Paul Borgman
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195331608
- eISBN:
- 9780199868001
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195331608.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
“Who is David?” asks a wealthy and churlish land‐owner, Nabal, in a belittling manner (I Samuel, 25:2). “Whose son is this man?” asks Israel's first king, Saul, as David goes out to fight Goliath—in ...
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“Who is David?” asks a wealthy and churlish land‐owner, Nabal, in a belittling manner (I Samuel, 25:2). “Whose son is this man?” asks Israel's first king, Saul, as David goes out to fight Goliath—in spite of the narrative fact that David has already been introduced to Saul. “Who am I, O Lord God?” asks David later in the story, after Saul's death and his own rise to power: “who am I….that you have brought me this far?” (II, 7:18). Uncovering and solving this story's implicit questions—and explicit, as above—depends on close attention to the dozen or so broad patterns of repetition governing the narrative's progress. The ancient storyteller relied on techniques of repetition geared for skilled listeners, and within these various kinds of repetition were discovered the story's embedded meaning, its mysteries of character, action, and moral vision.Less
“Who is David?” asks a wealthy and churlish land‐owner, Nabal, in a belittling manner (I Samuel, 25:2). “Whose son is this man?” asks Israel's first king, Saul, as David goes out to fight Goliath—in spite of the narrative fact that David has already been introduced to Saul. “Who am I, O Lord God?” asks David later in the story, after Saul's death and his own rise to power: “who am I….that you have brought me this far?” (II, 7:18). Uncovering and solving this story's implicit questions—and explicit, as above—depends on close attention to the dozen or so broad patterns of repetition governing the narrative's progress. The ancient storyteller relied on techniques of repetition geared for skilled listeners, and within these various kinds of repetition were discovered the story's embedded meaning, its mysteries of character, action, and moral vision.
Emily Baragwanath
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199231294
- eISBN:
- 9780191710797
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199231294.003.0002
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Prose and Writers: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This chapter addresses Herodotus' relationship with his major narrative model, Homer, whose techniques Herodotus appropriates and develops. Homer's depiction of motivation supplies a perspective in ...
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This chapter addresses Herodotus' relationship with his major narrative model, Homer, whose techniques Herodotus appropriates and develops. Homer's depiction of motivation supplies a perspective in which to view Herodotus' methods: the epic storyteller's stance of omniscience illuminates the wholly different position of the historian—whose access to events is compromised by differences in time and space.Less
This chapter addresses Herodotus' relationship with his major narrative model, Homer, whose techniques Herodotus appropriates and develops. Homer's depiction of motivation supplies a perspective in which to view Herodotus' methods: the epic storyteller's stance of omniscience illuminates the wholly different position of the historian—whose access to events is compromised by differences in time and space.
Alexa Alfer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719066528
- eISBN:
- 9781781701751
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719066528.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This comprehensive study of A. S. Byatt's work spans virtually her entire career and offers readings of all of her works of fiction up to and including her Man-Booker-shortlisted novel The Children's ...
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This comprehensive study of A. S. Byatt's work spans virtually her entire career and offers readings of all of her works of fiction up to and including her Man-Booker-shortlisted novel The Children's Book (2009). The chapters combine an overview of Byatt's œuvre to date with close critical analysis of all her major works. The book also considers Byatt's critical writings and journalism, situating her beyond the immediate context of her fiction. The chapters argue that Byatt is not only important as a storyteller, but also as an eminent critic and public intellectual. Advancing the concept of ‘critical storytelling’ as a hallmark of Byatt's project as a writer, the chapters retrace Byatt's wide-ranging engagement with both literary and critical traditions. This results in positioning Byatt in the wider literary landscape.Less
This comprehensive study of A. S. Byatt's work spans virtually her entire career and offers readings of all of her works of fiction up to and including her Man-Booker-shortlisted novel The Children's Book (2009). The chapters combine an overview of Byatt's œuvre to date with close critical analysis of all her major works. The book also considers Byatt's critical writings and journalism, situating her beyond the immediate context of her fiction. The chapters argue that Byatt is not only important as a storyteller, but also as an eminent critic and public intellectual. Advancing the concept of ‘critical storytelling’ as a hallmark of Byatt's project as a writer, the chapters retrace Byatt's wide-ranging engagement with both literary and critical traditions. This results in positioning Byatt in the wider literary landscape.
