ENG 112 Lecture 4: Why Literary Formula Is Important Lecture Notes.docx
26 Jan 2015
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Explanation for the value or need for formulaic structures in life and what they serve: Harry berger sums up conflicting impulses as 2 primal needs: order, peace, security, protection against terror/confusion, familiar/predictable world. We also need: anxiety/ uncertainty, confusion/risk, trouble, tension, jeopardy, novelty, mystery. Literary formula is a kind of structure that gives us a sense of security when we know what will happen (but it is easy to get bored of the same thing easily) We need the opposites (bad) to reinforce the good. Typically in formulaic fiction we see these literary devices: suspense. 2)identification with the protagonist: slightly removed, imaginary world. Importance of formulas: collective ritual: -something formula allows to happen in our everyday lives (groups, social media, what people talk about) Literature brings us together as a community: games: - much like games, formulas have set rules for literary structures.
