Unit7the-Monster.ppt

1、Unit7,Throughout his career, Truman Capote remained one of Americas most controversial and colorful authors, combining literary genius with a penchant for the glittering world of high society. Watch the movie clip and discuss the following questions.,Pre-reading Activities - Audiovisual supplement 1

2、,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,He did not seem to be the person that you will make a friend with. From the way he carries himself and the way he speaks, we can probably draw the conclusion that he is a gay. He paid the train conductor to compliment him, which shows that he is vain and

3、flamboyant.,1. How would you describe Capote?,Pre-reading Activities - Audiovisual supplement 2,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,2. Will the knowledge of Capote being an outrageous and offensive person have any effect on your impression of his novels?,Yes. A great writer should first of a

4、ll be a great man. Capote in private is quite different from the one that is behind the public mask. With this understanding in mind, I will have a different perspective when reading his novels. No. Although he was a social climber, a back stabber, and his behavior was frequently offensive if not do

5、wnright disgusting, he was also a writer of uncommon grace and sensitivity, who has created many unforgettable images of people and places.,a. b.,Pre-reading Activities - Audiovisual supplement 3,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,From Capote,Video Script1,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural in

6、formation,I figured youd missed it. Im sorry. Thats all right. I thought I was heading to Kansas by myself. God, Im glad you agreed to come. Youre the only one I know with the qualifications to be both a research assistant and a personal bodyguard. Thank you. Now Im nervous. Yes? Mr. Truman Capote a

7、nd Miss Nelle Harper Lee? Thats us.,Nelle: Capote: Nelle: Capote: Nelle: Capote: Train Conductor: Capote:,Video Script2,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,Where would you like these, sir? You can put that right there between the doors. What all did you bring? Just a few things. Thank you gr

8、eatly, sir. Thank you. Youre welcome. Its an honor to have you with us, sir. And I hope you wont mind me saying, but I thought your last book was even better than the first. Thank you.,Train Conductor: Capote: Nelle: Capote: Train Conductor: Nelle: Capote: Train Conductor: Capote:,Video Script3,Audi

9、ovisual supplement,Cultural information,I mean, just when you think theyve gotten as good as they can get. Thank you very much. Maam. Youre pathetic. What? You paid him to say that. You paid him to say that. How did you know? “Just when you think theyve gotten as good as they can get”? I thought tha

10、t was a good line. Do you think that was too much? Yeah, a bit.,Train Conductor: Capote: Train Conductor: Nelle: Capote: Nelle: Capote: Nelle: Capote: Nelle:,1. List of some common musical instruments,Cultural information1. 1,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,1) Stringed Instruments 弦乐器 Vi

11、ola 中提琴Cello 大提琴 Guitar 吉他Violin 小提琴 Harp 竖琴,2) Keyboard Instruments 键盘乐器 Piano 钢琴 Pipe organ 管风琴,Cultural information 1.2,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,3) Percussion Instruments 打击乐器 Triangle 三角铁 Drum 大鼓 Cymbal 钹 Gong 锣 Tambourine 铃鼓 Xylophone 木琴 Dulcimer 扬琴 Chimes/Tubular bell 管钟,4)

12、Wind Instrument 管乐器；吹奏乐器 Brass Instruments 铜管乐器 French horn 法国号Bugle 单号/军乐号 Cornet 短号 Trumpet 小号,Cultural information 1.3,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,Woodwind Instruments木管乐器 Clarinet 单簧管 Bassoon 低音管/巴松管 Flute 长笛 Oboe 双簧管 Saxophone 萨克斯 Accordion 手风琴 harmonica 口琴,Cultural information

13、2.1,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,2. List of some musical terms This is a list of musical terms that are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes.,cycle 套曲: a set of songs intended to be performed as a group suite 组曲: an instrumental piece consisting

14、 of several shorter pieces sonata 奏鸣曲: a piece of music for one instrument or for one instrument and piano, usually divided into three or four parts,Cultural information 2.2,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,symphony 交响曲: an elaborate musical composition for full orchestra, typically in fo

