Literature as the art of the word and the opening of “Alpomish”
Lessons 1–2 · 2 lessons · Q. Yo‘ldoshev, V. Qodirov, J. Yo‘ldoshbekov. Literature: textbook for Grade 9 of general secondary schools. Revised and expanded 4th edition. “O‘zbekiston” NMIU, Tashkent, 2019
1
A means of spiritual growth: imaginative literature
Textbook: pp. 3–7
GoalExplain how imaginative literature differs from scientific writing, that it is made of words alone, how it divides into kinds, and its role for the national spirit.
New words
imaginative (artistic) literature · badiiy adabiyotfolklore (oral folk art) · folklorlyric, epic, dramatic · lirik, epik, dramatiknational spirit · milliy ruh
Explanation
The word “adabiyot” has two meanings. In the narrow sense it means imaginative literature – works that reflect the world through images and symbols; in the broad sense it covers any written work of value (historical, scientific, encyclopedic and so on). A scientific text raises knowledge and trains thought, while an imaginative work stirs feeling together with thought. A painter works with paint and a sculptor with stone, but literature has one “material” – the word. Its oldest form is oral folk art (folklore), whose author cannot be identified. Imaginative works divide into lyric, epic and dramatic kinds according to whether they were made to be sung, staged or read and whether they express feeling, events or the actions of characters; each kind splits into genres. National literature keeps the spirit of a nation, which is why a nation without literature is forgotten.
Worked examples
Example: a geography book explains sunrise by its causes – that is scientific text. A poet shows dawn through his own mood in a surprising image and makes the reader think – that is the artistic word.
Example: the tale, proverb, riddle and song are folklore genres. Nobody can say who made them up, because they passed from mouth to mouth. A ghazal by Navoiy, by contrast, belongs to written literature with a known author.
Class activity
Divide the class into three groups. Each group finds one lyric, one epic and one dramatic work (for example a poem, a dastan or a play you have read) and explains in one sentence why it belongs to that kind.
Practice
1
What are the narrow and broad meanings of “adabiyot”?
Narrow: imaginative literature; broad: any written work of value.
2
Why does literature differ from other arts in its “material”?
Because it has no touchable material like stone or paint; the work is made only of words.
3
Sort into folklore or written literature: a riddle, a Navoiy ghazal, a proverb, an Oybek novel.
Folklore – riddle and proverb; written literature – the Navoiy ghazal and the Oybek novel.
4
Why does national literature help a nation to survive?
It reflects and keeps the nation’s spirit through living images, and a nation that keeps its spirit does not lose itself.