Primerjalna književnost

RAZPRAVE

Janko Kos: PRIMERJALNA METODA V LITERARNOZGODOVINSKI VEDI

Razprava se posveča vprašanju, kakšna sta pomen in vloga primerjalne metode v literarni zgodovini. Upošteva povezanost te metode s primerjanjem kot splošno karakteristiko spoznavanja. Na tej podlagi poskuša natančneje določiti pogoje, ki jim mora zadostiti primerjalna metoda v literarnozgodovinskih raziskavah, če naj bo njena uporaba legitimna, dosežki pa v skladu z znanstvenimi standardi. Sklene se s premislekom, kakšna je njena vloga v nacionalni literarni zgodovini in v primerjalni zgodovini svetovne literature.

The comparative method in literary history. The article examines the concept and role of the comparative method in literary history. It takes into consideration the correlation between this method and comparison as a general characteristic of cognition. On this basis, it attempts to determine in more detail, the requirements that the comparative method in literary history research needs to fulfil in order to make its use legitimate and attain results in accordance to scientific standards. The article concludes with a reflection on the role of the method within national literary history and within the comparative history of world literature.

The article builds on Leibniz's definition of comparison as a form of cognition and, accordingly, makes a distinction between a pre-theoretic function of comparison in everyday life and the comparative method, which becomes a foundation of all cognitive operations in philosophy and the sciences, including literary history. Here, its subject is the correlation between literary phenomena that enable us to determine their conceptional uniformity on the basis of similarities, as well as make distinctions on the basis of their differences. In gaining knowledge on literature and its historicity, discerning the differences is more important: they enable us to determine the particularities, uniqueness and originality of literary works, authors and their opuses. Such comparative correlations need to include, not only correlations of genesis and causality in the form of influences and intertextuality, but above all, topological and structural correlations which permit various levels of literary research: within a limited national context, as well as within world history. In doing so, the comparative method needs to be complemented by other philosophic and scientific methods – from those of Geistesgeschichte to phenomenological and sociological methods – in order to avoid a mere description of literary similarities and differences, and to be able to analyse and interpret them according to their motifs and themes, as well as their formal and aesthetic conceptions. Since comparison is the most general basis of acquiring knowledge about literary history, it has a central role within national literary history, as well as within the comparative history of world literature.

Włodzimierz Bolecki: MODALNOST – LITERARNA VEDAIN KOGNITIVIZEM (ORIS)

Modalnost je razmerje subjekta do izjave in izjave do resničnosti, kaže pa se v jeziku, izjavi, besedilu in kulturi. Modalnost v zadnjem času postaja relevantna koncepcija mnogih disciplin humanistike. Razprava nakazuje področja, na katerih bi se s problematiko modalnosti besedila lahko ukvarjala literarna veda.

Modality – literary criticism and cognitivism (an outline). Modality is the relationship of the subject to the utterance and of the utterance to reality, and is revealed in language, utterance, text and culture. Recently, modality is becoming a relevant conception of many branches of the humanities. The article outlines the fields of literary criticism that could study the problems of text modality.

The author states that modality is not only a linguistic feature but is an essential, though historically changeable element of culture. Modality is the relationship of the subject to his/her own utterances and these utterances to reality. The notion of modality plays an important role in the humanities today (literary criticism, philosophy, sociology, psychology, anthropology, etc.) and it is also involved in practical problems of public life (politics, law, the media). Modality is the essence of all verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. The modality of language differs in fact from the text modality but both of them should be described as components of a broader phenomenon, i.e., they are characteristic of the cultural modality of the given epoch (e.g., certainty, doubt, reluctance, fear, etc.). In the author’s opinion the ideas of cognitivism may provide the inspiration for such kind of studies.

