Home Unlabelled TNTRB ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGLISH UNIT IV NOTES

TNTRB ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ENGLISH UNIT IV NOTES

06:03

 

UNIT 4 — NEW LITERATURES

⭐ PART 1 — NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE (Complete Notes)

1. Introduction to New Zealand Literature

New Zealand Literature, often grouped under “New Literatures in English,” refers to the body of writing produced by:

  • Pākehā writers (European settlers)
  • Māori writers (Indigenous people of New Zealand)
  • Pasifika writers (Pacific island origin)

It is one of the richest postcolonial literatures, deeply influenced by:

  • Colonial settlement (19th century)
  • Māori cultural revival
  • Migration, identity, land & environment
  • Postcolonial consciousness

Its evolution can be divided into:

  1. Colonial & Pioneer Writing (1840–1900)
  2. Nationalist Movement & Cultural Formation (1900–1950)
  3. Modernism & Social Realism (1950–1970)
  4. Māori Renaissance (1970–present)
  5. Contemporary Multicultural New Zealand Writing

⭐ 2. Key Themes in New Zealand Literature

  1. Identity Crisis (Pākehā vs Māori identity)
  2. Land, landscape, and environment
  3. Migration, diaspora, displacement
  4. Colonial guilt, cultural conflict
  5. Māori mythology, oral tradition, spirituality
  6. Race, gender, and class
  7. Struggle for national literature distinct from British writing

⭐ 3. Important New Zealand Writers & Works

A. Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) — THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURE

  • Master of the modernist short story
  • Contemporary of Virginia Woolf
  • Introduced psychological realism into NZ writing

Famous Works:

  • “The Garden Party”
  • “Bliss”
  • “Prelude”
  • “The Doll’s House”
  • “Miss Brill”
  • “At the Bay”

Features:

  • Stream of consciousness
  • Psychological depth
  • Subtle irony
  • Symbolism
  • Exploration of class, isolation, and femininity

Exam Tip:
Katherine Mansfield is to New Zealand what Joyce is to Ireland.

B. Allen Curnow — Architect of NZ National Poetry

  • Poet, critic, editor
  • Helped define NZ identity in literature

Key Themes:

  • Unease of colonial settlers
  • Separation from Britain
  • NZ landscape as harsh, alien

Famous Works:

  • Not in Narrow Seas
  • Continuum
  • Spectacular Blossom

C. Janet Frame — Novelist of Trauma, Identity & Mental Illness

Her life story is legendary—misdiagnosed mentally ill for 8 years.

Major Works:

  • Owls Do Cry
  • Faces in the Water
  • Living in the Maniototo

Themes:

  • Psychological depth
  • Social alienation
  • Modernist narrative

D. Frank Sargeson — Father of NZ Prose

  • Introduced colloquial NZ English in fiction
  • Focus on working-class life

Major Work:

  • A Man and His Wife
  • That Summer

E. Hone Tuwhare — Leading Māori Poet

Themes:

  • Indigenous identity
  • Land rights
  • Political consciousness

Major Work:

  • No Ordinary Sun

F. Witi Ihimaera — First Māori Novelist

Most Famous Work:

  • The Whale Rider (Adapted into an award-winning film)

Themes:

  • Māori oral tradition
  • Impact of colonialism
  • Rituals, myths, and spirituality

G. Patricia Grace — Prominent Māori Woman Writer

Major Works:

  • Potiki
  • Cousins

Themes:

  • Māori family
  • Community
  • Language preservation

H. Keri Hulme — Booker Prize Winner (1985)

Novel:

  • The Bone People (Booker Prize 1985)

Themes:

  • Identity
  • Race
  • Trauma
  • Intercultural relationships

⭐ 4. Māori Literature: Features & Importance

Māori literature is rooted in:

  • Whakapapa (genealogy)
  • Whenua (land)
  • Whakataukī (proverbs)
  • Waiata (songs)
  • Mythology — Maui, Kupe, Taniwha
  • Spirituality

Rise of Māori Renaissance (1970s–present):

