Contextualize the text from a historical and cultural point of view.

15 – 20 linesThe
Renaissance
Shakespeare lived and wrote during a remarkable period of Englishhistory, a time of relative
political stability and great development, 1485 -1 4!" Science made it possible to navigate,
e#plorers set out to $nd a newworld" %he ideas of the &enaissance are strongly in'uenced by the
concept of h u m a n i s m " % h e a i m w a s t o r e s t o r e h u m a n va l u e s
f r o m a n t i ( u i t y b y reintroducing the philosophies, language and literature of the ancient )reeceand
&ome" *ne of the ma+or developments in English literature at this time
isi n d r a m a " S o m e o f S h a k e s p e a r e s p l a y s r e ' e c t h i s t o r i c a l a n d p o l i t i c a l tensions,
others deal with common life e#periences which are described in comedy as well as tragedy" uring
this period poetry was another importantliterary genre"
Enli htenment 1!50 " 1#00
%he novel was written during the
Enli htenment
era, a period of
scientific
awakening, a time of unprecedented optimism in the potential of knowledge and reason to
understand and change the world" .t was believedthat the use of reason and science could improve the
human condition" %hisperiod saw the rise of the political pamphlet and essay but the leading
genreo f t h e E n l i g h t e n m e n t b e c a m e t h e n o v e l " % h e h e r o o f t h e n o v e l w a s t h e average
man, the middle-class man, with a pragmatic common sense, andliterature became very instructive/
writers aimed to educate readers
throughtheir stories, critici0ing the 'aws of society and individuals" ost of thewriters of this
time wrote political pamphlets, but the best came from the p e n s o f
$efoe and %wift.
%he novel writing was in'uences by travelliterature, biographies, memoirs, diaries"
Romanticism
(1789-1832)
(S. Coleridge , J. Austen, J. Keats, W. Whit an, !a"thorne, #i$%inson, &el'ille)
%he author belongs to &omanticism, the literary period between 128!
31 8 , a p p r o # i m a t e l y" . t w a s a n a g e g r e a t l y m a r k e d b y t h e i n d u s t r i a l development
with serious conse(uences on people s lives, and the 6rench&evolution of 128!, the focus of
which was to create political and social freedom, e(uality, brotherhood and democracy" 7s a
result, &omantics wereenthusiastic about nature and especially appreciated areas in nature whichhad not
been touched by human intervention" Simple rural life, which hadnot been in'uenced or ruined by
the .ndustrial &evolution and in which manstill lived in harmony with nature, was seen as ideal"
&omanticism saw a shift
1
Content & Style in Literature
Form and content are dependent of each other. The presentation of content (in literature) is dependent on
the employment of form for the achievement of the desired effect. Content refers to what an author
desires to say or write, while form refers to how s/he chooses to write or say it. Scholars have argued for
a long time, over which, between form and content has more importance in literature. However, in the
recent past, the argument has shifted from, trying to prove which, between form and content deserves
more credit with regards to effective presentation of literary works, to determining the extent to which both
form and content contribute to the success of a given piece of literature.

In the next part of this account, both concepts (form and content) have been discussed in detail and
examples of each in use have also been given. In an attempt to prove the intimate relationship between
form and content in the attainment of literary success, examples that cut across the different genres of
literature have been put forth.

Form
Form is best described as the way a piece of literature is presented. It has to do with the physical appeal
of a piece of art, to the eye of the reader. Considering that literature has much to do with communication
through symbols as much as words to convey meaning, the shape or that an author ‘curves’ as s/he
develops his or her piece of work cannot be ignored. Form is interpreted differently, with consideration of
the different literary genres of literature which exist. In considering prose, the form used by an author is
analyzed by examining how he has divided/partitioned his or her literary work.

An author of prose fiction can divide his literary piece of work into chapters or parts. To the informed
reader, the divisions in a work of prose fiction are not mere partitions, but are purposefully intended by the
author to convey meaning. For example, the author – Chinua Achebe in his novel Things Fall Apart
(1958), has divided the contents of his story into various parts, where each of the parts contributes to the
coherence in meaning of the entire storyline. By the end of each part in the book we see a turn of events
in the life of the main character – Okonkwo.
The first part of the novel accounts for Okonkwo’s rise to fame and prosperity within his community. He
succeeds in casting a shadow over his late fathers’ tainted legacy by achieving success and gaining the
respect of his clansmen.
In the second part of the novel, the author records Okonkwos’ fall from grace. He is sent to exile for killing
a fellow kinsman. He spends seven years in his motherland (his lad of exile), after which he returns to
Umuofia.

The final part of the novel records Okonkwos’ return to Umuofia, and his inability to bring himself to terms
with the changes that have taken place in the village: this part further marks the end of Okonkwo’s life
through committing suicide. The narration of events in the novel in a sequential manner creates rhythm,
which is one of the important aspects of form.

