weissteinb.doc

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李李李

李李李李李李李李李

李李李李李

Comparative Literature and Literary Theory , by Ulrich Weisstein. (Bloomington: Indiana

UP, 1973)Preface: ha!ter 1 " # $or the st%dents o$ com!arati&e literat%re, ha!ter #'7 $or

those o$ literat%re, di$$ic%lty: terminological con$%sion

I. Definition

1. re&ie

arre: com!arati&e lit. as a branch o$ lit. history ( em!hasis on ra!!orts de $ait)

Baldens!erger: ecl%ding $ol*lore $rom com!arati&e literat%re

+an ieghem: com!arati&e literat%re st%dies the actions and in$l%ences eerted by

indi&id%als (ecl%ding the anonymo%s tradition o$ ancient and medie&al literat%re)

Weisstein: those ho concentrate on belle'lettres !ro!er o%ld incl%de ancient and

medie&al literat%re into com!arati&e literat%re

#. om!arati&e literat%re in the direction o$ sociology sho%ld call $or the st%dy on imagination

3. national literat%re: %nits hich $orm the basis o$ o%r disci!line, de$ined by ling%istic or

!olitical'historical criteria

-. general literat%re: bears on the $acts common to se&eral literat%res

. orld literat%re (/oethe): &ario%s nations sho%ld notice and %nderstand each other0the

%ni2%eness o$ national literat%res o%ld be !reser&ed in the !rocess o$ m%t%al echange

and recognition0.B4y means o$ these orldide contacts, a harmoni5ation as to ens%e

ithin the indi&id%al literat%res

6. com!arati&e literat%re (ema*): om. 8it. is the st%dy o$ literat%re beyond the con$ined o$

one !artic%lar co%ntry, and the st%dy o$ the relationshi!s beteen literat%re on the one hand

and other areas o$ *noledge and belie$, s%ch as the art,0!hiloso!hy, history, and the

social sciences, the sciences, religion, etc. on the other.

II. Influence and Imitation

1. emitter →intermediaries (transmitters)→recei&er

#. direct in$l%enceindirect in$l%enceimitationcreati&e transm%tation

conscio%s in$l%ence%nconscio%s in$l%ence

3. !lagiarism: imitation on the sly or 2%otation itho%t re$erence to the so%rce

-. imitation:

a. character

b. stylistic: b%rles2%e, !arody, satire, caricat%re (negati&e in$l%ence, co%nter'design)

. ada!tation: creati&e treason (trahison creatrice), reor*ings o$ a model to ma*e a or*

!alatable to $oreign a%dience, 5ra Po%nd to hinese !oetry

6. in$l%encee$$ect( st%dy o$ the a!!reciation or the $ort%ne o$ a or* by a $oreign riter)

7.in$l%encerece!tion (2%ote, all%sion, analogy, !arallela$$inities, so%rce→$alse in$l%ence)



;. non'artistic in$l%ences: <arin, =ar, >re%d, etc.

9.literary con&entiontradition: !%blic !ro!erty, collecti&e in$l%ence

1?. de$inition: in$l%ence sho%ld no longer be %nderstood as @ca%sality and similarity o!erating

in time.,A that is, as ra!!orts de $ait and !arallels, b%t as a netor* o$ @m%lti!le correlations

and m%lti!le similarities $%nctioning in a historical se2%ence, $%nctioning0 ithin that

$rameor* o$ ass%m!tions hich each indi&id%al case ill dictate.

III. Reception and Survival

1. borderline beteen in$l%ence " rece!tion: in$l%ence sho%ld be %sed to denote the relations

eisting beteen $inished literary !rod%cts, hile @rece!tionA ser&es to designate a ider

range o$ s%bects, namely, the relations beteen these or*s and their ambience, incl%ding

a%thors, readers, re&ieers, !%blishers and the s%rro%nding milie%.

