APHRA BEHN OROONOKO Shreya Shirodkar Victoria Tang Akshitha

APHRA BEHN OROONOKO Shreya Shirodkar Victoria Tang Akshitha Ajayan Raziq Mohideen Roland Fong

The Life and Times of Aphra Behn • Details of biography uncertain • Mysterious early life Birth date traditionally 1640 • Real name unknown (Amis, Wye, Cooper, Johnson? ) • • Traveled to Suriname (South America) • Married to Dutch merchant who soon died in 1665 • Briefly served in Holland as spy under English Crown Could not manage financially • Thrown into debtor's prison •

The Life and Times of Aphra Behn • Turned to writing (first woman to do so) Known for her wit • Made friends with John Dryden • Faced some backlash from literary community for being female • • Died April 16 th, 1689 Suffered from rheumatoid arthritis in later years • Buried at Westminster Abbey •

Works of Aphra Behn • Versatile and prolific writer • • More classical than metaphysical Many plays, including: 1670 - The Forc'd Marriage • 1671 - The Amorous Prince • 1673 - The Dutch Lover • • Short stories, poems • Novels Oroonoko, or the History of the Royal Slave published 1688 • The first English novel? •

Critical Opinion • Major playwright and figure in Restoration theatre • Literary role model for women Pioneered use of female voices • Role in development of the modern novel • • Often controversial Themes of desire, sexuality, homosexuality • Claimed she would not be criticized if she were male • • Virginia Woolf: • "All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds. "

Oroonoko - Summary • Oroonoko, grandson of African King, separated from his love Imoinda • • Both sold into slavery separately, but reunite in Surinam Life as a slave Treated well by plantation caretaker • Incites slave rebellion • Asked to surrender through promise of freedom • Not freed -> tortured • • Death Kills Imoinda to give her "honorable death" • Hacked into pieces •

Oroonoko - Significance • Considered Behn's most popular work • Role in development of literary structure More personal narrative style • First English novel? • • The "first abolitionist novel" • • Important in changing English opinion on slave trade Other firsts Recognizably female narrator • Plot in the New World •

EXCERPT READING From Oroonoko

Literary Term - Characterization Use of literary techniques to create a character • Critics of Aphra Behn question the roundness of her characters and their inconsistencies • Narrator technique was not developed at the time • Three techniques: • Direct Description - narrator or other character describes • Oroonoko a slave described as having European features • Representation of Internal States - reveal private thoughts and emotions • Female narrator explains that she is an influential person in the town (implying that she too approves of slavery) but she also speaks highly of Oroonoko • Portrayal of Behavior - actions or speech allow reader to draw conclusions • Yet she remains powerless to save him even though she claims she has the power to •

Activity Time! • Create a character! • Use only visual descriptions/drawings • Swap characters with someone else in class • Write a brief excerpt of a story with your new character. Include: Direct Descriptions • Portrayal of Behavior • Representations of Internal States • • Trade back papers and read each other's stories!

Bibliography • "Aphra Behn: The First Lady of English Literature. " University of Arkansas, Library Resources. University of Arkansas, n. d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http: //www. uark. edu/campus-resources/lbrothe/shoup 1. html>. • " Credibility and Realism in Defoe and Behn. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015. • Jokinen, Anniina. "The Life of Aphra Behn (1640 -1689). " Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. Poetry Magazine, 2006. Web. Mar. 2015. <http: //www. luminarium. org/eightlit/behnbio. htm>. • Partnow, Elaine T. "Behn, Aphra. " The Female Dramatist: Profiles of Women Playwrights from the Middle Ages to Contemporary Times. New York: Facts On File, Inc. , 1998. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 11 Mar. 2015 <http: //www. fofweb. com/activelink 2. asp? Item. ID=WE 54&WID=17319&SID=5&i. Pin=fdram 0014&Single. Rec ord=True>. • Stiebel, Arlene. "Biography of Aphra Behn. " Poetry Foundation. Poetry Magazine, n. d. Web. Mar. 2015. <http: //www. poetryfoundation. org/bio/aphra-behn>. • "The Aphra Behn Page. " The Aphra Behn Page. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Mar. 2015