Marjan Dolgan: TRI ŠALAMUNOVE PARODIČNE SATIRE IN NJIHOV KONTEKST  

Sredi šestdesetih let 20. stoletja so v zgodnji liriki Tomaža Šalamuna nastale tri pesmi, ob katerih je mogoče opazovati recepcijo parodije, predvsem pa satire v totalitarnem, komunističnem sistemu. Ta družbenopolitične satire v literaturi ni dovoljeval, zato je prvo pesem kriminaliziral in pesnika spravil v zapor, kar je edinstven primer v zgodovini slovenske literature. Druga satirična pesem je ostala v senci prve. Tretja pesem pa je parodično in satirično izrabila časnikarski umetnostnozgodovinski tekst, toda to pesnikovo dejanje je povzročilo samo časnikarjev užaljen javni odmev, vendar nobenih sankcij, kajti časnikar ni bil komunistični politični veljak.

Three parodic satires by Tomaž Šalamun. Three early poems by Tomaž Šalamun from the mid-1960s give us an opportunity to examine the reception of parody, and particularly satire in the totalitarian, communist regime. The regime did not allow socio-political satire in literature: it criminalized the first poem and imprisoned the poet, and that is an unprecedented case in the history of Slovenian literature. The second satirical poem remained in the shadow of the first one. The third poem used parodically and satirically a newspaper article on art history, but only brought about an offended public response by the journalist and no sanctions, because the journalist was not a notable communist politician.

The importance of the three early poems by Tomaž Šalamun (1941-) from the mid-1960s lies not so much in their inner textual structure, but rather in their intertwining with the contemporary literary, artistic, cultural and socio-political contexts. This intertwining clearly shows that literature can go well beyond its boundaries; however, not with parody but with satire. In the example of the poem Duma 1964, one can observe how strong an effect a socio-political satire, which subjects the parody, will have on a totalitarian authoritative system. Free satire is not feasible, because it automatically oversteps the boundary of literature and takes on the function of direct political criticism, which is instantly criminalized by the authorities, and therefore threatens the author's physical existence. This is a unique example of an impact of a parodic satirical poem in Slovenian literary history. At the same time, the violence used against the author by the totalitarian authorities – because of a supposedly ideologically subversive text – glorifies him literarily, culturally, socially and politically and consolidates his status as an exceptional persona of letters and political opposition, although in his other poems the author's attitude towards this is satirical. The second poem by the same author, Domovina (Homeland), shows that in an unintentional rivalry of two almost simultaneously published parodic satirical poems by the same author, the reception of the second one remains in the shadow of the first one, because its parodic explicitness and satirical sharpness are not as strong. The third poem, Sposoben umetnik (A Capable Artist), shows how parody can incite a public reaction, but only from the author of the parodied text. But since he did not hold a high or influential position within political society, his reaction was not notable enough and did not bring any sanctions against the author of the parody. It did reveal, however, a personal upset of the parodied author over the fact that his non-poetical text had lost its original, merely informative function and became unexpectedly, and without his knowledge or approval, a poetical text. However, not through any kind of intensive or complex textual transformation, but simply through a relocation of an almost ad verbatim transcription of the text from one publication to another, or rather from a newspaper report to a cycle of poems and a poetry collection. Even this parodist's act was sufficient to turn the original, serious and informative text into a parody of a certain journalistic approach and into a satire of a certain type of reporting on the art of painting. The author of the parodied text was hurt the most, whereas those readers who sensed the parody and satire were amused. Those who were not aware of the parodied author's response and the context, or were not interested in collage in poetry – because they preferred more advanced poems in terms of form and personal expression – were left indifferent.

Andrej Ferkolj: ARHAIČNA POEZIJA O SMRTI

Ta razprava je multidisciplinarnega značaja, zamišljena kot sodelovanje antropoloških, literarno-vednih in filozofskih pristopov. V uvodu oriše nekatere splošne poteze arhaičnega pesništva, pri čemer se dotika tudi vprašanja v zvezi z njegovo »literarnostjo«. Izhajajoč iz Gadamerjevega hermenevtičnega modela razumevanja, se v nadaljevanju posveča arhaični poeziji s tematiko smrti. Po rekonstrukciji izvirnega horizonta se loteva interpretacije, ki se vsebinsko navezuje na nekatere vidike Heideggerjeve filozofije, in se izteče v pobudo za hermenevtično aplikacijo interpretativnih zaključkov.

