Synecdoche's Obloquy: Beckett and the Performance of Indecency

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-195
Author(s):  
Rebecca Kastleman
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Strategy ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Cultural Inheritance ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Literary Identity ◽  
Literary Style ◽  
Direct Address

In Beckett's Ireland, the practice of censorship was bound up with the workings of literary genre. The fact that printed matter was subject to censorship, while theatre was not, meant that the censor played a role in maintaining the distinction between dramatic and nondramatic writing. Many Irish authors responded to these conditions by remediating censored narratives as theatre. Beckett adopted an alternative strategy, rejecting the legal premises of Irish censorship and crafting his literary style around a critique of the censor's reading practices. Beckett's responses to the Irish censor track his turn from the novel to the drama. Across genres, Beckett's writing in English was shaped by the climate of post-publication censorship in Ireland, the effects of which are legible even in works that were never banned. Beckett's rejoinder to the censor was articulated using terms set out by the Irish Free State's Committee on Evil Literature, which held that censors could prohibit a text based on one ‘indecent’ passage, rather than evaluating that excerpt in the context of the work as a whole. For Beckett, the literary trope of synecdoche—that is, the rhetorical substitution of a part for the whole—became associated with the censor's mode of reading. Beckett harnesses the trope of synecdoche to impugn Irish censorship practices, a pattern evident from the direct address to the censor in Murphy to the dramaturgical evocation of self-censorship in Not I. The use of synecdoche illuminates Beckett's reckoning with his cultural inheritance as an Irish writer and indexes his shift towards a cosmopolitan literary identity.

The Castle of Otranto

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Horace Walpole
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Gothic Fiction ◽  
English Novel ◽  
Game Changer ◽  
The Way ◽  
The Grotesque

‘Look, my lord! See heaven itself declares against your impious intentions’ The Castle of Otranto (1764) is the first supernatural English novel and one of the most influential works of Gothic fiction. It inaugurated a literary genre that will be forever associated with the effects that Walpole pioneered. Professing to be a translation of a mysterious Italian tale from the darkest Middle Ages, the novel tells of Manfred, prince of Otranto, whose fear of an ancient prophecy sets him on a course of destruction. After the grotesque death of his only son, Conrad, on his wedding day, Manfred determines to marry the bride–to–be. The virgin Isabella flees through a castle riddled with secret passages. Chilling coincidences, ghostly visitations, arcane revelations, and violent combat combine in a heady mix that terrified the novel's first readers. In this new edition Nick Groom examines the reasons for its extraordinary impact and the Gothic culture from which it sprang. The Castle of Otranto was a game-changer, and Walpole the writer who paved the way for modern horror exponents.

The Diaspora of the Novel

1992 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-146
Author(s):  
Artemis Leontis
Keyword(s):  
Uneven Development ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
History Of The Novel ◽  
The West ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Economic Transformations ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Type

Reflection on the history of the novel usually begins with consideration of the social, political, and economic transformations within society that favored the “rise” of a new type of narrative. This remains true even with the numerous and important studies appearing during the past ten years, which relate the novel to an everbroadening spectrum of ideological issues—gender, class, race, and, most recently, nationalism. Yet a history of the genre might reflect not just on the novel’s national, but also its transnational, trajectory, its spread across the globe, away from its original points of emergence. Such a history would take into account the expansion of western markets—the growing exportation of goods and ideas, as well as of social, political, and cultural forms from the West—that promoted the novel’s importation by nonwestern societies. Furthermore, it could lead one to examine the very interesting inverse relationship between two kinds of migration, both of which are tied to the First World’s uneven “development” of the Third. In a world system that draws out natural resources in exchange for technologically mediated goods, the emigration of laborers and intellectuals from peripheral societies to the centers of power of the West and the immigration of a western literary genre into these same societies must be viewed as related phenomena.