  • Assertion of indigenous identity
  • Land-movement activism
  • Revival of Māori language (Te Reo Māori)
  • Major writers: Ihimaera, Grace, Tuwhare, Hulme

⭐ 5. New Zealand Drama

Important playwrights:

Renée (Renée Taylor)

  • Feminist drama
  • Working-class struggles

Bruce Mason

  • The End of the Golden Weather

Roger Hall

  • Social comedies
  • Most popular playwright in NZ

⭐ 6. New Zealand Poetry: Major Names

  • Allen Curnow
  • James K. Baxter
  • Hone Tuwhare
  • Fleur Adcock
  • Lauris Edmond
  • Denis Glover

Themes:

  • Landscape
  • Spirituality
  • National identity
  • Indigenous rights

⭐ 7. Literary Movements in New Zealand Literature

  1. Colonial/Pioneer Writing
  2. Cultural Nationalism (1930s–50s)
  3. Modernism (1950s–70s)
  4. Māori Renaissance (1970s–present)
  5. Contemporary Postmodern & Multicultural Writing

⭐ 8. New Zealand Literature — Quick Exam Pointers

  • Katherine Mansfield → most important short-story writer
  • Keri Hulme’s The Bone People → won Booker Prize
  • Witi Ihimaera → first Māori novelist
  • Allen Curnow → central to NZ poetic identity
  • The Whale Rider → key Māori cultural text
  • Janet Frame → psychological novelist, trauma themes
  • Māori Renaissance → 1970s

UNIT 4 — PART 2: AFRICAN LITERATURE

1. Introduction to African Literature

African Literature refers to the body of literary works written by:

  • African authors from West, East, Central, North, and South Africa
  • Written in English, French, Portuguese, or African languages (Igbo, Yoruba, Swahili, Zulu, etc.)
  • Covers both pre-colonial, colonial, and postcolonial experiences.

Major historical phases:

  1. Pre-colonial oral tradition
  2. Colonial encounter
  3. Anti-colonial resistance
  4. Post-independence disillusionment
  5. Modern African feminism, trauma, and identity

⭐ 2. Features of African Literature

A. Oral Tradition

Before written literature, Africa had rich oral forms:

  • Folktales
  • Myths
  • Proverbs
  • Riddles
  • Praise poetry
  • Griot storytelling (West Africa)

Themes include:

  • Community values
  • Moral instruction
  • Heroic ancestors
  • Trickster characters (Anansi, Hare)

B. Colonialism & Cultural Clash

Key topics:

  • European domination
  • Loss of land and identity
  • Imposition of European education
  • Missionary influences
  • Racial violence

C. Nationalism & Resistance

African literature often shows:

  • Pride in local culture
  • Revolt against European authority
  • Cultural revival

D. Post-Independence Disillusionment

Themes include:

  • Corruption
  • Failed leadership
  • Civil war
  • Tribal conflict

E. African Feminism

Explores:

  • Patriarchy
  • Polygamy
  • Domestic violence
  • Women’s education
  • Female bodily autonomy

F. Race & Apartheid (South Africa)

Central writers engage with apartheid:

  • Nadine Gordimer
  • J.M. Coetzee
  • Athol Fugard
  • Dennis Brutus

⭐ 3. Major Writers of African Literature

A. CHINUA ACHEBE (Nigeria)

Father of modern African literature.

Famous Works:

  • Things Fall Apart (1958)
  • Arrow of God
  • No Longer at Ease
  • Anthills of the Savannah
  • An Image of Africa (criticism of Conrad)

Themes:

  • Igbo culture
  • Colonial violence
  • Cultural breakdown
  • Tragic heroism of Okonkwo

Why important?
He corrected the racist portrayal of Africa in European literature (like Conrad).

B. WOLE SOYINKA (Nigeria)

First African Nobel Prize Winner (1986)

Genres: Drama, poetry, essay, autobiography

Major Works:

  • Death and the King’s Horseman
  • The Lion and the Jewel
  • Kongi’s Harvest
  • A Dance of the Forests

Themes:

  • Yoruba mythology
  • Colonial injustice
  • Postcolonial corruption

C. NGUGI WA THIONG’O (Kenya)

Revolutionary writer, activist.

