A condensed summary of Class 12 English Flamingo Chapter 7, “The Interview” (Part I is from Christopher Silvester’s introduction to The Penguin Book of Interviews, which he edited; Part II is an interview with Umberto Eco), for last-minute revision: Part I at a glance, the Eco interview at a glance, linkers vs signallers, key quotes and all definitions in one place. The full notes are available separately for detailed reading.
1 Part I at a Glance: The Interview as a Genre
Age of the formInvented “a little over 130 years ago”; has become “a commonplace of journalism”
Positive caseSome call it, in its highest form, “a source of truth,” and “an art”
Negative caseSome celebrities might despise it as an unwarranted intrusion or feel it diminishes them, compared to the belief that a photographic portrait steals the soul
Named examplesNaipaul, Lewis Carroll, the Kiplings, H. G. Wells and Saul Bellow, on discomfort with being interviewed
The ironyKipling had interviewed Mark Twain; Wells later interviewed Stalin
Closing viewDenis Brian: the interviewer holds “a position of unprecedented power and influence”
2 Part II at a Glance: The Umberto Eco Interview
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Interviewer | Mukund Padmanabhan, The Hindu |
| Opening remark | David Lodge: “I can’t understand how one man can do all the things he [Eco] does” |
| Eco’s reply | He is “always doing the same thing,” across academic work, novels and children’s books |
| Interstices | Small empty spaces in a day, such as waiting for a lift, in which Eco works; his example is writing an article while waiting for a visitor’s lift |
| Writing style | Playful and personal, since his doctoral dissertation told the story of his research |
| Novels began | At the age of 50, “more or less,” by accident; friend Roland Barthes wanted to but died before he could |
| Output | Over 40 scholarly works, five novels; calls himself “a university professor who writes novels on Sundays” |
| The Name of the Rose | 1980; sold 10-15 million copies; US publisher expected 3,000, it sold 2-3 million |
| Success of the novel | Eco’s own verdict: “a mystery. Nobody can predict it” (the medieval setting is “possible” as a reason) |
3 Linkers vs Signallers
3.1 Side by Side
Linker
- Connects a reply back to what came before
- Uses a reference pronoun (that, this, which) or repeats a word
- Example: “novels” → “Talking about novels,”
Signaller
- Warns the listener a new topic is coming
- A set phrase, not a pronoun or repetition
- Example: “But let me tell you another story…”
4 Theme and Sub-Theme
Learn by heartDefinition
Theme: The interview as a communication genre.
Sub-theme: An excerpt from an interview with an author.
“No. Journalists are puzzled. And sometimes publishers. And this is because journalists and publishers believe that people like trash and don’t like difficult reading experiences.”
Umberto Eco, on the mass success of The Name of the Rose
5 Key Facts and Names Worth Memorising
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Part I | From the introduction by Christopher Silvester to The Penguin Book of Interviews, which he edited |
| Interviewee | Umberto Eco, professor at the University of Bologna |
| Eco’s field | Semiotics, glossed by the book as “the study of signs” |
| Writers named in Part I | V. S. Naipaul, Lewis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling, H. G. Wells, Saul Bellow |
| Bellow’s phrase | Interviews are “like thumbprints on his windpipe” |
| Eco’s friend | Roland Barthes, an essayist who wanted to write fiction but died before he could |
| Age Eco began novels | About 50 |
All definitions in one place
SemioticsThe study of signs (book’s own gloss)
IntersticesSmall empty spaces in a day, such as waiting for a lift, in which Eco works
LinkerA word linking the interviewer’s and interviewee’s utterances, via a reference pronoun or repetition
SignallerA phrase preparing the listener for a shift to a new topic
Quick Revision: read this the night before the exam
- Part I: opinions on the interview vary from “a source of truth” to “an unwarranted intrusion”
- Named writers: Naipaul, Carroll, the Kiplings, Wells and Bellow all voice discomfort, but Kipling interviewed Twain and Wells interviewed Stalin
- Denis Brian’s closing view: the interviewer holds “unprecedented power and influence”
- Part II: Mukund Padmanabhan interviews Umberto Eco, who is “always doing the same thing”
- Eco’s “interstices” (elevator example) explain how he writes so much; he began novels only at 50
- The Name of the Rose sold 10-15 million copies; Eco calls its success simply “a mystery”
- Linkers connect back; signallers warn of a topic shift
- Theme: the interview as a communication genre. Sub-theme: an excerpt from an interview with an author
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