Showing papers in "Neohelicon in 2000"
TL;DR: In this article, the possibilities and difficulties of comparing metaphor and narrative theories are illustrated with the example of Max Black's theory of metaphor and Mikhail Bakhtin's theories of the dialogical novel.
Abstract: “The same key would not open both, though a 'master key' might” Due to the traditional views on metaphor and narrative, they are usually discussed in different contexts as if they had nothing in common. However, during the last decades the theories of metaphor and narrative underwent a number of changes, and what was taken for granted in traditional literary criticism is no longer evident. In particular, it should be investigated whether metaphor and narrative are wholly unrelated or they have some kind of common structure. In this essay, the possibilities and difficulties of comparing metaphor and narrative theories are illustrated with the example of Max Black's theory of metaphor and Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of the dialogical novel.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that any interpretation or creation, even of the most unique work of art, calls upon generalized reflections beyond the confine of the cover if we want to claim that we have interpreted it or made it emerge at all, even in its singularity.
Abstract: The assumption sustained in this paper is as basic as it is simple: Theory is an integrated dimension of any work of fiction, not an conceptual construct imposed on it from outside. This approach is not primarily concerned with works with an artist as protagonist, loaded with art discussion, exposing metafictional features or thematizing the ontological differences between art and life. The focus is that any interpretation or creation, even of the most unique work of art, calls upon generalized reflections beyond the confine of the cover if we want to claim that we have interpreted it or made it emerge at all, even in its singularity. The quest for generality is embedded, nolens volens, in any work art is its minimal inherent theoretical dimension. With the problem of genre as example, and Henry James and Jean Racine as basic references, the article unfolds in detail the consequences of this aristotelean view point. Résumé Arbejdspapiret tese er enkel og simpel: teori er en integreret del af fiktive værker, ikke en begrebskonstruktion der påtvinges værkerne udefra. Denne indfaldsvinkel fokuserer ikke først og fremmest på værker med en kunstner som hovedperson, med fyldige kunstdiskussioner, med metafiktionelle træk eller med en ontologisk tematik om forholdet mellem liv og kunst. Hovedsagen er at enhver fortolkning eller skabelse, selv af de mest unikke kunstværk, fremkaldes generaliserende begrebsdannelser hinsides omslaget hvis vi vil påstå at have fortolket eller have frembragt værket, selv i dets enestående fremtræden. Kravet om generalitet er, nolens volens, indlejret i ethvert værk som dets minimale iboende teoretiske dimension. Med genreproblemet som eksempel og Henry James og Jean Racine som primære referencer, udfolder artiklen i detaljer konsekvenserne af dette aristoteliske synspunkt. * This paper was presented at the annual meeting in The Theory of Literature Committee of the International Comparative Literature Association in Pecs, Hungary, May 20-23, 1999.
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TL;DR: The situation of literary studies is increasingly cause for concern in the universities of major English-speaking countries as mentioned in this paper, and two books, The Rise and Fall of English and The Employment of English: Theory, Jobs, and the Future of Literary Studies, approach the crisis from different angles and propose reforms which would affect scholarship, teaching and the job-market.
Abstract: The situation of literary studies is increasingly cause for concern in the universities of major English-speaking countries. Robert Scholes, in The Rise and Fall of English: Reconstructing English as a Discipline, and Michael Berube, in The Employment of English: Theory, Jobs, and the Future of Literary Studies, approach the crisis from different angles and propose reforms which would affect scholarship, teaching and the job-market. Scholes's idea of Pacesetter English and Berube's exploration of the ways in which literary education can be put to practical uses reflect the directions in which renewal may be sought. The article discusses these books within the framework of the history of academic English and the current reaction against the dominant tendencies, in theory and criticism, of the past three decades.
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TL;DR: The first humanist Latin epic in Hungary was written by the Transylvanian humanist of Moravian origin, Stephanus Stieroxel (or Taurinus, in his latinized name) under the title Stauromachia id est Cruciatorum Servile Bellum.
Abstract: The first humanist Latin epic in Hungary was written by the Transylvanian humanist of Moravian origin, Stephanus Stieroxel (or Taurinus, in his latinized name). The work appeared in 1519 in Vienna, under the title Stauromachia id est Cruciatorum Servile Bellum. The present study reviews the previous interpretations of the epic, which chose as its subject the 1514 peasants' revolt, led by Gyorgy Dosza. Some of the interpretations state that the author's sympathy is expressed towards the noblemen, who fell victim to the riots; some state the opposite: the author stands on the side of the peasants. According to the author of the present study, neither of these views is well founded. He supports his opinion with genre-analysis, showing that the work is an epic-parody, based on the Homeric Batracomyomachia, translated and made widely known by Reuchlin. On the other hand he shows that the author of the epic, following the Erasmian Riccardo Bartholini, condemns both the arrogance of the aristocracy and the cruelty of the peasants: both classes help to destroy the unity of Christian Europe, opening a way to the Islamic conquerors waiting at the borders. This is the reason why the author of the epic chose Lucan's epic on the Roman civil war as his moral guide in his historic pessimism, and adapted the motives of this work according to his own poetic goals. Imitation of Lucan in such format is unprecedented in the whole European Neo-Latin literature.