Stranger Fictions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca C. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
World Literature ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Central Place ◽  
Arabic Literature ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Global Circulation ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
History Of ◽  
Modern Arabic

Zaynab, first published in 1913, is widely cited as the first Arabic novel, yet the previous eight decades saw hundreds of novels translated into Arabic from English and French. This vast literary corpus influenced generations of Arab writers but has, until now, been considered a curious footnote in the genre's history. Incorporating these works into the history of the Arabic novel, this book offers a transformative new account of modern Arabic literature, world literature, and the novel. This book rewrites the history of the global circulation of the novel by moving Arabic literature from the margins of comparative literature to its center. Considering the wide range of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century translation practices, the book argues that Arabic translators did far more than copy European works; they authored new versions of them, producing sophisticated theorizations of the genre. These translations and the reading practices they precipitated form the conceptual and practical foundations of Arab literary modernity, necessitating an overhaul of our notions of translation, cultural exchange, and the global. The book shows how translators theorized the Arab world not as Europe's periphery but as an alternative center in a globalized network. It affirms the central place of (mis)translation in both the history of the novel in Arabic and the novel as a transnational form itself.

A Thousand and One Nights and the Novel

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard van Leeuwen
Keyword(s):  
Magical Realism ◽  
World Literature ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Arabic Literature ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
The West ◽  
Eighteenth And Nineteenth Centuries ◽  
Modern Arabic

This chapter examines the influence of Alf layla wa layla (A Thousand and One Nights), the ingenious Arabic cycle of stories, on the development of the novel as a literary genre. It shows that the Nights helped shape the European novel in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The chapter first explains how the French translation of the Nights and its popularity in Europe led to its incorporation in world literature, creating an enduring taste for “Orientalism” in many forms. It then considers how the Nights became integrated in modern Arabic literature and how Arabic novels inspired by it were used to criticize social conditions, dictatorial authority, and the lack of freedom of expression. It also discusses the Nights as a source of innovation for the trend of magical realism, as well as its role in the interaction between the Arab world and the West.

scholarly journals TEORI DIALOGISME BAKHTIN DAN KONSEP-KONSEP METODOLOGISNYA

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 235
Author(s):  
Fadlil Munawwar Manshur
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
Human Existence ◽  
The Other ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Universe

This paper discusses the theory advanced by Bakhtin about dialogism and methodological concepts. This theory to formulate the concept of human existence on the other, which is based on the idea that humans judge him from the viewpoint of others. Humans understand the moments of consciousness and take it into account through the eyes of others. According to this theory, the essence of human life is a dialogue. The Method of heteroglossia talks about signs in the universe of individuals because of the word "heteros" means "other" or different, while "glossia" means the tongue or language. In this method mentioned that people are saying needs to be heard, and the author also has the same rights that words need to be heard. A word is born from dialogue to address the problems of life. On the other hand, Bakhtin sees carnival method has spawned a new literary genre, the polyphonic novel. The polyphonic novel is a novel that is characterized by a plurality of voice or consciousness, and the voices or the overall awareness dialogical. Polyphonic essentially a "new theory of authorial viewpoint". Polyphonic appear in fiction when the position of the author freely allowed to interact with the characters. The characters in the novel are freely polyphonic appear to argue with each other and even with the author.

scholarly journals Nandhi Kalambagam’s Agam Songs and its Rhetoric

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 247-254
Author(s):  
Suja S
Keyword(s):  
Ninth Century ◽  
Number System ◽  
Literary Genre ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
Literary Style ◽  
College Curriculum ◽  
The Third ◽  
Literary Composition ◽  
System Operating

As a result of the proliferation of Short literary composition genres (Prabandas), various catalog texts (Paattiyal) arose as a continuation of the tradition of finding literature and giving grammar explanations therefor. Panniru Paatiyal, Venpaa Paatiyal, Chidambara Paatiyal, Navaneetha Paatiyal, Prabandha Deepika, Ilakkana vilakkam, Thonnuul vilakkam etc. and even some grammar books that deal with five grammar forms (Ainthilakkanam) are involved in this grammatical endeavor and have given grammar to different numbers of Short Literary Compositions. These numerical differences record the development of the literature as a result of the passage of time. This number extends from 54 to 360. This genre of 96 Short Literary Works can be attributed to the fact that the number system operating in the set tradition is also applied to Short Literary Works and to be a permanent one. The name of the literary genre, Kalambakam, is given in various ways by dividing its name. There are various reasons for the mix of 18 types of elements (15-21), the proliferation of many types of compositions, and the mixing of Agappaadalkal (Agam songs). This can be explained by the fact that the name is derived from a variety of hybrids rather than one character. Nandikkalambakam, the first and foremost of the Kalambaka literatures, was sung with the third Nandi Varman of the Pallava dynasty as the Leader of the song. 25 years Nandi ruled from (847-872) with Kanchi as his capital, the Pallava dynasty and the wars fought to expand the territory of many Nandikalambaka songs.  Although there are some differences in the view of Nandivarman's reign, it is accepted by scholars that he belonged to the ninth century and that Nandi Kalambakam, who led him to the song, and the ninth century. Even though this literature is in our school and college curriculum, its literary style beauty and glossary competency are unknown to the so called scholars too. So this article tries to explain the above said features of the Nandhi Kalambakam.