#. !henomena associated ith rece!tion

a. $ort%ne (s%ccess) o$ a or*

b. er%dition: re!ertory, !ersonal library

c. s!irit%al a$$inity (!sychological rece!tion): the *inshi! o$ the to riters as a

!sychological and emotional one

d. !ersonal myth or legend: a !oet is read or esteemed only $or a single or* and

biogra!hical $acts are tisted or sim!li$ied to the !oint o$ distortion, /oetheWhether

e. in&ol%ntary creati&e treason: originated $rom mis%nderstanding

$. reci!ientintermediary

g. the image o$ $oreign a%thors

h. literary s%r&i&al: canon, res%rrection o$ certain or*s

i. translation: re'translation in e&ery ne age hen the or* re2%ires to be read ane,

a%thenticitymis%nderstanding, tri&iali5ation, betrayal

. image " national !sychology

IV. Epoch, period, generation, movement

3. the idea o$ !eriods is e2%i&alent to the conce!ts o$ !hiloso!hy and to the class in nat%ral

st%dy

#. e!och: the larger segment o$ the history o$ man*ind, ith religio%s o&ertone, e!ochs are

determined by an @e&ent or time o$ an e&ent mar*ing the beginning o$ a relati&ely nede&elo!ment.A

3. !eriod: the shorter segment, a time section dominated by a system o$ norms, hose

introd%ction, s!read and di&ersi$ication, integration and disa!!earance can be traced.

-. he closer e come to o%r on time, the shorter are the time s!an e ha&e to co&er. C$ter

1;7?, the !eriods are re!laced by mo&ements. he red%ction in si5e, and the $re2%ency o$

change, are d%e to the $act that a$ter omanticism art has become sel$'conscio%s and artists

are $orced to see* o%t something ne.

. annalistic a!!roach: can identi$y sim%ltaneo%s e&ents rather than to order or !eriodi5e them

(decades, cent%ries)

6. generation: thirty years, the loest tem!oral limit o$ a !eriod



7. mo&ement: re!resents a $resh gro%! o$ yo%ths, seldom lasts $or an entire generation,

D%rrealism, <adaism

;. mo&ementschool: a mo&ement di$$ers $rom a school in the sense that it is constit%ted by

coe&als, so that no teacher'!%!il relationshi! eists.

9. international literary mo&ement: an eam!le o$ omanticism, starting at di$$erent years in

di$$erent nations, little %nity among nations

1?.concl%sion: the history conce!ts are essential tools to strengthen om!arati&e 8iterat%re as

a scholarly disci!le. Eoe&er, it o%ld be $oolish to em!loy terms li*e era, age, mo&ement

or !eriod statically and mechanically instead o$ dynamically and $leibly.

V. Genre

1. /eneric !%rity is characteristic o$ the classical or neoclassical $rame o$ mind. C clear'c%t

delimitation o$ genres is %nattainable.

#. +an ieghem: classical tragedy, romantic drama, the sonnet, r%stic no&el, !astoral !oetry,

sentimental no&el, restrict the s%r&ey to modern literat%re

3. <i$$ic%lties in trac*ing /ree* " oman genres: the eistence o$ models is hy!othetical a

genre c%lti&ated in anti2%ity &anished, b%t its name !ersists and ser&es $or a modern genre

(contamination), e. Datiresatyr !lay

-. the modern riter is not as m%ch concerned ith adhering to the con&entions o$ a ell'

de$ined genre. he notion o$ genre $ades in light o$ the notion o$ techni2%e

. literat%re in$l%enced by Friental models s%ch as Ga!anese hai*%, Hoh !lay. It is im!ossible

to trans!lant a genre hich is $irmly anchored in a s!eci$ic historio'geogra!hical contet.