In drama form also plays an important role in the presentation of content. Considering that plays are
created for performance, form plays an integral role in conveying meaning. The division of a play into
Acts, Scenes and even Parts creates a rhythmic pattern and constitutes its form. The different partitions
of a dramatic work equally contribute in building on the content delivered by the author. In a play, the
divisions represent occurrences that are apart from each other in space and time. In addition, form in
drama is achieved through the choice of an appropriate ‘sub-genre of drama’ to present the content of the
play. The choice of an appropriate sub-genre, for example tragedy or comedy, creates much effect as the
play is performed to an audience. Thus, through the consideration of form in drama, one is able to
mentally construct events as they would occur in real life situations. The play – Aminata (1988) by Francis
Imbuga is divided into parts and scenes, all of which equally contribute to the overall meaning realised in
the play. Another play – The Successor, by the same author is divided into Acts and scenes, which are
purposefully intended by the author in his development of the plays’ story-line.
It is perhaps in poetry that form plays the most important role of conveying meaning through content.
There are a number of ways of analyzing the use of form in poetry. One can analyse form in poetry in
terms of rhythm, lines and the pattern formed by the entire poem. Another way of looking at form in poetry
is establishing its mode (type of poem), some of which are: sonnets, Haikus, Sestina and even Blank
Verse. In addition, one can examine the observable shape of the eye, and which appeals to the eye of the
reader. The shape created by the poet is normally related to the message that he wishes to convey
through the poem. An example of such can be drawn from George Herberts’ poem – ‘Easter Wings’
(1633).

Content
Content, as earlier on described, refers to what is expressed in a literary piece of work. It necessarily
constitutes of the message which the author wishes to pass on to an audience. The message
communicated by an author in a literary piece of writing most often constitutes of themes. The content of
a literary piece of work is usually a composition of the author (from the authors’ mind).

In dramatic works, content is expressed in terms of the words used by characters and the responses they
get from their fellow characters. Further, a dramatist may fashion a character such that they talk about
themselves. The writer may also opt to inform the audience of a play about a certain character. It is thus
clear that characters are the most important channel through which a dramatist establishes
communication with an audience.
In prose, content is mainly presented through narration, vivid descriptions and creation of assumptions is
frequently used. Content is presented in a continuous and logical occurrence of events. Whereas non-
fiction prose presents content as it is (reality), fiction prose utilizes imagery to draw a near-to-reality
picture of the topic addressed.

In poetry, content is presented in a shortened manner. Shortened language is the main way of presenting
content in poetry. Themes are fully developed and a poet puts much effort in communicating his message
in a clear and concise manner. The words used are clearly chosen in an attempt by the author to
communicate his intended message.

It is thus clearly evident that form cannot be separated from content if literature is to perform its functions
fully and effectively. Form and content, as tools of coming up with literature, complement each other in
numerous ways in the process of creating literary works.
LECTIE LITERATURA

(i) la obiective - ceva de genul sa le dai posibilitatea de a veni in contact cu texte autentice din lit. engleza
- le oferi posibilitatea de a-si imbunatati receptive and productive skills ( si aici am enumerat : reading for
general understanding , reading for detailed information , writing a narration in the 1st person)

Estimated time: 20 minutes

(ii) Stages:
a. Pre-reading activities:
- prof le face un scurt sumar al romanului din care provine textul prezinta personajele principale insistand
asupra celor 2 din text: Septimul si Rezia
Ii intreaba daca au mai citit vreun roman despre viata dupa razboi ca in cazul lui Septimus
- elevii asculta si raspund la intrebari.
Rolul profesorului - controlor

b. while reading activities:

- elevii citesc textul(silent reading avand in vedere ca sunt avansati um se specifica in cerinta, se
descurca sa citeasca singuri)
- prof le da un set de intrebari si aici am compus niste intrebari pe baza textului ca sa verific reading for
detaliled information
Ceva de genul - cum a reactionat Septimus?
- a mai incercat Septimus sa se sinucida?
Am scris cam 5 intrebari dar nu le mai tin minte.
- elevii raspund la intrebari
- urmeaza alt set de intrebari.Ceva de genul - cum se simte Rezia?
- are prieteni carora sa le impartaseasca gandurile ei?
-ce ati face in locul ei?
Nu mai stiu sigur ce-am scris...tot vreo 5 intrebari
- elevii raspund la intrebari
Rolul prof : organizator si prompter (ii mai ajuta cu cuvinte si expresii)

c. Post reading activities:

- elevii scriu o pagina din jurnalul Reziei dupa plimbarea din acea zi prin parc (pt a exersa naratiunea la
persoana I)