Pub Date : 2024-05-15DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09805-z
Estefanía Cabello
{"title":"Perfil revisado: Vicente Aleixandre, Antonio Machado y otros lectores de Carolina Coronado en la Edad de Plata","authors":"Estefanía Cabello","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09805-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09805-z","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140973030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-05-02DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09809-9
Stephan Resch
Kevin Kuhn’s novel Hikikomori is a postmodern Entwicklungsroman. In this essay, I read the novel as a subversion of the neoliberal paradigm, which manifests itself in an omnipresence of self-optimisation options, that the protagonist Till is constantly encouraged to take advantage of. By withdrawing into his room and creating a collaborative online world, Till rejects the cult of individuality modelled by his plastic surgeon father and his interior designer mother. Rather than going on a scheduled journey of self-enhancement around the world, I will argue that it is his virtual journey that attempts self-realisation. However, this rejection of a Weltanschauung based on economic principles comes at the price of exclusion from the analogue world, which bears many parallels with one of the most famous 20th century German language novellas: Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung.
{"title":"Virtuelle Metamorphosen - Zur Subversion der Selbstoptimierung in Kevin Kuhns Roman Hikikomori","authors":"Stephan Resch","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09809-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09809-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Kevin Kuhn’s novel <i>Hikikomori</i> is a postmodern Entwicklungsroman. In this essay, I read the novel as a subversion of the neoliberal paradigm, which manifests itself in an omnipresence of self-optimisation options, that the protagonist Till is constantly encouraged to take advantage of. By withdrawing into his room and creating a collaborative online world, Till rejects the cult of individuality modelled by his plastic surgeon father and his interior designer mother. Rather than going on a scheduled journey of self-enhancement around the world, I will argue that it is his virtual journey that attempts self-realisation. However, this rejection of a Weltanschauung based on economic principles comes at the price of exclusion from the analogue world, which bears many parallels with one of the most famous 20th century German language novellas: Franz Kafka’s <i>Die Verwandlung</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-05-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140836777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-12DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09804-0
Sungjin Shin
The debate about world literature holds a prominent place in national and comparative literary studies today. However, despite its significance, critics have yet to reach a consensus on how to address its challenges, which include its methodology, the vast volume of texts, uneven circulation, and difficulties of translation. This essay examines the concerns of world literature through the lens of William Godwin’s philosophy on history writing. While Godwin’s historical perspective has not been widely discussed in relation to world literature, his reflections on history and history writing that resist a comparative approach to universal history engage with similar issues found in the debates on world literature. Delving into Godwin’s writings on history, which challenge distant approaches to history and stress the importance of the individual and the particular, this essay argues that Godwin’s pursuit of a purposeful and intimate relationship with the past offers important insights for addressing the issues of world literature. In particular, Godwin’s emphasis on the purpose of studying history and his affectionate approach toward the temporal “other” provide helpful directions in forming respectful relationships with the geographical and ethnic “other” and their literature. Godwin’s pursuit of deep knowledge and friendship with the inspiring past proposes a valuable alternative to seeking systematic incorporation of the other’s literature or unthinkingly expanding world literary canon.
{"title":"“I Demand the Friendship of Zoroaster”: William Godwin and World Literature of Friendship","authors":"Sungjin Shin","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09804-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09804-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The debate about world literature holds a prominent place in national and comparative literary studies today. However, despite its significance, critics have yet to reach a consensus on how to address its challenges, which include its methodology, the vast volume of texts, uneven circulation, and difficulties of translation. This essay examines the concerns of world literature through the lens of William Godwin’s philosophy on history writing. While Godwin’s historical perspective has not been widely discussed in relation to world literature, his reflections on history and history writing that resist a comparative approach to universal history engage with similar issues found in the debates on world literature. Delving into Godwin’s writings on history, which challenge distant approaches to history and stress the importance of the individual and the particular, this essay argues that Godwin’s pursuit of a purposeful and intimate relationship with the past offers important insights for addressing the issues of world literature. In particular, Godwin’s emphasis on the purpose of studying history and his affectionate approach toward the temporal “other” provide helpful directions in forming respectful relationships with the geographical and ethnic “other” and their literature. Godwin’s pursuit of deep knowledge and friendship with the inspiring past proposes a valuable alternative to seeking systematic incorporation of the other’s literature or unthinkingly expanding world literary canon.</p>","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140560181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-04DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09801-3
William Baker, Peter Henderson
Four hitherto unpublished letters from Edward Garnett (1868–1936) to Arnold Bennett (1867–1931), dated 26 February and 6 March 1902, and 27 November and 29 December 1908, throw light on Garnett’s perspicuity as a publisher’s reader for Duckworth and on the earliest reactions to Anna of the Five Towns, the novel that put Bennett on the map as a writer of fiction. Garnett had caveats: the suicide of Willie Price should be cut and in places, the novel was “over prosaic”. However, it gave Garnett and his wife, Constance Garnett (1861–1946), translator of Turgenev—an author that also interested Bennett—“enormous pleasure” and was strongly recommended. Bennett resisted making the changes and Anna was published by Chatto & Windus, who offered a higher royalty. It had a laudatory reception. The letters—the first pages of which are included in the article as an illustration of each transcription—illuminate Garnett and Bennett, their attitudes, and other literature they encountered. In 1902 Bennett was the supplicant, hoping to persuade Duckworth to publish his work, but by 1908 the correspondence is between equals. Thereafter it was Bennett who was the established figure in the literary world.
