hajji Hassen frowned in a contemplative
manner"), but also to observe the thoughts that go through Hassen's mind about his wife.
This implies that the narrator-focaliser is different from a character-focaliser, because of the
ability to see inside the minds of characters.

Question 8

Hajji Hassen is the focaliser (he is a character-focaliser). (In this passage as a whole, however,
there is a mixture of narrator-focalisation and character-focalisation.)

Question 9

The character Hassen observes that the kitchen door opens (the sense involved here is the
sense of hearing rather than seeing). Hassen observes his wife indirectly by her action of
opening the kitchen door. From this, he draws the conclusion that she has returned. From the
preceding description of his irritation, he probably observes her return with irritation, too. It
emerges from this example that focalisation is observing or seeing in a broad sense:
focalisation can take place through senses other than the eyes. We can therefore think of
focalisation as perception.

Question 10

There is an obvious indication of who the focaliser is in the first sentence of this example: "he
saw". The "he" is Hassen.

Question 11

He sees Catherine's car. In the second paragraph, by implication, Hassen is observing

Catherine – although we must again remember that the narrator-focaliser is always seeing the
entire fictional world, including this meeting and these characters.

Question 12

There are several indications that it is a man who is observing this woman and, more
particularly, an Indian man with certain views on the subservient role of women. He sees
Catherine's legs first of all her features, rather than her face. Then he notices the position in
which she holds her legs. Next he notices that she is smoking a cigarette. The order in which he
notices things about her could be interpreted as the order in which these things are unusual or
striking to him. Her face comes very late in the list. When he finally notices her face, it is not her
eyes or mouth that he first sees, but rather her eyebrows. This indicates that he fails to pay
attention to the important expressive features of her face. Instead, he notices her make-up,
which is probably another culturally alien feature about her. His inability to relate to her and to
his brother, for that matter, at a basically human level, is reflected very strongly in the way he

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sees Catherine at their first meeting. When he does notice her eyes, he notices their "grey-
green glitter", which again reveals a less than sympathetic response by him.

3.2.1 Characters and characterisation

All the elements that together constitute the fictional world are focalised so that the reader is
confronted with a particular perspective on the story elements, which will affect his own
interpretation of them. The characters or personages, the spatial constructs and the events are
the chief factors determining the reader's conceptualisation of the fictional world. The spatial
construct as presented in the narrative constitutes the actual world in which the events take
place and the characters have their being. Next we will discuss all of these elements of the
fictional world separately.

It has already been remarked in study unit 2 above that the actor at the underlying story level is
known as a character or personage when presented at the concrete narrative level. One result
of processing the basic subject matter at the story level – where actors participate in the related
events of the fictional world – is that an actor is developed into an individual person with
particular character traits. Thus, an actor in whom particular attributes can be discerned
becomes a personage or character in the narrative text. The process of characterisation in a
narrative will now be briefly considered.

There are two basic types of textual indications governing the attribution of character traits to
particular characters or personages: direct definition and indirect portrayal.

3.2.1.1 Direct definition

This method entails explicit enumeration of characteristics by various grammatical means:

• He was kind-hearted, (adjective)

• His goodness knew no bounds, (abstract noun)
• She was a real vixen, (noun)

In the above-mentioned cases the reader can have no doubt as to the character trait to be
attributed to a particular personage, provided allowance is made for which agency is expressing
an opinion about a personage and whether the reader can consider this opinion reliable. For
example, if the primary narrator characterises a personage as a sly exploiter, the reader will be
inclined to accept this as an authoritative statement of fact; but if the same opinion is aired by a
secondary character or focaliser – someone, say, who has had an unsuccessful career or
comes from a poor background – then that opinion could be more of an indirect revelation of the
speaker's jealousy and feelings of inferiority than an explicit statement of the ruthlessness of the
focalised personage.

3.2.1.2 Indirect portrayal

Instead of introducing characteristics by direct statement, this method entails different ways of
demonstrating or exemplifying them. It is then left to the reader to deduce which characteristics
are suggested by the details presented. Some of the techniques of this method will now be
briefly explained.

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(a) Action

A characteristic can be implied by an action that may be either unique (nonroutinised) or

conventional. A murder committed once in a lifetime may reveal the latent violence, intense
emotionality or impulsiveness of the relevant character; chain smoking may signify basic
uncertainty; or continual tidying up and cleaning may indicate a neurotic temperament. Unique
actions are usually indicative of a dynamic aspect of the character, and such events frequently
precipitate a turning point both in the character's life and in the narrative. On the other hand,
routine actions usually communicate the static and firmly rooted traits of a personage.

(b) Speech

The speech used by a personage can, by its form and content, imply characteristics — whether
as words uttered in dialogue or as unexpressed thoughts occurring during mental processes.
Consider the following passage from William Faulkner's The sound and the fury, where the
personage Jason is speaking: "I give every man his due, regardless of religion or anything else.
I have nothing against Jews as an individual", I says, "It's just the race." The intrinsic
contradiction in the character's words reveals his dishonesty and narrow-mindedness, while the
ungrammatical "I says" betrays his poor background.

(c) Outward appearance

This is a traditional means of implying characteristics in narrative texts. Physical features such
as eye colour, physique, hair style and dress can be used to suggest the characteristics of a
personage.

(d) Environment

Indirect characterisation is often achieved by giving details of the physical (room, house, street,
town) and human (family, social group) environment of a character. A dilapidated house could
exemplify the owner's spiritual deterioration, for example.

As indicated in the foregoing observations, the reader's conception of a personage as a

focalised object is formed by both direct and indirect characterisation techniques. A further
focalised object in the narrative text is the space occupied by the personages. Before continuing
with this aspect, we will first test your understanding of the phenomenon of characters and the
process of characterisation in narrative texts.

Complete the ativities in "Activity 3.2" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 3.2

Study the following passage from "The Hajji" by Ahmed Essop and answer the questions that
follow:

When he reached the mosque the Somali muezzin in the ivory-domed minaret began to
intone the call for prayers. After prayers, he remained behind to read the Koran in the
company of two other men. When he had done the sun was shining brilliantly in the
courtyard onto the flowers and the fountain with its goldfish.

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(1) What does Hassen do (what are his actions)?
(2) What do these actions imply about the kind of person he is?
(3) Study the following passage carefully and underline all the places in it where you can find
someone speaking or a reference to speech.

Outside the house he saw a car. Salima opened the door and whispered, "Caterine". For
a moment he felt irritated, but realising that he might as well face her he stepped boldly
into the lounge.

Catherine was a small woman with firm fleshy legs. She was seated cross-legged on the
settee, smoking a cigarette. Her face was almost boyish, a look that partly originated In
her auburn hair which was cut very short, and partly in the smallness of her head. Her
eye-brows, firmly pencilled, accentuated the grey-green glitter of her eyes. She was
dressed in a dark grey costume.

He nodded his head at her to signify that he knew who she was. Over the telephone he
had spoken with aggressive authority. Now, in the presence of the woman herself, he felt
a weakening of his masculine fibre.

"You must, Mr Hassen, come to see your brother."

"I am afraid I am unable to help," he said in a tentative tone. He felt uncomfortable; there
was something so positive and intrepid about her appearance.
"He wants to see you. It's his final wish."
"I have not seen him for ten years."
"Time can't wipe out the fact that he's your brother."
"He is a white. We live in different worlds."
"But you must see him."

There was a moment of strained silence.

"Please understand that he's not to blame for having broken with you. I am to blame. I
got him to break with you. Really you must blame me, not Karim."

Hassen found himself unable to say anything. The thought that she could in some way
have been responsible for his brother's rejection of him had never occurred to him. He
looked at his feet in awkward silence. He could only state in a lazily recalcitrant tone: "It
is not easy for me to see him."

"Please come Mr Hassen, for my sake, please. I'll never be able to bear it if Karim dies
unhappily. Can't you find it in your heart to forgive him, and to forgive me?"

He could not look at her. A sob eecaped from her, and he heard her opening her
handbag for a handkerchief.

"He's dying. He wants to see you for the last time."

Hassen softened. He was overcome by the argument that she had been responsible for
taking Karim away. He could hardly look on her responsibility as being in any way
culpable. She was a woman.

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 "If you remember the days of your youth, the time you spent together with Karim before I
came to separate him from you, it will be easier for you to pardon him."

Hassen was silent.

"Please understand that I am not a racialist. You know the conditions in this country."
He thought for a moment and then said: "I will go with you."

(4) Who are the characters who speak in the above passage?
(5) Who is the character that they are speaking about, most of the time?
(6) In the parts of the passage which you underlined in (3) above, identify the mode of
speaking is involved in each instance of speech. For instance, does the character speak in
a friendly or unfriendly way, does he or she speak directly about what he or she wants to
say, or does he or she hide his or her feelings? Are there any comments by the narrator
which reveal something about the character who is speaking? Try to establish how each
instance of speech characterises the person who is speaking.

Note: Did you observe the way Salima pronounces Catherine's name, as represented by
the spelling "Caterine"? How does this characterise Salima?

Study the following passage from "The Hajji" and answer the questions that follow:

Catherine was a small woman with firm fleshy legs. She was seated cross-legged
on the settee, smoking a cigarette. Her face was almost boyish, a look that partly
originated In her auburn hair which was cut very short, and partly in the smallness
of her head. Her eye-brows, firmly pencilled, accentuated the grey-green glitter of
her eyes. She was dressed in a dark grey costume.

(7) List all the indications of Catherine's appearance in this passage.

(8) Try to establish what the features mentioned about Catherine's appearance reveal about
her character.

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 3.2

When studying the question of characterisation in a narrative text, remember the following main
points that are summarised for your convenience below:

Characterisation occurs through

• direct definition
• indirect portrayal, in terms of

– action
– speech
– outward appearance
– environment

Question 1

Hassen goes to pray in the mosque and stays for some hours afterwards to read the Koran.

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Question 2

Going to pray in the mosque very early in the morning (in the preceding paragraph of the story,
it emerged that he rose at 5 o'clock to go to the mosque) indicates that his prayers are important
to Hassen. This implies that he is a religious man, a devout Muslim. This impression is
strengthened by the fact that two paragraphs before this his recent visit to Mecca was
mentioned. He not only prays, but stays to read the Koran for a long time. Most other
worshippers seem to leave after having prayed. His action therefore indicates more than
ordinary devotion. He only leaves the mosque when the sun is shining brightly, probably at
about midday or late morning. It is also important to notice that he stays to read the Koran in
the company of two other men. This implies that their company is significant to him. He visits
the mosque not only to pray, but also to be an active part of the Muslim community.

Question 3

Outside the house he saw a car. Salima opened the door and whispered, "Caterine" (1). For a
moment he felt irritated, but realising that he might as well face her he stepped boldly into the
lounge.

Catherine was a small woman with firm fleshy legs. She was seated cross-legged on the settee,
smoking a cigarette. Her face was almost boyish, a look that partly originated In her auburn hair
which was cut very short, and partly in the smallness of her head. Her eye-brows, firmly
pencilled, accentuated the grey-green glitter of her eyes. She was dressed in a dark grey
costume.

He nodded his head at her to signify that he knew who she was. Over the telephone he had
spoken with aggressive authority (2). Now, in the presence of the woman herself, he felt a
weakening of his masculine fibre.

"You must, Mr Hassen, come to see your brother." (3)

"I am afraid I am unable to help," he said (4) in a tentative tone. He felt uncomfortable; there
was something so positive and intrepid about her appearance.
"He wants to see you. It's his final wish." (5)
"I have not seen him for ten years." (6)
"Time can't wipe out the fact that he's your brother." (7)
"He is a white. We live in different worlds." (8)
"But you must see him." (9)

There was a moment of strained silence.

"Please understand that he's not to blame for having broken with you. I am to blame. I got him
to break with you. Really you must blame me, not Karim." (10)
Hassen found himself unable to say anything. The thought that she could in some way have
been responsible for his brother's rejection of him had never occurred to him. He looked at his
feet in awkward silence. He could only state in a lazily recalcitrant tone: "It is not easy for me to
see him." (11)

"Please come Mr Hassen, for my sake, please. I'll never be able to bear it if Karim dies
unhappily. Can't you find it in your heart to forgive him, and to forgive me?" (12)

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He could not look at her. A sob escaped from her, and he heard her opening her handbag for a
handkerchief.

"He's dying. He wants to see you for the last time." (13)

Hassen softened. He was overcome by the argument that she had been responsible for taking
Karim away. He could hardly look on her responsibility as being in any way culpable. She was a
woman.

"If you remember the days of your youth, the time you spent together with Karim before I came
to separate him from you, it will be easier for you to pardon him." (14)

Hassen was silent.

"Please understand that I am not a racialist. You know the conditions in this country." (15)
He thought for a moment and then said: "I will go with you." (16)

Question 4

The characters who speak are Salima, Catherine and Hassen.

Question 5

The character that most of the conversation is about is Karim, Hassen's brother. It is only in the
whispered utterance of Catherine's name by Salima that another character is referred to apart
from Karim.

