Convention And Innovation In Literature

This work is a critical evaluation of the concepts of convention and innovation as applied in the study of changing literary values, hierarchies and canons. Two approaches are analyzed: (1) the linking of convention and the subject's awareness of convention, and (2) systems theory. The merits of both approaches are discussed and an attempt is made to combine them and to regard systems of literary communication primarily as systems of conventions. Specific cases of changing conventions and innovation are illustrated with examples from the field of versification (Rimbaud), reception studies (Puskin, Goethe, George Eliot), the dichotomy of forgetting/remembering (Nietzsche, Proust), avant-garde, the American dream, and popular genres assimilated in Postmodernism.

This work is a critical evaluation of the concepts of convention and innovation as applied in the study of changing literary values, hierarchies and canons. Two approaches are analyzed: (1) the linking of convention and the subject's awareness of convention, and (2) systems theory. The merits of both approaches are discussed and an attempt is made to combine them and to regard systems of literary communication primarily as systems of conventions. Specific cases of changing conventions and innovation are illustrated with examples from the field of versification (Rimbaud), reception studies (Puskin, Goethe, George Eliot), the dichotomy of forgetting/remembering (Nietzsche, Proust), avant-garde, the American dream, and popular genres assimilated in Postmodernism.

This volume addresses the beauty of convention not in an attempt to recapitulate established values (as, luckily, in literature and culture, there are not absolute beauties that serve everyone and always), but as an aesthetic appreciation of form as a keeper of meaning and as an ethical post-cynical metadiscourse on human dependence on symbolic interaction and generic conventions. Looking into the artificial, invented, side of this concept, the book addresses such questions as: What is beauty by virtue of convention? How does convention generate beauty? How does it happen that a convention acquires a normative force? What is the nature and the â oelogic of situationâ that leads to the arbitrary conventions? How are alternative conventions made? What is inertia, and what real joy or belief ensures the stability of convention? Is there a natural correctness that enables the stability of convention? How does convention determine linguistic meanings? Can interpretation avoid convention? Without imposing one definition onto the reader, this volume presents an understanding of the stability of convention and how it generates beauty by employing numerous contemporary reading strategies and diverse cultural, ethnic, gender, psychological, and textual perspectives. Primary focus is given to various literary texts ranging from early classics to modernism and contemporary writing, though there are also discussions on other forms of human expressions, such as music, dance and sculpture. This book will contribute to the on-going discussion about the ambiguities inherent in the concept of convention, and, thus, stimulate intellectual confrontation and circulation of ideas within the fields of literature and culture.

On magical realism in literature

Everyone who has studied the upheavals of modern China knows that one of them has taken place in Chinese writing. Anyone who has read Chinese texts has also eventually pondered the possible significance of this upheaval for understanding the text, and vice versa. By analyzing formal features and speculating about their relevance to the construction of a modern Chinese culture, this book intends to show why the Chinese have come to write the way they do in this century. Drawing on linguistic and rhetorical descriptions of language in writing as features of style, the author reviews the innovations that have been introduced into modern Chinese prose from both Chinese and foreign sources. The social history of these features, the attempts by various writers to assert cultural, political, and aesthetic principles through them and the resulting tensions and conventions that arise all form the critical framework for a study of Chinese prose literature and its most innovative authors in this century. The study is introduced and informed throughout by a succinct review o scholarly research from a wide range of disciplines relevant to the question of style as an object of study in contemporary criticism. The book begins its approach to style with an Introduction that draws on Gestalt theory, information theory, and linguistics to develop a nuanced concept of what "style" is, one that gives adequate weight to the complex interplay of psychological, formal, and historical features at work. Two chapters then examine various aspects of convention, necessarily a historical phenomenon. The fourth chapter, by contrast, discusses the aesthetic prescriptions by which modern Chinese writers sought consciously to introduce innovation and points out the limitations of a prescriptive approach. The final two chapters study the strategies of specific writers. Almost half the book is an Appendix that consists of a rich catalog of rhetorical and stylistic examples, drawn from a wide range of twentieth-century Chinese literary writing. These hundreds of examples, identified by the nomenclature of grammar, rhetoric, and sentence cohesion, constitute a veritable handbook of modern Chinese prose. The book also contains a Glossary of terms draw from rhetoric and linguistics.

The research presented in this book is authored by scholars coming from as distant regions as South Africa, the United States of America, Great Britain, France, Italy, Belarus, the Balkans. Needless to say that one of the good things about this international cooperation is that owing to their different socio-cultural backgrounds, these scholars have contributed to producing an extremely varied picture of ways of approaching the challenge of a changing world. The papers on literature and culture collected in this book contribute a further element of rigour into the discussion of numerous and always varying and changing borders of convention in a literary text, literary genre, and literary theory, as well as in general culture and everyday paths of life. Starting with oral cultures, over the classic literary masters, modernist and postmodernist textual and theoretical phenomena, the twentieth century flouting of numerous social and gender convention, through painting, film, dance, contemporary music, as well as graffiti, We have sought to stress that what is most noticeable from the evidence of their studies is that scholars today concern these issues through a dynamic global process and beyond any preconceived design, or any strict set of theoretical prescriptions, which would otherwise lead them to ignore the ever-shifting borders in literature and culture, as well as in global socio-cultural reality in general. The variety and complexity of these essays offer fresh views to the problem posed in the title of the book. Therefore, we trust that they will stimulate intellectual confrontation and circulation of ideas within the field of literature and cultural studies.

Unlock the Secrets of Creativity and Innovation in Storytelling! Are you tired of the same old storytelling formulas? Do you yearn to break free from literary norms and embark on a creative journey that defies convention? Look no further. "Experimental Storytelling" is your passport to the limitless realm of literary innovation. Discover the Power of Unconventional Narratives: This groundbreaking book is a treasure trove for writers, aspiring authors, and literary enthusiasts who crave narratives that defy expectations. Dive into the world of experimental storytelling and explore: Nonlinear narratives that challenge the boundaries of time and space. Characters who blur the line between hero and antihero, inviting readers to question their own perspectives. Innovative narrative structures that will leave you spellbound. The fusion of art and storytelling, creating visual narratives that captivate the senses. Interactive adventures that allow you to become part of the story. Your Guide to a Literary Revolution: "Experimental Storytelling" is your essential companion on the road to literary innovation. With detailed chapters on narrative techniques, character development, and the future of storytelling, this book is your key to unlocking the secrets of creativity and innovation. Join the Literary Revolution: If you're ready to challenge conventions, inspire readers, and redefine the future of literature, "Experimental Storytelling" is your blueprint for success. Get ready to embark on a journey that will transform the way you write, read, and experience stories. Don't miss out on this opportunity to be part of the literary revolution.