Archaic poetry on death. This article is of a multidisciplinary character, intended as a combination of anthropological, literary and philosophical approaches. At the beginning it describes some of the general characteristics of archaic poetry and questions the issue of its “literariness”. Afterwards, based on Gadamer's hermeneutic model of comprehension, it analyses archaic poetry containing themes of death. After the reconstruction of the original horizon, it deals with the interpretation that corresponds to some aspects of Heidegger's philosophy, and concludes with an appeal to a hermeneutic application of the findings.

Despite its specific characteristics, archaic poetry has been studied alongside oral poetry of the European nations. But researchers who deal with archaic poetry should be aware of the fact that oral poetry represents the entire literary production of the archaic nations and not only a part of it, as is the case with oral poetry of the European nations. Most of archaic poetry is accessible only in the form of translated written text, so we can not deal with its original feature. When reading and interpreting archaic poetry, the variety of communicative codes should be taken into account, while one can with no serious consequences ignore the sincretic union of a text, melody, music and movement, dealing with each aspect separately. Authors of archaic poetry were highly appreciated individuals, and the poetic creation was considered a conscious process of verbal expression comparable to the most important social achievements. Most poems could be conditionally classified as lyrics. In classifying them according to literary types, a combination of motive-thematic and functional model (ritual, hunting and fighting, love, mourning etc. poems) should be adopted.

According to Gadamer, to understand art, one has to establish an equal dialogue about “the same thing”. In the communication between the tradition of archaic people and today, the phenomenon of death could be viewed as “the same thing”. Individual understanding of death by archaic people in many regards exceeds the established cultural patterns (religion, mythology), according to which death is viewed as a passage to another, better world. Against such social interpretations, and through the medium of art, some outstanding individuals created a non-identical comprehension of death as an unalienable and the most adequate possibility of being. It seems that the phenomenon of death and that of individuality exist in a close relationship and reach their best expression just in archaic poems on death. It is here that through the confrontation with the phenomenon of “death of mine” the process of individualization takes place. The subjects of this process are some “extraordinary individuals” (poets). Besides, one can find in these poems the birth of fiction in the modern sense, not only because the theme of “death of mine” represents imaginary objects which have no “appropriate”, or in any way graspable meaning, but also because of the oral character of archaic poetry which is particularly suitable for the growth (and re-creation) of fiction. The interpretation of poems has proved that among archaic people fiction had a great existential meaning in the ordinary life of “extraordinary individuals” because it gave them the opportunity to emphasize their individuality beyond a real conflict with society. The contemporary crisis of individuality is undoubtedly closely connected with the growing tabooization of the phenomenon of death, which turns out blindness for death. In spite of its apparent naivety, archaic poetry on death provides a more genuine answer to the being-question How to accept my own death. It answers with the courage for death and for this reason it does deserve our attention.

Tone Smolej: ZOLA V LJUBLJANSKEM ZVONU (1881–1890)

Avtor se v prispevku ukvarja z zgodnjo slovensko reproduktivno (kritiško) recepcijo Émila Zolaja v prvem desetletju revije Ljubljanski zvon. Obravnava omembe in kritike francoskega pisatelja v člankih F. Celestina, K. Štreklja, J. Stritarja, F. Svetiča in J. Kersnika, hkrati pa jih primerja tudi z nekaterimi članki nemških piscev (R. Kaufmann, T. Zolling).

Zola in Ljubljanski zvon (1881-1890). The article researches the early Slovenian reproductive (critical) reception of Émile Zola in the first decade of the Ljubljanski zvon magazine. It examines how the French author is referred to and reviewed in articles by F. Celestin, K. Štrekelj, J. Stritar, F. Svetič and J. Kersnik, and makes comparisons to certain articles by German authors (R. Kaufmann, T. Zolling).

