Title: The Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics by Mikhail Bakhtin: Dostoevsky’s Polyphonic Novel and Its Treatment in Critical Literature

Subject: The Art of Fiction by Henry James

Date:

<aside> 💡 Key Points:

• Main Ideas
• Key words
• Questions that connect points
• Important points

Write it after the class

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<aside> ✏️ Notes:

(pages 42-44) & (pages 44-47) & (pages 47-48)

1. Henry James

• His favorite theme is the conflict he perceives between Europe and America.
• He states that “ a novel is in its broadest definition a personal, a direct impression of life that constitutes its value, which is greater or less according to the intensity of the impression. And , “ The only obligation to which in advance we may hold a novel without incurring accusation of being arbitrary, is that it be interesting. The ways in which it is at liberty to accomplish the result are innumerable.”
• For James a text must be first be realistic, a representation of life and one that is recognizable to its readers. Bad novels are either romantic or scientific, good novels show us life in action and , are interesting.
• Bad novels are written by bad authors, whereas good novels are written by good authors. Unlike weak authors good writers are good thinkers who can select, evaluate and imaginatively use the stuff of life in their work. These writers also recognize that a work of art is organic. The work itself is not simply the amassing of realistic data from real-life experiences but has life of its own that grows according to its own principles or themes.
• The writer must acknowledge this fact and distance him or herself from directly telling the story. Shunning the omniscient, third-person narrator as a vehicle for telling a story, James asserts that a more indirect point of view is essential so that the author shows characters, actions, and emotions to readers than telling us about them.
• Reader must decide the worth of the text, and “nothing of course, will ever take the place of good old fashion liking of a work of art or not liking it: the most improved criticism will not abolish that primitive that ultimate test.”

1. Mikhail Bakhtin

• Bakhtin Circle: addressed the social and cultural influences of the Russian Revolution and its rule under Stalin.
• Poster scholar
• His critical theory concept of the dialogic. According to him all language is a dialogue in which a speaker and a listener for a relationship. Our personal consciousness consists of the inner conversations we have only in our heads, conversations with a variety of voices that are significant for us.
• The idea that any person always has the capability to change or never full be known in this world he calls unfinalizability.
• He posits that all language is a dialogue, not a monologue, he employs the term heteroglossia to demonstrate the multiplicity of languages that operate in any given, culture, language not being defined only as the spoken tongue of a given, cultural people
• All the forms of social speech that people use in their daily lives constitute heteroglassia. for example a proffessor speak one way while lecturing to their classes, another to their spouses, anotyher to their friends, another to the clerk at the store etc.
• Each individual speech act is a dialogiacal utterance that is oriented toward a particular listener or audience, demonstrating the relationship that exists between the speaker and listener.
• He applies this ideas to directly to the novel.
• Novel is characterized by dialogized heteroglassia. Within novel, multiple worldviews and a variety of experiences continually dialogue with each other, resulting in multiple interactions, some of which are real and others which are imagined.
• Dialogized heteroglossia continually occurs because within a single utterance, two different languages clash, a proccess he calls hybridization.
• He believes some novels especially Dostoevsky’s are polyphonic. In nonpolyphonic novels author knows the ending of the novel while writing the novel’s beginning. The writer knows all the characters’ actions and choices, and the author also knows the work’s entire structure. Understanding of truth, what is exhibited in the work. In a polyphonic novel there is no overall outlined structure or prescribed outcome, nor is the novel a working out of the author’s worldview or understanding of truth. The truth of this kind of a novel is an active creation in the consciousnesses of the author, the readers, and the characters, allowing for genuine surprises for all concerned, Author, reader, characters participate as equals in creating the novel’s truth, because truth requires a plurality of consciousnesses.
• For him the polyphonic nature of the novel implies that there are many truths, not one. Each character speaks and thinks their own truth. No truth is particularly certain even though one is preferred.
• What develops is a carnivalistic atmosphere, a sense of joyful relativity. This sense of carnival is one of Bakhtin’s most significant contributions to literary theory.
• Polyphonic novel’s have carnival sense of the world, a sense of joyful abondonment where many voices are simultaneously heard and directly indluence their hearers. Each participant tests both the ideas and the lives of other participants, creating a somewhat seriocomic environment.

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<aside> 📎 Summary:

A brief summary and conclusion about the notes/lecture

Henry James, a renowned author, perceives a conflict between Europe and America as his favorite theme. He believes that a novel is a personal, direct impression of life, and its value lies in the intensity of this impression. He asserts that a novel must be realistic, interesting, and a representation of life recognizable to its readers. He distinguishes between good and bad novels, attributing the quality to the authors. Good authors are thinkers who can imaginatively use life’s elements in their work. He emphasizes that a work of art is organic and grows according to its own principles or themes. He advocates for an indirect point of view in storytelling, showing rather than telling the characters, actions, and emotions. He believes that the reader must decide the worth of the text.

On the other hand, Mikhail Bakhtin, a poster scholar, was part of the Bakhtin Circle, which addressed the social and cultural influences of the Russian Revolution and Stalin’s rule. He developed the critical theory concept of the dialogic, positing that all language is a dialogue forming a relationship between a speaker and a listener. He introduced the term heteroglossia to demonstrate the multiplicity of languages that operate in any given culture. He believes that each individual speech act is a dialogical utterance oriented toward a particular listener or audience. He applies these ideas directly to the novel, characterizing it by dialogized heteroglossia. He introduces the concept of hybridization, where two different languages clash within a single utterance. He believes some novels, especially Dostoevsky’s, are polyphonic, meaning there is no overall outlined structure or prescribed outcome. The novel is not a working out of the author’s worldview or understanding of truth.

In conclusion, both Henry James and Mikhail Bakhtin have made significant contributions to the field of literature. While James focuses on the art of storytelling and the role of the author, Bakhtin emphasizes the dialogic nature of language and the multiplicity of voices in a novel. Their theories provide valuable insights into the understanding and appreciation of literature.

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  WEEK 15

Literary Criticism An Introduction to Theory and Practice (4th edition) by Charles E. Bressler: Chapter 2: Henry James (pages 42-44)

The Art of Fiction by Henry James Literary Criticism An Introduction to Theory and Practice (4th edition) by Charles E. Bressler: Chapter 2: Mikhail Bakhtin (pages 44-47) The Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics by Mikhail Bakhtin: Dostoevsky’s Polyphonic Novel and Its Treatment in Critical Literature (pages 5-43) Literary Criticism An Introduction to Theory and Practice (4th edition) by Charles E. Bressler: Chapter 2: Modern Literary Criticism (pages 47-48)