Important Works:

  • A Grain of Wheat
  • Petals of Blood
  • The River Between
  • Devil on the Cross
  • Decolonising the Mind (theory)

Key Points:

  • Advocated for African languages
  • Imprisoned for political activism
  • Critic of neocolonialism

D. NADINE GORDIMER (South Africa)

Nobel Prize 1991
Wrote against apartheid.

Works:

  • July’s People
  • Burger’s Daughter
  • The Conservationist

E. J.M. COETZEE (South Africa)

Nobel Prize 2003

Major Novels:

  • Disgrace
  • Waiting for the Barbarians
  • Life & Times of Michael K
  • Age of Iron

Themes:

  • Violence
  • Race
  • Ethical dilemmas
  • Abuse of power

F. ATHOL FUGARD (South Africa — Drama)

Anti-apartheid playwright.

Plays:

  • Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
  • Master Harold… and the Boys
  • The Island

G. AMA ATA AIDOO (Ghana)

Important feminist voice.

Works:

  • Changes
  • Anowa

Themes:

  • Gender power struggle
  • African womanhood

H. CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE (Nigeria)

Contemporary global icon.

Famous Works:

  • Half of a Yellow Sun
  • Purple Hibiscus
  • The Thing Around Your Neck
  • Americanah

Themes:

  • Biafra war
  • Diaspora identity
  • Feminism

⭐ 4. African Literary Movements

  1. Negritude Movement
    • Aime Cesaire, Leopold Senghor
    • Celebration of black identity & African heritage
  2. Postcolonial African Literature
    • Achebe, Ngugi, Soyinka
    • Critique of colonialism
  3. Apartheid Literature
    • Coetzee, Gordimer, Brutus
  4. Afrofuturism (Recent)
    • Nnedi Okorafor
    • Blends African mythology with science fiction

⭐ 5. Key Themes in African Literature

  • Colonial trauma
  • Corruption & tyranny
  • Tribal conflict
  • Role of women
  • Tradition vs modernity
  • Land and identity
  • Power, oppression, and resistance
  • Civil war, genocide, crisis

⭐ 6. African Oral Literature Characteristics

  • Repetition
  • Call and response
  • Proverbs
  • Rhythm & performance
  • Communal storytelling
  • Trickster tales (Anansi, Tortoise)

⭐ 7. African Poetry

Important poets:

  • Leopold Senghor
  • Dennis Brutus
  • Christopher Okigbo
  • Niyi Osundare
  • Wole Soyinka

Themes:

  • Liberation
  • Race
  • Identity
  • Hope and pain

⭐ 8. African Fiction — Important Novels

  • Things Fall Apart – Achebe
  • Disgrace – Coetzee
  • Half of a Yellow Sun – Adichie
  • Season of Migration to the North – Tayeb Salih
  • Nervous Conditions – Tsitsi Dangarembga
  • A Grain of Wheat – Ngugi

⭐ 9. Quick Exam Pointers (Very Important)

  • Achebe = Father of African Literature
  • Things Fall Apart = most important African novel
  • Soyinka = First African Nobel Prize
  • Ngugi = Decolonising the Mind
  • Gordimer & Coetzee = Anti-apartheid Nobel Prize winners
  • Adichie = contemporary feminist voice
  • Negritude = Senghor, Cesaire
  • African literature = strong oral tradition

UNIT 4 — PART 3: CARIBBEAN LITERATURE

1. Introduction to Caribbean Literature

Caribbean Literature refers to writing from:

  • Jamaica
  • Trinidad & Tobago
  • Barbados
  • St. Lucia
  • Haiti
  • Guyana
  • Antigua
  • Dominican Republic
  • Caribbean diaspora (UK, USA, Canada)

It is marked by:

  • Slavery
  • Colonialism
  • Plantation economy
  • Multiracial identity
  • Creole languages
  • Migration and exile
  • Cultural hybridity

Major influences:

  • African oral traditions
  • European colonization (British, French, Spanish)
  • Indian and Chinese migration (indentured labour)
  • Indigenous peoples (Arawak, Carib)

⭐ 2. Major Themes in Caribbean Literature

  1. Slavery & Historical Trauma
  2. Colonial Oppression
  3. Neo-colonial exploitation
  4. Race & Identity (Creolization)
  5. Hybridity & mimicry
  6. Migration (diaspora)
  7. Language (Creole vs English)
  8. Carnival & cultural performance
  9. Resistance & nationalism

⭐ 3. Key Caribbean Writers and Their Works

A. Derek Walcott (Saint Lucia)

Nobel Prize 1992
The most important Caribbean poet.