15、ur movements, at least one of which is traditionally in sonata form concerto协奏曲: a musical composition for a solo instrument or instruments accompanied by an orchestra, especially one conceived on a relatively large scale overture 序曲: an orchestral piece at the beginning of an opera, suite, play, or

16、atorio, or other extended composition,Cultural information 2.3,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,prelude 前奏曲: an introductory piece of music, most commonly an orchestral opening to an act of an opera, the first movement of a suite, or a piece preceding a fugue impromptu 即兴曲: a short piece

17、of instrumental music, especially a solo, that is reminiscent of an improvisation accompaniment 伴奏: the part of a piece of music that supports the tune or someone singing solo 独奏；独唱: a piece of vocal or instrumental music or a dance, or a part or passage in one, for one performer,Cultural informatio

18、n 2.4,Audiovisual supplement,Cultural information,ensemble 重奏；重唱: a group of musicians, dancers, or actors who perform together chamber music 室内乐: music for a small ensemble of instruments, intended for performance in a room or chamber, as opposed to a church or larger building duet 二重奏: a piece of

19、music written for two performers. On the piano such a piece would involve two players on one instrument. trio 三重奏: a composition designed for three players or the name of a group of three players quartet 四重奏: a composition for four players or the name for a group of four players,General analysis,The

20、 text argues that Richard Wagners monstrous behavior can be forgiven because of his miraculous achievements in music.,Structural analysis,General analysis,Rhetorical features,Structural analysis1,Structural analysis,General analysis,Rhetorical features,Part I,(Paragraphs 1 9): This part describes a

21、man who seems to have rolled all kinds of demerits into one, a real monster.,This essay on a famous man, whose name is not revealed until almost the end of the piece, is a study of monstrous conceit. Filled with biographical details that keep the reader guessing to the last moment, the essay conclud

22、es with a challenging view on the nature of genius: If a genius was so prolific, “is it any wonder that he had no time to be a man?” The text can be divided into three parts:,Structural analysis2,Structural analysis,General analysis,Rhetorical features,Part II,(Paragraph 10): This part serves as a t

23、ransitional paragraph, which clarifies who this monster really is, i.e. a famous musician by the name of Richard Wagner.,Part III,(Paragraphs 11 13): The last part justifies all the peculiar behavior of Richard Wagner.,Rhetorical Features 1,Structural analysis,General analysis,Rhetorical features,Th

24、e repetitive use of the third person pronoun he creates suspense in the readers mind. This is one of the effective ways to hold the readers attention and make them read on. If we use the terminology of functional linguistics and discourse analysis, this use of he is cataphoric in nature. Another typ

25、ical example is “Hes the biggest slob I know. Hes really stupid. Hes so cruel. Hes my boyfriend, Steve.” Moreover, a series of the superlative forms of adjectives and inverted sentences are used to emphasize the extreme extent of his peculiar conceit.,Rhetorical Features 2,Structural analysis,Genera

26、l analysis,Rhetorical features,For example: He believed himself one of the greatest dramatists in the world, one of the greatest thinkers, and one of the greatest composers. (Paragraph 2) Never for one minute did he look at the world or at people, except in relation to himself. (Paragraph 2),Practic

27、e: Find more examples of superlative forms of adjectives and inverted sentences.,Rhetorical Features 3,Structural analysis,General analysis,Rhetorical features,1. He was one of the most exhausting conversationalists that ever lived. (Paragraph 2) 2. The slightest hint of disagreement, from anyone, o

28、n the most trivial point, was enough to set him off on a harangue that might last for hours, (Paragraph 3) 3. It never occurred to him that he and his doing were not of the most intense and fascinating interest to anyone with whom he came in contact. (Paragraph 4) 4. Not for a single moment did he e

29、ver compromise with what he believed, with what he dreamed. (Paragraph 13),1 He was an undersized little man, with a head too big for his body a sickly little man. His nerves were bad. He had skin trouble. It was agony for him to wear anything next to his skin coarser than silk. And he had delusions

