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In VOX LIT April 2019 :
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IN THE FREE BOOK LOVERS' MAG VOXLIT ON-LINE THIS MONTH:
***A WEALTH OF INFORMATION FOR BOOK LOVERS*** After over a year’s existence, The Voice of Literature has developed into an absolutely free resource of news, reviews, explanations and advice for all those who love literature, whether they read it, write it or both. As well as the latest news, you’ll find a wealth of wisdom in our regular features. Our ‘History of the Genre’ explores the origins and development of various literary genres. In the past we have looked at romantic fiction, detective stories and thrillers, and this time we investigate one of the very earliest literary forms, the narrative poem. The Writer’s Think Tank is a worldwide team of active novelists who get together via the web and discuss the problems and challenges of the creative literary process. In this month’s debate they discuss the controversial challenge posed by having to write characters of the opposite sex. Our long-running Writers Notes section is a source of tips for budding or existing authors, and this time round we are exploring some of the things writers take into consideration when choosing words. For those of a more serious bent, the Literary Criticism section has the contributions of our tamed literature teacher Mairi-Rose Wiseman, who analyses the Doris Lessing classic The Good Terrorist in this issue. In our travel writing feature, novelist Rob Burton continues his youthful journey through Africa. Rhodesia this time. And of course, our book reviewers sink their critical teeth into some of their favourite, or even not-so favourite, novels. Read them for some useful guidance if you’re wondering what to read next. Although all of our past articles can still be found on line, we’ve collected the best of them in the free e-book Enjoy Books Better with VoxLit, which you can access from the site for download. Enjoy and, if you like us, share the link with your book-loving friends. |
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More of Rob Burton's journeys in Africa The Writer's Think Tank Why read my book -30+ authors tell you why The themes of Doris Lessing's The Good Terrorist * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * JOIN US!!! We always welcome new contributors Click here to find out more |
HISTORY OF THE GENRE
Narrative poems
Narrative poetry, poems that tell a story, may seem a strange choice for this series of articles on different genres of novels. I’ve selected it firstly because it may well be the oldest form of literary endeavour, while the novel is, comparatively speaking, a newcomer to the scene. And secondly, because it is, in spite of its advanced age, alive, well and fighting fit: one of the books in the 2108 Man Booker short list was a narrative poem.
In most cultures, the narrative poem precedes even the written language. Propagating prose stories is a game of Chinese whispers, where the story has completely changed after it has passed through several narrators. But poetry sets the plot in concrete, although perhaps still a bit runny concrete. Rhythm and rhyme are effective aids for the human memory. Constrained by the shackles of metre and verse, ancient storytellers found it easier to remember and harder to alter the words.
The earliest oral narrative poems are attributed to the Vedic mantras of the Indians, but they are known to have existed in European cultures as well. Celtic and English ballads, or the Eastern and Central European heroic legends were examples. We may also consider the Psalms from the Old Testament as part of this genre.
With the advent of the written word, these stories came to be written down, but the poetic form was usually retained. In an age where literacy was the exception rather than the rule, poetry still retained its power to engage the masses and retain the elements of these great myths and legends.
The earliest narrative poems which most of us are familiar with are the great Greek and Latin epic poems by Homer and Virgil. But few of us have had the intensive classical education to read these in the original languages, and poetry is almost impossible to translate satisfactorily. In the English language, the Anglo-saxon epic Beowulf might be considered the most celebrated early example, but Anglo-Saxon is so far removed from modern English that a true appreciation of this poem is denied to all but dedicated academics. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales come closer to being comprehensible, but I still remember struggling to make sense of them as a schoolboy. To find really understandable poems, we need to come to the time of the enlightenment. By this time, literacy levels were growing and the novel had come into being, and the narrative poem was beginning its slide into the backwaters of popular literature. In spite of this, educationalists and propagandists stuck tenaciously faithful to the genre and there are a whole list of epic story poems we remember from school: fairly early ones like Spencer’s Fairie Queen and Dante’s Divine Comedy and (for Scots like me) Burns’ Tam o’ Shanter.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, myths and legends as a source of inspiration were replaced by other more contemporary themes. Historic stories design to instil a sense of nationalism featured in works like Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade and Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha. Humour and satire appeared, with Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark and The Walrus and the Carpenter, following a tradition of irreverence set in Pope’s Rape of the Lock. And the old mythical themes were transformed into fantasy and mystery in poems like Poe’s The Raven and Tolkein’s The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. Social issues too are addressed, in poems like The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes and Alan Ginsberg’s Howl.