Question 6

(1) Salima speaks in a whisper. This is indicated by the narrator by an explicit reference:

"Salima opened the door and whispered. 'Caterine'."

What this indicates about Salima's character is that she is a timid person and that her
husband intimidates her with his generally rude and chauvinistic behaviour. Her speech
therefore characterises both her and Hassen.

Salima's mispronunciation of Catherine's name is an indication of her accent as a mother-

tongue speaker of Gujarati. It emphasises both that Catherine's name is foreign to her, in
other words that Catherine is culturally and racially different, and that Salima herself is
probably less educated than for instance Hassen, whose accent is not indicated, because
it is probably less marked than Salima's accent and therefore does not characterise him as
it does her.

(2) The past instance of speech referred to here occurred at the beginning of the story when
Catherine phoned Hassen to ask him to be reconciled with his dying brother. "Over the
telephone he had spoken with aggressive authority". In fact, when he spoke to her, his way
of speaking had been extremely rude and violent. He used words such as "pig" and
"bastard". This makes the interpretation given here rather ironic. It seems that the
impression of that conversation as one of "aggressive authority" is Hassen's own point of
view, who is biased in favour of himself. Perhaps Catherine's view of the conversation was

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different; she might have found his speech harsh and unsympathetic. The way this
occurrence of speech is localised then by the character Hassen reveals something about
his own character his perception of himself is more positive than his behaviour warrants;
when he uses abusive language he imagines that this is assertiveness on his part. This is
emphasised and connected to his notion of male superiority in the next sentence, where
he feels "a weakening of his masculine fibre''. On the whole, this instance of speech
indicates that he may have a considerable lack of insight into his own motives and that he
may lack sympathy for others, which helps to explain the eventual impossibility of
reconciliation with his brother.

(3) Catherine speaks directly about the issue which is her main reason far having come to see
Hassen: "You must, Mr Hassen, come to see your brother.'' Her speech is bold, because it
is on behalf of the man that she loves and because the telephone conversation before this
meeting has indicated to her that Hassen's reception would not be favourable. The way in
which she formulates her plea is not apologetic. She simply states what is objectively right.
This indicates that she is a forthright and brave woman, who is simultaneously civilised
enough to show respect for Karim's brother, whom she addresses as "Mr Hassen", in spite
of his uncivilised behaviour towards her on the telephone. This also indicates that Karim is
important enough to her for her to put herself through the humiliation of begging
forgiveness on his behalf from someone who has been rude to her. Her speech reveals an
element of braveness which is in keeping with the description of her appearance. In this,
her behaviour is more "masculine" than that of Hassen. It seems that the "weakening of his
masculine fibre" means more than meets the eye.

(4) Hassen's rejection of his brother is beginning to weaken when he answers Catherine:
"I am afraid I am unable to help," he said in a tentative tone.

(5) – (16) The rest of the conversation characterises both Hassen and Catherine in more detail.
It is evident that Catherine has the ability to persuade Hassen. She understands precisely
what it is that motivates his rejection of Karim and she addresses this in a clever way. She
appeals to the two important facets of the disturbed relationship between the two brothers:
the tie of brotherly love that existed in their youth

("Time can't wipe out the fact that he's your brother" and
"If you remember the days of your youth, the time you spent together with Karim before I
came to separate him from you, it will be easier for you to pardon him.")

and the hurtful rejection which Hassen felt as a result of Karim's relationship with a woman
of another race. By taking the blame for this upon herself she disarms Hassen, who views
women as such weak creatures that they are not responsible for their actions, it seems:

"He could hardly look on her responsibility as being in any way culpable. She was a
woman."

When it is evident that she understands how he interpreted Karim's relationship with her in
terms of the racial implications, he is finally persuaded. Catherine's unselfish love for
Karim is revealed in this conversation, as is her sensitivity and ability to negotiate with his
uncooperative brother. Hassen's chauvinism is revealed in more detail. He is persuaded
partly because Catherine has appealed to his lack of esteem for women and because she
has appeased his feeling of racial outrage against his brother's desertion. He does not

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 realise that his own views are equally biased. Again, he lacks insight into his own thoughts
and behaviour and those of others.

Question 7

Catherine is described in the following way:

• a small woman,
• her legs appear firm and fleshy to Hassen, which implies that she
probably has relatively muscular calves,
• her face looks like that of a boy to Hassen, which could imply that
she looks clean and youthful,
• her hair is auburn and short,
• her head is small,
• her eyebrows are pencilled, that is she wears make-up,
• her eyes are greyish-green,
• she wears a dark grey costume (ie probably a skirt and jacket).

Question 8

Catherine's smallness (her stature in general and her small head are mentioned) emphasises
that she is a woman. This emphasises that she is physically different from Hassen in this
respect. Her smallness indicates her defencelessness in that she comes to plead for
forgiveness on behalf of Karim, but it also indicates her bravery in that, despite her smallness,
she approaches the physically bigger and stronger Hassen. She derives her confidence,
therefore, from an inner source, rather than from physical size and strength.

Her boyish appearance emphasises her innocence and her good intentions and contrasts her
search for forgiveness with Hassen's lack of forgiveness and recalcitrance. She is not only
youthful in appearance, but also youthful in spirit, because she has enough love for another
human being to humiliate herself on his behalf. In comparison, Hassen lacks this youthful
suppleness of spirit, because he is stuck in his solidified rejection of his brother.

Her greyish-green eyes and her grey costume accentuate the directness and businesslike
attitude with which she approaches Hassen. The clothes she wears could also be interpreted as
a sign of respect and of the seriousness of the matter to her.

On the whole, her appearance reflects the "realism and commonsense" which Hassen notes
about her words and which overwhelm him during their journey to see Karim.

3.3 Space

The term "space" refers to the observed places where the events take place and to the
geographic situation of such places. The vantage point of observation is either an external or an
internal focaliser. An analysis of the space would have to be done with due allowance for the
vantage point, since there may be drastic differences between the perspectives commanded by
external and internal focalisers. An external focaliser has a panoramic, basically unlimited view
of the fictional world and can easily exchange one vantage point for another. By contrast, the
perspective of an internal focaliser who directly experiences the fictional spatial construct is both
limited and tinged by subjective interpretation.

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The four senses chiefly concerned in the observation of the spatial relations are sight, hearing,
touch and smell. Visually the shapes, colours and dimensions of objects can be observed.
Sounds may add to a lesser degree to the shaping of a spatial construct – the tolling of a church
bell in the distance may expand its dimensions, while the perception of whispering may suggest
close proximity. Tactile and olfactory impressions usually fulfil a lesser function, except where
the "focaliser" is a blind character.

In some instances a spatial construct is given thematic significance if the narrative text deals
with a particular place. Particular spaces may also have a symbolic value in certain narratives.
Thus a house may signify seclusion and a garret may symbolise confinement and captivity for a
character.

The space is not only occupied by characters, but the experiences of such characters or
personages also take place within this spatial ambit.

The final focalised object of the narrative text, which is the presentation of events, will now be
considered. However, before proceeding with the presentation of events, let us first test your
understanding of the narrative element of space.

Let's test your knowledge of space in "Activity 3.3" found under Additional Resources.

ACTIVITY 3.3

Study the following passage from "The Hajji" and answer the questions below:

His heart beating wildly, his hair dishevelled, he reached the highway and walked on as fast as
he could. He longed to ask for a lift from a passing motorist but could not find the courage to
look back and signal. Cars flashed past him, trucks roared in pain.

When he reached the outskirts of Johannesburg it was nearing ten o'clock. He hurried
along, now and then breaking into a run. Once he tripped over a cable and fell. He tore his
trousers in the fall and found his hands were bleeding. But he was hardly conscious of himself,
wrapped up in his one purpose.

He reached Lovers' Walk, where cars growled around him angrily; he passed Broadway
Cinema, rushed towards Orient House, turned the corner at Jamal's fruit shop. And
stopped.

The green hearse, with the crescent moon and stars emblem, passed by; then several
cars with mourners followed, bearded men, men with white skullcaps on their heads,
looking rigidly ahead, like a procession of puppets, indifferent to his fate. No one saw
him.

(1) In the parts in bold of the above passage, what are the features of the environment that
are mentioned?
(2) How does the environment correspond to or differ from Hassen's inner state?

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ANSWERS ACTIVITY 3.3

Question 1

In the above passage features of the environment are for instance:

– the highway on which Hassen is walking, on which cars and trucks are noisily passing him,
– the environment of the outskirts of Johannesburg, where junk and unfriendly manmade
objects lie about, such as the cable which trips him,
– the area nearer to where Hassen lives, with its Indian names such as those of the cinema
and the shops.

Question 2

The environment as described in this passage characterises Hassen in the following ways:

The highway with the passing traffic can be interpreted as a reflection of the kind of inner turmoil
which Hassen is experiencing. He is in a frenzy of belated forgiveness for his brother and
attempts to rush to embrace his dead body before it is buried. He perceives the noise of trucks
as if they are roaring in pain, which implies that he projects his own psychological pain on them.
There is a correspondence between the environment and the character, because the
environment seemingly experiences the same pain that he himself feels.

The fact that he is walking along the outskirts of Johannesburg towards his home area implies
that he has become an outcast as a result of his lack of forgiveness for his brother. He has not
only physically removed himself from the area where he lives, but has also emotionally
separated himself from his brother and his fellow Muslims.

3.4 Time and the presentation of events

The space is the world in which the personages or characters have their being. What the
personages or characters do in this world constitutes the material substance of the story
(fabula) which forms the ultimate content of the narrative text. Events, like other elements of the
underlying story, are presented from a particular angle of observation. Here, too, it is invariably
critical to establish who is observing any particular event. Frequently the evaluative and
interpretative remarks of the focaliser are more significant than the actual event. Whatever the
case may be, the reader is inevitably guided by the focaliser's orientation towards the event and
the way in which it is observed.

When an internal focaliser provides information about an event, the reader is easily induced by
this circumstance to adopt the focaliser's point of view or even to identify with the character.
When two personages are involved in a conflict, the one who has the opportunity to
communicate his or her perspective has the best chance of winning the reader's sympathy. The
author of a narrative text selects the focalisers, and this naturally puts the author in a strong
position to manipulate the reader's reception.

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3.4.1 Temporal relations

3.4.1.1 Order

As indicated in 2.2 above, the reader may reconstruct the events in a narrative text in their
chronological order to show how they could have occurred in the underlying story (fabula) of the
narrative text. Such reconstruction is essential for analytic purposes because it enables the
reader to identify time deviations in the presentation of the events and to assess the impact of
such deviations on the narrative.

Thus the linguistic presentation of events in a narrative text entails not only selection from
(fictional) reality but also the temporal organisation of the events, which frequently entails
changes in their chronological order.

One of the principal narrative conventions is that of beginning the narrative in medias res. This
places the reader in the midst of events, whence he or she is led back through the narrative to
earlier events.

Time deviations may consist either in referring back to the past or in anticipating the future. In
the former case the operative term is retroversions or flashbacks while in the latter instance it is
anticipations. Flashbacks frequently fulfil an expository function by providing supplementary
information that elucidates events in the "present" of the narrative for the reader's benefit.
Anticipations are an effective means of creating tension in a narrative text: the reader is kept in
suspense while waiting for hinted-at events to take place or be averted.

3.4.1.2 Duration

Apart from time deviations, the rhythm in a narrative also affects the presentation of events in
the fictional world. There will always be alternation between an extensive and a synoptical
presentation of the events. Extension consists in more time (measured by the number of lines or
paragraphs taken up) being spent on an event in the narrative text than on the same event in
the story (fabula). An extensive or elaborate presentation of an event that takes up five minutes
in the story could be related in the narrative (sjužet) over ten pages, for example. Conversely
synopsis consists in reducing an event stretching over several years in the story to a few lines in
the narrative. In a scenic presentation, where the personages address each other by way of
dialogue, the time in the story would more or less keep pace with that of the narrative. Note that
the time in the story (fabula) is traditionally referred to as narrated time, while that of the
narrative (sjužet) presentation is known as narrating time.

3.4.1.3 Frequency

The last relation between the underlying story on the one hand and the concretised narrative on
the other is determined by the frequency with which an event is told in the narrative, compared
to its occurrence in the story. Repetition occurs when an event which happens only once in the
story (somebody's birth or death, for example) is told more than once in the narrative. On the
other hand, it can also happen that an event which must have occurred regularly in the story (for
example, the character cycled to school every morning) is told only once in the narrative, often
with an introductory phrase such as "Every morning ..." which indicates to the reader that the
event must have been habitual.

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The foregoing exploration of the text as narrative – that is, as the concrete narrative text
directed by the author in the narrative communication situation at the reader – was aimed at
answering the following two questions, which are central to the reader's conception of the
presentation of the fictional world:

• What is related? and

• On whose behalf?

Obviously the composition of the fictional world (the chronological events and actantial roles in
the underlying story or fabula) also has to be considered (see the discussion in study unit 2
above). Here one would consider the actors participating in events represented as a logical and
chronological series.