Annette Insdorf
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036859
- eISBN:
- 9780252093975
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036859.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
American director Philip Kaufman is hard to pin down: a visual stylist who is truly literate, a San Franciscan who often makes European films, he is an accessible storyteller with a sophisticated ...
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American director Philip Kaufman is hard to pin down: a visual stylist who is truly literate, a San Franciscan who often makes European films, he is an accessible storyteller with a sophisticated touch. Celebrated for his vigorous, sexy, and reflective cinema, Kaufman is best known for his masterpiece The Unbearable Lightness of Being and the astronaut saga The Right Stuff. His latest film, Hemingway & Gellhorn, stars Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen. This book argues that the stylistic and philosophical richness of Kaufman's cinema makes him a versatile auteur. It demonstrates Kaufman's skill at adaptation, how he finds the precise cinematic device for a story drawn from seemingly unadaptable sources, and how his eye translates the authorial voice from books that serve as inspiration for his films. Closely analyzing his movies to date (including Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Wanderers, and Quills) the book links them by exploring the recurring and resonant themes of sensuality, artistic creation, codes of honor, and freedom from manipulation. While there is no overarching label or bold signature that can be applied to his oeuvre, the book illustrates the consistency of themes, techniques, images, and concerns that permeates all of Kaufman's works.Less
American director Philip Kaufman is hard to pin down: a visual stylist who is truly literate, a San Franciscan who often makes European films, he is an accessible storyteller with a sophisticated touch. Celebrated for his vigorous, sexy, and reflective cinema, Kaufman is best known for his masterpiece The Unbearable Lightness of Being and the astronaut saga The Right Stuff. His latest film, Hemingway & Gellhorn, stars Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen. This book argues that the stylistic and philosophical richness of Kaufman's cinema makes him a versatile auteur. It demonstrates Kaufman's skill at adaptation, how he finds the precise cinematic device for a story drawn from seemingly unadaptable sources, and how his eye translates the authorial voice from books that serve as inspiration for his films. Closely analyzing his movies to date (including Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Wanderers, and Quills) the book links them by exploring the recurring and resonant themes of sensuality, artistic creation, codes of honor, and freedom from manipulation. While there is no overarching label or bold signature that can be applied to his oeuvre, the book illustrates the consistency of themes, techniques, images, and concerns that permeates all of Kaufman's works.
ROGER PEARSON
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198158806
- eISBN:
- 9780191673375
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198158806.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, European Literature
This chapter discusses the concepts of conte, the conte philosophique, and the importance of the readers to Voltaire and his different narrative works. Based on the discussions presented in this ...
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This chapter discusses the concepts of conte, the conte philosophique, and the importance of the readers to Voltaire and his different narrative works. Based on the discussions presented in this chapter, it can be determined that Voltaire's success as a storyteller is through his natural talent as a raconteur and how most of his works are written in the central narrative.Less
This chapter discusses the concepts of conte, the conte philosophique, and the importance of the readers to Voltaire and his different narrative works. Based on the discussions presented in this chapter, it can be determined that Voltaire's success as a storyteller is through his natural talent as a raconteur and how most of his works are written in the central narrative.
Jordynn Jack
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038372
- eISBN:
- 9780252096259
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038372.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
The reasons behind the increase in autism diagnoses have become hotly contested in the media as well as within the medical, scholarly, and autistic communities. This book suggests the proliferating ...
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The reasons behind the increase in autism diagnoses have become hotly contested in the media as well as within the medical, scholarly, and autistic communities. This book suggests the proliferating number of discussions point to autism as a rhetorical phenomenon that engenders attempts to persuade through arguments, appeals to emotions, and representational strategies. The book focuses on the ways gender influences popular discussion and understanding of autism's causes and effects. It identifies gendered theories like the “refrigerator mother” theory, for example, which blames emotionally distant mothers for autism, and the “extreme male brain” theory, which links autism to the modes of systematic thinking found in male computer geeks. The book's analysis reveals how people employ such highly gendered theories to craft rhetorical narratives around stock characters—fix-it dads, heroic mother warriors rescuing children from autism—that advocate for ends beyond the story itself while also allowing the storyteller to gain authority, understand the disorder, and take part in debates. The book reveals the ways we build narratives around controversial topics while offering new insights into the ways rhetorical inquiry can and does contribute to conversations about gender and disability.Less
The reasons behind the increase in autism diagnoses have become hotly contested in the media as well as within the medical, scholarly, and autistic communities. This book suggests the proliferating number of discussions point to autism as a rhetorical phenomenon that engenders attempts to persuade through arguments, appeals to emotions, and representational strategies. The book focuses on the ways gender influences popular discussion and understanding of autism's causes and effects. It identifies gendered theories like the “refrigerator mother” theory, for example, which blames emotionally distant mothers for autism, and the “extreme male brain” theory, which links autism to the modes of systematic thinking found in male computer geeks. The book's analysis reveals how people employ such highly gendered theories to craft rhetorical narratives around stock characters—fix-it dads, heroic mother warriors rescuing children from autism—that advocate for ends beyond the story itself while also allowing the storyteller to gain authority, understand the disorder, and take part in debates. The book reveals the ways we build narratives around controversial topics while offering new insights into the ways rhetorical inquiry can and does contribute to conversations about gender and disability.
