‘Decoding’ a literary text. The commentary of Derveni

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-366
Author(s):  
Alberto Bernabé
Keyword(s):  
Literary Text ◽  
True Meaning ◽  
The Way

Abstract The author of Derveni Papyrus consider that the poem he commentates is like a riddle used by Orpheus to make it understandable to only a few. In our terms, he considers the poem an encoded text that he needs to decode in order to recover its true meaning. So he had to imagine a code in the text that once ‘decoded’ would yield the ‘true’ meaning that he wants to attribute to it. In the paper the way in which the commentator constructs the hypothetical process undertaken by Orpheus to express philosophical (presocratic) contents through a poetic mask is analyzed.

scholarly journals The reality of fiction in a literary world: on an excerpt from Stanisław Lem’s Solaris

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
Y. Domanskii
Keyword(s):  
Physical Reality ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Fictional World ◽  
Actual Reality ◽  
The World ◽  
The Way

Using an excerpt from Stanisław Lem’s Solaris, this article explores the idea that, in a literary text, a fictional world and the world of physical reality may interact to form such a reality that can paradoxically turn out to be more real than what we believe to be the actual reality. It is also shown that the fictional world realized in a literary text may bring the reader to certain conclusions about the world in which he or she lives. Thus, even if literature is in­capable of affecting reality, it can change the way the latter is perceived. A fictional world is not just a reality — it is a reality of a higher order.

The Literary Artwork between Word and Concept

2019 ◽  
pp. 115-130
Author(s):  
Gerhard Richter
Keyword(s):  
Literary Text ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
Philosophical Interpretation ◽  
Figurative Speech ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Speculative Thought ◽  
Recent Interpretation ◽  
The Way

This chapter investigates another set of problems with which the uncoercive gaze must contend when it fastens upon a work: the relationship of speculative thought to the work of art and the ways in which the chasm between literal and figurative speech bears upon that relationship. One of the themes that a reading of Kafka’s The Trial should emphasize is the way in which a literary text both calls for philosophical interpretation and resists such interpretation at the same time. One problem that arises out of this constellation concerns the question of the relationship between the literal and the figurative nature of a text’s rhetorical operations. If Kafka’s novel, by causing the relation between the literal and the figural to enter a space of indeterminacy, enacts a situation in which, as Adorno characterizes it, “a sickness means everything [eine Krankheit alles Bedeuten],” no reading of Kafka—at least no reading informed by the sensibilities of the uncoercive gaze—can afford to ignore the precise conceptual terms of this sickness. Finally, to cast Adorno’s reflections on Kafka into sharper relief, the chapter also considers them in relation to Giorgio Agamben’s recent interpretation of The Trial as Kafka’s commentary on the imbrication of law and slander.

Heptapod B and the Paradox of Foreknowledge: Confronting Literature and its Filmic Adaptation

2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-100
Author(s):  
Israel A. C. Noletto ◽  
Sebastião A. T. Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Artificial Language ◽  
Adaptation Process ◽  
Terrestrial Origin ◽  
Philosophical Criticism ◽  
Narrative Framework ◽  
The Way

Abstract Ted Chiang’s Story of Your Life (1998) and its filmic adaptation Arrival (2016) both use Heptapod B, an artificial language from extra-terrestrial origin, capable of conferring on its speakers the ability of precognition, as a primordial narrative framework. Innovative as it is, it not only determines the way the stories are recounted, but also raises some very interesting philosophical issues. Focusing on that fantastical language, we promote a comparative analysis of the differing perspectives of the novella writer and the filmmakers regarding the free will and determinism dichotomy in connection with foreknowledge, and how these distinct views may have been influenced by the adaptation process. With the aim of providing a solid basis for such discussion, we collect and review the contributions of Linda Hutcheon, Brian McFarlane, George Bluestone, Linda Gualda as well as of others in relation to the plot developments in the literary text and its filmic adaptation. As a result, we point out what is prioritized or transformed in the adaptation process, thus offering a theoretical and philosophical criticism on the two stories and a comprehensive exegesis of the texts.

scholarly journals The symbolization of sites of memory in Naquela Noite, a short story by the guinean writer Odete Semedo

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Wellington Marçal Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
Resistance Mechanisms ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Guinea Bissau ◽  
The Way

