The Kitāb al-ʿIlm of al-Bukhārī: A Handbook on Knowledge

The Kitāb al-ʿIlm of al-Bukhārī (d. 256/870), positioned at the beginning of his Ṣaḥīḥ, represents an innovative turn in terms of structural arrangement and thematic discourse within the context of “books” and narratives on knowledge (ʿilm). Al-Bukhārī’s construction of ʿilm differs from preceding discussions and reveals a unique portrayal. I suggest that the early interdependence between ʿilm-ḥadīth and adab conveyed by al-Bukhārī echoes the Kitab al-Adab written by his teacher, Ibn Abī Shayba (d. 235/849). In light of understanding this intertextual dynamic, I will compare earlier ʿilm narratives with particular themes introduced by al-Bukhārī. Similarly, I will discuss how the early correlation between knowledge and education helped motivate his authorial intent, concluding that the Kitāb al-ʿIlm represents an original, technical and pedagogical work of taḥammul al-ʿilm, the actual practice of teaching knowledge.

Authorial dialogue in Iris Murdoch’s “The Sea, the Sea”

В статье рассматривается роль авторского диалога в философско-психологическом романе Айрис Мёрдок «Море, море» (Iris Murdoch “The Sea, the Sea”, 1978) в раскрытии авторского замысла в целом и выявлении аспектов диалогичности художественного текста. На сегодняшний день отсутствуют лингвистические исследования данного популярного романа, который представляет прекрасный образец философско-психологического произведения литературы ХХ века и отражает актуальные тенденции работы с художественным словом, что обусловливает актуальность и научную новизну работы. Авторы статьи на материале романа А. Мёрдок анализируют диалогические маркеры речевого взаимодействия, опираясь на теорию, разработанную в исследовании Т. Ф. Плехановой, посвященную анализу художественного текста как дискурса в его диалогическом измерении, предлагают классификацию диалогических маркеров авторско-читательского взаимодействия, выявляют языковые средства, оформляющие непосредственный диалогический контакт, проводят подробный лингвостилистический анализ наиболее интересных фрагментов речевого взаимодействия, делают выводы об их роли в реализации авторского замысла. The article discusses the role of the authorial dialogue in the philosophical and psychological novel by Iris Murdoch “The Sea, the Sea” in revealing the authorial intent, namely aspects of the dialogic character of a literary text. The popular novel by Iris Murdoch is a perfect specimen of philosophical and psychological fiction of the twentieth century reflecting up-to-date literary trends; however, it has not undergone any thorough linguistic analysis so far. This fact determines the topicality and novelty of the research conducted. The authors investigate dialogical markers of speech interaction based on the theory devoted to the analysis of a literary text as a discourse in its dialogical dimension developed by T. F. Plekhanova. Based on the results of the Plekhanova research, the authors of the article offer a classification of dialogical markers of author-reader interaction; identify linguistic means that form direct dialogical contact, conduct a detailed linguistic and stylistic analysis of the most interesting fragments of speech interaction, make conclusions about their role in the implementation of the authorial intent.

A Choice of Epistles

This chapter begins by elaborating on the circumstances under which Jerome composed his four Pauline commentaries in Bethlehem during the summer and early autumn of 386, ostensibly in response to a formal commission by his literary patrons Paula and her daughter Eustochium. The chapter focuses on the impetuses behind Jerome’s work on Paul and addresses several vital questions related to his authorial intent. Why did Jerome, who by inclination and research output was overwhelmingly a Hebrew Bible scholar, comment on Paul at all? Why did he do so at this particular juncture in his literary career, given that there are no real traces of a prior interest in Paul’s writings? Why, moreover, did he compose commentaries on the seemingly miscellaneous quartet of Galatians, Ephesians, Titus, and Philemon?

The Question of Intent

This chapter examines how the poet employs a range of conflicting voices, opinions, and personas throughout Le Spleen de Paris. It discusses how this polyphony has been variously interpreted as a reflection of contemporary political debates, as deliberate mystification, and as a form of antagonism. The chapter argues instead for an implied ambition to wean readers from reliance on authoritative pronouncement so that they may become lawgivers themselves—and thereby enjoy the beauty of perplexity and conjecture. The question of authorial intent is discussed with reference to Baudelaire’s dedicatory letter to Arsène Houssaye, and it is proposed that the unifying voice within the polyphony of Le Spleen de Paris is that of ‘l’Étranger’. The chapter closes with a discussion of ‘Le Mauvais Vitrier’ as an example of how the poet seeks to elicit multiple readerly responses in imitation of a kaleidoscope, etymologically ‘the means of seeing beautiful forms/ideas’.

Unintentional investigations: Truth in drama and “all that ‘ordinary’ in the phrase ‘ordinary language philosophy’ means”

This paper explores the notion of truth in relation to literature. It opens with a critical exposition of some dominant tendencies in contemporary aesthetics, in which narrow views of truth and reference guide the aesthetic investigations in harmful ways. One of the problems with such as view is not merely that it becomes difficult to talk about truth in art, but that it also makes the idea that we can learn something from literature problematic. The effort of this paper is thus to open up for a variety of notions of truth, that are not immediately tied to the notion of representation or correspondence. We need a way of talking about truth in art. The effort to explore a notion of truth in art that is not tied to narrow views about reference, and which broadens our sense of “aboutness” goes, in this paper, via a reading of Harold Pinter’s Nobel Lecture from 2005, together with some reflections inspired by some of Stanely Cavell’s reflections about the relevance of reflecting upon ordinary language. It is argued that literature engages in a form of conceptual reflection, by means of making the sense of our concepts clear and by challenging philosophical preconceptions about what our concepts must mean. What we can learn from art is thus not necessarily toed to either representation or authorial intent, but comes into view by means of the literary exercises that often (but certainly not always) require a conceptual sensitivity; that is, by means of careful attention to what words mean and what follows from them in specific contexts of use.