Coralynn V. Davis
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038426
- eISBN:
- 9780252096303
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038426.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
Constrained by traditions restricting their movements and speech, the Maithil women of Nepal and India have long explored individual and collective life experiences by sharing stories with one ...
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Constrained by traditions restricting their movements and speech, the Maithil women of Nepal and India have long explored individual and collective life experiences by sharing stories with one another. Sometimes fantastical, sometimes including a kind of magical realism, these tales allow women to build community through a deeply personal and always evolving storytelling form. This book examines how these storytellers weave together their own life experiences—the hardships and the pleasures—with age-old themes. In so doing, the book demonstrates, they harness folk traditions to grapple personally as well as collectively with social values, behavioral mores, relationships, and cosmological questions. Each chapter includes stories and excerpts that reveal Maithil women's gift for rich language, layered plots, and stunning allegory. In addition, the book provides ethnographic and personal information that reveal the complexity of women's own lives, and includes works painted by Maithil storytellers to illustrate their tales. The result is a fascinating study of being and becoming that will resonate for readers in women's and Hindu studies, folklore, and anthropology.Less
Constrained by traditions restricting their movements and speech, the Maithil women of Nepal and India have long explored individual and collective life experiences by sharing stories with one another. Sometimes fantastical, sometimes including a kind of magical realism, these tales allow women to build community through a deeply personal and always evolving storytelling form. This book examines how these storytellers weave together their own life experiences—the hardships and the pleasures—with age-old themes. In so doing, the book demonstrates, they harness folk traditions to grapple personally as well as collectively with social values, behavioral mores, relationships, and cosmological questions. Each chapter includes stories and excerpts that reveal Maithil women's gift for rich language, layered plots, and stunning allegory. In addition, the book provides ethnographic and personal information that reveal the complexity of women's own lives, and includes works painted by Maithil storytellers to illustrate their tales. The result is a fascinating study of being and becoming that will resonate for readers in women's and Hindu studies, folklore, and anthropology.
Michael Jackson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520272330
- eISBN:
- 9780520951914
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520272330.003.0011
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Religion
This chapter begins with the author's story of how a compelling passage in Siri Hustvedt's essay “Yonder” immediately brought to his mind the life and work of the painter Ian Fairweather. It then ...
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This chapter begins with the author's story of how a compelling passage in Siri Hustvedt's essay “Yonder” immediately brought to his mind the life and work of the painter Ian Fairweather. It then explores the thesis that art and philosophy carry the risk of estranging us from the world at the same time that they hold out the promise of helping us reengage more adroitly with it. It is perhaps this ambiguity that makes us suspicious of thinkers and artists, for they unsettle our certainties as well as show us new ways of understanding our existence. The author describes the life and work of a Kuranko storyteller, in an attempt to bring into sharper relief the struggle that lies at the heart of all imaginative activity, both intellectual and artistic, to strike and sustain a balance between distancing oneself from the world and achieving a more vital involvement with it.Less
This chapter begins with the author's story of how a compelling passage in Siri Hustvedt's essay “Yonder” immediately brought to his mind the life and work of the painter Ian Fairweather. It then explores the thesis that art and philosophy carry the risk of estranging us from the world at the same time that they hold out the promise of helping us reengage more adroitly with it. It is perhaps this ambiguity that makes us suspicious of thinkers and artists, for they unsettle our certainties as well as show us new ways of understanding our existence. The author describes the life and work of a Kuranko storyteller, in an attempt to bring into sharper relief the struggle that lies at the heart of all imaginative activity, both intellectual and artistic, to strike and sustain a balance between distancing oneself from the world and achieving a more vital involvement with it.
