E. M. Forster: the Novels (Analysing Texts)

235 Pages·2002·0.8 MB·English

by  Mike Edwards

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Cover
Literature; Language
Novels
title: E.M. Forster : The Novels Analysing Texts (Palgrave (Firm))
author: Edwards, Mike.
publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (UK)
isbn10 | asin: 0333922530
print isbn13: 9780333922538
ebook isbn13: 9781403907233
language: English
subject Forster, E. M.--1879-1970--(Edward Morgan),--Criticism and
interpretation, Forster, E. M.--1879-1970--(Edward Morgan),--
Critique et interprâetation.
publication date: 2002
lcc: PR6011.O58Z6538 2002eb
ddc: 823/.912
subject: Forster, E. M.--1879-1970--(Edward Morgan),--Criticism and
interpretation, Forster, E. M.--1879-1970--(Edward Morgan),--
Critique et interprâetation.
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Page i
E. M. Forster:
The Novels
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Page ii
ANALYSING TEXTS
General Editor: Nicholas Marsh
Published
Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales Gail Ashton
Webster: The Tragedies Kate Aughterson
Shakespeare: The Comedies R. P. Draper
Charlotte Brontë: The Novels Mike Edwards
E. M. Forster: The Novels Mike Edwards
Shakespeare: The Tragedies Nicholas Marsh
Jane Austen: The Novels Nicholas Marsh
William Blake: The Poems Nicholas Marsh
Emily Brontë: Wuthering Heights Nicholas Marsh
D. H. Lawrence: The Novels Nicholas Marsh
Virginia Woolf: The Novels Nicholas Marsh
John Donne: The Poems Joe Nutt
Thomas Hardy: The Novels Norman Page
Marlowe: The Plays Stevie Simkin
Analysing Texts
Series Standing Order ISBN 0–333–73260–X
(outside North America only)
You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order.
Please contact your bookseller or, in the case of difficulty, write to us at the address below
with your name and address, the title of the series and the ISBN quoted above.
Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England
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Page iii
E. M. Forster:
The Novels
MIKE EDWARDS
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Page iv
© Mike Edwards 2002
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or
transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the
provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the
terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright
Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP.
Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for
damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2002 by
PALGRAVE
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010
Companies and representatives throughout the world
PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin's Press
LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd
(formerly Macmillan Press Ltd).
ISBN 0–333–92253–0 hardback
ISBN 0–333–92254–9 paperback
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully
managed and sustained forest sources.
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Edwards, Mike, 1942–
E. M. Forster: the novels / Mike Edwards.
p. cm. — (Analysing texts)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–333–92253–0 — ISBN 0–333–92254–9 (pbk.)
1. Forster, E. M. (Edward Morgan), 1879–1970—Criticism and
interpretation. I. Title. II. Series.
PR6011.O58 Z6538 2001
823'.912 — dc21
2001027367
Printed in Hong Kong
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Page v
Contents
General Editor's Preface viii How to Use This Book ix Acknowledgements xii Part 1: Analysing E. M. Forster's Novels 1
First Impressions 3 The Longest Journey, Chapter 1: Rickie and
his friends at Cambridge 4 A Room with a View, Chapter One: Dinner at
the Bertolini 12 Howards End, I: Helen's letter 18 A Passage to India, I: The description of
Chandrapore 24 Conclusions 29 Methods of Analysis 33 Further Work 34 2 Locations 36 The Longest Journey,
Chapter 17: Rickie at Sawston 37 A Room with a View, Chapter Two: Lucy in
Santa Croce 42 Howards End, VI: Leonard Bast's flat 49 A Passage to India, XII: The description of the caves 56
Conclusions 62 Methods of Analysis 64 Further Work 65
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Page vi
3 Characters 67 The Longest Journey, Chapter 21: Rickie's hopes
of fatherhood 68 A Room with a View, Chapter Eight: The portrait
of Cecil Vyse 74 Howards End, V: Leonard and Margaret at
the concert 80 A Passage to India, VII: Ronny interrupts the
gathering at Fielding's 85 Conclusions 92 Methods of Analysis 95 Further Work 96 4 Encounters 97 The Longest
Journey, Chapter 14:
Rickie and Agnes ignore Stephen 98 A Room with a View, Chapter Four: The
murder in the Piazza Signoria 104 Howards End, XLI: The death of Leonard Bast 110 A Passage to India, XXXVI: The
collision of
the boats 114 Conclusions 118 Methods of Analysis 121 Further Work 122 5 Relationships 124 The Longest Journey,
Chapter 33: Agnes and
Herbert discuss Rickie 125 A Room with a View, Chapter Nine: Cecil