Having dealt with two aspects, that is, the underlying story (study unit 2) and the actual narrative
text (study unit 3), we may now take a closer look at the third aspect, that is, the function of
narration in narrative texts.

First, we will test your ability to identify the differences in temporal relations between the
underlying story and the actual narrative text in "Activity 3.4" found under Additional
Resources.

ACTIVITY 3.4

Study the passage below in which a reference to time has been set in bold and answer the
questions that follow:

For ten years Karim had lived without him. O Karim! The thought of the youth he had loved so
much during the days they had been together at the Islamic Institute, a religious seminary
though it was governed like a penitentiary, brought tears to his eyes and he stopped against a
shop window and wept.

(1) What is the grammatical time of the verbs in the bold part of the passage (for instance, for
those of you who are not familiar with grammatical terms, is it generally speaking the
present, past or future tense)?
(2) Is this a reference to a past or a future event, in terms of the present of the story? Identify
the event.
(3) What term is used to refer to this kind of time deviation?
(4) What effect does this time deviation have when you are reading the story?
Study the passage below in which a reference to time has been set in bold and answer the
questions that follow:

In his room he debated with himself. In what way should he conduct himself so that
his dignity remained Intact? How was he to face the congregation, the people In the
streets, his neighbours? Everyone would soon know of Karim and smile at him
half sadly, half ironically, for having placed himself in such a ridiculous
position. Should he now forgive the dying man and transfer him to his home?
People would laugh at him, snigger at his cowardice, and Mr Mia perhaps even
deny him the privilege: Karim was now his responsibility. And what would
Catherine think of him? Should he go away somewhere (on the pretext of a holiday)

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to Cape Town, to Durban? But no, there wae the stigma of being called a renegade.
And besides, Karim might take months to die, he might not die at all.

(5) What is the grammatical time of the verbs in the bolded part of the passage?
(6) Is this a reference to a past or a future event, in terms of the present of the story? Identify
the event.
(7) What term is used to refer to this kind of time deviation?
(8) What effect does this time deviation have when you are reading the story?

ANSWERS ACTIVITY 3.4

For ten years Karim had lived without him. O Karim! The thought of the youth he had loved so
much during the days they had been together at the Islamic Institute, a religious seminary
though it was governed like a penitentiary, brought tears to his eyes and he stopped against a
shop window and wept.

Question 1

The verbs are in the past perfect tense, that is, "had lived", "had loved" and "had been".

Question 2

In this passage, in terms of the present of the story, the reference is to a past event. This event
is the period of religious education when the two brothers were united in brotherly love and in
their mutual faith.

Question 3

This is a flashback.

Question 4

The effect of this time deviation is that the past event is emphasised or foregrounded, because
it does not fit in correctly or chronologically. So far in the story the events have been in the
present. Immediately preceding this flashback there is a disturbing event: Hassen's encounter
with the three white youths who taunt and humiliate him. This event brings back his embittered
memories of the racist nature of his feeling of rejection and repeats his humiliation about his
brother's desertion, as he saw it. Now this flashback puts an event which preceded his brother's
desertion right into the present of the story, because Hassen is overcome by the memory of
their former closeness. This simultaneously emphasises to him and to the reader the extent of
the hurt that he experienced when his brother gave up everything, including his brotherly
affection and his religious and cultural ties, for the love of a white woman.

Another effect of this flashback is that it creates a degree of tension because it reveals the
magnitude and intensity of the bond between the two brothers. This creates the expectation in
the reader that a reconciliation might be possible. It also evokes pity and empathy in the reader
for both Hassen and Karim, allowing the reader to identify with the two extremes – the pain of
rejection and the hope of reconciliation – which are the universals of this story.

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The flashback also characterises Hassen, because it reveals his inner inflexibility as revealed
by his inability to accept his brother on his own terms in the present. His love for his brother is
an emotion that he can only experience in the past, as reflected by the time deviation. In the
present, he is unable to maintain the attempted reconciliation. It only takes one incident such as
the racist taunts by the three youths to throw him off course again, back into the vicious circle of
embittered rejection and isolation. He had the choice of disregarding or shrugging off the taunts,
but instead he allowed the three youths to enter his inner world and wreck it.

In his attempt to preserve his "dignity" and his "manhood", Hassen in fact destroys them, as the
last paragraph of the story reveals.

In his room he debated with himself. In what way should he conduct himself so
that his dignity remained intact? How was he to face the congregation, the people
in the streets, his neighbours? Everyone would soon know of Karim and smile at
him half sadly, half ironically, for having placed himself in such a ridiculous
position. Should he now forgive the dying man and transfer him to his home?
People would laugh at him, snigger at his cowardice, and Mr Mia perhaps even
deny him the privilege: Karim was now his responsibility. And what would
Catherine think of him? Should he go away somewhere (on the pretext of a
holiday) to Cape Town, to Durban? But no, there was the stigma of being called a
renegade. And besides, Karim might take months to die, he might not die at all.

Question 5

The verbs are in the future tense, more precisely in the subjunctive present, which has the
effect of implying a future possibility: "would know", "should forgive", "would laugh, snigger,
deny", "would think", "should go", "might take ... to die", "might (not) die". Some verbs are in the
past, which is the present of the story: "Karim was now his responsibility" and "there was the
stigma of being called a renegade".

Question 6

On the whole, this passage refers to the future. Hassen debates with himself about what he
should do next, which refers to the immediate future of the story. When he considers the
possibility of Karim's death and imagines how long it will take before he dies, this is a reference
to an event in the slightly more distant future of the story. This is an event which nevertheless
does occur near the end of the story when Karim dies at about four one morning, after Hassen
had once again resisted the attempts by members of the Muslim community to arrange a
reconciliation between the two brothers.

Question 7

This time deviation is a flashforward.

Question 8

The effect of this time deviation is partly to emphasise the inner battle in which Hassen is
engaged, and partly to foreshadow Karim's death and the eventual outcome of the story. This
flashforward, therefore, presents a clue to the reader that the hope of reconciliation between the
two brothers is in vain.

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Once again, as in the case of the flashback studied above, the time deviation also characterises
Hassen. His inner debate is essentially about what others will think about him. He is less
concerned about what his brother will think about him for his lack of forgiveness, or for that
matter what the opinion will be of Allah whom he worships. His lack of esteem for Salima is
evident in her absence from the list of people whose opinion concerns him. It now becomes
evident that his brother's rejection has been a blow to his dignity as older brother more than a
sadness about his distance as a loved relative.

His debate about the possibility of Karim's death reduces it to an abstraction. He plays with the
possibility in an unfeeling and abnormal way, for instance in the way he continues to speculate
about the future:

If only Karim would die he would be relieved of his agony. But what if he lingered
on? What if he recovered? Were not prayers being said for him?

Hassen has reduced both his Muslim faith and his brotherly love to the level of a kind of game.

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Study unit 4: The act of narration
4.1 The narrator

The communication situation arising when a primary spokesperson acts in conjunction with
secondary spokespersons is reflected schematically as follows.

As shown in the above scheme, three different senders and receivers can be identified – some
outside and some within the confines of the narrative text (a novel, novelette or short story in
this case). The author (outside the narrative text) directs the text at the novel reader (outside the
text). A narrator who is not personally involved in the events (the primary spokesperson), and
who therefore is not part of the fictional world, is incorporated in the narrative text. This narrator
directs the relation of the relevant events at an auditor or reader, who is occasionally addressed
explicitly in the narrative text but who also does not participate in the events of the fictional
world. Finally, the actors who are directly concerned in the events of the fictional world may take
turns at relating events as the narrator allows them to speak. This relationship between the
narrator within the narrative text and the actors forming part of the fictional world may be
represented as follows:

The actual author and the actual reader, represented as the sender and the receiver outside the
text, will receive no further attention here. As can be seen from the above diagram, there is a
hierarchic relationship between the different spokespersons in the text:

• The words of the actors in the fictional world are embedded in those of the narrator in the
narrative text.

The hierarchic relationship between the primary and secondary spokespersons is technical and
does not imply, for example, that the narrator will be capable of expressing more reliable
judgments than the actors or will convey the most significant information. The fact that the
actors' words are embedded in those of the narrator, however, is indicative of the actors'
dependence on the narrator in that the latter may quote the words of the actors whereas the
converse cannot happen: the actors cannot even know that they are being quoted.

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To summarise, then, the main spokesperson or narrator has the function of reporting on events
and actors in the fictional world. In the communication situation of narrative texts, therefore, the
narrator acts as an intermediary between two worlds:

• The fictional world of the actors is mediated to readers of the narrative text in their real world
by the narrator.

However, the narrator performs a further function in that the reader's interpretation of the
fictional world is informed by the narrator's text – that is, by the narrator's report on the relevant
events, which usually contains overt or covert comments. Compare the following sentences:

1. Shifting around uncomfortably on his chair, John said: "I have nothing to tell you about the
theft."
2. In an unsympathetic tone of voice Alice said: "They don't belong to me."
3. "Do come again, dear children" said the motherly Aunt Susie.

The narrator's account of John's behaviour before quoting John's words will probably persuade
the reader that John is lying: that he is probably either personally implicated in the crime or
protecting somebody. In the second and third cases the reader will perceive the characters as
unfriendly and friendly respectively, being swayed by the narrator's text accompanying the
actual words spoken by Alice and Aunt Susie.

4.2 External and internal narrators

Some narrators simultaneously perform the additional function of a character who actually
experiences the events in the fictional world that forms the subject of the narration. As we have
already observed in respect of the different focalisers in 3.3 above, a narrator may occupy a
position which is either outside the events of his narrative (external narrator) or incorporated
with his narrative (internal narrator).The usual distinction made between an external, authorial
situation and an internal, figural situation depends on the narrator's distance from and attitude
towards the related events. It is regarded as a special case when an adult narrator reminisces
about his youth, because he is then both external with regard to the present in which the
narration occurs and internal to the past in which the narrative experience is set. These
relations can be schematically represented as follows:

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4.2.1 Authorial texts

The term "authorial", which is obviously derived from "author", is used with reference to an
external narrator who is invested with a control over the narrated course of events that virtually
equals the author's control over the narrative text. However, the authorial narrator is
nevertheless an integral part of the conventions that apply within fictional texts and therefore
must not be confused with the real-life author who originates the narrative text. An authorial
narrator has an overall perspective on the related events which gives him or her a panoramic
view of the entire fictional world. This unlimited perspective confers omniscience with regard to
both the actors and the events: such a narrator knows not only the past, present and future (and
therefore how events in the present were caused and what their outcome will be) but also the
innermost thoughts and feelings of all the actors. In addition to this omniscience, the authorial
narrator is also inclined to consistently explain the characters' behaviour to the reader or to
constantly comment on everything in the fictional world. This characteristic has at times given
rise to confusion between this narrative situation and the actual author, and consequently to the
assumption that the views in the authorial text are those of the actual author outside the
narrative text. As represented above, therefore, an authorial text is a narrative text that
incorporates an omniscient narrator who constantly comments on the narration of the events
and on his or her representation of the actors in the fictional world. The customary grammatical
form for such an authorial narrator is the third person singular (he or she).

4.2.2 First-person texts

In some narrative texts the authorial narrator refers to himself or herself in the first person
singular, and often not only relates the events in the fictional world but volunteers a whole range
of information about himself. Here the first-person narrator is internal in respect of his or her
personal experience while remaining external to the events in the fictional world, which is the
real content of the narrative text. The reader's impression of the external narrator, whether

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conveyed by information explicitly supplied by the narrator or by inferences drawn from the
narrator's relation of the fictional events, will have a marked effect on that reader's perception of
such events. A case in point is that a sharp contrast between the reader's impressions of the
external narrator and the fictional world respectively could have an ironic effect. An authorial
narrator's reference to himself (or herself) in the first person singular cannot constitute grounds
for identifying such a narrator with the real author outside the narrative text.

As mentioned above, a special problem arises when the first-person narrator recounts the
events of his or her youth. Although the narrator and the actor in the fictional world are the same
person, the narrating "I" is much older and wiser than the experiencing "I" (the actor). There is a
certain distance between the narrative position or point of view and the narrator's youthful
experiences, so that with the benefit of hindsight the course of certain events from the past can
be elucidated for the reader. By contrast, the younger, experiencing "I" within the fictional world
naturally does not possess the mature vision of the narrating "I". In some instances stylistic
differences provide the only means of determining which one is speaking, the older, narrating "I"
or the younger, experiencing "I".

4.2.3 Figural texts

A figural narrator, usually referred to as he or she in the grammatical third person, is also
positioned within the fictional world, like the experiencing "I" of a first-person narrative. This
narrator is usually the chief character who, because he or she personally experiences the
events in the fictional world, has a limited perspective that is confined to the present. Such
narrators can at best discern connections between the past and the present, without being able
to say what the future outcome of the related events will be. They also know only their own
thoughts and feelings and can relate only the expressed words and actions of other characters:
they obviously have no access to their private thoughts and motives, which would have to be
guessed at. This type of narrative situation is of course much more realistic than that involving
an omniscient narrator – after all, in real life no-one has direct access to the hidden thoughts
and feelings of other people.

