IMPRESSIONISM IN HEART OF DARKNESS

Heart of Darkness

 

Authors are sometimes grouped together with other artists who share a similar vision or idea concerning how to approach their craft.  The impressionist writers make up one of these groups.  The most famous impressionists are perhaps painters, such as van Gogh and Renoir, whose works you’ve no doubt seen on posters and even coffee cups.  Painters, however, aren’t the only artists whose work is impressionistic.  There are several authors who also can be placed in this “school,” including Joseph Conrad, James Joyce, and Henry James.

In literature, impressionist writers exhibit some or all of these characteristics:
 
•        They use a narrative style that is intentionally ambiguous, placing more responsibility on the reader to form his or her own conclusions about events within the novel, rather than relying on the narrator.
 
•        They often describe the action through the eyes of the character while the events are occurring, rather than providing details after the character has already processed the action.  The result is sometimes like being in an accident – where everything appears to be moving in slow motion.  All of the details seem unclear.
 
•        They’re concerned with the “emotional landscape” of the setting.  They’re interested in the ways the setting evokes certain emotional responses from both the characters and the reader.
 
•        They employ details in such a way that it’s sometimes difficult to see a clear picture of events if you focus on the details too closely.  Much like an impressionistic painting, it’s only possible to get a full picture once you stand back from the novel and view it in its entirety.
 
•        They often avoid a chronological telling of events.  Instead, they give the reader information in a way that forces them to focus on how and why things happen, rather than on the order in which they occur.
 
The following passage from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness reflects the impressionist style of writing:

“I saw a face amongst the leaves on the level with my own, looking at me very fierce and steady; and then suddenly, as though a veil had been removed from my eyes, I made out, deep in the tangled gloom, naked breasts, arms, legs, glaring eyes – the bush was swarming with human limbs in movement, glistening, of bronze colour.  The twigs shook, swayed, and rustled, the arrows flew out of them, and then the shutter came to.”

Notice how Conrad’s narrator reports things as they’re happening, before he’s had a chance to process the information.  Notice also the attention to color and movement.  It’s interesting to note that at this point, the speaker is actually under attack.  Yet it takes him a few more lines before he realizes this, further enhancing the sense that the reader is experiencing the attack with the narrator.

It’s important to note here that authors don’t subscribe to a particular school and then write according to a set of rules or standards.  It’s generally critics who come along later and notice trends between various artists who then place the artists in the various categories.

WRITING SKILLS TO GET A+ GRADE IN ENGLISH SUBJECTS

General Guidelines on Style  (How to write correctly?)

♦Try to be as succinct as possible

–it is always preferable to use one word instead of seven.

For example, the phrase “From the point of view of structure...” can be simplified to

“Structurally...”

♦ Vary your vocabulary.

♦ Avoid overusing the passive form and forms of the verb to be.

Prefer the active voice and strong verbs.

♦Avoid using “there is” and “there are.”

♦ Avoid the phrase “which means” or “that means.” This verb is too blunt and uni-dimensional. Use more suggestive and interesting verbs: i.e., “the imagery evokes...” or

“This motif implies / suggests...”

♦Other words you should avoid: “thing,” “very” and “the fact that.” Write with as rich a vocabulary as possible, and state your point as clearly as possible.

♦Avoid colloquialism (a bit, a lot, lots of, kind of, kids,)

♦Do not use arrows or other signs.

♦ Avoid abbreviations.

♦ Correct fragments, comma splices and run-on sentences: — a fragment is an incomplete sentence, i.e. a sentence missing its subject, main verb or

Object.

—A comma splice consists of two full sentences separated by a comma instead of a full stop or a semi-colon.

—A run-on sentence consists of two or more sentences separated by no punctuation.

♦Review the correct usage of punctuation marks, particularly commas.

♦Avoid using first person singular or plural: e.g. “we know”

“I know”

♦Do not use contractions: for example, "don’t,”“aren’t, ”etc..

♦Do not use nonspecific pronoun references: e.g. “this shows the speaker’s grief,” or

“While this figure is mother-like, alongside it she is also a witch.”

♦ [For papers on any literary genre]:

When referring to the content of a short story, novel, poem or play, use the present tense (e.g. “

The story discloses how the protagonist perceives the changes in his family circumstances, and to some extent misunderstands them,” or “The speaker in Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey” contemplates an experience that ...”).

♦ [For papers on any literary genre]: When referring to a critic or a writer, use the present tense (e.g. “as Fry notes,” “Woolf contends that...”).

♦[For papers in linguistics, education and psychology]: When referring to the case study, use the past tense (e.g. “The group of students involved in the experiment underwent a series of tests...” or “The results raised questions about...”).

♦ [For papers in linguistics, education and psychology]: When referring to a researcher, critic or a theoretician, use the past tense (e.g. “as Cooke noted,” “Freud observed...”).

♦ Make sure to place adverbs in the right place.

♦Check the correctness of the prepositions you use.

DAFFODILS 9th

                                DAFFODILS

  Introduction:
The most impressive and thought-provoking poem 'Daffodils' is a lyrical poem written by William Wordsworth who is also known as the “Father of Romanticism”. ‘Daffodils’ was published in 1815 in 'Collected Poems' with four stanzas, composed in alternate rhyme scheme and a couplet at the end of every stanza, i.e. ABABCC. It unfolds the poet's excitement, love and praise for a field blossoming with enchanting daffodils.

Title and Theme of the Poem:

   The title, 'Daffodils' is a simple word that reminds us about the arrival of the spring season, when the field is full of daffodils. A bunch of daffodils symbolize the joys and happiness of life.
     The theme of the poem 'Daffodils' is a collection of human emotions inspired by nature that we may have neglected due to our busy lives. It also reveals the everlasting impact of soothing natural beauty on human mind.

Summary of the poem
In this poem, William Wordsworth states that one day he was roaming near a lake in the valley. He was feeling lonely like a cloud. All at once he saw a group of golden daffodils growing beside the bank of a lake under the trees. They were dancing and tossing merrily in the breeze.

The golden daffodils looked like vivid stars in a milky way. They were growing in an endless line without a break. The waves of lake were cresting in whitecaps.  They also looked to be dancing. The whole scene was so thrilling and fascinating that poet felt very happy in that joyful company. This beautiful sight filled his heart with the wealth of pleasure.

It left an everlasting impression on his memory. Whenever, the poet recollected the wonderful scene of daffodils in solitude his heart filled with pleasure and began to dance like daffodils. In the poem, the word dance is used many times. It looked that poet wants to tell us that dance is the rhythm of universe. As the earth’s movement and transformation of night into day is the rhythmic dance and poet says in the end that we should see things with our inward eyes.

As William Blake states:

“To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour.”

Conclusion:
To sum up, one may say that the poem “Daffodils” is a master-piece of poetic art. As the idea is superb the representation is also outstanding and technically sound. It really attracts the attention of the reader at once forever. As John Keats states:
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever”