Structuralism

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Structuralism Poststructuralism (1)
Linguistic (De-)Constructions of Meanings and
Subjectivities

• 1. Structuralism--Basic Concepts
• 2. Structuralist Reading of Narratives
• 3. Semiotics and "The Myth Today"
• 4. From Structuralism to Poststructuralism
  Binary Opposition Deconstruction

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Structuralism Introduction

• 1. How does language produce meanings?
• 2. Structuralist Approach (1) basic pattern and
  binary opposition
• How is structure different from form? How is New
  Criticism different from Structuralism?

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Outline

• How does language produce meanings?
• A. Language in Daily Language Example 1
• B. Different views of language Example 2 sign
  signifier and signified ? referent
• -- Structuralist view
• Structuralist Approach (I)Binary Opposition and
  Basic Pattern
• Example 1, 2, 3, 4
• 3. From New Criticism to Structuralism

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A. Language in Daily Language

• ????? the uncertainties of meanings.
• The meanings of language are not inherent
  (???).They depend on the context.
• Structuralism Language is a system of
  relation and difference.
• ???????????????????????????????? .
• ????? White Horse is Not Horse. Why?

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?????Possible interpretations

• ? ???,???????,???????????????? ??????
• ???? - ?????
• 1. ?????? ???????,
• ????? ? ??(????????
• 3. Structuralism?? is a sign it refers to our
  concept of white horse, but not the actual
  horse.

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De Saussure sign signifier and signified

• The inclusion of the concept within the triad of
  signification suggests that there is no natural
  or immediate relation between the words??(as a
  sign)
• and the thing?(actual white horse).

Signifier ?? Signified ? ?? Referent ??
?? concept of ?? the actual ? we refer to (?)
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Different Views of Language

• A. In Chinese Philosophy
• ??,????,??????lt??.??gt??????????????
• ???????????,????????????,????????????,???????
  (reference?
• ? ??(??????symbols???????
• ?the meanings referred to or
• ?.

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Different Views of Language

• B. Structuralism Meanings happen in language.
• A rose is a rose, because it is different from
  . . .

ros
Carnation
grass
rose (p. of rise)
doz
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Different Views of Language B. Structuralism

• Meanings happen in language.
• A rose is a rose, because
• -- its phoneme o is different from ai in
  rise
• -- its morpheme rose is different that with an
  extra morpheme roses
• Its meaning is determined by the syntax or
  context it exists in e.g.
• Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose . . .
• Plant thou no roses at my head,Nor shady
  cypress treeBe the green grass above meWith
  showers and dewdrops wet
• The pillow rose and floated under her, pleasant
  as a hammock in a light wind.

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sign signifier and signified

• "The linguistic sign is arbitrary. It is
  unmotivated, i.e. arbitrary in that it actually
  has no natural connection with the signified."  
• -- e.g. The signs dog, chien, ? arbitrarily
  refer to the concept of the animal dog.
• -- Can be replaced by other signs
• -- Can create ambiguities.
• -- What about Onomatopoeia, ????? Are there
  natural resemblances between the signs and what
  they refer to? (e.g. Cock-a-doodle-do, cocorico
  ??? ruff ??)

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structural linguistics Ferdinand de Saussure
(textbook chap 3 pp. 89-95)

• 1857-1913, Swiss linguist one of the founders of
  modern linguistics.
• Major ideas
• 1. The synchronic vs. the diachronic langue vs.
  parole
• 2. Language is a system of difference. Meaning
  occurs in binary opposition between two signs.
  (e.g. toy, boy)
• 3. sign signifier and signified the connection
  between them is arbitrary.

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Language as a system of relation and difference

• Relations toy ? boy (sound),
• ? table (noun
  grammatical unit),
• ? girl (antonym), etc.
• Difference binary opposition
• I saw a girl in red. (syntagmatic relations)
• I am a girl.
• a boy,
• a dog, (paradigmatic
  relations)
• an ironing board.

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Different Views of Language

• de Saussure synchronic studies of language as a
  system of difference
• Roman Jakobson meaning happens in communication
  from sender to receiver, determined also by the
  medium and code used.
• Kristevas the semiotic The language as rhythms
  and drives supporting and disrupting the
  logical/linear communication in language.
• Atwood Language as both social and self
  constructions. (e.g. love and her narration)
  

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Structuralist Approach (1) Basic Objects of
Study

• Rules How to
• ? combine into words
• ? Select and combine into a sentence.
• ? combine into a fairy-tale. (Snow White and
  Cinderella are in structure the same story.)