4.3 Rendering of language utterance

Apart from quoting the actual words of characters as mentioned above, narrators have recourse
to various methods of making known the words and actions of characters in the fictional world.

4.3.1 Indirect speech

Indirect speech is used to report the actual words of a character in phrases beginning with that,
as in the following examples:

1. Moving about uncomfortably on his chair, John said that he had nothing to tell his
questioner about the theft.
2. Alice declared in an unsympathetic tone that they did not belong to her.
3. In her motherly way Aunt Susie assured the children that they were welcome to repeat their
visit in future.

(Compare the direct-speech sentences indicated as (1), (2) and (3) in 4.1 above.)

In the sentences above, the primary narrator in every instance is the speaker, who does not
share this function with other characters in the fictional world. In such cases the narrator not

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only has to choose the characters' words and his or her interpretation of the words, but he or
she is also responsible for the actual words as such.

4.3.2 Free indirect speech

The term "free indirect speech" is used with reference to indirect speech that does not conform
in every respect to the grammatical rules governing it. It is indirect because the convention of
the third person singular or plural is used. It is free for two reasons: it is not syntactically
subordinate to a principal sentence; and semantically it does not specify whether the words are
spoken or thought, or merely reflect an unconscious feeling. Thus free indirect speech is both
grammatically and semantically ambiguous. The above sentences could be rewritten in free
indirect speech as follows:

1. He had nothing to tell him about the theft.

2. They did not belong to her.
3. The little children were welcome to come again.

Free indirect speech is a very popular mode of presentation in the modernistic novel and is
usually incorporated in figural texts (see 2.4.2.3 above).

4.4 The reader in the text

Verbal utterances always involve a speaker and an auditor, even if one of these parties is not
mentioned explicitly. It has already been shown above that the communication situation of
narrative texts involves three different senders and three corresponding receivers. Like the real
author, the actual reader is not discussed here. At another level the reader in the text
corresponds to the primary narrator. This reader or auditor may be referred to explicitly, with the
narrator saying, for example, "Dear reader, who would have thought it possible", but references
to the auditor or reader in the text are usually less explicit. Any moral suggestion or speculation
about the probability of events, use of the plural form we, and so on, is actually an attempt to
implicate the auditor in the narrator's viewpoint.

Note: We do not provide specific activities on this section. However, you can revise the
questions on section 1.1 above, in which narrators and narrative instances were mentioned.
Also carefully read the analysis of Can Themba's short story "The Suit", which is discussed in
the next section.

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Study unit 5: Structuralist analysis of "The Suit"
Structuralist analysis of a short story: Can Themba's "The suit"

First read, attentively, Can Themba's story "The Suit" in the Appendix to this guide. Try to spot
the analytical steps set out in our discussion in the study units dealing with the underlying story
or fabula, the narrative text or sjužet and the narrative action. Then consider whether you agree
with the analysis of "The Suit" that follows.

Hint: If you find it difficult to follow the analysis, reread the portion of the story to which the
analysis refers. This exercise is an essential preparation for the questions you will have to
answer in your assignment on this story.

5.1 The story or fabula

Some narratological principles foregrounded in Can Themba's "The Suit" will be dealt with in
your analytical reading of the story. The terms used and discussed in previous study units will
be used throughout.

When we reconstruct the story level or fabula of "The Suit", the emphasis must fall on its
narrative nature. The actual chronological sequence of events may be indicated by means of
the following labels:

• marriage
• transgression (adultery)
• discovery
• punishment (vengeance)
• death (suicide)

One might also use propositions (theses) to indicate the abstracted chronological sequence of
events:

• Two people (Philemon and Matilda) fall in love and marry.

• The woman enters into an extramarital relationship.
• The husband finds out about this relationship.
• He punishes the wife over a long period.
• The wife commits suicide.

"The Suit" clearly describes a process of deterioration from a happily married state to adultery
and finally to the death of the wife.

The initial balance is upset by the effect on the husband and wife of the discovery of the
adultery. This process of deterioration becomes clearer when we examine the function of the
actors in these events. At the start of their marriage, Philemon and Matilda show goodwill and
affection to one another. Thus both simultaneously play the roles of sender/benefactor and
receiver/beneficiary. Their purpose is to make each other happy. This is clear from Philemon's
actions in helping Matilda with domestic tasks and taking her breakfast to the bedroom; it is also
evident in Matilda's attentiveness to Philemon, as when she carefully prepares his packed lunch
the previous evening.

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During and after Matilda's relationship with the unknown owner of the suit (the one in the title),
their relationship changes. Instead of the loving, faithful wife of former times, she is now a
disloyal, unfaithful wife – a potentially destructive force. After the discovery of her relationship
with the other man she becomes the victim of her husband's vengeance instead of, as formerly,
the recipient of his goodwill and love. In the same way, Philemon changes from a good,
affectionate husband to an unapproachable, unforgiving persecutor. In a sense he becomes a
victim of the torment he inflicts on his wife. The goal of their relationship has changed. Philemon
now humiliates Matilda; his purpose is to make her suffer. Matilda, on the other hand, tries to
regain Philemon's favour and to obtain his forgiveness.

On a smaller scale, Matilda and her extramarital lover may be seen in the roles of sender
(benefactor) and receiver (beneficiary) in terms of their affair. Superficially, Old Maphikela
appears to be Philemon's helper: he seems like a father to Philemon who tells him the truth for
his own good. Philemon listens to what he has to say almost out of compassion, because he
thinks the old man is going to ask for a loan. However, it is Maphikela's wife's snooping which
initially results in the spreading of gossip about Matilda, and it is her nagging that drives him to
tell Philemon. Behind Old Maphikela is his wife, who is really an opponent: she pretends to have
good intentions but is really acting for the sake of sensation. She is using Maphikela through
Philemon to harm Matilda. (Note the characteristic description of Old Maphikela as garrulous in
the discussion of characterisation below.)

In this story, the helper (opponent) has a crucial role in the course of the action: the discovery of
the affair, rather than the affair itself, is the turning point in the direction of deterioration. The suit
is representative of the departed lover. It is called Matilda's albatross – in other words, it is an
opponent to Matilda and a helper to Philemon in his effort to punish Matilda. The lover himself at
first seemed to fill the actantial role of helper to Matilda – he may have brought a dynamic
quality into her life which Philemon lacked. However, by deserting her when the game was up
he turned into an opponent as symbolised by his suit, which he left behind in his hurry to get
away.

The next step will be to consider

• factors affecting the relationship between narrative text and story or fabula (time and
characterisation)
• factors revealing the relationship between narrative text and narration (focalisation)

5.2 The narrative text

5.2.1 Temporal relations

As regards time in narrative texts, it is important to bear in mind that – like most aspects of
narrative texts – it should not be viewed in isolation. If we compare the chronological succession
of events in "The Suit" as reconstructed above with the presentation of the events in the text
itself, we find that, generally speaking, the text presents the events in chronological order.
However, there are a few changes in the order: The unspecified period of their happy married
life is told first.

This is told both generally and specifically (a particular day in their seemingly happy married life
is exemplified). The rumour of Matilda's affair is at the same time a flashback (Old Maphikela
tells Philemon about something which he did not know but which has been going on for three

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months) and a flashforward (Philemon hears an allegation which he fears will prove to be the
truth). This is followed by Philemon's journey home. Up to this point, the story told remains in
the context of that particular day in their undisturbed married life. All of this changes, however,
from the moment of his discovery of Matilda and the other man. From this point onwards that
day typifies the remainder of their disruptive marriage, which is dominated by Philemon's
revenge and self-castigation. After the discovery there is a flashforward – Philemon warns
Matilda to look after the "visitor" as though her life depended on it. This warning foreshadows
both the subsequent game with the suit and Matilda's eventual suicide. This is followed by a
return to the present of the particular day and another flashback: when Philemon gets home in
the evening, Matilda's appearance reminds him of the way she looked when he first fell in love
with her and he momentarily recalls their past happiness. The rest of the narrative proceeds
more or less chronologically – the course of events that form part of Philemon's punishment of
Matilda is told, interspersed with her attempts to endure it, and her eventual suicide.

The deviation in the order of the events clearly indicates that the discovery of the adultery is
foregrounded as the crucial aspect of the story which propels the rest of the action. Another
event foregrounded in this manner is Matilda's suicide, which is the final climax of the story.

By comparing story time or narrated time (the supposed time it must have taken for an event to
happen) with text time or narrating time (the amount of time devoted to that event in the text), it
is possible to deduce that certain events are given more importance or less importance than
others. It is evident that the specific day on which the adultery was discovered is foregrounded,
since the events on that day (both the preceding and the succeeding events) are given more
weight than, for instance, the long period (presumably years) of their marriage proceeding that
day. It is as though that day is seen through a magnifying glass; the events from 5:30 in the
morning until bedtime are described in minute detail. Every part of their ordered daily routine is
described. Against this background the unusual, irregular event of Matilda with her lover
appears highly incongruous. This event totally destroys the regularity of that day. Philemon
does not go back to work (although he does post the letters he usually posts on his way to
work); instead, he goes to the beer hall. On the whole there is a slowing down of the tempo in
the narration of the events of that particular day. On the one hand the events of that day are
contrasted with a general summary of their preceding happy life together; but also, on the other
hand, those events are contrasted with the representation of Matilda's subsequent punishment
over an unspecified period (presumably some weeks). This subsequent period is also recounted
in a synoptic form. The similarity in the method of representing time before and after the crucial
moment of discovery, when their relationship is destroyed, somehow equates those two periods
of time:

• Like their preceding happy life, their subsequent suffering is shown as becoming regular
and habitual, to the point where Matilda comes to think of the game with the suit as "a
very little thing".
• This method of representing time serves to emphasise by under-statement the
abnormality of Philemon's behaviour and the extremity of Matilda's suffering.

The aspect of frequency – that is, the number of times something occurs on the story
level as opposed to the number of times it is recounted in the text – in the representation
of time is a very interesting and significant feature of "The Suit". The entire story centres
on one day which is representative of the married life of Philemon and Matilda. The
method of telling is iterative: all the minute details of Philemon's preparations for work are
told as representative of his everyday actions, events that always occur and are
expected to continue indefinitely. However, these everyday events are unexpectedly

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 disturbed by the unusual event of Philemon's discovery of Matilda's affair with the other
man. The regularity is then destroyed. The events of the rest of the day are no longer
iterative representations of their past life together, but instead exemplify what is to come.
An example of this is the serving of food to the suit that evening. Philemon states that
this is how he wants it at every meal. We can therefore assume that this is an iterative
representation of all further mealtimes.

This first serving of food to the suit is told in detail, but further repetitions of this event are
not told at all. The second time the serving of food to the suit is recounted should
therefore be regarded as important. These two events mark the beginning and the end of
Matilda's humiliation, and both occur after she had done all she could to bear her
punishment. It is clear, if we compare these two events in Matilda's process of
deterioration, that the first time she served food to the suit she had only lost her lover and
the love of her husband; the second time she had failed to regain the love of her husband
and had also lost her standing in her social sphere – her friends' laughter about the game
with the suit was not something she found innocuous, "it was a hot poker down her
throat".

5.2.2 Characterisation

The next point in our discussion of characterisation will be the way in which the actantial roles of
actors distinguished at the story level are individualised in the narrative text.

As we have seen, Philemon is initially characterised mainly as the loving husband. Judging by
the narrator's description of his thoughts, he is a friendly, good-natured man. Characterisation
takes place mainly through direct definition: the narrator describes his kindly nature, his
confidence that all aspects of his life are perfect, his love and consideration for his wife, but also
his extreme devastation at the notion of her unfaithfulness. There are important examples of
indirect portrayal through Philemon's actions (cf his extreme and abnormal calmness after the
devastating discovery; his reading of a book on abnormal psychology); his speech, which is
even more destructive than his actions (it is his "edict" which finally destroys Matilda) and his
external appearance (his facial expressions are often incongruous with his emotional state).

These examples serve to illustrate the change in Philemon from positive to negative. Where at
first he radiated love and kindness, he changes into an unfeeling destroyer. We see that his
initial role as a loving husband depended completely on the stability and perceived perfection of
everything around him, including the routine of his daily life and the purity of his wife's beauty.
When one thing goes wrong, his emotional stability is irrevocably destroyed (cf the metaphor of
"molten metal") and his kindness to Matilda turns into vengefulness. The degree of abnormality
in his character is reflected by his relentless insistence on the establishment of a new routine
(his edict of the game with the suit) to replace the previous perfection of his life. His revenge
and punishment of Matilda are as "perfect", or complete, as his previous love and kindness.

The environment of the characters – Sophiatown on a rainy day – is significant. On the one
hand, the rainy morning is a commonplace thing: it reflects Philemon's contentment with his life
as long as things follow their usual pattern. On the other hand, in the context of the discovery
later that day the rainy morning may be seen as symbolic. Philemon is capable of accepting
adverse weather conditions, but that is as far as his flexibility goes. He is unable to forgive
Matilda.