The present work approaches the way Odete Semedo, in her literary text and specifically in the short story Naquela Noite, uses strategies which can be considered as a possible symbolization of “sites of memory”. Such strategies reinforce resistance mechanisms and indicate ways of survival to go through difficult periods in the troubled space of Guinea-Bissau.  The discussion that is now underway intends to endorse part of the thought of Amílcar Cabral, the most expressive revolutionary leader on the Guinean ground, in which the greater meaning of his people’s struggle for independence is clarified. Cabral’s lucid perception seems to be the same that can be seen in the work carried out by Semedo when he enacts, in his literary project, possibilities for the Guinean people to assume, even with great difficulties, the direction of their destiny. The strategies assumed by the writer configure a literary project of a politicized nature. This work, fueled by these reflections, can verticalize the discussion by focusing on the symbolization of “sites of memory” in Semedo’s text, emphasizing, in the enunciation of it, its performativity as a beacon of resistance and an input for survival to overcome the harshness of current times of Guinea-Bissau. In Naquela Noite, Semedo’s dexterity is proven by her skill of handling the concomitance of divergent times and spaces, as well as the remains of traditions threatened with extinction due to the acceleration of history. (Image Recanto do Poeta)

scholarly journals Modelos de espacialidade na obra de Rafael Courtoisie

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50
Author(s):  
Luis Alberto Brandão Santos
Keyword(s):  
American Literature ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Contemporary Literature ◽  
Latin American Literature ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Contrary Direction ◽  
The Way

Resumo: A obra do escritor uruguaio Rafael Courtoisie é tomada como ponto de partida para uma reflexão sobre alguns modelos por meio dos quais a literatura contemporânea exercita o que se pode designar, genericamente, de “espacialidade”. Esse termo não diz respeito ao modo como o texto literário representa espaços extratextuais. Na verdade, atua na direção contrária, tornando viável que, no âmbito da literatura, se problematize o que é entendido como espaço. Os três modelos de espacialidade que abordamos são: a visão, o tato e o movimento. Da obra de Courtoisie, foram selecionados os seguintes livros: Estado sólido (1996), Umbría (1999) e Música para sordos (2002).Palavras-chave: espaço; espacialidade; Rafael Courtoisie; literatura contemporânea; literatura latino-americana.Abstract: The work of the uruguayan writer Rafael Courtoisie is taken as starting point for a reflection on some models by which contemporary literature exercises what we consider to assign, generically, as “spatiality”. This term does not concern to the way that literary text represents extraliterary spaces. Actually, it goes on the contrary direction, making possible that, in the scope of literature, one might deeply question what is understood as space. The three models of spatiality that we approach are: sight, touch and movement. The following books of Courtoisie have been selected: Estado sólido (1996), Umbría (1999) and Música para sordos (2002).Keywords: space; spatiality; Rafael Courtoisie; contemporary literature; Latin American literature.

Anthroposemiotics of literature: The cultural nature

Semiotica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (213) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Taha
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Evolutionary Epistemology ◽  
Literary Study ◽  
New Wave ◽  
Nature Literature ◽  
The World ◽  
Cognitive Activities ◽  
The Way

AbstractSemiotics is not merely about knowledge but primarily about knowing. Representation is about knowledge while literature as a semiotic medium is about modeling. Modeling is not a technique used by writers to represent the world but a target meant to show the way the writer models the world so that the reader responds accordingly and offers her/his own model. Knowing as semiosis is produced from such a kind of comparison between the two models. Meaning itself, knowledge, does not interest semioticians, whose concern is rather with the way it is produced. Literature teaches us how to learn more about our nature. Literature trains our natural faculties of modeling. All possible fragments of knowledge we may get from a literary text and the cognitive and emotional responses they provoke are only parts of a whole. They are associated with the mega-meaning of literature. In literature, knowing stands for mega-meaning, whereby it becomes an anthroposemiotic concept. In this paper, I hope to contribute to the new wave of interest in the natural linkage between anthroposemiotics and literary study through three major possible epistemologies tightening the linkage between both fields: evolutionary epistemology, emotional and cognitive activities, and cultural, including social and historical, conventions. All of these three levels conduct some kind of communication and naturally work together in harmony.

scholarly journals A Pragmatic Study of Emotional Expressions in Selected Literary Texts

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer Nabiel Rashad ◽  
Prof. Dr. Abdulkarim Fadhil Jameel
Keyword(s):  
Speech Act ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Emotional Expressions ◽  
Linguistic Study ◽  
Feeling State ◽  
Theoretical Account ◽  
Expression Of Emotions ◽  
Pragmatic Study ◽  
The Way