30、 of grandeur.,Detailed reading1,Detailed reading,THE MONSTER Deems Taylor,Detailed reading2,Detailed reading,2 He was a monster of conceit. Never for one minute did he look at the world or at people, except in relation to himself. He believed himself to be one of the greatest dramatists in the world

31、, one of the greatest thinkers, and one of the greatest composers. To hear him talk, he was Shakespeare, and Beethoven, and Plato, rolled into one. He was one of the most exhausting conversationalists that ever lived. Sometimes he was brilliant; sometimes he was maddeningly tiresome. But whether he

32、was being brilliant or dull, he had one sole topic of conversation: himself. What he thought and what he did.,Detailed reading3,Detailed reading,3 He had a mania for being in the right. The slightest hint of disagreement, from anyone, on the most trivial point, was enough to set him off on a harangu

33、e that might last for hours, in which he proved himself right in so many ways, and with such exhausting volubility, that in the end his hearer, stunned and deafened, would agree with him, for the sake of peace.,Detailed reading4,Detailed reading,4 It never occurred to him that he and his doing were

34、not of the most intense and fascinating interest to anyone with whom he came in contact. He had theories about almost any subject under the sun, including vegetarianism, the drama, politics, and music; and in support of these theories he wrote pamphlets, letters, books . thousands upon thousands of

35、words, hundreds and hundreds of pages. He not only wrote these things, and published them usually at somebody elses expense but he would sit and read them aloud, for hours, to his friends, and his family.,Detailed reading5,Detailed reading,5 He had the emotional stability of a six-year-old child. Wh

36、en he felt out of sorts, he would rave and stamp, or sink into suicidal gloom and talk darkly of going to the East to end his days as a Buddhist monk. Ten minutes later, when something pleased him he would rush out of doors and run around the garden, or jump up and down off the sofa, or stand on his

37、 head. He could be grief-stricken over the death of a pet dog, and could be callous and heartless to a degree that would have made a Roman emperor shudder.,Detailed reading6,Detailed reading,6 He was almost innocent of any sense of responsibility. He was convinced that the world owed him a living. I

38、n support of this belief, he borrowed money from everybody who was good for a loan men, women, friends, or strangers. He wrote begging letters by the score, sometimes groveling without shame, at others loftily offering his intended benefactor the privilege of contributing to his support, and being m

39、ortally offended if the recipient declined the honor.,Detailed reading7,Detailed reading,7 What money he could lay his hand on he spent like an Indian rajah. No one will ever know certainly he never knows how much money he owed. We do know that his greatest benefactor gave him $6,000 to pay the most

40、 pressing of his debts in one city, and a year later had to give him $16,000 to enable him to live in another city without being thrown into jail for debt.,Detailed reading8,Detailed reading,8 He was equally unscrupulous in other ways. An endless procession of women marched through his life. His fir

41、st wife spent twenty years enduring and forgiving his infidelities. His second wife had been the wife of his most devoted friend and admirer, from whom he stole her. And even while he was trying to persuade her to leave her first husband he was writing to a friend to inquire whether he could suggest

42、 some wealthy woman any wealthy woman whom he could marry for her money.,Detailed reading9,Detailed reading,9 He had a genius for making enemies. He would insult a man who disagreed with him about the weather. He would pull endless wires in order to meet some man who admired his work and was able an

43、d anxious to be of use to him and would proceed to make a mortal enemy of him with some idiotic and wholly uncalled-for exhibition of arrogance and bad manners. A character in one of his operas was a caricature of one of the most powerful music critics of his day. Not content with burlesquing him, h

44、e invited the critic to his house and read him the libretto aloud in front of his friends.,Detailed reading10,Detailed reading,10 The name of this monster was Richard Wagner. Everything I have said about him you can find on record in newspapers, in police reports, in the testimony of people who knew