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Matilda, at first, is the loyal wife – attentive and loving. Her joking rebuke ("off with you")
becomes ambiguous, however, in the light of the change in her, as in Philemon, from positive to
negative. We find a direct definition of her character in the mention of her "pure beauty" by the
narrator (as focalised by Philemon). This takes on an ambiguous quality in the light of the rest of
the story. In terms of indirect portrayal, she is first depicted through her external appearance as
snuggling up in bed. It is a source of happiness to Philemon to think of Matilda as safe and
pure, almost in a cocoon, in bed. It is therefore ironic that this is precisely how she is shown
again after her suicide, curled up in the bedroom. We may conclude that Philemon's inflexible,
sterile attitude to life suffocates her in the context of their marriage.

Unlike Philemon, Matilda says little. After the discovery she sobs but does not speak. This gives
an added emphasis to the occasions when she does speak. She is characterised mainly
through her actions, which in general are attempts to please Philemon – for instance, when she
dresses nicely, looks after the house and prepares the meal with particular care on that day she
attempts to convey an apology, not in words but in actions. Her fearful actions – ducking,
running out of the room, toppling a chair, starting with fright – reflect the extreme violence and
anger she perceives in Philemon but also invite or anticipate some tangible evidence of his
resentment. The implication is that she could have handled the physical expression of his anger
– even welcomed it – but that she cannot deal with his cold rejection and long-term
psychological destruction. "The strain nibbled at her". This is the course her deterioration takes.
Her further action, joining the women's club, seems effective as a means of escaping from the
strain of her situation. Viewed in the light of her attempts to win Philemon's forgiveness,
however, this action is a failure like all the others. The subsequent party is the final breaking
point: "she went ashgrey". Her final action, her suicide, also combines the purposes of escape
and a plea for forgiveness. We observe a hierarchy in her actions: from sobbing to a series of
attempts to win Philemon's favour, verbal pleading and finally her single act of suicide.

Matilda has changed from the loving wife who was also an object of love, the recipient of her
husband's favour, to the pleading victim – an object of revenge – who, unable to win back his
favour, finally gives in under the load she has to carry.

Old Maphikela's ambiguous role of helper/opponent is reflected by his outward appearance,

which is in stark contrast to his action of giving Philemon the worst news of his life. When
Philemon first sees him that morning, he notices a certain clouding of Maphikela's countenance,
but when Maphikela tells him the gossip about Matilda he has a pathetic smile on his face –
quite incongruous with his act of telling this particular news, which inflicts a mortal wound on the
receiver. He seems to be Philemon's friend, and Philemon likes his company, but in reality he
has little feeling for Philemon. He is exactly what he is called by direct definition: the local
newspaper. This epithet, as well as the fact that he is called garrulous, indicates that he
conveys information for the sake of conveying it, regardless of its nature, truth or effect.
Another interesting aspect of characterisation is the role of the suit. This item of clothing
represents the departed lover. It is not a character but the representative of an absent character
(nonperson). It is ironic that this noncharacter, who is the reason for the destruction of Philemon
and Matilda's lives and their marriage, is so completely absent. The only glimpse we get of him
is as focalised by Philemon: the man's arm around Matilda's neck and his back when Philemon
sees him running down the street in his underclothes. The important thing is the result of his
having been present in the story, rather than his presence itself. Of this, his suit is the tangible
reminder. It is the suit – the reminder of his former presence – that slowly destroys Matilda, but
only because the suit is employed by Philemon to perform the function of an object of
punishment.

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5.2.3 Focalisation

Next, we consider the function of focalisation in "The suit". Superficially this focalisation appears
to be mainly external: the events are portrayed mainly through the eyes of the narrator (primary
narrator focalisation). This is certainly the case when Philemon's thoughts and actions are
related at the beginning of the story. It cannot be said, however, that focalisation is completely
external or that the chief narrator and the focaliser are one and the same throughout the story.
When characters other than Philemon are the focalised objects, focalisation occurs mainly
through the eyes of Philemon. Thus there is some question of internal focalisation through the
eyes of a character (secondary character focalisation).

Characters other than Philemon also focalise – Maphikela, for instance, whose words reflect the
degree of Philemon's disturbance. Matilda is the focaliser when her actions reflect Philemon's
anger, because they express her fear in reaction to the implied violence she perceives.
However, her observation is incomplete: "she knew nothing of the strain he himself suffered ..."
During the deterioration of their relationship they each fail to see the full picture regarding the
other. Philemon thinks he knows what the note of anxiety in her voice means, but he does not.
He has no pity. Matilda, on the other hand, is in such fear of him that she cannot know how he
suffers. It is therefore precisely through the limitation of internal focalisation that Philemon and
Matilda destroy each other. Because they cannot see or observe each other fully, they
misunderstand, and in the end the mock seriousness of their game turns into total anguish for
them both.

This implies that internal focalisation in this story takes place from the outside, which is a
functional device to reflect the misunderstanding as a crucial aspect of the process of
deterioration. The internal focalisers, Philemon and Matilda, observe each other (their focalised
objects) from the outside. They are not perceptive of each other's inner feelings but only
observe each other's words and actions superficially, at face value. There is an interesting
contrast between the concepts of seeing and not seeing. During the discovery of Matilda and
the other man Philemon saw everything in a flash, "but he affected not to see". When Matilda
does her best to dress nicely and to win back his favour that evening, Philemon closes his eyes
and resists her attraction. He asks himself: "what makes a woman like this experiment with
adultery", but he is altogether blind to possible faults in himself which may have driven her to it.
Later on he takes "no notice of her weeping". This indicates that Philemon deliberately closes
his mind and heart to Matilda.

The distinction between internal and external focalisation touched on above with reference to
the beginning of the story, implies a distinction between focalisation from above and focalisation
in the midst of the situation ("from below", as it were). The narrator as the focaliser "sees" the
lives of Philemon and Matilda from above (a bird's eye view) and has an overview of the entire
situation (the authorial narrative situation). Philemon and Matilda are too close to one another;
they perceive only certain aspects of each other: a state of affairs that does much to destroy
their relationship (the figural narrative situation).

5.3 Narration

Next, let us consider the role of the narrator. This implies reading the story with a view to
answering the following questions:

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• Who tells the story?
• What is the effect of the way the story is told?

This investigation involves an analysis of the various narrative levels that may be present in the
story. One would attempt to place the narrator on a specific level, either outside or inside the
fictional world and to analyse the way speech is represented – the manner of telling the story
and the function of speech representation.

The narrator in "The Suit" is predominantly outside the events. From the fact that Philemon and
the other characters are represented as "he" or "she", and from statements such as "they have
a way of saying we may conclude that the narrator stands outside the story, knows what goes
on in the minds of the actors and does not participate in the story". This is the kind of narrator
that may be termed authorial. The definition (both the direct definition and the indirect portrayal,
for instance of appearance) comes from the narrator, who also reports the speech and actions
of the characters.

Although the narrator is outside the story, his distance from the story is not very great. For
instance, in some instances he identifies with the characters: "these things we blacks want to do
for our own ..." The varying distance of the narrator from the events he relates has a particular
function. At the beginning of the story we find that the narrator is almost inside the mind of
Philemon, and the story is told very much from the vantage point of Philemon as the focaliser.
However, from the end of the fatal day of the discovery the narrator no longer coincides with
Philemon as focaliser but has distanced himself from Philemon. When Philemon and Matilda
are washing dishes after the meal, the narrator's distance from the story is very different from
his closeness to Philemon earlier that day when he was getting ready for work. Now, the
narrator as the focaliser observes them from outside their world: "But for their wordlessness,
they seemed a very devoted couple". The increasing distance of the narrator from Philemon has
the effect of transferring what appears to be the narrator's loss of sympathy (or the decrease in
the narrator's identification with Philemon) to the reader, reflecting also Philemon's slide into
increasingly abnormal behaviour.

The next important point is the manner of telling the story. For instance, on the rare occasions
when Matilda does speak, her speech is represented as direct speech: " 'Off with you', she
scolded him on his way". The ambiguity of this expression becomes evident later in the story, as
mentioned above.

When Maphikela tells Philemon the gossip about Matilda, this takes the form of indirect speech:
"Maphikela hailed him nevetheless ... but the old man shouted back at him, saying that he
would wait for him at the terminus in town". The description of Maphikela's daily news bulletin
also takes the form of indirect speech. However, Maphikela's report of Matilda's unfaithfulness
is in direct speech, as is Philemon's reaction and the shrieks of the women on the bus. The
change in presentation (from indirect to direct speech) in this case reflects the intensity of what
is told.

When Philemon makes the discovery and then speaks to Matilda, his speech is represented in
the form of direct speech this method involves the narrator-focaliser, who qualifies the manner
of speaking – for instance, by the use of the adjective: "he spoke cheerfully", which is in strong
contrast to his feelings as described previously. Within the direct speech, instances of free
indirect speech occur: " 'Ha', he said, 'I see we have a visitor ... But first, I must phone my boss
that I can't come to work today ... mmm' -er, my wife's not well".

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At this stage, Matilda's silence is very noticeable: "Her mouth twitched, but her throat raised no
words". She does not speak, but her replies (apologetic, seeking favour) are in her actions.

Gradually, as the story progresses, her pleading actions become pleading words. At first "she
ducked frantically" and runs out of the room, expecting physical violence from Philemon, but
Philemon completely eliminates the possibility of any such thing: "there's to be no violence in
this house if you and I can help it". However, we learn from the rest of the story that this
statement must be read as ironic, because his psychological violence towards Matilda is severe
and it seems that the point is precisely that they cannot help it. Their misunderstanding and
mutual destruction originate in the fact that they move on different planes altogether, and this is
reflected in the contrast between his speech and her actions, which are not congruent.
Although the extreme violence in this story is not present in Philemon's actions, it is certainly
present in his words. This is reflected in his sarcasm and the inhuman manner in which he
speaks (e.g. "he barked"). He also threatens Matilda verbally: "Matilda I'll kill you" – which is
what he effectively, if indirectly, achieves.

Eventually, Matilda's final act of suicide renders Philemon's words ineffective. He cannot call her
back to life or punish her any further, and his speech now reflects his own anguish. It is
interesting that her final act is the result of abortive attempts on her part to reach Philemon on
his level, that of words: "She dreaded disturbing him, did not know how to begin talking to him
... they had talked so little for so long"; "She begged, 'Just this once, Phil'." Philemon, however,
never attempts to meet Matilda on her level, that of actions: "There she lay, curled as if just
before she died she begged for a little love, implored some implacable lover to cuddle her a little
... just this once ... just this once more".

Note: The above discussion is not meant to reflect a definitive or final reading of the story, but it
serves as an example of how you could go about applying narratological principles to an actual
text.

5.4 Concluding remarks

The above sections dealt with three closely interrelated aspects of narrative texts:

• the underlying series of events (story) on which the narrative is based

• the narrative arrangement of the text
• the act of narration performed by a narrator within the text

These three interdependent aspects are central to this genre – in Genette's (1980) terms a text
cannot be called narrative unless it tells a story; nor can it be called a text unless someone
articulates or recounts it. As has been shown in the analysis of Can Themba's short story "The
Suit" above, an analysis of the constituent parts of any subgenre of narrative text according to
the criteria mentioned above should result in a proper study of the intratextual relations of the
narrative text. The reader could then also study the relations of the text to other texts
(intertextual relations) or the mutually illuminating relations between the narrative text and reality
(extratextual relations).

NOTES

This chapter is based on two sources:

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(1) the chapter entitled "Verhalende teksten" in Luxemburg et al (1983:64–204)
(2) Rimmon-Kenan's introductory work (1983) on narratology

Both sources distinguish the three aspects of narrative texts that have been discussed in
the three subsections of this section, but their terminology differs somewhat:

(a) tekst (Bal)/narration (Rimmon-Kenan) – for narration (Genette)

(b) verhaal [Bal)/text (Rimmon-Kenan) – for recit (Genette)
(c) geschiedenis [Bal)/story (Rimmon-Kenan) – for histoire (Genette)

Since both Bal and Rimmon-Kenan are borrowing Genette's terms, translating his French into
Dutch and English respectively, they manifestly attribute the same meaning to their different
terms. To enable students to follow both sources, we have adhered fairly faithfully to the two
sets of terms. We take (a) to signify that the text is spoken or related, hence that it is
unequivocally formulated in language (cf the emphasis on "narration" above). By (b) we
understand the physical written text as presented in the form of a story – hence the heading
"The narrative text" as used above. By (c) we mean the underlying, abstractable and
reconstructable events in their chronological sequence. The term "story" or "fabula" is used in
this way throughout. We shall return to these terminological questions in subsequent courses.
The same applies to the term personage as used by Bal (1983), which corresponds to character
in Rimmon-Kenan (1983). In the current text the terms personage and character are both in
use, so that both sources will be readily accessible to the student.

The extensive analysis of Can Themba's story is based on a more detailed analysis by Dr Ina
Biermann in a publication on Literatuurwetenskap en letterkundeonderwys (1992). This
publication also contains a reader-oriented approach to the same story by Mr AD Gabashane. If
you are interested in reading these, please contact the Department.