Major Works:

  • Omeros (epic poem based on Homer)
  • The Sea is History
  • A Far Cry from Africa
  • Dream on Monkey Mountain (drama)

Themes:

  • Colonial legacy
  • Mixed identity (African + European)
  • Landscape of the Caribbean
  • Rewriting classical epics into Caribbean context

B. V.S. Naipaul (Trinidad)

Nobel Prize 2001
Complex, controversial figure.

Major Works:

  • A House for Mr. Biswas
  • Miguel Street
  • The Mystic Masseur
  • A Bend in the River

Themes:

  • Postcolonial identity
  • Indian diaspora in the Caribbean
  • Alienation

C. Jean Rhys (Dominica)

Most Famous Work:

  • Wide Sargasso Sea (prequel to Jane Eyre)

Themes:

  • Colonialism
  • Madness
  • Silencing of women
  • Creole identity

This novel reinvents Bertha Mason’s story from a Caribbean perspective.

D. Kamau Brathwaite (Barbados)

Father of “Creole linguistic nationalism.”

Works:

  • The Arrivants trilogy
  • Rights of Passage
  • Masks
  • Islands

Themes:

  • Middle Passage
  • African heritage
  • Creolization

E. Jamaica Kincaid (Antigua & USA)

Powerful feminist and postcolonial writer.

Major Works:

  • A Small Place
  • Annie John
  • Lucy

Themes:

  • Mother–daughter conflict
  • Tourism & exploitation
  • Anger at colonial education

F. Edwidge Danticat (Haiti)

Known for immigrant narratives.

Works:

  • Breath, Eyes, Memory
  • The Dew Breaker
  • Krik? Krak!

Themes:

  • Trauma
  • Haitian political violence
  • Emigration

⭐ 4. Important Concepts in Caribbean Literature

A. Creolization

Mixing of cultures—African, European, Indigenous, Indian, Chinese.

B. Plantation Economy

Sugar, slavery, monoculture developed under Europeans.

C. The Middle Passage

Journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic.

D. Hybridity (Homi Bhabha)

Identity formed by mixing cultures.

E. Mimicry

Caribbean subjects copying colonizers’ language/culture.

F. Carnival Culture

Music, dance, masquerade symbolizing resistance and freedom.

⭐ 5. Caribbean Poetry — Key Poets

  • Derek Walcott
  • Kamau Brathwaite
  • Louise Bennett
  • Edward Kamau Brathwaite
  • Lorna Goodison
  • Grace Nichols

Themes:

  • Landscape
  • Slavery
  • African heritage
  • Language
  • Politics

⭐ 6. Caribbean Novel — Major Works

  • A House for Mr. Biswas — Naipaul
  • Wide Sargasso Sea — Jean Rhys
  • Omeros — Walcott
  • The Lonely Londoners — Sam Selvon
  • Annie John — Jamaica Kincaid
  • Season of Adventure — George Lamming

⭐ 7. Caribbean Drama

Most famous playwright:

Derek Walcott

  • Dream on Monkey Mountain
  • Ti-Jean and His Brothers

⭐ 8. Quick  Exam Pointers

  • Walcott & Naipaul — Nobel Prize winners
  • Wide Sargasso Sea — reimagines Jane Eyre
  • A House for Mr. Biswas — Indian diasporic novel
  • Creolization = cultural mixing
  • Brathwaite = father of Creole poetics
  • Kincaid = anti-colonial feminist voice
  • Caribbean literature = slavery, identity, diaspora
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