Lisa Yoneyama
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520085862
- eISBN:
- 9780520914896
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520085862.003.0004
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter considers the institutional and discursive contexts within which the Hiroshima survivors' identities as hibakusha were rendered multiple and complex as they began to actively adopt ...
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This chapter considers the institutional and discursive contexts within which the Hiroshima survivors' identities as hibakusha were rendered multiple and complex as they began to actively adopt identities as witnesses and storytellers. It explores how these categories encouraged survivors to recollect and narrate their experiences as something inextricably embedded in their entire life stories. The survivors often engage in their testimonial practices while accompanying pilgrims to Hiroshima on memorial tours.Less
This chapter considers the institutional and discursive contexts within which the Hiroshima survivors' identities as hibakusha were rendered multiple and complex as they began to actively adopt identities as witnesses and storytellers. It explores how these categories encouraged survivors to recollect and narrate their experiences as something inextricably embedded in their entire life stories. The survivors often engage in their testimonial practices while accompanying pilgrims to Hiroshima on memorial tours.
Paul Wake
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719074905
- eISBN:
- 9781781701256
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719074905.003.0002
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This chapter draws on Genette's narrative theory in order to locate Marlow in the dual position of narrator and character through close readings of ‘Youth’ and Heart of Darkness, investigating the ...
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This chapter draws on Genette's narrative theory in order to locate Marlow in the dual position of narrator and character through close readings of ‘Youth’ and Heart of Darkness, investigating the idea that Conrad's narratives are structured around the transmission of story, and questioning the possibility of sustaining the distinction between that which is transmitted and the means of transmission. With this established, it reads Marlow's role as a narrator in the oral tradition alongside Benjamin's ‘The Storyteller’ in order to introduce a connection between narrative authority and death. The chapter concludes with a reading of ‘Youth’ in which the narrative frame becomes central to a reading of Marlow's ‘central’ story.Less
This chapter draws on Genette's narrative theory in order to locate Marlow in the dual position of narrator and character through close readings of ‘Youth’ and Heart of Darkness, investigating the idea that Conrad's narratives are structured around the transmission of story, and questioning the possibility of sustaining the distinction between that which is transmitted and the means of transmission. With this established, it reads Marlow's role as a narrator in the oral tradition alongside Benjamin's ‘The Storyteller’ in order to introduce a connection between narrative authority and death. The chapter concludes with a reading of ‘Youth’ in which the narrative frame becomes central to a reading of Marlow's ‘central’ story.
Thomas Jackson Rice
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780813032191
- eISBN:
- 9780813038810
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813032191.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century Literature and Modernism
This chapter discusses the impact of the emergent forces in contemporary popular culture that have a direct influence on Joyce' conception of artistic creativity and explorations of the possibilities ...
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This chapter discusses the impact of the emergent forces in contemporary popular culture that have a direct influence on Joyce' conception of artistic creativity and explorations of the possibilities of fiction especially in his last two books Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. The introduction of new communication means particularly the introduction of phonograph that may have influenced and impacted on the writings of Joyce. In this chapter, Joyce' response to the technology of sound is examined wherein he found a realization and awareness of the beauty that had vanished in the silent reading of the printed text; rather than disappearing, the voice of the storyteller becomes the “talking machine” of the new modernist novel.Less
This chapter discusses the impact of the emergent forces in contemporary popular culture that have a direct influence on Joyce' conception of artistic creativity and explorations of the possibilities of fiction especially in his last two books Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. The introduction of new communication means particularly the introduction of phonograph that may have influenced and impacted on the writings of Joyce. In this chapter, Joyce' response to the technology of sound is examined wherein he found a realization and awareness of the beauty that had vanished in the silent reading of the printed text; rather than disappearing, the voice of the storyteller becomes the “talking machine” of the new modernist novel.
Arne De Boever
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748634620
- eISBN:
- 9780748652440
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748634620.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter explores the relation between violence and justice in Giorgio Agamben's work. It investigates the essential role that Walter Benjamin's classic essay ‘Critique of Violence’ plays for ...
