小范围文章发明发展讲故事.pdfVIP

AncientStorytelling

A.Itwastold,wesuppose,topeoplecrouchedaroundafire:ataleofadventure,

mostlikely–relatingsomecloseencounterwithdeath;aremarkablehunt,an

escapefrommortaldanger;avision,orsomethingelseoutoftheordinary.

Whateveritsthread,theweavingofthisstorywasdonewithaprimepurpose.

Thelistenersmustbekeptlistening.Theymustnotfallasleep.So,asthestory

wenton,itsaudienceshouldbesustainedbyonequestionaboveall.What

happensnext?

B.Thefirstfiresidestoriesinhumanhistorycanneverbeknown.Theywerekept

intheheadsofthosewhotoldthem.Thismethodofstorageisnotnecessarily

inefficient.FromdocumentedoraltraditionsinAustralia,theBalkansand

otherpartsoftheworldweknowthatspecializedstorytellersandpoetscan

recitefrommemoryliterallythousandsoflines,inverseorprose,verbatim–

wordforword.Butwhilememoryisrightlyconsideredanartinitself,itis

clearthataprimarypurposeofmakingsymbolsistohaveasystemof

remindersormnemoniccues–signsthatassistustorecallcertain

informationinthemind’seye.

C.InsomePolynesiancommunitiesanotchedmemorystickmayhelptoguidea

storytellerthroughsuccessivestagesofrecitation.Butinotherpartsofthe

world,theactivityofstorytellinghistoricallyresultedinthedevelopmentor

eventheinventionofwritingsystems.Onetheoryaboutthearrivalofliteracy

inancientGreece,forexample,arguesthattheepictalesabouttheTrojan

WarandthewanderingsofOdysseus–traditionallyattributedtoHomer–

werejustsoenchantingtohearthattheyhadtobep.SotheGreeks,

c.750-700BC,borrowedanalphabetfromtheirneighborsintheeastern

Mediterrane