scholarly journals Alfred Döblin, crítico-romancista: propostas para o novo romance e a aliança da teoria e da prática em Berlin Alexanderplatz

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Izabela Baptista do Lago
Keyword(s):  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Work Of Art ◽  
Berlin Alexanderplatz ◽  
Alfred Döblin ◽  
Epic Novel ◽  
Theoretical Considerations

Resumo: A partir de ensaios de Alfred Döblin sobre o romance, publicados entre 1913 e 1930, o presente artigo examina as considerações críticas e teóricas do autor sobre o romance enquanto gênero literário e obra de arte em consonância com seu tempo. Considerando em especial a proposta romanesca de Döblin na forma do romance épico, uma breve análise do romance Berlin Alexanderplatz, publicado em 1929, verificará em que medida os elementos presentes nesta obra se adequam com o posicionamento expressado por seu autor. Por fim, conclui-se que Döblin concilia suas propostas teóricas com a sua prática artística, transformando-se no crítico-romancista do romance épico, alinhado com as transformações e aspirações culturais do século XX.Palavras-chave: Döblin; romance épico; crítico-romancista.Abstract: Based on Alfred Döblin’s essays on the novel, published between 1913 and 1930, this article examines the author’s critical and theoretical considerations of the novel as a literary genre and work of art in accordance with its time. Chiefly considering Döblin’s novelistic proposal in the form of the epic novel, a brief analysis of the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz, published in 1929, will verify the extent to which the elements present in this work can correspond with the position expressed by its author. Finally, it can be concluded that Döblin conciliates his theoretical proposals with his artistic practice, which turns him into a critic-novelist of the epic novel, aligned with the transformations and cultural aspirations of the 20th century.Keywords: Döblin; epic novel; critic-novelist.

Where Life Itself Lives

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Mayra Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Literary Genre ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Culturally Specific ◽  
Life Itself ◽  
Constructive Dimension

Sylvia Wynter’s work seeks to expose Man as an arbitrary conception inherently linked to racism and too often mistaken for the human as such. She also offers a more capacious model for being human—one that is culturally specific, relational and dynamic. This constructive dimension of her work is especially evident in her novel, The Hills of Hebron, for the literary genre is consonant with her argument that communities invent genres of being human from their local histories, the specificities of landscape, religious visions, and creative practices. This essay examines the contribution of the novel to Wynter’s broader project of deconstructing the doctrine of Man.

George Eliot's Estuarial Form

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 187-217
Author(s):  
Kyle McAuley
Keyword(s):  
Literary History ◽  
Formal Model ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Global Capitalism ◽  
Ecological System ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Reading Practices ◽  
Mill On The Floss ◽  
Ecological Form ◽  
Near Future

This essay recasts the central locale of The Mill on the Floss in order to show how the geography and society of George Eliot's novel function together as a conjoined ecological system. I show that the port at St. Ogg's is set on an estuary, and from this observation, I claim that the entanglement of multiple estuarial waters provides a formal model for the overall ecology of the novel. Referring to this system as “ecological form,” the essay shows how the characters’ misunderstanding of the estuarial nature of the St. Ogg's hydrography is the primary source of the communal divisions with which the novel is so famously riven. In so doing, this essay makes two methodological interventions, one local, and one slightly more global. In the first, I show how unsticking the progression of our criticism from that of a novel's plot—especially one with such a catastrophically strong telos as Mill’s—can allow us to view form and, particularly, geography as newly vital to literary history. This leads to the second intervention, in which I suggest that reading practices in an age of environmental collapse should look beyond disaster itself and toward affected communities’ systemic ties to those extraneous systems—economic, legal, imperial—that aid and abet disasters elsewhere and even ignore the potential for catastrophic reoccurrence in the near future. In other words, reading for water readily yields a wide-ranging map of global capitalism perhaps unexpectedly centered on a small town in Lincolnshire.

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