English Children's Literature(Week9)

Midterm

Term explanation

1. Onomatopoeia

 An onomatopoeia is a word that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the source of the sound that it describes. As an uncountable noun, onomatopoeia refers to the property of such words. Common occurrences of onomatopoeias include animal noises such as "oink", "miaow" (or "meow"), "roar" or "chirp". Onomatopoeias are not the same across all languages; they conform to some extent to the broader linguistic system they are part of; hence the sound of a clock may be tick tock in English, dī dā in Mandarin, or katchin katchin in Japanese, or "tik-tik" in Hindi.

2. Nonsense 

Nonsense is a communication, via speech, writing, or any other symbolic system, that lacks any coherent meaning. Sometimes in ordinary usage, nonsense is synonymous with absurdity or the ridiculous. Many poets, novelists and songwriters have used nonsense in their works, often creating entire works using it for reasons ranging from pure comic amusement or satire, to illustrating a point about language or reasoning. It is also an important field of study in cryptography regarding separating a signal from noise. For example, Jabberwocky, a poem of nonsense verse by Lewis Carroll, is a nonsense poem written in the English language. The word jabberwocky is also occasionally used as a synonym of nonsense.

3. Nursery rhymes

A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage only dates from the late 18th/early 19th century. In North America the term Mother Goose Rhymes, introduced in the mid-18th century, is still often used.

4. Fantasy

       

 Fantasy is a fiction genre that uses magic or other supernatural elements as a main plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common. Fantasy is generally distinguished from the genres of science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of scientific and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three, all of which are subgenres of speculative fiction. For example, J.R.R. Tolkien’ s The Lord of the Ring is a fantasy novel.

5. Charles Perrault

Charles Perrault was a French author. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known of his tales include Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, and The Sleeping Beauty. Some of Perrault's versions of old stories may have influenced the German versions published by the Brothers Grimm more than 100 years later. The stories continue to be printed and have been adapted to opera, ballet, theatre, and film. Perrault was an influential figure in the 17th-century French literary scene, and was the leader of the Modern faction.

Essay

1. What is children' s literature? Are there certain specific characteristics detaching children’ s literature from adult’s books? If yes, what are they? If no, why are we here to study this subject?

Children' s literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are enjoyed by children. Modern children' s literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children' s literature can be traced to stories and songs, part of a wider oral tradition, that adults shared with children before publishing existed.

In my personal opinion, I think the answer is Yes. Because there is no single or widely used definition of children' s literature. It can be broadly defined as anything that children read or more specifically defined as fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama intended for children and young people. Also, the boundary of children’ s literature is not fixed and blurred. Sometimes, no agreement can be reached about whether a given work is best categorized as literature for adults or children. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series was written and marketed for young adults, but it is also popular among adults.

2. The climax is the high point of the story, where the culmination of events creates the peak of the conflict. In the plot of narrative work, a resolution consists of a series of events that follow the climax, and thus serves as the conclusion of the story, even though not all stories have a resolution. Could you (1) relocate where the climax of Charlotte's Web is and (2) analyze your resolution that (3) associated with the idea of conflicts?

I think the climax of Charlotte’s Web is the scene that Wilbur wins the special prize of the county fair. Charlotte’s web. The major conflict in the story Charlotte's Web is that Wilbur is to be butchered at Christmas time. When he first finds out the news, he is hysterical and the other farm animals cannot calm him down. He only begins to return to his carefree self when Charlotte promises him that he will not die. At the time, he does not understand how a tiny spider can save his life, but she is his friend and he trusts her. But Charlotte keeps her promise to prevent Wilbur from being killed. Also, another conflict is the character, Templeton. None of the animals like him, as they know he cannot be trusted and has quite a disagreeable personality. He looks out only for his selfishness, which make the other animals despise him. Even in the end, with Charlotte's children' s lives on the line, he only agrees to help Wilbur if there is a promise of easy food for him. However, his personality adds to the drama and causes the story's climax indirectly.

 

3. We’ve watched an enchanting film, "Miss Potter," based on the life of Beatrix Potter, the best-selling author of children' s books of all time, this semester before the midterm. One of the phrases that opens and ends the whole movie is the voice of the title protagonist, “there's something delicious about writing those first few words of a story. You can never quite tell where they will take you. Mine took me here, where I belong.” Could you paraphrase what that means in the context of your understanding of Miss Potter’s works, life, as well as your life experience and expectation?

Beatrix Potter didn’t know that she would become an artist when she was a little girl in Lake District. But in the end, she uttered the quote about her feeling of life. There were too many things happened in her lifetime that she had never predicted.

Beatrix Potter was born in Victorian era, which is a conservative time. In those times, most people thought women had to get married, raised the children and nothing else. However, Beatrix Potter is an extraordinary woman, she not only fulfilled her own dreams, but also made herself a new world. She published her books successfully and found her meaning of life.

The slogan on the movie poster of Miss Potter goes that “The life of Beatrix Potter is the most enchanting tale of all.” And I also believe that life is a surprising journey. There’s a saying goes, “Life is a box of chocolate, you will never know what you are going to get.” We can’t predict our life, so I choose to seize every moment in my life and also to be brave to experience new things.

4. Who is Mother Goose? Is she real?

Mother Goose is an iconic figure in literature, associated with both fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The modern American reader may be most familiar with the classic book of short poems called The Real Mother Goose first published in 1916. Many of these poems are well known adaptations of poems or songs for children, long predating the publication of the book.

References to Mother Goose date back to the 17th century, and usually included the idea that she spun fairy tales in addition to poems. According to French writer Jean Loret in his 1650 La Muse Historique, like the Mother Goose tales. This suggests that the character was well known, and that she was essentially a figurehead description of a certain genre of literature. Poems of this genre would later be called nursery rhymes, as told in the nursery by mothers, perhaps fathers, and often children’ s nurses or nannies.

Mother Goose was a reference to farmer woman who might raise geese, or who might be care for children. Some have also suggested that the figure is pagan in origin. Her costuming and appearance in illustrations does seem an early model for depictions of witches. Especially her pointed nose, glasses, and witch hat are suggestive in the 1916 collection.

Sometimes Mother Goose is merely depicted as a goose. This is definitely a modern take in keeping with the many anthropomorphic animals that entertain modern children in books and on television. The Real Mother Goose published in several forms retains the older illustrations and remains a delightful book for children. It often serves as an excellent way to teach quite young children about poetry, and to help them learn to memorize short rhythmic poems