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FINAL Current Developments at the Intersection of British Children ONLINE VERSION
4.4.1
Traditional humour At the beginning of the comparatively short history of literature for children, education, 152 learning and the passing on of traditions, conventions and values held an important position. The early textbooks and writings intended for religious edification did not yet take into account the individual needs or even preferences of children. Today, childhood is seen as an important stage in an individual’s life, during which the child should be given the optimum support for its development and playful discovery of its surrounding structures. By contrast, in the infancy of children’s literature, childhood was considered a phase of transition on a child’s way to maturity that should be got over and done with as sensibly and quickly as possible. The indoctrination of the young was therefore designed in such a way that it prepared them for the serious side of the life of an adult with all its duties and responsibilities. In time and with newly stimulated insights through and subsequent to the Enlightenment, the individual needs of the child were gradually discovered and taken into consideration. Also, it was found that, if combined with humour, play and fun, education and guidance can be much more effective than strict indoctrination. The modern level of knowledge advocates a relaxed environment – in both educational establishments and teaching material – which positively influences the learning process and fosters cognition. Until then, however, it has been a long way. Instead of forcing children into a corset of stiff and frequently antiquated maxims, the majority of the Victorian authors for children come to realise that their genre can and ought to have a certain entertainment value. The latter is attained first of all by means of the selection of the treated subjects but also by their realisation. For this, humour is indispensable. Revolutionary at the time, the humour of the Victorian authors for children has attained classic status and is nowadays in turn considered 151 Many classics of British fantasy literature are well known and remembered in particular for their humour or humorous characters that often mock social conventions, traditions or attitudes; for example Toad or the Cheshire Cat. 152 Religious or secular 132 traditional. The Golden Age of children’s literature has produced many classics, which are remembered not least because of their various humorous characters or scenes. Outstanding representatives of the period are without a doubt the authors Carroll and Lear. With their special kind of humour, nonsense, Carroll and Lear are in the vanguard of innovation within children’s fantasy literature of the time. Even though other forms of humour such as word puns, situational humour, slapstick, irony or exaggerations are far more common in the Victorian period, nonsense compensates its proportionate inferiority in numbers by quality, creativity and individuality. Above all, this is expressed by its uniqueness. Like no other form of humour in children’s literature, nonsense adopts an extreme opposition to the value system of the time. This phenomenon criticises the rigid organisation and control of society, turns against old-established power structures and hierarchies and scrutinises conventions and rules in respect to their meaningfulness. Reason, one of the cornerstones of the Victorian society, is systematically undermined by this form of humour. Yet, in the Alice novels, Carroll cannot fully deny his roots in logic. Despite all the absurdities the mathematician bases his works on underlying logical rules, so that even in apparent chaos and anarchy the sense does not get completely lost. For all his creativity and innovation this feature reveals that Carroll can neither escape his time nor break with all conventions. Nevertheless, Lear and Carroll symbolise the breakthrough of humour as well as its establishment as an important element of modern children’s fantasy literature. In the wake of their works humour prevails against exclusive seriousness, so that fun, jokes and joy are no longer functional but exist for their own sake. Far from being superficial, it can be quite sophisticated and challenging. For instance, the intertextuality in Carroll’s works enables depth whilst at the same time providing possibilities for persiflage and caricatures. With the increasing acceptance of these - at the time - new forms of humour, the literary landscape of the genre obtains more possibilities. Among other things, the latter are expressed by increasing freedom, openness, tolerance, flexibility, individuality and creativity. Part of this opening are also the conscious abandonment of overabundant seriousness and a simultaneous move towards play and experimentation. Alternative views permit a revaluation of reality and broaden inflexible concepts on the one hand and the personal horizon on the other hand. As a result, the powers of imagination are stimulated and cultivated. Children are encouraged in their play, and adults can be temporarily transported back in time right into their very own childhood. What was considered revolutionary and refreshingly new in the Victorian period has become traditional at the beginning of the 21 st century. This humour distinguishes itself by 133 strong and characteristic representatives, figures and unforgettable scenes but also by its forms. Humoristic figures are for example – to begin with Carroll’s novels – the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, Humpty Dumpty or the Cheshire cat. Due to the interplay of their nature, behaviour and confusing verbal output each of these characters is either involved in or the cause for absurd situations. The characters’ nonconformism shakes the reader’s expectations to their very foundations time and again since they approach the novels on the basis of existing conventions. Humour is the result of these frequent, unpredictable departures from the norm, the surprising turns of events and imaginative possibilities in the secondary world. It arises from the discrepancy between the reader’s horizon of expectations and the novels’ reversal of those norms, i.e. humour works through the constant comparison with reality and normality. Besides Carroll’s outstanding Alice-novels other humoristic characters of the Golden Age have made a lasting impression. For example, it is hard to imagine British nurseries without Milne’s eponymous Winnie-the-Pooh. The humour in the Winnie-the-Pooh novels frequently depends on the situation. Similar to the talk at cross-purposes in Carroll’s Alice – novels, the characters in Milne’s novels fall victim to numerous misunderstandings. Thus well-meant actions tend to temporarily wreak more havoc than to have an intended positive effect. Each time, a favourable turn of events can avert impending “harm”. At no point is there a true danger for any of the characters involved. These incidents are comical because their tendency towards chaos is predictable, yet no one doubts the happy ending. In Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, a further combination of situational humour and humorous character can be observed. The rise and fall of the arrogant, yet endearing Toad is presented in a very entertaining way, 153 worked into the overall far more pensive structure of the novel. This way, a balance is achieved between amusing elements and thought- provoking ones. Another traditional form of humour in the Golden Age is word play. The majority of humorous classic fantasy novels for children employ this technique or variations of it. Here too, the Alice novels act as a trailblazer for word puns and words of equivocal nature. Allusions, neologisms, ambiguities and innuendos run through Carroll’s novels. Milne’s Download 1.22 Mb. Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
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