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PART III: DRAMATIC TEXTS
Introduction

The purpose of this section in “Introduction to Literary Genres” is to provide you with the
theoretical knowledge and practical skills to be able to:

• distinguish the dramatic text from the poetic and the narrative
• identify various theoretical aspects of dramatic texts in various plays
• critically assess the performability of dramatic texts
• evaluate the aesthetic, intellectual, emotive, cultural and social aspects of dramatic texts
• comment with insight on the dramatic text as a performance oriented text

In the General Introduction to this module the communication situation was invoked to
differentiate between poetic, narrative and dramatic texts. Unlike the poetic text which is seen
as monological, narrative and dramatic texts were characterised as dialogical because various
speakers generally play a part in these genres.

Dramatic texts were distinguished from narrative text on the basis that dramatic texts generally
do not have a narrator but only characters who engage in dialogue with one another. Some
dramatic texts do have narrators, however. An example of this is Paul Grootboom and Presley
Chweneyagae’s play, Relativity. Plays can also consist of a single character and speaker as in
Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, Sindiwe Magona’s Mother to Mother or Will Eno’s Thom
Pain.

GENERAL BACKGROUND

The most important thing that you need to keep in mind when considering the dramatic text is
that it is written to be performed. This means that we cannot study the dramatic text in
isolation but regard it as a first step in the whole dramatic communication process. For an
introduction into how this process works, watch “SCREENCAST #1: BACKGROUND.”

The special relationship between the text and performance is called the performance
orientation. Each aspect discussed in this section of the module is influenced by the
performance orientation. The aspects we will study are:

• the concept of performance orientation

• dramatic characters
• time and space
• dramatic action and the structure of the play
• dialogue and didascalia

In this module we concentrate on the “traditional” play. This means we focus on texts that are
intended to be performed, portray a fictional world that consists of characters within a certain
context of time and space, and evinced through dialogue, events, didascalia etc.

The section on dramatic texts in THL2602 (Structuralist and Semiotic Theories of Genre) which
can be taken at second year level deals with the dramatic text in a broader context. It studies
the relationship between character, actor and spectator from various perspectives and
addresses the larger social impact of drama and theatre.

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Study unit 1: The play – a performance

The play: a performance

Before you continue with the rest of this section, first familiarise yourself with some of the basic
terminology.

Using the online version of the OED (Oxford English Dictionary)

(http://www.oed.com.oasis.unisa.ac.za/), look up the meaning of the following words:

“drama”
“dramatic”
“performance”
“theatre”
“stage”
“auditorium”

After you’ve familiarised yourself with the dictionary’s definition of these terms, complete the
quiz "Basic Terminology" found under "Additional Resources."

Performance orientation

When we talk about “drama” in the context of Theory of Literature, we refer to a particular
genre. Unlike prose or poetry, drama is written to be performed. Although a radio play and a
screenplay can also be regarded as a drama, we focus in this module exclusively on the stage
play which is meant to be performed on a stage in a theatre.

Although it might seem rather obvious that we talk about both the play and the performance
when we talk about drama, this fact received little attention before the 1980s. Language
departments that studied plays often only analysed the written text as if it was a narrative or
poetic text.

Since the 1980s, the work of drama and theatre semioticians (which will be discussed in
THL2602) changed the situation to a great extent. Today, most theatre theorists foreground the
relationship between a play and its performance.

In this section, we will discuss three important aspects of the performance orientation of a play:

1. the relationship between performance and representation

2. limitations which characterise a performance on stage
3. traces of theatrical conventions in the written play

1. The relationship between performance and representation

If a dramatic text is influenced by its potential performance, what are the characteristics
of this performance?

Performance entails “the representation of characters, events, time and space – a whole
fictional world – on stage, that is, in front of spectators” (Keuris, 1996:4). This takes place in

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physical time and space. While a novel describes its fictional world to the reader through words,
a play shows a representation of its fictional world to its audience. Each element in the fictional
world has a physical representative on stage: in this manner, actors represent fictional
characters, décor represents the environment of the fictional world, props represent objects,
costumes represent the clothes of the characters, lighting and sound techniques represent
specific temporal aspects, such as the time of day or far off sounds.

We thus use the formula x represents y to explain the relation between real and fictional objects
or people in drama: an actor (x) represents a character (y) and so on.

For example, in Keren Tahor’s Jutro, a play set in a bombed nightclub during World War II, the
following people and objects represent the fictional world:

How can this performance orientation be seen in the written text?

We can see the principle that x stands for y in the written text in the list of characters as well
as the stage directions. The list of characters in Neil Coppen’s Abnormal Loads, for example,
looks like this:

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The actor’s name (x) is mentioned next to the character(s) he or she plays (y). In the case of
Abnormal Loads, some characters play more than one role, which is also indicated in the list of
characters.

For example, Clinton Small (x) stands for William Bashford (y), but Clinton Small (x) also stands
for Leon Joubert (y).

The performance orientation is also indicated by the didascalia. Look at the following excerpt
from the published script of Abnormal Loads:

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The reader is thus guided to read the text as a “blueprint” for a possible performance, and
therefore to recognize its performance orientation.

2. Limitations which characterize a performance on stage

Because a play is written with a potential performance in mind, the text is limited by a few
important factors. Firstly, performance entails an event. Unlike a novel which is printed in book
form and therefore portable, or a film which is recorded and later released on DVD, a
performance happens in a unique time and place. Representation always takes place in the
present, or “now” and in the space of “here” (Keuris, 1996:7).

This is clear also in the printed text. The first performance of a play is usually documented in the
published play. Neil Coppen’s Abnormal Loads was, for example, performed for the first time at
the Rhodes Theatre on 30 June 2011:

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Performing arts always have a time limit. A film is usually two hours long, and a play usually
takes between one and two hours to perform. This is a practical arrangement: there has to be
limit to the length of time the audience sits and watches the performance (Keuris, 1996:7). The
play should thus not take too long to perform. A play is therefore necessarily shorter than a
novel. Compare, for instance the play version of Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange with the
original novel:

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Because a play is shorter than a novel, a dramatist has less time to portray his or her characters
and events. The number of characters – especially in modern drama – therefore tends to be
small. The length of specific scenes and their sequence must also be carefully structured to fit
into the limited time frame (Keuris, 1996:7–8).

A play is also limited in terms of space. No matter the size of a specific stage, this space is
necessarily limited. This limited space is then used to represent a larger fictional space. It is
impossible to represent large spaces – such as a battlefield, or a city – realistically on stage.
Therefore stage technology, lighting and sound effects are used to suggest a larger fictional
space.

Sometimes, spotlights are used to represent two separate spaces on one stage:

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In Mike van Graan’s play Rainbow Scars, for example, the main action takes place in Ellen
Robinson’s home, but alternative places are also represented, by isolating the actors with a
spotlight.

Here, the character Sicelo (played by Mbulelo Grootboom) is isolated with light and supposedly
in a courtroom – removed from the main action in the Robinson house:

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These lighting conventions are also indicated in the written text. In Mike van Graan’s Green
Man Flashing, for example, two sets of conversations are similarly separated in time and place,
and indicated as such in the text:

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Look at the following videos on how sound and lighting cues are created in the London’s
National Theatre productions:

Sound:

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/sound-set-up-on-stage

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/sound-design-and-foley

Lighting:

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/focusing-lights-for-the-rep

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/becoming-a-lighting-designer

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/automated-lighting-wash

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/the-use-of-moving-lights

Other special effects:

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/pyrotechnics-in-theatre

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/swords

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/firearms

3. Traces of theatrical conventions in the written play

A convention is “a technique or custom which is accepted by a reader or spectator as part of the

characteristics that define a specific genre or subgenre” (Keuris, 1996:10). In other words, the
custom of sometimes ending a play with a falling curtain is a convention. Audiences have come
to accept that the end of a play is sometimes signalled with the lowering of the curtain.

We also find other conventions in theatre which we can also trace in the written text. Most of
these conventions rely on the fact that theatre – unlike a novel or poem – takes place in a
theatre, where the stage and auditorium are adjacent to each other. The audience thus watches
the play as it is produced, which make most of these conventions possible. The main
conventions we will focus on are the aside, monologue and soliloquy, direct address of the
audience, the exchanging of roles and role-playing, and the play-within-the-play.

• Aside

An aside is a few words spoken by a character, directly to the audience. For example, the
following exchange takes place in Beverley Naidoo’s The Playground, first produced in 2003:

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The assumption of the aside is that the other characters on stage cannot hear what Rosa says
to the audience (Keuris, 1996:10). This convention is often found in Shakespeare’s theatre and
comedies. Although it is unrealistic that the schoolboys cannot hear what Rosa is saying out
loud to the audience, both audience and actors play along and pretend that this is the case.

• Monologue and soliloquy

Both a monologues and soliloquies are lengthy speeches given by a character. While a
character addresses someone (either the audience or another character) in a monologue, a
soliloquy is not directed at someone. A soliloquy is thus the verbal expression of a character’s
thoughts (Keuris, 1996:11). We find soliloquies frequently in dramas before the 18th century
(Shakespeare was very fond of the device), but it went out of fashion as realism became more
popular. However, we still see this device in soap operas today, usually when an evil character
plots a complicated scheme which needs to be explained to the viewer without any of the other
characters’ knowledge.

See the monologue below in Ashwin Singh’s To House. Although he is alone on stage he is
addressing the photograph of his mother, which makes the speech a monologue, and not a
soliloquy.

• Direct address

Another theatrical convention is the direct address of the audience. This entails that a character
addresses the audience, acknowledging their presence. An example of this is Will Eno’s one-
man play, Thom Pain. While other one-person plays may function as a monologue, where a

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character’s speech is directed towards the audience, Thom Pain acknowledges the audience as
audience throughout. This is evident from the stage directions in the following excerpt:

• Exchanging of roles

Sometimes in theatre the same actor performs various roles. This is called the exchanging of
roles. Sometimes this is due to economic reasons (a producer cannot afford to hire another
actor), but sometimes it is done on purpose and indicated in the written play. This is possible
because of the x = y principle. If an actor, for example the actor James Cairns (x) stands for the
character of Wayne (y) in the play Dirt by Nick Warren, he can also stand for the character of
Grant (y) or Sam (y) (Keuris, 1996:14).

We also find that one character (y) is sometimes represented by more than one actor (x). This
usually happens when a character needs to age or undergo some sort of a transformation. An
example of this is in Bartho Smit’s play, Christine, where the young Christine is played by a
different actress than the older Christine.

• Play-within-the-play

The play-within-a-play happens when there is a smaller performance within the main play.
Usually the characters in the play present their own play (as in Shakespeare’s Hamlet). Some of
the characters thus play the part of actors in the inner play, while others play the part of
spectators in the outer play.

An example of this is Alan Bennet’s play, The Habit of Art, which shows the rehearsal of an
inner play.

You can now test your knowledge on the performance orientation of a play by completing the
quiz "The Play" found under "Additional resources."

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Study unit 2: Dramatic characters

The fact that a play is intended to be performed also influences how characters are constructed
by the dramatist and perceived by the audience.

WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS THE CASE? Please share your thoughts about this in the
"Discussion Forum."

In this study unit, we will focus on two approaches to the analysis of dramatic characters. The
first is the psychological approach where dramatic characters are analysed as if they are real
people. This approach is especially useful when analysing realistic dramas, which resemble
reality. The second approach is the approach that focuses on the character/actor
relationship where scholars often focus on the relationship between the actor and the
character as well as the spectator’s role in this relationship (Keuris, 1996:19).

• Psychological approach
• Character/Actor approach

The Psychological approach

The psychological approach is usually used in realistic plays where the focus is on character
development. Plays like these include Hamlet, Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, Gcina Mhlophe’s
Have you seen Zandile?, Mike van Graan’s Green Man Flashing and Rainbow Scars or Patrick
Marber’s Closer.

The approach implies that the character is regarded as a real person with his or her own
personality traits. We need to get to know as much as possible about this character in four
possible ways (Keuris, 1996:20):

A. the character’s own speech and actions

B. what other characters say about the character or how they behave towards him or her
C. foreknowledge about a character
D. visual information about a character

A. The character's own speech and actions

When watching the production of a play, we normally hear a character’s own words when he or
she speaks them and see their actions as they are performed. When reading the dramatic text,
we read a character’s words in his or her dialogue and their actions in the didascalia. These
utterances and actions are the most direct means by which the audience or reader of a play
gets to know a dramatic character.

For example, if we look at the character of Lyubov Ranyevskaya in Chekhov’s The Cherry
Orchard (1996), we can deduce that she is a spendthrift and not very sensible in the
management of her finances. She agrees to lend her neighbour, Pishchik, money despite her
brother, Leonid Gayev’s objections:

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Although Lyubov herself concedes that she does not have the money to lend to Pishchik, she
agrees in the end to do so. Ignoring her brother’s reservations, she orders him to give Pishchik
the money.