6.!%re analogy st%dies in com!arati&e genology are li*ely to bene$it the Friental and

Fccidental literat%re

7.e!ic !oetry, lyrical !oetry, drama, didactic ritingsdidactic is a mode, not a *ind or genre

;.ho to de$ine marginal $ormsthe essay, biogra!hy, a%tobiogra!hy

9.classi$ication ( by means of imitation in CristotleJs sense)

a. e!ic (lang%age)&erse (combines meters)

b. no&elno&ellathe short story: n%mber o$ ords (length)

c. naK&esentimental: !sychological criteria

d. tragedy!oetry: intended e$$ect (tragedy is to aro%se !ity and $ear)e. mythology!oetry: narrati&e o$ e&ents !oint o$ &ie

$. stream o$ conscio%snessother $ictional mode: technical or stylistic de&ices

g. elegysatirical !oetry: meter

h. bild%ngsroman!astoral!oliticalco%rtly%to!ian $iction: s%bect matter

1?. concl%sion: e sho%ld endea&or to dra lines o$ demarcation here conditions are

s%itable and ma*e s%re that o%r terminology is consistent and h%manly !ossible and

com!atible ith historical contet.

VI. Thematology (!lease re$er to the o%tline o$ the re!ort made on 1?#9)

VII.The utual Illumination of the !rt"

1. ema*Js de$inition: the st%dy o$ the relationshi!s beteen literat%re on the one hand and



other areas o$ *noledge and belie$, s%ch as the arts0on the other.A (as long as literat%re is

the $ocal !oint)

#. Bron: all the $ine arts are similar acti&ities, des!ite their di$$ering media and techni2%es,

and there are not only !arallel beteen them ind%ced by general s!irit o$ di$$ering eras, b%t

that there are $re2%ently direct in$l%ences.

3. the st%dy o$ arts in their m%t%al inter!enetration: o!era, emblematics, $ilm

-. !re&io%s st%dies: =odern 8ang%age Cssociation o$ Cmerica (=8C), in >rance, in /ermany

.Cnalogy beteen lit." art

a. Wylie Dy!herJs Four Stages of Renaissance Style李Po!eJs moc*'heroic e!ic The Rape of

the Lock and Wattea%Js !ainting

b.When e %se ling%istic or national bo%ndaries as criteria in the st%dy o$ the interrelation

beteen the arts, e are eercising o%r !rerogati&e itho%t acco%nting $or the 2%alitati&e

di$$erences hich !re&ail beteen the &ario%s media and techni2%es.

c.com!arati&e aesthetics: analogies, terms: statics, dynamics, o!en " closed $orm, %nity,

m%lti!licity, rhythm

d. to st%dy literat%re and art in relation to the !eriod or mo&ement, one can and m%st

consider the artistic intentions as &oiced in the theoretical mani$estos. LD%rrealism

e. the literary historian has to ta*e art history and m%sicology into acco%nt beca%se so m%ch

is to be learned in stylish matters. Period terms are deri&ed $rom the other arts

6.$%sion o$ the arts

a. conglomerates: o!era, $ilm, ballet, cartoon, /ree* tragedy, Dha*es!earean !lays

b. do%ble talent: Blac*, hac*eray, ossetti, =ichelangelo!ictorial " !oetic, stylistic

las

c. &erbal e!ression in the direction o$ m%sic or as the &ehicle o$ images and symbols

d. the more com!le the or* is, the more di$$ic%lt is the com!arison

m%sic " lit.: liotJs Four Quartets, Eermann EasseJs Der Steppenwolf , MeatJs

@Fde to a /recian UrnA, Po%ndJs hai*%'li*e !oem @In the Dtation o$ the =etroA

hybrid !henomenon

!lastic arts " lit.: Matherine =ans$ieldJs @Eer >irst BallA, +irginia Wool$Js To the

Lighthouse— Im!ressionism7. artistic ins!iration: melodic'rhythmic incitation " literary @in$l%encesA

;. image and mirage st%dies: national myths and legends are e!ressly dealt ith, leitmoti$

C!!endi I Eistory

C!!endi II Bibliogra!hy

N%estion:

1. =ore ra!!orts de $ait, or more aestheticO he innate dilemma o$ om!arati&e 8iterat%re.

weissteinb.doc

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