And on into the twenty-first century and the Man Booker nominated novel-length poem The Long Take by Robin Robertson, which deals with the social problems in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Nowadays, the distinctions between prose and poetry seem to be diminishing. On one hand, since the start of the twentieth century poetry has been giving up more and more of the earlier rigidity of structure that typified it. On the other, prose writers have turned to poetic techniques to enhance their novels and short stories. So, as the two forms merge, it may well make sense to view narrative poems as genre, and it may also be worthwhile to read and analyse them to provide an additional insight into the way we write and read novels.
Contributed by James Gault.
In most cultures, the narrative poem precedes even the written language. Propagating prose stories is a game of Chinese whispers, where the story has completely changed after it has passed through several narrators. But poetry sets the plot in concrete, although perhaps still a bit runny concrete. Rhythm and rhyme are effective aids for the human memory. Constrained by the shackles of metre and verse, ancient storytellers found it easier to remember and harder to alter the words.
The earliest oral narrative poems are attributed to the Vedic mantras of the Indians, but they are known to have existed in European cultures as well. Celtic and English ballads, or the Eastern and Central European heroic legends were examples. We may also consider the Psalms from the Old Testament as part of this genre.
With the advent of the written word, these stories came to be written down, but the poetic form was usually retained. In an age where literacy was the exception rather than the rule, poetry still retained its power to engage the masses and retain the elements of these great myths and legends.
The earliest narrative poems which most of us are familiar with are the great Greek and Latin epic poems by Homer and Virgil. But few of us have had the intensive classical education to read these in the original languages, and poetry is almost impossible to translate satisfactorily. In the English language, the Anglo-saxon epic Beowulf might be considered the most celebrated early example, but Anglo-Saxon is so far removed from modern English that a true appreciation of this poem is denied to all but dedicated academics. Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales come closer to being comprehensible, but I still remember struggling to make sense of them as a schoolboy. To find really understandable poems, we need to come to the time of the enlightenment. By this time, literacy levels were growing and the novel had come into being, and the narrative poem was beginning its slide into the backwaters of popular literature. In spite of this, educationalists and propagandists stuck tenaciously faithful to the genre and there are a whole list of epic story poems we remember from school: fairly early ones like Spencer’s Fairie Queen and Dante’s Divine Comedy and (for Scots like me) Burns’ Tam o’ Shanter.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, myths and legends as a source of inspiration were replaced by other more contemporary themes. Historic stories design to instil a sense of nationalism featured in works like Tennyson’s Charge of the Light Brigade and Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha. Humour and satire appeared, with Lewis Carroll’s The Hunting of the Snark and The Walrus and the Carpenter, following a tradition of irreverence set in Pope’s Rape of the Lock. And the old mythical themes were transformed into fantasy and mystery in poems like Poe’s The Raven and Tolkein’s The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun. Social issues too are addressed, in poems like The Highwayman by Alfred Noyes and Alan Ginsberg’s Howl.
And on into the twenty-first century and the Man Booker nominated novel-length poem The Long Take by Robin Robertson, which deals with the social problems in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Nowadays, the distinctions between prose and poetry seem to be diminishing. On one hand, since the start of the twentieth century poetry has been giving up more and more of the earlier rigidity of structure that typified it. On the other, prose writers have turned to poetic techniques to enhance their novels and short stories. So, as the two forms merge, it may well make sense to view narrative poems as genre, and it may also be worthwhile to read and analyse them to provide an additional insight into the way we write and read novels.
Contributed by James Gault.
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!! PLEASE HELP CANCER RESEARCH!! We are thrilled to announce a joint promotion with the American Cancer Society where we will be donating 25 cents/copy for any of our books purchased through May 1, 2019 to this wonderful organization. As a recent cancer survivor, I found out first-hand the value of early detection and treatment. Will you please help us stamp out this cruel disease today? Click the book cover! Thank you, Keith Guernsey New books from our contributors
Three young women, three loves and three lives that are about to be changed forever. Caught up in a dangerous tide of extremism and racial tension, will Marianne, Sadime and Bea find what each of them craves? to edit. 
Evangeline Pfeiffer has a stolen secret. There are those who will kill her to get it back.Unwittingly, she becomes an accomplice in the murder of Nazi agent Ludwig Kraus. Thrown together with the killer, a Polish spy, Kasha, her only hope is to escape to Spain. 
Jerry and Fran Tilson ran away to France a few months ago Today is a big day in becoming part of the community. They are having a housewarming party for their new friends and neighbours. |
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