45、 him, in his own letters, between the lines of his autobiography. And the curious thing about this record is that it doesnt matter in the least.,Detailed reading11,Detailed reading,11 Because this undersized, sickly, disagreeable, fascinating little man was right all the time, the joke was on us. He

46、 was one of the worlds greatest dramatists; he was a great thinker; he was one of the most stupendous musical geniuses that, up to now, the world has ever seen. The world did owe him a living. What if he did talk about himself all the time? If he talked about himself for twenty-four hours every day

47、for the span of his life he would not have uttered half the number of words that other men have spoken and written about him since his death.,Detailed reading12,Detailed reading,12 When you consider what he wrote thirteen operas and music dramas, eleven of them still holding the stage, eight of them

48、 unquestionably worth ranking among the worlds great musico-dramatic masterpieces when you listen to what he wrote, the debts and heartaches that people had to endure from him dont seem much of a price.,Detailed reading13.1,Detailed reading,13 What if he was faithless to his friends and to his wives

49、? He had one mistress to whom he was faithful to the day of his death: Music. Not for a single moment did he ever compromise with what he believed, with what he dreamed. There is not a line of his music that could have been conceived by a little mind. Even when he is dull, or downright bad, he is du

50、ll in the grand manner. Listening to his music, one does not forgive him for what he may or may not have been. It is not a matter of forgiveness.,Detailed reading13.2,Detailed reading,It is a matter of being dumb with wonder that his poor brain and body didnt burst under the torment of the demon of

51、creative energy that lived inside him, struggling, clawing, scratching to be released; tearing, shrieking at him to write the music that was in him. The miracle is that what he did in the little space of seventy years could have been done at all, even by a great genius. Is it any wonder he had no ti

52、me to be a man?,Does the mans appearance, described in the first paragraph, give one any impression of “grandeur”? (Paragraph 1),Detailed reading1-Quesion,No. He was a little man with signs of ill health, sick in both body and nerves. This is by no means an appearance that may bring one a sense of g

53、randeur. Then what makes a man with such a poor look have “delusions of grandeur”? The only explanation is that “he is a monster of conceit”.,Detailed reading,What further evidence is provided of the monsters conceit? (Paragraph 2),Detailed reading2-Quesion,To prove his conceit, the second paragraph

54、 describes him as so egocentric that he cared about nothing but himself; he had such a strong sense of self-appreciation that he saw himself not just as the greatest musician, polemist and philosopher, but also as the worlds finest living poet and playwright. And the third paragraph tells that he ne

55、ver expected criticism or allowed disagreement.,Detailed reading,What facts are given to show that he was a versatile man? (Paragraph 4),Detailed reading4-Quesion,He had theories about almost any subject under the sun, including vegetarianism, the drama, politics, and music; and in support of these

56、theories he wrote pamphlets, letters, books . thousands upon thousands of words, hundreds and hundreds of pages.,Detailed reading,How does the writer describe him as an emotional person? (Paragraph 5),Detailed reading5-Quesion,He had a mood as changeable as a six-year-old child. For example, he woul

57、d get mad when something was against his desire, and forget all about it when something pleasant happened. And he would be grieved on one occasion but become merciless on another.,Detailed reading,How was he financially supported? Did he earn himself a good living with his great talents? (Paragraph

58、67 ),Detailed reading6-7Quesion1,He lived on others money. Throughout his life, he found many benefactors, among whom King Ludwig II and Otto Wesendonck were two of the most generous ones. In 1864 King Ludwig II, his greatest benefactor, invited him to settle in Bavaria, near Munich, discharging all

59、 his debts and providing him with money. Another generous patron Otto Wesendonck, whose wife was stolen away by Wagner, supported him economically by buying the publishing rights of his works. However, later it turned out that he had to give up his publishing rights because Wagner had sold them again to others.,Detailed reading,Detailed reading6-7Quesion2,Although these benefactors had provided him with a great sum of money and never got any repayment, Wagner kept living in debt and had a narrow