The author researches the reviews and references made on Émile Zola in Ljubljanski zvon during the years 1881 and 1890, when it was edited by Fran Levec. Whereas the first references are mainly tied to the reception of Zola in Croatia, Fran Celestin in his article Naše obzorje (Our Horizon; 1883) already quoted several of Zola’s typical thoughts based on the Russian translation of Lettres parisiennes, with the intention of substantiating his rejection of the aesthetics of Romanticism. However, the most important piece of writing was undoubtedly Stritar's Pogovori (Conversations; 1885), in which the author even clearly parodied Zola's style of writing. He was appreciative of the writer's descriptions, but rejected his literary characters, particularly the miners from Germinal; similarly to R. Kaufmann. The author discovers that Stritar's importance lies also in the criticism of the German translations of Zola since he was well aware of their shortcomings. Stritar was a relatively original reviewer; Fran Svetič, on the other hand, who was the first one in Slovenia to write also about Zola's theoretical essays, merely copied several basic thoughts of his article Naturalizem (Naturalism; 1888) – as research discovered – from Zolling's article Émile Zola und der Naturalismus (Émile Zola and Naturalism). The early Slovenian reception, therefore, appreciated Zola's feel for description, but rejected the conception of his characters.

Špela Šink: NOVEJŠE METODE PROUČEVANJA DRAMSKEGA TEKSTA IN UPRIZORITVE  

Pristop k analizi dramskega besedila ponujajo številne metode, med njimi tudi strukturalistična in novohistorična. Prva lahko upošteva tudi razsežnost gledališke uprizoritve, medtem ko se druga posveča izključno tekstu in v njem odkriva prikrite značilnosti dobe, v katerem je delo nastalo. V nasprotju z metodami za analizo dramskega besedila so metode za analizo gledališke uprizoritve manj raziskane. V okviru semiotične metode je Patrice Pavis razvil vektorizacijo kot samostojen postopek za analizo gledališke uprizoritve, ki se ne osredotoča le na verbalne dele predstave, temveč omogoča tudi ponazoritev figuralnega. Aplikacija postopkov, ki so jih razvile novejše metode, na primeru Shakespearove tragedije Romeo in Julija ter na primeru njene odrske konkretizacije v režiji Dušana Jovanovića, omogoča prikaz novih razsežnosti tako besedila kot tudi uprizoritve.

Newer methods of researching dramatic texts and theatrical representation. A number of different methods can be used to analyze dramatic texts, structuralism and new historicism being two of them. Contrary to the method of new historicism, structuralism can include the dimension of stage representation, while new historicism focuses only on the text itself and tends to discover hidden features of the era in which the text was originally written. Methods of analyzing dramatic texts are better known than those that are used to analyze theatrical representations. Using the semiotic method, Patrice Pavis developed vectorisation as an independent procedure for analyzing theatrical representations, which does not focus only on the verbal parts of the representation, but also includes its figural dimensions. By applying procedures developed by these newer methods on Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, and in the case of its theatrical application by Dušan Jovanović, new dimensions of the text and its representation can be obtained.

The treatise explores the relationship between drama’s text and its theatrical application, more accurately the analysis of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and its representation by Dušan Jovanović as presented on the stage of the Slovenian National Theatre in Ljubljana. Although Jovanović follows the original Shakespearian text quite closely, the dramatic text and its theatrical application are analyzed separately to achieve better clarity.

Structuralism includes into its analysis the text and the theatrical representation of drama offering an exploration of some basic elements of the drama, as for example the actant’s models, plot, dramatic time and space. Nevertheless, it does not include some important thematic aspects of the content.

The question of the essence of Shakespeare’s drama is answered by using the method of New Historicism. This method proves to be the most appropriate mode for the analysis of renaissance dramatic literature since it exclusively explores the text and its relationship with the specific features and hidden ideology of its era. By using it, the treatise focuses on four aspects of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, which are: fragility of ideal love, realization of the presages of death, conflict between legal and legitimate, and improvisation of the main dramatis personae.

Contrary to the analysis of plain drama’s text, the analysis of the theatrical representation uses the semiotic method and some other methods related to it. These methods are significant because of their pluralism which serves as a basis of their theory. Not only do they focus on the text itself, but they also include the moments of production and reception. A similar approach is offered in the theoretical work L’analyse des spectacles written by Patrice Pavis, which serves as a fulcrum to this treatise. However, some of Pavis’ perspectives are not entirely adequate for the analysis of dramatic representation, therefore they are critically evaluated.

The conclusion deals with the formation of Jovanović’s theatrical representation and its final stage version as offered to the public. Deriving from this and previous findings, it is possible to obtain some significant differences between the drama’s text and its theatrical representation.