kisses Lucy 132 Howards End, XXII: Margaret's relationship
with Henry 137 A Passage to India, XXXVI: The conversation
between Aziz and Ralph 142 Conclusions 147 Methods of Analysis 150 Further Work 150
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Page vii
6 Conclusions 152 The Longest Journey, Chapter 35:
Stephen and his daughter on the Downs 153 A Room with a View, Chapter Twenty:
Lucy and George in Florence 158 Howards End, XLIV: Harvest time at Howards End 163 A Passage to India, XXXVII:
The last ride of Aziz and Fielding 167 Conclusions 171 Methods of Analysis 175 Further Work 175 Part 2: The
Context and the Critics 7 E. M. Forster's Life and Work 179 8 The Context of E. M. Forster's Work 185 9 Some
Critical Approaches 196 Malcolm Bradbury 197 James Buzard 201 Richard Dellamora 204 Nicholas Royle 206 Further
Reading 211 List of Passages Discussed 214 Index 219
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Page viii
General Editor's Preface
This series is dedicated to one clear belief: that we can all enjoy, understand and analyse literature for ourselves,
provided we know how to do it. How can we build on close understanding of a short passage, and develop our
insight into the whole work? What features do we expect to find in a text? Why do we study style in so much detail?
In demystifying the study of literature, these are only some of the questions the Analysing Texts series addresses
and answers.
The books in this series will not do all the work for you, but will provide you with the tools, and show you how to
use them. Here, you will find samples of close, detailed analysis, with an explanation of the analytical techniques
utilised. At the end of each chapter there are useful suggestions for further work you can do to practise, develop
and hone the skills demonstrated and build confidence in your own analytical ability.
An author's individuality shows in the way they write: every work they produce bears the hallmark of that writer's
personal ‘style’. In the main part of each book we concentrate therefore on analysing the particular flavour and
concerns of one author's work, and explain the features of their writing in connection with major themes. In Part 2
there are chapters about the author's life and work, assessing their contribution to developments in literature; and a
sample of critics' views are summarised and discussed in comparison with each other. Some suggestions for further
reading provide a bridge towards further critical research.
Analysing Texts is designed to stimulate and encourage your critical and analytic faculty, to develop your personal
insight into the author's work and individual style, and to provide you with the skills and techniques to enjoy at first
hand the excitement of discovering the richness of the text.
Nicholas Marsh
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Page ix
How to Use This Book
This book is designed to be used in close conjunction with the novels it discusses. Each chapter is based on detailed
analysis of passages from four novels. The aim is to show how understanding of the writer's ideas and skill emerges
from close study of selected passages. The approach and techniques used are clearly demonstrated so as to help
you to embark confidently on independent study of other parts of the novels. You can use similar approaches to
work on other writers too.
You will gain most benefit from this book if you have done some preliminary work of your own. Of course, you
should have read the novels under discussion, and preferably more than once. If you are studying Forster for
examination purposes you certainly should make yourself thoroughly familiar with them. It will be useful, too, to
reread each passage discussed and check on its context. You will need to have the relevant passage ready to hand
as you read, so that you can refer back and forth easily between the analysis and the text.
There is much you can do beyond that. Study each passage in detail, first as a self-contained piece, then in the
context of the novel. Think about its structure, the language used, the balance of description, narrative and
dialogue, and the links between these. You will probably find it useful to make a few informal notes. In this way you
can develop a feel for the atmosphere, mood and tone of the passage, and about the treatment of character and
theme. You will also gain insight into the author's ideas and the techniques he uses.
No doubt you have a method of study of your own that you have regularly used. By all means apply it to the
passages discussed here. But remember that no programme of study is to be followed slavishly. Use all the means
available to suggest approaches that may have slipped your attention, but keep an open mind and be ready to follow
where your own imagination leads. Many things come to mind when you study novels. Don't be too ready to dismiss
stray thoughts as trivial or foolish. Pursue them and work out their implications. Even
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