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This chapter explores the relation between violence and justice in Giorgio Agamben's work. It investigates the essential role that Walter Benjamin's classic essay ‘Critique of Violence’ plays for Agamben. This essay is a foundational text for Agamben's study of sovereign power. It shows links between Benjamin's obscure notion of ‘divine violence’ and his essay on ‘The Storyteller’. Carl Schmitt's sovereignty confirms the dialectic between violence and the law; Benjamin's divine violence breaks with it. Agamben's reading of Oedipus and the Sphinx turns into an implicit critique of Benjamin when he develops his preference of the enigmatic Sphinx over and against the transparency that Oedipus brings into a reflection on the story. The distinction between the violent political strike and the nonviolent proletarian strike makes perfect sense in the context of Agamben's reading of the Benjamin-Schmitt debate.Less
This chapter explores the relation between violence and justice in Giorgio Agamben's work. It investigates the essential role that Walter Benjamin's classic essay ‘Critique of Violence’ plays for Agamben. This essay is a foundational text for Agamben's study of sovereign power. It shows links between Benjamin's obscure notion of ‘divine violence’ and his essay on ‘The Storyteller’. Carl Schmitt's sovereignty confirms the dialectic between violence and the law; Benjamin's divine violence breaks with it. Agamben's reading of Oedipus and the Sphinx turns into an implicit critique of Benjamin when he develops his preference of the enigmatic Sphinx over and against the transparency that Oedipus brings into a reflection on the story. The distinction between the violent political strike and the nonviolent proletarian strike makes perfect sense in the context of Agamben's reading of the Benjamin-Schmitt debate.
Heron Nicholas
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748634620
- eISBN:
- 9780748652440
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748634620.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
This chapter reconstructs the series of references, left largely unexamined by Giorgio Agamben himself, that gather around the central notion of ‘the idea of prose’. It reviews the origin of this ...
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This chapter reconstructs the series of references, left largely unexamined by Giorgio Agamben himself, that gather around the central notion of ‘the idea of prose’. It reviews the origin of this movement in three major texts of Walter Benjamin: ‘The concept of criticism in German Romanticism’, ‘The Storyteller’, and the preparatory notes to his final text ‘On the Concept of History’. According to Benjamin, the basic epistemological presuppositions of the early Romantic concept of criticism are entirely concentrated in the concept of reflection. ‘The idea of poetry is prose’: this formula, according to Benjamin, is the ‘final determination’ of the early Romantic idea of art. The idea of poetry as that of prose must be confronted — according to that salient expression which, more than two decades later, suffuses Benjamin's very last fragments — with the idea of prose, understood, precisely, as that of poetry.Less
This chapter reconstructs the series of references, left largely unexamined by Giorgio Agamben himself, that gather around the central notion of ‘the idea of prose’. It reviews the origin of this movement in three major texts of Walter Benjamin: ‘The concept of criticism in German Romanticism’, ‘The Storyteller’, and the preparatory notes to his final text ‘On the Concept of History’. According to Benjamin, the basic epistemological presuppositions of the early Romantic concept of criticism are entirely concentrated in the concept of reflection. ‘The idea of poetry is prose’: this formula, according to Benjamin, is the ‘final determination’ of the early Romantic idea of art. The idea of poetry as that of prose must be confronted — according to that salient expression which, more than two decades later, suffuses Benjamin's very last fragments — with the idea of prose, understood, precisely, as that of poetry.
Edward William Lane and Jason Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789774165603
- eISBN:
- 9781617975516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165603.003.0021
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This and the following two chapters look at the reciters and storytellers who would frequent the coffeehouses of Cairo and other towns in the evenings, particularly during religious festivals. This ...
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This and the following two chapters look at the reciters and storytellers who would frequent the coffeehouses of Cairo and other towns in the evenings, particularly during religious festivals. This chapter focuses on the poets (“shoara”) who would recite, by memory, tales of the adventures of Aboo Zeyd, a story based on events that supposedly took place in middle of third century AH, but were composed later. These tales are said to be informative on the subject Bedouin customs and traditions. The recitations were half prose and half poetry, with some music. The poet would play a few notes on a viol after every verse, and was sometimes accompanied by another instrument. This chapter includes a summary of a volume of the story, plus a translation of some of the poetry and musical notation.Less
This and the following two chapters look at the reciters and storytellers who would frequent the coffeehouses of Cairo and other towns in the evenings, particularly during religious festivals. This chapter focuses on the poets (“shoara”) who would recite, by memory, tales of the adventures of Aboo Zeyd, a story based on events that supposedly took place in middle of third century AH, but were composed later. These tales are said to be informative on the subject Bedouin customs and traditions. The recitations were half prose and half poetry, with some music. The poet would play a few notes on a viol after every verse, and was sometimes accompanied by another instrument. This chapter includes a summary of a volume of the story, plus a translation of some of the poetry and musical notation.