B. Other characters' speech and actions towards the character

Another way of getting to know a dramatic character is by observing what other characters say
about him or her and the way they behave towards this character.

For example, in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, the idea that Lyubov Ranyevskaya has
financial troubles becomes clear when her daughter, Anya, tells her sister, Varya:

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C. Foreknowledge

Plays are sometimes written about religious, historical, mythological or legendary figures
(Keuris, 1996:25). In these cases, the audience or reader may already have knowledge about
the character.

South African playwrights tend to write plays about political figures quite often. Examples of this
are Anthony Sher’s I.D. and Anton Krueger’s Living in strange lands which are both about
Demetrios Tsafendas, the man who assassinated Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd – more
commonly known as “the architect of apartheid”. The audience would thus have certain
connotations that they attach to the characters of, for example Demetrios Tsafendas (in both
plays) or Hendrik Verwoerd and his wife, Betsie (in I.D.) before the play has even started.

The same applies to Nicholas Wright’s play, A Human being died that night which is about
Eugene de Kock, the apartheid regime’s most notorious assassin who is currently serving his
212 year sentence for crimes against humanity. This play was staged at the Market Theatre in
2014: http://markettheatre.co.za/shows/watch/human-being.

Sometimes audience members can also be influenced in their perception of a character if his or
her name evokes certain things. For example, in Edward Albee’s play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf, the character, Honey, is as sweet and innocent as her name implies.

D. Visual information

Because a play is written with the intention to be performed, and performance is an audio-visual
medium, there are also visual cues with which the audience can analyse a character. These
cues are available to the reader of the play in the didascalia. For example, Neil Coppen’s
Abnormal Loads opens with the following didascalia:

When Abnormal Loads was performed at the Market Theatre in 2012, the audience heard the
sound effect, and could see the character, as described:

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Mothusi Magano as Vincent Bashford Liversage.

What do you think the visual information in this scene conveys?

The Character/actor approach

According to Keuris (1996:27), a performance implies the interaction of three groups, namely
the actors, the characters and the spectators. Where x stands for y in performance, the actor
thus stands for the character in this case. The spectators and actors thus enter into a contract
that the spectators will view the actors as characters for the duration of the performance.

However, playwrights often play with the distinction between these three groups in performance,
and thus deliberately break the contract between actors and spectators to highlight the actor’s
status as actor, and not as spectator.

Plays like these encourage a character analysis that does not regard the character as a person,
but as a fictional entity portrayed by an actor. This is especially the case in plays written in an
overtly non-realist style like Karoo Moose by Lara Foot Newton or The Ugly One by Marius von
Mayenburg, but plays with a more realist style can also encourage this type of analysis,
especially through certain theatrical conventions (like the aside, direct address of the audience,
play-within-a-play and exchanging of roles) . Examples of these include The Milk Train Does
Not Stop Here Anymore by Tennessee Williams, Abnormal Loads by Neil Coppen, Edgar and
Annabel by Sam Holcroft, The Habit of Art by Alan Bennet, The Island by Athol Fugard and
Thom Pain by Will Eno.

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EXAMPLE:

Marius von Mayenburg’s The Ugly One (2007) is a distinctly non-realist play about a man, Lette,
who is so unattractive that he cannot advance in his job as an electrical engineer. Lette
undergoes extensive plastic surgery which transforms him into an exceptionally attractive man
and not only his career, but also his sex life, reaches unprecedented heights. His new found
fame and admiration is, however, fleeting since, soon after his own operation, his plastic
surgeon, Dr. Sheffler performs the same procedure on numerous other people who end up look
exactly like Lotte. Lette’s loss of individuality drives him to the brink of suicide. He is saved when
he ironically recognises himself in one of Dr. Sheffler’s patients, after being driven crazy by the
duplication of his own image before.

Apart from the actor who exclusively plays the character of Lette, the other three actors required
by this play, performs all seven of the supporting roles. The play is fast paced, and scenes flow
into one another as actors switch from one character to another. This is, of course also clear in
the written text of the play from the start, when looking at the list of characters:

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The themes of loss of individuality and identity through duplication are thus very successfully
conveyed in the production of this play. Having the same actors play different characters with
the same names undoubtedly causes confusion. Especially since there are no significant
changes in costume when actors switch between roles. Von Mayenburg uses this confusion to
portray the fictional confusion which ensues as soon as Lette’s facial features are repeatedly
duplicated.

For example, shortly after Lette has undergone his operation, a scene between him and his
surgeon, Scheffler switches seamlessly to a scene where he is back at work and talking to his

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boss, Scheffler and his assistant, Karlmann. In the text, the reader needs to deduce this from
the context, while in performance it can be indicated in subtle changes in the performance:

While Lette is thus complaining about his discomfort and pain after the operation, the actor who
portrays Scheffler thus switches from Scheffler, the surgeon to Scheffler, the boss.

This also happens when a conversation in which Fanny, a rich old lady, convinces Lette to have
an affair with her switches to a conversation between Lette and his wife, Fanny, about Lette’s
numerous affairs:

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In this case, the actress who portrays Fanny switches between Fanny, the rich old lady and
Fanny, Lette’s wife during the kiss between the two characters.

Both of these examples thus show a change in time, place and situation within the fictional
world portrayed on stage while the representation remains unchanged with regard to time, place
and actors.

In the above example we have seen how the theatrical convention of the exchange of roles
emphasise the relationship between actor and character. How do you think the other
conventions that you studied in unit 01 also emphasise this relationship?

After reading through the discussion of these two techniques, you can now analyse a character
in your chosen play by following the steps in the Character Analysis maze under "Additional
Resources."

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Study unit 3: Time and space

As we have already seen in Study Unit 1, time and space, as the most important limitations of
theatre, are of special significance. In this unit we will look more closely at the implications of
time and space on the dramatic text.

Time

In this unit we will discuss two aspects of time, namely the “eternal present” of drama, and the
division of time into reading time, performance time and fictional time. In the next unit, we will
look at the impact these aspects of time has on the structure of the drama.

The “eternal present” of drama

Because drama is intended to be performed it always takes place in the present tense. Drama
does not tell us about a fictional world, it shows this world to us and is thereby bound to the
physical features of time. A performance always happens “now”, the representation of the
fictional world is enacted in front of the spectator as if the characters are speaking “now” and
the events are taking place “now”. As Keuris (1996:34) points out, even when a “back flash” is
shown in drama, the representation of this past event will still be given in the “now”.

This creates a sense of anticipation since the present of the play always reaches out towards
the future. The expectation of “what will happen next” keeps the audience interested in the
fictional world and creates tension.

The written text therefore also creates the impression that the characters are speaking directly
and the events are taking place in the fictional present. Dramatic texts usually do not have a
narrator, and if they do, the narrator usually only introduces the events so that the characters
are speaking on behalf of themselves.

For example, Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie starts with a narrator, Tom Wingfield,
introducing the play. He explains that he is the narrator as well as a character in the play, and
that the play will show events that happened in the past:

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After these words, Amanda’s voice becomes audible and which signals a switch in the
timeframe. Although Tom discusses past events in his introduction, the discussion happens in
the present. When the “rest of the play” starts, these events are also represented in the “now”:

The division into performance time, reading time and fictional time

Because a play is written to be performed and we always keep the performance and the written
text in mind when analysing a play, it follows that there will be a distinction between
performance time and reading time in a play.

Performance time refers to the time it takes for the play to be performed – which is usually
between one and three hours. For example, Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard takes
approximately three hours to perform.

Reading time is the time it takes to read a play. Since the speed with which people read vary,
we usually measure this in the number of pages of a play. For example, the printed text of
Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard is 80 pages long.

A further distinction can be made between performance time and fictional time.

Fictional time refers to the time covered by the fictional events. For example, The Cherry
Orchard starts in spring and ends in winter and therefore covers the fictional time of almost one
year.

The relation performance time and fictional time can vary, depending on the play. In a play such
as The Cherry Orchard there is clearly a significant difference between the time it takes to
perform the play (about three hours) and the time that is represented in the play (almost a year).
In some plays this difference can be even bigger. Elsa Joubert’s Poppie, the play shows a
fictional time of 36 years, while it is performed in a few hours on stage.

Indicating time lapses in a play

Adjustments by the actor:

If the fictional time of a play spans a long period, as in the case of Poppie, the play, certain
techniques are used to show the ageing of characters. Stage make-up, costume changes,
props – such as canes and adjustment to the posture and voice can help create the illusion of
time passing.

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Indications in the setting or references by the characters:

Playwrights often make temporal leaps with the start of a new act. Each act of The Cherry
Orchard, for example, is set in a different season. The first act is set in spring, the second in
summer, the third in autumn and the last in winter. This is indicated by the costumes that the
actors wear, remarks by them about the weather, or setting Act Two outside.

Sound and lighting effects:

Some plays have a closer correspondence between performance time and fictional time, such
as Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night which shows the fictional time of one day.
The passage of time is shown through changes in light as well as sound effects of crickets when
it gets dark. Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf starts late at night and ends in the
early hours of the next morning.

No time lapses:

In other plays, such as Alan Bennett’s The Habit of Art and Will Eno’s Thom Pain, which are
both set in theatres and about either the process of rehearsal or the process of performance,
the performance time and fictional time are identical. There is thus no need to indicate the
passage of time.

In performance, the audience can thus see the passage of time in changing make-up, costumes
and acting by the actors, or hear the direct references to passing time made by the characters.
They can also see lighting and hear sound effects which may indicate a passage in time. The
reader of the text, reads this either in the didascalia (which will indicate the initial age of a
character as well as any visual changes he or she undergoes) or the dialogue (when the
characters make direct references to the passage of time).

You can now complete the activity "Fictional Time" found under "Additional Resources."

Space

As was the case with the different temporal levels in a play, there are also different spatial
levels: the performance space (or the stage) and the fictional space (what is represented on
stage).

The performance space

Performances usually happen in theatres (although any space where a performer and audience
can be accommodated can be used as a performance space). The empty stage is usually
framed with black tabs to make the space itself as neutral as possible. In this way, it can be
transformed into any fictional space with the appropriate décor and lighting.

The fictional space

The fictional space is the place where the characters and events in a particular play is situated,
according to Keuris (1996:39). Information about this space is communicated to he reader or
audience in three ways:

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#1: Through direct descriptions in the stage directions (these are read by the reader of the play,
but seen realized by the audience).

For example, in Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night, the didascalia starts as
follows:

#2: Through direct references by the characters (read by the reader or heard by the audience).

For example, in Neil Coppen’s Abnormal Loads, the character, Vincent, directly address the
audience to orientate them with regard to the fictional space:

#3: Indirectly through certain actions performed by the characters (read by the reader in the
didascalia, seen by the audience).

For example, in Maishe Maponya’s The Hungry Earth, the characters’ descent into a mineshaft
is mimed. According to Keuris (1996:42), these actions indicate a new space:

Relationship between the performance space and the fictional space:

In the written play, we often find references to the stage, which shows that the play was written
to be performed. So, for example, the didascalia of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named
Desire describes how the performance space should be transformed to represent the fictional
space:

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Some plays, like Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, Will Eno’s Thom Pain and
Andrew Lloyd Webber and The Really Useful Group’s The Phantom of the Opera are set in
theatres. Any references to the audience in plays like these, will emphasise the division
between the stage space and the space occupied by the audience. In Thom Pain, for example,
the character addresses a woman in the audience, with whom he flirts throughout the play:

While the reader of the text imagines the fictional space, the audience member can see it
represented in front of him or her.

Watch these videos to see how the performance space is transformed to represent a fictional
space:

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/lyttelton-set-changeover

http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/video/the-making-of-timon-building-the-set

You can now complete the activity "Space in theatre" found under "Additional Resources."

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Study unit 4: Dramatic action and the structure of the play

The structure of a dramatic text refers to the arrangement of events in the play. In study unit 01
we identified time and space as limitations of the dramatic text and concluded that the
playwright needs to consider the sequence of events and number of characters he or she wants
to portray carefully. In this unit, we will look more closely at the way the limitations of time and
space as well as the entrances and exits of characters influence the structure of the dramatic
text.

As mentioned in unit 01, the events in a dramatic text have to be presented economically since
they need to be represented within a finite amount of time (usually one to three hours) and in a
finite space (usually a theatre).

Time and dramatic structure

In his Poetics (c. 330 BC), Aristotle divides the temporal structure of a play into a beginning
(commencement), middle (development) and end (conclusion).

A. The Commencement

The start of a play determines its structure to a great extent, as Keuris (1996:51) observes. A
playwright has one of two choices with regard to the moment when the events of the play
commence:

Choice #1: Early point of attack:

A play with an early point of attack starts at the beginning of the events portrayed in the
play. For example, Lara Foot Newton’s Karoo Moose is about a girl, Thozama, from an
underprivileged community who is gang raped and subsequently falls pregnant. Out of
desperation, Thozama kills, cooks and eats a moose that escaped from the zoo to keep from
starving. At the end of the play, her rapist is avenged. The play starts with a narrator introducing
the characters and events as they are discussing the curios fact of the escaped moose roaming
their village. None of the events in the play have happened yet and are played out in front of the
audience in chronological order.