• Units
• Example phonemes
• words
• Princess, prince and a stepmother

Patterns of basic units --of selection and
combination
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Structuralism From Units Rules to Basic
Structure of a Certain Langue

• Langue or signifying system ????
• Examples
• -- Literary work,
• -- narratives (e.g. myth)
• -- tribal or community ritual (a wedding, a rain
  dance, a graduation ceremony)

• -- "fashion (in clothes, food, cars, etc.)
• -- any kind of advertisement

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Structuralist Approach (1)

• ? Structuralism Examine the basic elements
  (or basic units), which form the basic pattern
  (or grammar) of each story.
• ? Basic elements ???? universal (or
  common) grammar ? a scientific approach to
  literature. e.g. binary opposition

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Practice I ? ? ? ???

• ?????,????,????,??????
• Binary opposition between ? and ?between the
  speaker (???) and ??
• 1.?????? ? ??????
• 2. ?(??????
• 3. Speaker ????????(????,????? human attempts
  to conquer the impossible??

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Practice I

• Variation (1) ?????,????,????,????????,??????????
  ???????????????????,????????????,??????????,?????
  ?(source ???? ?
• Another basic unit Mythemes (or themes)
• -- Liebestod (love death).??
• -- Conquering Nature Prometheus ? ?????

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Practice I

• Variation (2)??????
• ????????????????
• Variation (3)???? --??????? ???.

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Practice II

• ? The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
• New Criticism
• -- ironic tension built around the concept of
  jilting and weatherall vs. aging.
• -- ambiguities produced in Grannys mind.

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Granny Weatherall A Structuralist Reading

• ?binary opposition between being jilted and
  trying to love and to keep
• ? ? Differences
• -- jilted by her lover ? her husband (who died)
• -- keeps a farm house and all the children but
  not Hapsy ? loses her youth and beauty,
• -- loses touch with reality (without her knowing
  it) but keeps her self-consciousness
• -- almost jilted by God ? keeps her dignity by
  facing her death. (Her greatest loss is also a
  greatest gain.)

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Practice III

• The Oval Portrait binary opposition between
• Living background-- night, delirium of the
  speaker vs. clear narration of the past
• abandoned castle, vs. decoration rich but
  tattered and antique
• Armorial trophies vs. paintings in frames of rich
  golden arabesque
• Image alive and soft vs. thick frame and the
  tradition of vignetting

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Practice 4

• ? Cube Man Cube Try to find out its pattern and
  what different signs refer to.
• ? e.g. signs of human bodily parts, human
  tools, human actions setting.

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Cube Men Cube by Cerrit van Didn

• ? Beginning and ending why different?

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Cube Men Cube ending

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Cube Men Cube

• ? Setting one outdoor scene one cube appears.

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Cube Men Cube

• ? Setting twograss (then with zipper)

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Cube Men Cube

• ? Setting three domestic scene

Cloud
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Cube Men Cube

• ? Setting four outdoor again, smoking and
  producing little cubes.

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Cube Men Cube

• ? Setting five building facade

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Cube Men Cube

• ? Tools zipper, camera, national flag,
• ? Human attributes eye, hand, photos,

• ? Human Action taking photos, singing, doubling,
  lifting one flap after another,

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Cube Men Cube

• Action swimming in a clothes-like sea, smoking,
  birthing, fighting

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Cube Men Cube

• Human buildings, money bill,
• Tools hand (fist), foot, stone, gun, machine
  gun, cannon

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Cube Men Cube Interpretation

• Theme
• gradual loss of nature (e.g. nature zipped, in
  snow ball)
• A story of human growth, connections(e,g, human
  tools doubling actions, extinguishing fire) and
  achievements, which turns to have more and more
  conflicts (cigarette, canon).
• Form
• Human beings presented as cubes so that
• Humans and their lives are simplified and
  de-naturalized just a group of signs forming
  some patterns
• Humans with layers
• Merging of humans and objects (e.g. tea box
  camera eye bird becoming one layer of a cube)
• Background music light and beautiful, but can be
  militarist songs, too.

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From New Criticism to Structuralism Search for
the common or the universal

• Form ? ? ? ?
• an entity with interrelated parts.

• Structure basic pattern

Pygmalion And Galatea, by Jean-Leon Gerome,
after 1881
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From New Criticism to Structuralism
Russian Formalism 1920s

• ? New Criticism set up studies of English
  Literature as a discipline.
• ? In the 50s, there are more attempts at making
  English studies scientific and objective. e.g.
  archetypal approaches Northrop Frye

spring summer autumn winter
comedy romance tragedy satire
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From New Criticism to Structuralism

• ? Compared with New Criticism, structuralist
  approaches to literature are
• -- reductive (?????
• -- more objective scientific, does not rely on
  common sense.
• -- anti-Humanist
• -- Form to Structure, (later multiple language
  structures and the racial relations they imply).

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Readings for next week

• ? Structuralism Historical development,
  sections on Saussure and Assumptions chap 3
  (87-98 100)
• ? "Should Wizard Hit Mommy?"
• Feel Free to read more. ?