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TL;DR: In this article, a consideration of the representation of ortuna, principally in sixteenth century emblem books, suggests that although fortune is presented as a fickle force of destruction, its consequent may be effected in several ways: through avoidance, through prudence, through learning, or through sheer good luck.
Abstract: Given the close iconographic association between the sea and fortune, it is perhaps not surprising that The Merchant of Venice offers a series of intriguing interplays on this theme. These relate to the casket episodes, Antonio's sea-borne argosies, and the repayment of Shylock's loan. Through a consideration of the representation of ortuna, principally in sixteenth century emblem books, the paper suggests that although fortune is presented as a fickle force of destruction, its/her consequent may be effected in several ways: through avoidance, through prudence, through learning, or through sheer good luck. It is argued that Shakepeare's text explores all of these possibilities, drawing vigorously on the ideas that underpin the iconic topoi of his own and previous ages.
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TL;DR: In this paper, a mature collection of poems (which can be read as an organic whole) is a demonstration of this credo, but also a manifestation of his sceptical attitude.
Abstract: In his famous "Statement" in 1955 Philip Larkin said: "I feel that my prime responsibility is to the experience itself." His first mature collection of poems (which can be read as an organic whole) is a demonstration of this credo, but also a manifestation of his sceptical attitude. In most poems of The Less Deceived he made efforts to preserve experience, but also had to admit at least a partial failure. The first and the last poems ("Lines on a Young Lady's Photograph Album" and "At Grass") form a frame: in both texts Larkin realizes that knowing the past of other individuals is impossible for him, therefore his experience is incomplete: it is an experience about not having an experience. Although Larkin was a central figure of the Movement, and as such, denied any kind of literary inspiration, still intertextuality enriched these poems. Some of the poems can be read as responses to other poems ("Lines on a Young Lady's Photograph Album", "Wedding Wind"), and some texts as parodies ("I Remember, I Remember", "Church Going"). In my analyses I distinguish between the real poet, the implied poet and the speaker in the poem. The speakers in most cases cannot be identified with Larkin, but through the masks he wears and the characters he constructs he represents questions about his own life strategies. The whole volume can be read as the work of a conventional poet who still responds to the questions of the postmodern age.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that minimalist narratives reduce text-level agency through narratorial functional disorders (devices that block those functions) and limits them further, even effaces them completely, in figural narratives whose focalizer is an inarticulate character.
Abstract: The essay engages only narratorial strategies that are manifestations of essential features of the minimalist narrative in contemporary American fiction. Minimalism reduces text-level agency through narratorial functional disorders (devices that block those functions) and limits them further, even effaces them completely, in figural narratives whose focalizer is an inarticulate character. The consequential psyche (if the narrator is of this type) and phenomenological presentation together can result in almost complete information blackout in some works by Joy Williams, Jay McInerney, or Bret Easton Ellis.
TL;DR: The case of the Italian author Dino Buzzati, who, parallel to his literary oeuvre best known for its fantastic qualities, spent forty years from 1928 to 1972 as a journalist and columnist for Corriere della sera, practising every conceivable sub-genre of journalism and becoming a sort of 'directeur occulte' of the paper as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: This article takes the case of the Italian author Dino Buzzati who, parallel to his literary oeuvre best known for its fantastic qualities, spent forty years from 1928 to 1972 as a journalist and columnist for Corriere della sera, practising every conceivable sub-genre of journalism and becoming a sort of 'directeur occulte' of the paper. Focusing on Cronache terrestri, the selection of Buzzati's articles published posthumously, my analysis explores the borderline between literature and journalism in Buzzati's work for Corriere, singling out for particular attention the intersection between specific journalistic techniques (in particular his 'leads' and his titles) and his recourse to the 'fantastic' in the treatment of topical themes and contemporary events (including war reportage). Buzzati's 'borderline', I argue, can be posited as an 'in between-area' between literature and journalism, reality and fantasy, where the signature of Buzzati, as correspondent for an authoritative Italian daily, validates the existence of (apparently) 'impossible' worlds, and where his accumulation of reportorial details and enumerations create fictions of (hyper) reality and the conditions necessary to the 'hesitation' that Todorov ascribes to the fantastic mode.
TL;DR: In this article, a non-positivistic concept of empiricity is proposed which relates "empirical" to collective knowledge and to methodologically ordered problem-solving procedures and not to objects or to reality beyond our discourses.
