Критический реализм XIX века.

Вопросы для обсуждения:

1. Особенности реализма как литературного направления. Нравственно-эстетические идеалы реалистов.

2. Основные периоды творчества Диккенса.

3. Проблематика и система образов в романе «Домби и сын».

4. «Ярмарка тщеславия» Теккерея.

 

Рекомендованная литература.

 

1. Хескет Пирсон. Диккенс. Серия «ЖЗЛ», М, 1963.

http://lib.ru/INPROZ/DIKKENS/dickens.txt

2. Н.П. Михальская. Чарльз Диккенс. М., 1987.

3. В.В. Ивашева. Английский реалистический роман XIX века в его современном звучании. М., 1974.

4. Честертон Г.К. Чарльз Диккенс. М., 1982.

5. Ст. Цвейг. Диккенс. Собр. соч. в 7 томах, т.6, М.,1963.

6. У.М. Теккерей. Собрание сочинений в 12 томах. Т. 1 «Теккерей -гуманист и сатирик» статья В.В. Ивашевой.

Задания для выполнения в классе:

 

1. Render the following text.

Charles John Huffam Dickens (7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was the most popular English novelist of the Victorian era and he remains popular, responsible for some of English literature's most iconic characters.

Many of his novels, with their recurrent concern for social reform, first appeared in magazines in serialised form, a popular format at the time. Unlike other authors who completed entire novels before serialisation, Dickens often created the episodes as they were being serialized. The practice lent his stories a particular rhythm, punctuated by cliffhangers to keep the public looking forward to the next instalment. The continuing popularity of his novels and short stories is such that they have never gone out of print.

 

Journalism and early novels

In 1833, Dickens’ first story, A Dinner at Poplar Walk was published in the London periodical, Monthly Magazine. The following year he rented rooms at Furnival’s Inn becoming a political journalist, reporting on parliamentary debate and travelling across Britain to cover election campaigns for the Morning Chronicle. His journalism, in the form of sketches in periodicals, formed his first collection of pieces Sketches by Boz, published in 1836. This led to the serialisation of his first novel, The Pickwick Papers, in March 1836. He continued to contribute to and edit journals throughout his literary career.

In 1836, Dickens accepted the job of editor of Bentley’s Miscellany, a position he held for three years, until he fell out with the owner. At the same time, his success as a novelist continued, producing Oliver Twist (1837–39), Nicholas Nickleby (1838–39), The Old Curiosity Shop and, finally, Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty as part of the Master Humphrey’s Clock series (1840–41)—all published in monthly instalments before being made into books. Dickens had a pet raven named Grip which he had stuffed when it died in 1841.

 

Literary style

Dickens loved the style of 18th century Gothic romance, although it had already become a target for parody. One “character” vividly drawn throughout his novels is London itself. From the coaching inns on the outskirts of the city to the lower reaches of the Thames, all aspects of the capital are described over the course of his body of work.

His writing style is florid and poetic, with a strong comic touch. His satires of British aristocratic snobbery—he calls one character the “Noble Refrigerator”—are often popular. Comparing orphans to stocks and shares, people to tug boats, or dinner-party guests to furniture are just some of Dickens’s acclaimed flights of fancy. Many of his characters’ names provide the reader with a hint as to the roles played in advancing the storyline, such as Mr. Murdstone in the novel David Copperfield, which is clearly a combination of “murder” and stony coldness. His literary style is also a mixture of fantasy and realism.

 

Names: ‘Dickens’ and ‘Boz’

Charles Dickens had, as a contemporary critic put it, a “queer name”. The name Dickens was used in interjective exclamations like “What the Dickens!” as a substitute for “devil”. ‘Boz’ was Dickens’ occasional pen-name, but was a familiar name in the Dickens household long before Charles became a famous author. [2]

 

2. Read the extract and match each of the words with the appropriate definition.