This article considers the development of Welsh fiction in the 1930s by examining various ideas concerning the nature of realism. Reading the correspondence between Saunders Lewis and Kate Roberts is a means of analysing the ways in which the two authors perceived the essentials of a realist aesthetics. Saunders Lewis’s reaction to the first draft of the novel Traed mewn Cyffion (‘Feet in Chains’) is discussed along with Kate Roberts’s suggestion made while defending the work that ‘pain and monotony’ are relevant in the 1930s and valid literary themes. It is suggested that Kate’s appeal to the work of the Irish novelist Peadar O’Donnell is important in order to understand her aesthetics. The relationship between Traed mewn Cyffion and one of O’Donnell’s novels, Islanders, is then examined.
Jerry Hunter, 'Perthnasedd Poen ac Undonedd: Kate Roberts a Ffuglen y 1930au' (2021)
Documents and links:
Feedback
Don't see what you want? Problem with the files? Do you have a suggestion? Send your feedback to us.
Related Resources
Video Timeline: History of the Welsh Language
A new video resource that brings the history of the Welsh language to life in 4 minutes. From its origins in the Brythonic language and the earliest written versions through the Acts of Union and the Industrial Revolution to the establishment of the Urdd and Welsh-medium schools in the twentieth century, this video goes from the year 40 to 2022, when the language was used for the first time in the biggest sporting stage, the football World Cup. “Today, over half a million speak the language and the Welsh Government wants to have one million Welsh speakers by 2050 so that the Welsh language becomes an integral part of everyday life, in communities, school, at work and in digital technology.” A resource to be used widely with learners of all ages, and specifically for Welsh Second Language A Level Unit 5 (The Welsh Language in Society). Welsh subtitles can be selected on video in YouTube (English subtitles available soon). Funded by Welsh Government.
Trafferth mewn Tafarn 2024
A new video resource that gives a contemporary look at Dafydd ap Gwilym’s famous cywydd, as studied in A Level Welsh Unit 5 (Medieval Prose and Early and Medieval Poetry). The video focus on 4 parts of the text to tell the story, detailing the content in today’s language and focusing on the poet’s style and craft. Script prepared by Dr Eurig Salisbury, lecturer at the Department of Welsh at Aberystwyth University. Welsh subtitles can be selected on video in YouTube. Funded by Welsh Government.
Pūtahitanga Project: Music, Language, and Identity
Pūtahitanga: te reo Māori (in the Māori language) which describes a community coming together to work together on a specific idea, topic or challenge. The word embodies the ethos of the research project that uses it as a title: The Pūtahitanga Project. This is a project that explores popular music, language and identity in the Welsh and Māori contexts. As part of the project, Dr Elen Ifan from Cardiff University received an Innovation Grant from the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to hold workshops in Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Wales with musicians who use Māori and Welsh in their work. This resource shares clips from the workshop in Cardiff and includes activities to involve you in our research as well. It is mainly designed for higher education students, but it is also relevant to anyone interested in Welsh popular music and the worksheet is suitable for AS and A level as well. The project essentially aims to find connections between the experiences of musicians who use two minority languages (Welsh and te reo (the language) Māori), trying to understand the various challenges facing these musical communities , but without directly comparing. The project uses creative research methods and involves audiences in the research. This resource forms part of that work. The video files include a presentation by the lead researcher and clips from a workshop held in Cardiff in November 2023. The worksheet guides the person using the resource through the activities, encourages them to engage with the themes of the project, to think about what is relevant or important to them, and invites creative responses to the research.
Good Practice in Developing Educational Provision and Teaching in a Minoritised Language in Universities: Exam...
The purpose of this booklet is to share good practice in developing educational provision and teaching in a minoritised language in universities. The good practice covered in this booklet come from focus groups held with lecturers and students looking at their experiences of Welsh and Irish medium education at universities in Wales and Ireland. This booklet discusses: good practice in encouraging students to study in a minoritised language developing provision in a minoritised language; teaching in a minoritised language supporting students in a minoritised language assessments in a minoritised language normalising the use of a minoritised language among students. We anticipate that this booklet will be useful not only for lecturers and providers of higher education in these countries, but also for lecturers, higher education providers and providers in other education sectors in other parts of the world who are developing educational provision and teaching in a minoritised language.