Abstract: In this paper, a non-positivistic concept of 'empiricity' is proposed which relates 'empirical' to collective knowledge and to methodologically ordered problem-solving procedures and not to objects or to reality beyond our discourses Empirical knowledge is deemed objective if and as long as it does not contradict relevant parts of hitherto valid scientific knowledge and scientific procedures Empirical facts (Lat facta) are intentionally and systematically constructed and not found The touch-stone for the objectivity of facts is reproducibility under ceteris paribus conditions Empirical knowledge results from a theoretically controlled procedure of knowledge production which serves the purpose of a cultural homogenisation of scientific communities if and as long as the presuppositions of this production are accepted and the results deemed viable (sensu E von Glasersfeld) and applicable inside or outside the disciplinary discourse
TL;DR: Amadou Kourouma, auteur aux mots rares, mais cinglants vient nous surprendre encore une fois avec son humour a reveiller un mort as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Amadou Kourouma, auteur aux mots rares, mais cinglants vient nous surprendre encore une fois avec son humour a reveiller un mort. Dans En attendant le vote des betes sauvages, on retrouve l'ombre d'un certain Hounphouet Boigny, un Mobutu Sese Seko ou un Bokassa, un Hassan etc. ou encore fraichement enterre un certain generalissime dans le crime, Sanni Abacha et surtout l'ombre on ne peut plus envahissante d'un certain Eyadema, pour ne mentionner qu'un vivant parmi les morts, vestiges d'une dictature qui est loin de disparaitre en Afrique. Le roman aux mille peripeties retrace les aventures mirobolantes d'un assoiffe de pouvoir et de sang de la pire espece dont le regne est fait de terreur et de crimes indescriptibles dans une republique imaginaire du Golfe de Guinee en Afrique Occidentale, la Republique du Golfe. Ce qui retient l'attention, et que cette communication cherche a faire ressortir, c'est le processus de la mise en place de la dictature, ses motifs, ses tetes pensantes et les pratiques qui la soutiennent a l'image des magouilles machiaveliques, repressions et assassinats politiques, le culte de la personnalite, la dilapidation des ressources de l'etat en passant par l'occultisme a des fins politiques. Ce que cet article cherche davantage a mettre en lumiere, c'est la consequence nefaste a la tete de la nation de toute personne en mal de lucidite ou de moralite ou souffrant de quelque complexe que ce soit. A l'ecole de la dictature avec Amadou Kourouma, on decouvre l'entetement jusqu'au boutiste et le nihilisme caracterisant le dictateur, son refus et rejet des institutions et verdicts electoraux (le verdict des etres humains) avec la certitude que si les hommes refusent de le voter au pouvoir, les animaux sortiront de la jungle, se muniront de bulletins de vote et le plebisciteront. On se permettra de faire de temps a autre une projection de la fiction sur le vecu afin de voir si l'ecrivain joue vraiment un role dans la societe contemporaine.
TL;DR: The authors assigne a Mongo Beti le role indiscutable d'un denonciateur du systeme colonial dans ses diverses articulations, mais surtourt dans la marge de responsabilite et la place de choix que la mission catholique a occupee dans ce systeme.
Abstract: La critique a assigne a Mongo Beti le role indiscutable d'un denonciateur du systeme colonial dans ses diverses articulations, mais surtourt dans la marge de responsabilite et la place de choix que la mission catholique a occupee dans ce systeme. Cependant, le postulat d'une collaboration etablie sans difficultes, entre le pouvoir religieux et le pouvoir administratif, ouvre le plus souvent la porte a une critique qui ne se preoccupe que d'un aspect de la question, notamment la mise en scene remarquable par Beti de la religion.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors trace the genesis of key critical formations and theoretical discourses with exemplary works of literature that illustrate, underwrite, or contest the theoretical forms that would be imputed, applied, or affiliated to them.
Abstract: The focus of the seminar is on the relationship of criticism to theory and their connection to literature. The work of the seminar consists in tracing the genesis of key critical formations and theoretical discourses with exemplary works of literature that illustrate, underwrite, or contest the theoretical forms that would be imputed, applied, or affiliated to them. Theories, therefore, are read in concert and/or in counterpoint to the literary texts in which those theoretical constructs purportedly have their genesis, sanction, or instantiation. The chronological scope of the seminar extends from 1800 forward; the seminar touches on the most significant theoretical paradigms during this period. The work of this seminar forms part of the project of the International Comparative Literature Association's Committee on Theory that endeavors to examine and re-connect critical and theoretical discourses to concrete texts of the literary tradition.
TL;DR: In the introduction to Ben Belitt's edition of Federico Garcia Lorca's Poeta en Nueva York, Angel del Rio mentions three sources that he thought could have influenced the poet while he was staying in John Hay Hall at Columbia University and writing some of the poems that would be included in the volume.
Abstract: In the introduction to Ben Belitt's edition of Federico Garcia Lorca's Poeta en Nueva York, Angel del Rio mentions three sources that he thought could have influenced the poet while he was staying in John Hay Hall at Columbia University and writing some of the poems that would be included in the volume. Del Rio writes: "Of the books that he read while in New York there are two which may have some significance as indirect sources: Manhattan Transfer by Dos Passos and All Quiet on the Western Front by Eric Remarque." The third source, he adds, was Eliot's The Waste Land.