Emotional expressions are perceptible verbal and nonverbal practices that communicate an inner emotional or full of feeling state. Emotions give sense to our exists and let us care for ourselves and others. They make us human. Without emotion, we would be like machines that work to serve a purpose but without any definite meaning. Emotions are one of the most vital aspects of our lives. They give meaning to life and the way in which we communicate with the individuals around us. The emotional expressions are (Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Contempt, Surprise, Anger, Acceptance, Anguish, Interest, Shame ,Shyness, Guilt, Anticipation). The present research is a linguistic study that aims at revealing and studying the pragmatic perspectives of emotional expressions in selected literary texts . The study presents a clear theoretical account of the notion of emotion, its types, polarity, intensity and the way it can be conceptually analyzed. The research also offers some other related concepts that pertain to pragmatics, speech act. So, the purpose of this study to answer the questions: What are the emotional expressions used in the literary texts? and,?, investigating the variant types, the polarity and intensity of these emotional expressions. Because it creates the situations for the largest functional presentation of their pragmatic potential, a literary text was chosen as the source of emotional expressions. To realize the aims, Ekman(1992) as a model of emotions is used to analyze four literary texts that selected randomly . The research found that emotional expressions help to better comprehension of the speaker’s illocution and that linguistic factors determine the severity (intensity) of illocution. The expression of emotions clarifies the speaker’s intent and enhanced the pragmatic results. Moreover, it has been shown that the context discovers the exact intention. In addition, this study reveals that literary texts employ the anger as the major emoti

scholarly journals Mecanismos para la construcción del efecto inquietante en el relato tradicional: discurso reproducido, evidencialidad y modalidad epistémica

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 365-378
Author(s):  
Elizabeth García ◽  
Laura Alfonzo
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Literary Theory ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Epistemic Modality ◽  
Narrative Strategies ◽  
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer ◽  
Popular Knowledge ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
The Way

In this article, we propose to describe linguistic phenomena which contribute to creating uncertainty in a literary text. In particular, we will analyze different narrative strategies that introduce the sinister (Freud, 1919) into a text which, while being an author’s account, utilizes forms of expression typical of the traditional oral legend “El Monte de las Ánimas” by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. The unsettling effect that this legend produces on the reader stems from several phenomena analyzed by literary theory (such as in the study of the Fantasy genre). However, we would like to propose an approach based on some notions from the fields of linguistics and discourse analysis as determining factors in this effect. We will discuss three aspects: the reproduced speech (Maldonado, 2001) or the representation of the speech of others (Authier-Revuz, 2003), the epistemic modality that describes the enunciator’s knowledge regarding the mentioned facts (Nuyts, 2001; García Negroni & Tordesillas Colado, 2001) and the evidential verbs that account for the way the speaker obtains information (Aikhenvald, 2004), especially the cases of transmitted indirect evidence, folklore or popular knowledge (Willett, 1988). In our opinion, the articulation of these three elements constitutes a possible path to describing the aforementioned effect.

scholarly journals Muzyczne adaptacje poezji Józefa Czechowicza — piosenka i pieśń na styku kultury popularnej i nowych mediów (rekonesans)

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
pp. 401-415
Author(s):  
Łukasz Piaskowski
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
New Media ◽  
Literary Text ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Specific Process ◽  
The Way

The main purpose of this paper is to recognise how the poetry of Józef Czechowicz functions in new media contexts within broadly understood popular culture. Poets’ poems are subjected to a specific process of audio adaptation, adapting them to function in a different media environment, especially on YouTube. The author of the article attempts a structural-hermeneutic reading of the audio texts. Czechowicz, widely regarded as an extremely “musical” poet, is confronted with various models of the audial functioning of the literary text. The article discusses selected aspects and selected examples of auditory adaptations of Czechowicz’s poetry. The author of the sketch focuses primarily on the musical studies of the poet’s poems, in which he perceives the basic intermedia potential — the ability to function in different contexts. An important part of this interpretative act is to look at the conventionally established culture flows in which Czechowicz’s poetry appears. The main purpose of this paper is to recognize the way the poetry of Józef Czechowicz functions in new media contexts within the broadly understood popular culture. Poets’ poems are subjected to a specific process of audio adaptation, adapting them to function in a different media environment, especially on YouTube. The author of the article attempts a structural-hermeneutic reading of the audio texts. Czechowicz, widely regarded as an extremely “musical” poet, is confronted with various models of the audial functioning of the literary text. The article discusses selected aspects and selected examples of auditory adaptations of Czechowicz’s poetry. The author of the sketch focuses primarily on the musical studies of the poet’s poems, in which he perceives the basic intermedia potential — the ability to function in different contexts. An important part of this interpretative act is to look at the conventionally established culture flows in which Czechowicz’s poetry appears.

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