Современная литература Великобритании и США. Учебно-методическое пособие

Numerous novels by Naipaul – “The Suffrage of Elvira”, “Miguel Street”, “Home for Mr. Biswas”, “Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion”, “The Mimic Men”, essays – “In a Free State”, “An Area of Darkness”, “The Loss of El Dorado”, “India: a wounded civilization”, – works of other genres, as well as the fact of nomination for major literary awards (in particular, for the Noble and Booker Prizes) is the evidence that a path to the category of classics of British literature is open for writers who aretalented, poignant and authentic about the problems of national minorities.

Роман «Свободное падение» (1959) также написан в форме воспоминаний. В нем писатель поднимается до художествен­ных обобщений, связанных с более конкретной историей и социальной картиной. В процессе допроса пленных в фашист­ском концлагере исследуются вопросы самой природы бытия и сознания, греха и вины, природы души и тела.

here, generations ago, by my ancestor Peisistratus. You won’t have heard of him, you being an Aetolian. But he was chief man of Athens and he decided what version of Homer was the best one, then sent us this copy. Of course you can’t say it’s his handwriting. A clerk probably did it or perhaps as many as ten or twenty clerks, to make what we call an edition. But you see the little note written at the side? That’s what we call a scholiast and I think, indeed I’m very nearly sure, that it was jotted down by Peisistratus’ brother – the one who did all those forgeries of our oracles! He was very naughty, but clever. Here, as you can see, he’s noted a misspelling. Well so much for the Iliad. Now this is your particular favourite, one of the twenty–four books of the Odyssey. There’s a lot of reading for you in that, isn’t there? Then Arctinus – what we call the Little Iliad. Personally I don’t think it’s called that because it’s shorter than Homer’s work but because it’s inferior. You’ll read that too I expect. Euripides. The Ion. You’ve heard of Ion? He wasn’t my ancestor but he filled the same position as I do here. Euripides wrote the play – this roll here, rather tattered, was the prompt copy and he allowed us to keep it. It’s a rather cruel story and I think that perhaps you wouldn’t like it. Sophocles. Aeschylus – oh, any tragedian you care to mention. But we don’t have the originals of them all, you know. King Ptolemy sent round asking for the originals so that he might copy them for his great bookroom in Alexandria. What we got back were not the originals but the copies. That was really, really wicked. You can see how a decent Greek gets corrupted by eastern influences. Of course, Ptolemy – the first one – was only a Macedonian, which isn’t quite – well now what have we here? Ah yes, the Lyrists. Pindar, and I think his master, Simonides, Bacchylides, Erinna – she was a girl like you. Over here though, all on her own, we have – See!’

‘The Tenth Muse, Young Lady. Sappho of Lesbos, the island where the head of Orpheus was washed up on the beach after

the Wild Women tore him to pieces. I think Sappho is going to be a particular friend of yours. Now don’t get the idea you’ll meet her in the flesh. She died hundreds of years ago, but what difference does that make? She was a young lady like you, very emotional, very passionate, I think, though she was happiest with girls as I am happiest with – well, I suppose you can guess. Perseus! Could you spare us a moment?’

‘Well. The pen is, as the notice says, Sappho’s pen. The ring was hers and of course the hair is said to be hers – not very impressive for the Tenth Muse, is it? But then, she was said to be an insignificant little creature – the little brown nightingale of Lesbos, Alcaeus called her. Which of her poems did you wish to see?’

‘I don’t think we’ve time for that, Perseus. Just tell us the story.’

‘Forgive me, Ion, I’m very busy.’

‘Go back to your books about books about books! We’ll be content with the makers. Well, Young Lady. I want you to spend as much time as you like here and believe me you’ll have plenty of time. There’s prose down at that end – Histiaeus, Herodotus, and the fellow who circumnavigated Africa, I forget his name – Alexander’s Admiral of the Fleet. Hundreds of books, positively hundreds. But mostly I want you to read the poetry. Particularly

the hexameters. I want you to be able to speak in hexameters. But, for now, all you have to do is read, read, read!’ He lowered his voice suddenly. ‘Arieka! Come, you watering pot, what’s the matter? You’re free, free, free! Here in this building is man’s greatest gift to you, greatest invention! Without it we might still be scratching bulls’ heads and pots with ears to them on clay brick! The alphabet, my child, and thank god for the Philistines!’

пать к обсуждению романа У. Голдинга, необходимо опереться на такие важные теоретические категории, как «миф» и «не­омифологическое сознание», поскольку история и миф – глав­ные действующие лица и в романе «Двойной язык». Вот как нюансы в эти понятия привносит, к примеру, «Словарь куль­туры» В.П. Руднева: «Миф. Это понятие имеет в обыденном и культурном языке три значения: 1) древнее предание, рассказ;