Structuralism (Literary Criticism)

"Out-of-Place in the Sad Tropics: Reading Lévi-Strauss with Jakobson"

by William J. Urban

class paper written October 26, 2010

“The Concept of Metatheatre: A Functional Approach"

by Andrés Pérez-Simón

Published in "TRANS- Revue De Litterature Generale Et Comparee" 11 (2011).

Abstract

This essay reviews the highly popular concept of metatheatre or metadrama, whose first formulation... more Abstract

This essay reviews the highly popular concept of metatheatre or metadrama, whose first formulation appeared in Lionel Abel’s collection of essays Metatheatre in 1963. Abel’s contribution in the field of theatre studies took place in the wake of Roman Jakobson’s model of six linguistic functions, which Jakobson had introduced in a conference held in Indiana five years before the publication of Metatheatre. In my review of Jakobson’s model, I argue that neither the metalinguistic nor the poetic function can fully explain the existence of multiple self-referential, anti-illusionist devices in twentieth-century dramaturgies (a few examples from the modernist years are discussed in my essay). In order to shed new light into Jakobson’s model, I propose a return to the four-function model developed by Jan Mukařovský, the most important critic of the Prague School, in the late 1930s. Mukařovský expanded upon Karl Bühler’s Sprachtheorie (with the functions Darstellung, presentation ; Ausdruck, expression ; and Appell, appeal), by conceptualizing a fourth function, the aesthetic, one that brings to the fore the structural components of the artistic work.

Resumen

El presente ensayo examina el hoy muy popular concepto de metateatro o metadrama, que apareció por primera vez en Metatheatre, de Lionel Abel, una colección de ensayos publicada en 1963. Esta contribución de Abel al campo de los estudios teatrales se basó en el modelo de seis funciones lingüísticas de Roman Jakobson, que Jakobson había presentado en una conferencia en Indiana cinco años antes de la publicación de Metatheatre. Al analizar el modelo de Jakobson, argumento que ni la función metalingüística ni la función poética pueden explicar correctamente la existencia de múltiples mecanismos autorreferenciales y antiilusionistas en la dramaturgia del siglo veinte (en mi ensayo, hago mención a algunos ejemplos del periodo modernista). Para ofrecer una nueva lectura del modelo de Jakobson, propongo un retorno al modelo de cuatro funciones desarrollado por Jan Mukařovský, el crítico más importante del Círculo de Praga, a finales de los años treinta. Mukařovský expandió la Sprachtheorie de Karl Bühler (con las tres funciones Darstellung, presentación ; Ausdruck, expresión ; y Appell, apelación), al añadir una cuarta función, la estética, que destaca en un primer plano los componentes estructurales de la obra artística.

Roland Barthes: Mythologies

by Marten Düring

In: Claus Leggewie, Anne K. Lang & Darius Zifonun (eds.): Schlüsselwerke der Kulturwissenschaften. 1. Aufl. Bielefeld: transcript (Kultur- und Medientheorie) (Forthcoming).

myth and music

by Robert Launay

L'ambiguità di Zeno. Coerenza, struttura delle intenzioni e cooperazione interpretativa nella "Storia del mio matrimonio",

by Giulio Savelli

in "Comunità", XLIII, 191/192, pp. 457-515.

See http://www.giuliosavelli.eu/index.htm#Svevo See http://www.giuliosavelli.eu/index.htm#Svevo

Recensão- Ensaios de Mitologia Cristã- o Preste João e a reversibilidade simbólica - Etnográfica, nº 3, 1998.

by Filipe Verde

Íñigo Balboa o la voz del narrador (con algunas consideraciones metacríticas)

by Alberto Montaner

Fichero de autor de Alberto Montaner Frutos, «Íñigo Balboa o la voz del narrador (con algunas consideraciones metacríticas)», en Sobre héroes y libros: La obra narrativa y periodística de A. Pérez-Reverte, eds. J. Belmonte Serrano y J. M. López de Abiada, Murcia, Nausícaä, 2003, pp. 287-315.

Analysis of the narrative voice of Captain Alatriste's saga by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The role of narrator in this... more Analysis of the narrative voice of Captain Alatriste's saga by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The role of narrator in this series of novels is played by the character of Iñigo Balboa. Some critics have found it implausible. After a review of the main theories about narrative voice, it is concluded that this statement is based in too a narrow conception of the capabilities of a internal narrator. Furthermore, a new proposal is developed for the analysis of narrative voices. Finally, it is also studied the problem of aesthetic judgement in literary studies.

"Walter Burkert and the Meaning of Myth"

by Claude Pavur

Second edition 2011. Slightly adapted from the article that appeared in the Journal of Religious Studies (Cleveland State University) 9:1 (Spring 1981), pp. 10-18.

Walter Burkert's approach to myth (summarized in this review-essay) is provocative and complex but it needs to be... more Walter Burkert's approach to myth (summarized in this review-essay) is provocative and complex but it needs to be complemented by the larger vision of Jean Rudhart and others.

Black Hunter Variations (1994)

by John Ma

Three essays on the same text (opening of Life of Kimon by Plutarch)— a Black Hunter story, but more than that. The... more Three essays on the same text (opening of Life of Kimon by Plutarch)— a Black Hunter story, but more than that. The story has recently been revisited, powerfully, by P. Ellinger:

"Plutarque et Damon de Chéronée : une histoire, un mythe, un texte ou autre chose encore ?", Kernos. Revue internationale et pluridisciplinaire de religion grecque antique, 18, 2005, p. 291-310.

The essay was written in Princeton in 1991-2; those who remember it at that time will know what I mean if I say that it was like Kirke's megaron. The point was trying to write myself out (in M. Halperin's words) of the conundrum between structuralism and positivism. It got me a letter, and a subsequent correspondence, with Pierre Vidal-Naquet. I met him in 1995: mesmerizing, but I remember not a word for what was said.

The paper also depended on the encouragement and goodwill of Robert Parker, Robin Osborne, Fergus Millar, Josh Ober, and Philippe Gauthier (who wrote a letter ending with a quotation from the Bible: "Many are the dwellings in the Father's house", "Nombreuses sont les demeures dans la maison du Père"), and many others. To all I am glad to record thanks, again; but the last word can be found on p. 78 of the present .pdf, scanned by B. Chrubasik from the annotated copy of PCPhS in the Sackler library. I think I know who the annotator is.

The Limits of Objective Art Criticism – Establishing an Objective Concept for Evaluating Artworks

by Veli-Matti Karhulahti

Text.

Master's Thesis, University of Eastern Finland. 2010. Master's Thesis, University of Eastern Finland. 2010.

Narratology: an introduction

by José Angel García Landa

Reseña (no mía, sino anónima o de un autor que no he identificado) del libro NARRATOLOGY, editado por Susana Onega y José Angel García Landa (Addison Wesley Longman, 1996).

Introduction to the Fractal Distribution of Words in a Text

by Troy Camplin

Chapter from my Dissertation "Evolutionary Aesthietics"

Do literary texts have fractal pattern distribution of words? Perhaps. In this chapter from my dissertation I provide... more Do literary texts have fractal pattern distribution of words? Perhaps. In this chapter from my dissertation I provide some preliminaary evidence that theme words in texts may in fact have a fractal distribution. More work needs to be done to investigate this possiblity.

The Presence of Theory/Theorizing the Present

by James Comas

Research in African Literatures 21, no. 1, Critical Theory and African Literature (1990): 5-31.