The Waves as “saturated” Novel

Since Jacob’s Room, Woolf’s fiction had incorporated three tools borrowed from poetry: the lyric “I,” figurative language, and aural recurrence. These tools find their clearest expression in The Waves (1931), which Woolf described as “prose yet poetry; a novel & a play.” This chapter analyzes The Waves with respect to these three tools, and then considers the book’s genre. Since its publication, many critics have received it—and other work by Woolf—as prose poetry and free verse. But to read Woolf as writing in these genres is to disregard authorial intent and historical context, to impose associations and conventions on work conceived without them. And lineating Woolf’s prose to “reveal” it as free verse betrays a confusion of lineation with poetry. Woolf’s vexation with the word “novel” reflects her effort to expand the meaning of the term. One way to honor this expansion is to use the term to describe the work of hers that seems least novel-like.

The Role of Chapter Titles in Revealing the Authorial Intent in the Novel “The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden” by Jonas Jonasson

В статье рассматривается роль названий глав в юмористическом романе Юнаса Юнассона «Девочка, которая спасла короля Швеции» (Jonas Jonasson “The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden”, 2014) в раскрытии авторского замысла в целом и создании комического эффекта в частности. На сегодняшний день отсутствуют лингвистические исследования данного популярного романа, который представляет прекрасный образец современного юмористического произведения и отражает актуальные тенденции работы с художественным словом, что обусловливает актуальность и научную новизну работы. Автор статьи на материале романа Ю. Юнассона анализирует структурные и смысловые особенности заголовков, опираясь на теорию, разработанную в своем диссертационном исследовании, посвященном контрасту как средству создания комического эффекта, предлагает классификацию названий глав по структурному и семантическому признаку; доказывает, что подавляющее большинство заглавий построены по принципу бинарной оппозиции, проводит подробный лингвостилистический анализ наиболее интересных, основанных на контрасте заглавий, делает выводы об их роли в реализации авторского замысла. The paper discusses the role of the chapter titles of the humorous novel by Jonas Jonasson “The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden” in revealing the authorial intent, namely the comic effect. The popular novel by Jonas Jonassson is a perfect specimen of modern humorous fiction reflecting up-to-date literary trends, however, it has not undergone any thorough linguistic analysis so far. This fact determines the topicality and novelty of the research conducted. The paper contains an overview of the functions of titles and a thorough analysis of the structural and semantic peculiarities of the chapter titles in the given novel. It also offers their classification due to several aspects. The research is based on the theory of the mechanism of creating the comic effect in humorous fiction developed by the author in her Ph.D. thesis, focusing on contrast as the key means of creating the comic effect in modern literature. Based on the results of the research, the author of the article concludes that the overwhelming majority of the chapter titles under analysis can be structurally defined as binary opposition clusters. To conclude, chapter titles play an integral part in bringing the author’s intent home to the reader.

Chronicling a Blood-spattered Isle

This chapter implements the general model of violence on case studies from the history of medieval Iceland, especially the Battle of Helgastaðir (1220) and other episodes from the life of Guðmundr Arason, Bishop of Hólar (r.1203–37). It also establishes how structural analysis of sagas—using the concepts of récit, histoire, and uchronia—nuances the picture of history reconstructed from such sources, tracing the transformation of occurrences (what happened) into events (experienced manifestations of meaning). Guðmundar saga A, the main textual source consulted here, demonstrates how uchronia, the ideology of the past, enabled texts to function autonomously of authorial intent: uchronic texts may reveal truths their authors were ignorant of, let alone truths they wished to suppress. By unpacking the ways brute force inflects both the historical social contests recorded in the saga and the narrative tensions of the recording process itself, this chapter highlights the necessity of examining violence in terms of a complex negotiation of power, signification, and risk. In the course of this investigation, various details of medieval Icelandic history are filled in, deepening and qualifying the general portrayal offered in the Introduction. Readers with little background in Icelandic history are familiarized with the contours of this history, while experts find some of its truisms (such as the categorical distinction between farmers and chieftains, or the supposed uniqueness of Iceland in high medieval Europe) re-examined

Violence and Risk in Medieval Iceland

This interdisciplinary study of violence in medieval Iceland pursues three intertwined goals. First, it proposes a new cultural history model for understanding violence. The model has three axes: power, signification, and risk. Analysis in instrumental terms, as an attempt to coerce others, focuses on power. Analysis in symbolic terms, as an attempt to manipulate meanings, focuses on signification. Analysis in cognitive terms, as an attempt to exercise agency over imperfectly controlled circumstances, focuses on risk. The axis of risk is the model’s major innovation and is laid out in detail, using insights from prospect theory, edgework, and the calculus of jeopardy. It is shown that violence, which itself generates risks, at the same time also serves to control uncertainties. Second, the book tests this model on a series of case studies from the history of medieval Iceland. It examines how violence shapes present circumstances, future status, and past memories, and how it transforms uncertain reality into socially useful narrative, showing how Icelanders’ feud paradigm blocked the prospects of warfare and state formation, while their idiom of human violence domesticated the natural environment. Third, the book develops the concept of uchronia, the hegemonic ideology of the past, to explain how texts modulate history. Uchronia is a motivated cultural memory which vouches for historical authenticity (regardless of factual reliability), maintains textual autonomy from authorial intent, and secures a fit between present society and its own past. In medieval Iceland, as often elsewhere, violence played a key role in the making of uchronia