Edward William Lane and Jason Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789774165603
- eISBN:
- 9781617975516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165603.003.0022
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
The second type of reciters, along with poets described in previous chapter, are storytellers (“mohadditeen,”) of which there were around thirty in Cairo. They also did public performances, but their ...
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The second type of reciters, along with poets described in previous chapter, are storytellers (“mohadditeen,”) of which there were around thirty in Cairo. They also did public performances, but their narration was of a work called “The Life of Ez-Zahir,” based on the history of the Sultan Baybars, who reigned in the second half of the seventh century AH. Printed copies of this tale existed in several volumes, written around one hundred years previously in Egyptian colloquial Arabic, but the original author was unknown. This chapter includes a translation of an extract from the second volume, but stresses that the entertainment in large part derived from the improvisation and wit of the storyteller.Less
The second type of reciters, along with poets described in previous chapter, are storytellers (“mohadditeen,”) of which there were around thirty in Cairo. They also did public performances, but their narration was of a work called “The Life of Ez-Zahir,” based on the history of the Sultan Baybars, who reigned in the second half of the seventh century AH. Printed copies of this tale existed in several volumes, written around one hundred years previously in Egyptian colloquial Arabic, but the original author was unknown. This chapter includes a translation of an extract from the second volume, but stresses that the entertainment in large part derived from the improvisation and wit of the storyteller.
Edward William Lane and Jason Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9789774165603
- eISBN:
- 9781617975516
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774165603.003.0023
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
The third type of reciters, along with the storytellers and poets of the previous two chapters, mainly told the story of ‘Antar (Seeret ‘Antar) and were therefore known as “‘Antariah.” They also told ...
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The third type of reciters, along with the storytellers and poets of the previous two chapters, mainly told the story of ‘Antar (Seeret ‘Antar) and were therefore known as “‘Antariah.” They also told other tales, such as Seerat Delhemeh or stories from A Thousand and One Nights. There were around six of them in Cairo. They performed without music, chanting the poetry from memory and reading the prose. This chapter also includes summaries of some of the tales told and translations of some of the poetry.Less
The third type of reciters, along with the storytellers and poets of the previous two chapters, mainly told the story of ‘Antar (Seeret ‘Antar) and were therefore known as “‘Antariah.” They also told other tales, such as Seerat Delhemeh or stories from A Thousand and One Nights. There were around six of them in Cairo. They performed without music, chanting the poetry from memory and reading the prose. This chapter also includes summaries of some of the tales told and translations of some of the poetry.
Tim Lenton and Andrew Watson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- December 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199587049
- eISBN:
- 9780191775031
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199587049.003.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Geophysics, Atmospheric and Environmental Physics
This chapter describes how humans are ceaseless, inveterate storytellers, making up stories to explain to ourselves how the world was formed and what our place in it is. For the most part, these are ...
More
This chapter describes how humans are ceaseless, inveterate storytellers, making up stories to explain to ourselves how the world was formed and what our place in it is. For the most part, these are myths and metaphors, and we recognise them as such. However, in just the last few hundred years, with the help of the ‘scientific method’, we have begun to construct a story that is different from these. After many revisions we can hope that this new story will converge on what actually happened. This method consists of making narratives of possible cause and effect, and then testing them against the real world to see if they are consistent with what we see. Where they are not, the narrative is revised. Where they are, we accept them, for now.Less
This chapter describes how humans are ceaseless, inveterate storytellers, making up stories to explain to ourselves how the world was formed and what our place in it is. For the most part, these are myths and metaphors, and we recognise them as such. However, in just the last few hundred years, with the help of the ‘scientific method’, we have begun to construct a story that is different from these. After many revisions we can hope that this new story will converge on what actually happened. This method consists of making narratives of possible cause and effect, and then testing them against the real world to see if they are consistent with what we see. Where they are not, the narrative is revised. Where they are, we accept them, for now.
Joseph J. Duggan
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300083576
- eISBN:
- 9780300133707
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300083576.003.0006
- Subject:
- Literature, Early and Medieval Literature
This chapter describes Chretien de Troyes as a master storyteller—an innovator who created the literary tradition of the Arthurian romance, which rose to popularity with his works, was continued in ...