Choice #2: Late point of attack:

A play with a late point of attack starts near the end of the events portrayed in the play. As
Keuris (1996:51–52) notes, this type of play only show the most important events relevant to the
story, before the climax and conclusion of the play. For example, Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid

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of Virginia Woolf show a couple, George and Martha, who had just returned home from a
function. Shortly afterwards, younger couple, Nick and Honey arrive having been invited by
Martha. The play concludes a few hours later, after various confrontations between the drunken
hosts and guests. The events happen in one place and over a relatively short period of time.

B. The Development

Having decided at what point within the fictional events of the drama to commence the play, the
playwright furthermore has to decide on the sequence and tempo with which to portray the rest
of the events. Because of the eternal present tense in which drama necessarily happens,
temporal shifts are more difficult than, for example, in a narrative text. The drama cannot move
around in time as easily as a novel.

If a drama does make use of time shifts, these should be clearly indicated. For example, Antony
Sher’s play ID is about the assassination of Hendrik Verwoerd, considered to be the architect if
apartheid, by Demetrios Tsafendas in 1966. The play, however, starts in 1999, showing
Tsafendas in the psychiatric hospital where he has been a patient since his release from prison
in 1994. The events in the play are then shown as flashbacks. This is indicated in the text as
follows:

In performance, these shifts are indicated either through the dialogue, or shown visually:

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Dialogue:

At the start of Scene Two, for example, a character says: “We’re falling through the years, folks
… ten, twenty, thirty years … it’s 1965 now …” (15)

Visually:

In the didascalia at the start of Scene Seven, it is stated: “Calendar dates flash by: 1942. 1943,
1944 … etc.” (33)

Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play The Woman Before is about a woman, Romy, who knocks on
the door of a man, Frank, who had promised her, twenty years earlier, that he would love her
forever. She demands that the man fulfill his twenty year old promise to her and when he
refuses, she seeks revenge. The play starts at the moment when Frank has closed the door in
Romy’s face after she had knocked on it. From here, the play moves backwards and forwards in
time.

At the start of the play, the didascalia states:

“The shifts in time at the beginning of each new scene need to be made clear, either through
written signs, voiceover or some other means.” (15)

In Marthinus Basson’s Afrikaans production of this play (“Die Vrou Vantevore”) in 2012, the time
shifts were indicated by a projection on stage on which the didascalia was shown to the
audience. The following announcements were flashed before the start of each scene: “Ten
minutes earlier” (19); “Later” (30); “Later that night, around half past three.” (43)

Temporal changes can also be indicated by technical devices (lighting techniques and sound
effects). Changes in lighting can indicate dawn or dusk and sound effects of a rooster crowing,
a clock striking or crickets chirping can also indicate morning or nightfall.

The dramatic text can also have a more complicated temporal structure. Plays like Tom
Stoppard’s Arcadia have two temporal levels. Some scenes are set in 1809, while others are set
in the present. The didascalia indicates this in the way the set is described. In Act One, Scene
One, the didascalia states:

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The first scene of the play is thus set in 1908. Scene Two, the first to be set in the present,
starts with the following didascalia:

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Another way of incorporating two temporal levels is by interspersing one temporal level with
various flashbacks. This is done, for example, in Pieter Fourie’s Afrikaans play, Ek, Anna van
Wyk in which the main action of the play – a dialogue between the character, Anna, the narrator
and the audience – is interspersed with flashback scenes which illustrate the main events of
Anna’s life.

The structure of a play can furthermore influence a play’s tempo. The presence of many short
scenes speeds up a play’s tempo and creates tension in the reader or the spectator.

On the other hand, a playwright can also use techniques to slow down the tempo of a play.
Samuel Beckett’s play, Waiting for Godot, for example, only has two long scenes. Scene Two is
to a great extent a repetition of Scene One, and within the scenes the same phrases are often
repeated and there are often long pauses between exchanges.

Watch the following video of Tom Stoppard, author of Arcadia, explaining the control of
information in theatre:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoSnabj-Cc4

C. The Conclusion

Keuris (1996:53) explains that the way that the dramatic events are concluded determines to a
large extent whether or not a spectator is satisfied at the end of reading the text or seeing the
performance. A drama usually raises certain expectations, and if these are fulfilled, the
audience is satisfied with the play’s ending.

For example, in Patrick Marber’s play Closer, there are various references to death in the first
scene where the characters Alice and Dan are waiting at hospital for a doctor to attend to the
wounds Alice sustained when a taxi run her over. Apart from the fact that the scene is set in a
hospital, the characters also discuss the dangers of smoking, the fact that Dan’s mother died of
a smoke-related disease. It is also revealed that Dan writes obituaries for a living and he grew
up in suburbia, which he refers to as “a graveyard.”

The reader and the audience are therefore prepared for Alice’s death at the end of the scene. It
is an event that has been foreshadowed from the first scene of the play, and leads to a logical
conclusion.

Space and the dramatic structure

We have established at this point that drama is necessarily bound to a specific place, which is
usually a stage, in the representation of its fictional world.

The choice of where the events in a play occur influences the structure of the play since certain
actions are associated with certain places. The sense of claustrophobia in Tennessee Williams’
The Glass Menagerie from which Tom tries to escape is, for example, reinforced by the fact that
the entire play is set in a tiny apartment.

Spatial changes are also usually accompanied by changes in a scene or an act. The setting of
each act in Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard is, for example, significant. Act One is set in

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the old nursery in the stately home of a noble estate in Russia. The second act is set in a field
outside, Act Three in the drawing room and the final act again in the nursery. This gives the play
a cyclical structure.

The entrances and exits of characters

The structure of a play is also to a large extent influenced by the entrances and exits of
characters. As Keuris (1996:56) points out, a character’s entrance can affect the course of
events in the play.

The arrival of Ruth, a white girl, at Mamariti’s house in Sophiatown sets the plot of the play in
motion. Also in The Cherry Orchard, Madame Ranyevskaya’s return to the estate of her
childhood triggers the events in the rest of the play.

When a character exits – as Madame Ranyevskaya does at the end of The Cherry Orchard – it
can have the same effect.

Read the following reviews of Fugard's latest play, The Shadow of the Hummingbird:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/connecticut/article/BWW-Reviews-THE-SHADOW-OF-THE-
HUMMINGBIRD-in-New-Haven-20140408#.U-tQ_GM3CLI

http://www.broadwayworld.com/south-africa/article/BWW-Reviews-Fugard-Still-a-Compelling-
Presence-in-THE-SHADOW-OF-THE-HUMMINGBIRD-20140718#.U-tQZmM3CLI

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/12/theater/athol-fugard-in-his-play-the-shadow-of-the-
hummingbird.html?_r=0

What do you think is the greatest influence on the play's structure? Discuss this with your fellow
students on the “Discussion Forum."

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Study unit 5: Dialogue and didascalia

One of the clearest ways in which the dramatic text differs from the narrative and the poetic, is
that it consists of two parts: dialogue and didascalia. The dialogue is the words that the
characters in a play speak, while the didascalia gives the reader information about how the play
should be performed. The division between these two parts is clear in the printed text since the
didascalia are usually in brackets or printed in italics:

Complete the activity "Dialogue and Didascalia" under "Additional Resources."

Dialogue:

Dramatic dialogue is usually the main way through which the reader or audience gains
information about a play. Keuris (1996:61–64) distinguishes six functions of dramatic dialogue:

#1: The referential function:

Utterances which fulfill the referential function give the reader or audience information about the
fictional world of the play. This can include information about the characters, time, space, or
events depicted in the play.

For example:

In Neil Coppen’s Abnormal Loads, the following exchange between Vincent and a nurse informs
the reader or audience that Vincent is overly cautious and slightly paranoid. The utterance
fulfilling the referential function is underlined in red:

#2: The phatic function:

An utterance fulfills the phatic function if its sole purpose is to instigate contact with another
character. The phatic function is usually fulfilled by greetings, but any utterance used to initiate
a communication process between characters is phatic.

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For example:

In Karoo Moose Brian enters his mother’s home. The utterances underlined in red fulfill the
phatic function, it initiates the rest of the conversation between them:

#3: The appellative function:

The appellative function is fulfilled by utterances which try to persuade a character to either
agree with a point of view or perform a certain action.

For example:

In Abnormal Loads, Katrien tries to persuade Vincent – who works behind the counter at Mr
Chetty’s tea room – to sell her a pack of cigarettes. The utterances underlined in red fulfill the
appellative function:

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#4: The emotive function:

Utterances which aim to express the speaker’s emotions fulfill the emotive function. These are
usually exclamations or swear words.

For example:

In Abnormal Loads, Vincent gets frustrated with his grandmother, Moira, who avoids telling him
the truth about who his parents were. He voices his frustration in the underlined extract below:

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#5: The metalingual function:

The metalingual function is fulfilled by utterances which discuss language itself.

For example:

When Katrien eventually succeeds in buying a pack of cigarettes from Vincent in Abnormal
Loads, she mocks the way in which he pronounces the word “rand.” The utterance fulfilling the
metalingual function is underlined in red:

#6: The poetic function:

Sometimes utterances are included in a play purely for their poetic value. These include
utterances which make use of imagery or conspicuous syntax.

For example:

In Karoo Moose, Nomsa’s tells the other children of a wild animal he spotted near the village
fulfills the poetic function since it uses similes to describe the animal:

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Didascalia:

As you should know by now, the term “didascalia” refers to the text in the written play which is
not dialogue (Keuris, 1996:64). This includes the title, character list, foreword, prologue,
epilogue, stage directions and all other text not meant to be spoken by the actors. Each of these
types of didascalia performs specific functions in a play. In this section, we will investigate the
three main types of didascalia: the title, character list and stage directions.

A. Title

As is the case with a poem, short story or novel, the title of a dramatic text provides the first key
to its interpretation. It usually emphasizes an important aspect of the drama and is the first
indication to the reader or audience of what the play is about.

For example:

The Cherry Orchard is the title of a play about a noblewoman, Lyubov Ranyevskaya, who
loses her estate because she refuses to cut down her beloved cherry orchard to make space for
a more economically viable housing development. It becomes clear that the orchard represents
to Lyubov not only her childhood, but also the bygone grandeur of earlier times. Importantly it
also investigates the injustice (in terms of slavery) that is associated with those times.

Henrik Ibsen’s play, Hedda Gabler, is a character play about the events that lead up to the
character, Hedda Gabler’s, suicide. It is thus clear from the start that the character of Hedda
and her motivations are central to the play.

Abnormal Loads refers literally to vehicles carrying abnormal loads which may pose a hazard
on the road. Metaphorically it also refers to the emotional baggage that people carry with them
and to the fact that we, as South Africans, carry “abnormal loads” of emotional baggage due to
the country’s traumatic recent past.

B. Character List

The list of characters given in the printed text of a play orientates the reader by giving him or her
key information about the character, usually concerning their appearance. In the performance
the audience will, of course, see this information visually.

For example:

Tennessee Williams includes extended and detailed descriptions of his characters. This is, for
example, a list of characters for his The Glass Menagerie:

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Other playwrights, like Roland Schimmelpfennig give much sparser information in their lists of
characters, as for example, in The Woman Before:

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Sometimes, playwrights make use of the exchange of roles in a play, this is then also indicated
in the list of characters, as in Lara Foot Newton’s Karoo Moose:

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C. Stage Directions

According to Keuris (1996:66–72), stage directions can refer to three main aspects in the
fictional world, namely, character, space and time.

CHARACTER:

The stage directions can give us either visual or auditive information about a character. Visual
information can include descriptions of the physical appearance of characters, facial
expressions, or the gestures and movements that characters make. Auditive information can
describe how an actor should deliver a specific line (concerning the intonation, tempo and
dialectical influences).

For example:

In Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, the following visual information is given
regarding the facial expressions, gestures and movements of the characters (underlined in red):

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In Tennessee Williams’ The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, auditive information
describes how a character says a certain line (underlined in red):

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SPACE:

The didascalia describes the place where the fictional events take place. This can be a visual
description or an auditive one:

For example:

In Athol Fugard’s Sorrows and Rejoicings the following visual description is given at the
beginning of the play:

In the last scene of The Cherry Orchard, the following auditive description is given – referring to
the chopping down of the cherry orchard. The orchard is never seen by the audience, but just
outside the house where most of the action takes place:

TIME:

Since a play is time-bound, the progression of time is also sometimes indicated by the
didascalia – especially if there are time jumps in the play.

For example:

The time at which each act or scene of Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night takes
place is indicated in the didascalia (and underlined in red):

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Conclusion
Congratulations! You have worked through Part III of THL1502.

You can now complete Assignment 04 which you will find in Tutorial Letter 101.

Please structure your answer to each question in a logical and coherent way (like an essay).
You should also reference any sources that you use. Use the Plagiarism Guide under
"Additional Resources" to see how to do this.

If you are unsure of anything, please contact Ms Asma Ayob at ayoba1@unisa.ac.za.

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