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This chapter describes Chretien de Troyes as a master storyteller—an innovator who created the literary tradition of the Arthurian romance, which rose to popularity with his works, was continued in prose form soon after his death, and has lasted to this day in a variety of national literatures. His romances are read by the educated public young and old, figure on school reading lists for courses in literature and history, are a major source of knowledge for details of everyday living in the twelfth century, and can still provide entertainment for those seeking a temporary reprieve from life's pressures. The reasons for this success are many, and although it is impossible to exhaust the subject, as the vast volume of studies on Chretien attests, this chapter explores a few of the more significant ones.Less
This chapter describes Chretien de Troyes as a master storyteller—an innovator who created the literary tradition of the Arthurian romance, which rose to popularity with his works, was continued in prose form soon after his death, and has lasted to this day in a variety of national literatures. His romances are read by the educated public young and old, figure on school reading lists for courses in literature and history, are a major source of knowledge for details of everyday living in the twelfth century, and can still provide entertainment for those seeking a temporary reprieve from life's pressures. The reasons for this success are many, and although it is impossible to exhaust the subject, as the vast volume of studies on Chretien attests, this chapter explores a few of the more significant ones.
Lois Presser and Sveinung Sandberg
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781479876778
- eISBN:
- 9781479895731
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479876778.003.0012
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This concluding chapter argues that narrative criminology not only rationalizes past actions but also inspires future actions. Stories connote some meanings that provide the would-be actors a ...
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This concluding chapter argues that narrative criminology not only rationalizes past actions but also inspires future actions. Stories connote some meanings that provide the would-be actors a suggestion of what to do next, or lead them to an acceptable, legitimate path for the “sacred mission,” as seen in the case of early white Americans in Chapter 5, and the people who struggle against Italy’s tax agency in Chapter 10. Consequently, the stories’ meanings entice audiences and storytellers to live according to its plotline. Those enticements are affective as well as practical—the story captivates those engaged in it—hence the erotic connotation of being “led on” is apropos.Less
This concluding chapter argues that narrative criminology not only rationalizes past actions but also inspires future actions. Stories connote some meanings that provide the would-be actors a suggestion of what to do next, or lead them to an acceptable, legitimate path for the “sacred mission,” as seen in the case of early white Americans in Chapter 5, and the people who struggle against Italy’s tax agency in Chapter 10. Consequently, the stories’ meanings entice audiences and storytellers to live according to its plotline. Those enticements are affective as well as practical—the story captivates those engaged in it—hence the erotic connotation of being “led on” is apropos.
Brain Boyd
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- November 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780231158572
- eISBN:
- 9780231530293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231158572.003.0013
- Subject:
- Literature, 20th-century and Contemporary Literature
This chapter talks about Vladimir Nabokov as a storyteller by comparing the openings of his first novel, Mary, with his penultimate completed novel, Transparent Things. Although Nabokov would write ...
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This chapter talks about Vladimir Nabokov as a storyteller by comparing the openings of his first novel, Mary, with his penultimate completed novel, Transparent Things. Although Nabokov would write differently in all sorts of ways if his metaphysics and ethics were thinner and poorer, the chapter argues that we would still read Nabokov without them because of his literary style. But although we admire the style of Speak, Memory or Nabokov's forewords and afterwords or even Strong Opinions, we would not be drawn back to Nabokov again and again if there were just style and no story in his work. Nabokov attracts us in the first place, and keeps us returning, by his storytelling. This chapter examines the nature of Nabokovian narrative by considering how he makes the most of the gaps and the links between character, reader, and author, as well as the way he minimizes the conflict that ticks its way through so much of story. Finally, it discusses the family likeness of Nabokov's stories that sets them apart from other fiction.Less
This chapter talks about Vladimir Nabokov as a storyteller by comparing the openings of his first novel, Mary, with his penultimate completed novel, Transparent Things. Although Nabokov would write differently in all sorts of ways if his metaphysics and ethics were thinner and poorer, the chapter argues that we would still read Nabokov without them because of his literary style. But although we admire the style of Speak, Memory or Nabokov's forewords and afterwords or even Strong Opinions, we would not be drawn back to Nabokov again and again if there were just style and no story in his work. Nabokov attracts us in the first place, and keeps us returning, by his storytelling. This chapter examines the nature of Nabokovian narrative by considering how he makes the most of the gaps and the links between character, reader, and author, as well as the way he minimizes the conflict that ticks its way through so much of story. Finally, it discusses the family likeness of Nabokov's stories that sets them apart from other fiction.