{"title":"Edward Garnett and Arnold Bennett: The Publisher’s Reader and a Budding Novelist","authors":"William Baker, Peter Henderson","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09801-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09801-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Four hitherto unpublished letters from Edward Garnett (1868–1936) to Arnold Bennett (1867–1931), dated 26 February and 6 March 1902, and 27 November and 29 December 1908, throw light on Garnett’s perspicuity as a publisher’s reader for Duckworth and on the earliest reactions to <i>Anna of the Five Towns</i>, the novel that put Bennett on the map as a writer of fiction. Garnett had caveats: the suicide of Willie Price should be cut and in places, the novel was “over prosaic”. However, it gave Garnett and his wife, Constance Garnett (1861–1946), translator of Turgenev—an author that also interested Bennett—“enormous pleasure” and was strongly recommended. Bennett resisted making the changes and <i>Anna </i>was published by Chatto & Windus, who offered a higher royalty. It had a laudatory reception. The letters—the first pages of which are included in the article as an illustration of each transcription—illuminate Garnett and Bennett, their attitudes, and other literature they encountered. In 1902 Bennett was the supplicant, hoping to persuade Duckworth to publish his work, but by 1908 the correspondence is between equals. Thereafter it was Bennett who was the established figure in the literary world.</p>","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140559977","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-22DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09798-9
Teresa Gelardo-Rodríguez
Góngora’s parody “Arrojóse el mancebito” (1589) is one of the foundational poems in the context of Gongora’s corpus as it may have inspired a new aesthetical vein that would culminate with his Fable of Piramo and Tisbe. “Arrójose” is an iconoclastic proposal in that it opens the literary possibility of a parodic reinterpretation of the classical myth. With this poem, Góngora takes delight in the grotesque transformation of the tragic hero, Leandro, into a ridiculous character. This contribution delves into the character of Leandro of 1589 and highlights the relevance of this character in Góngora’s literary work. Specifically, this study studies the characterization of Leandro in this romance and defends the idea of how the parody of this mancebito inspires the genesis of a new and transgressive male role model. Góngora’s Leandro creates a new male character that encapsulates his parodic worldview of the epic and mythological hero.
贡戈拉的戏仿诗作《Arrojóse el mancebito》(1589 年)是贡戈拉作品中的奠基之作,因为它可能激发了一种新的美学流派,并在《皮拉莫和蒂斯贝寓言》中达到了顶峰。"Arrójose "是一个颠覆性的提议,因为它开启了对古典神话进行戏仿式重新诠释的文学可能性。通过这首诗,Góngora 乐于将悲剧英雄莱昂德罗怪诞地塑造成一个可笑的角色。这篇论文深入探讨了 1589 年的莱昂德罗这一人物形象,并强调了这一人物形象在贡戈拉文学作品中的相关性。具体而言,本研究探讨了这部浪漫主义作品中莱昂德罗的性格特征,并对这一 "曼斯比托 "的模仿如何激发了一种新的、具有反叛性的男性角色模式的产生这一观点进行了辩护。贡戈拉笔下的莱昂德罗创造了一个新的男性角色,概括了他对史诗和神话英雄的戏仿世界观。
{"title":"“Arrojóse el mancebito/al charco de los atunes” de Luis de Góngora y la representación paródica del héroe-galán mitológico.","authors":"Teresa Gelardo-Rodríguez","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09798-9","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09798-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Góngora’s parody “Arrojóse el mancebito” (1589) is one of the foundational poems in the context of Gongora’s corpus as it may have inspired a new aesthetical vein that would culminate with his <i>Fable of Piramo and Tisbe</i>. “Arrójose” is an iconoclastic proposal in that it opens the literary possibility of a parodic reinterpretation of the classical myth. With this poem, Góngora takes delight in the grotesque transformation of the tragic hero, Leandro, into a ridiculous character. This contribution delves into the character of Leandro of 1589 and highlights the relevance of this character in Góngora’s literary work. Specifically, this study studies the characterization of Leandro in this romance and defends the idea of how the parody of this mancebito inspires the genesis of a new and transgressive male role model. Góngora’s Leandro creates a new male character that encapsulates his parodic worldview of the epic and mythological hero.</p>","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140199214","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-15DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09803-1
Tina Marie Boyer
This study delves into the metaphorical nature of the OHG Muspilli. Employing cognitive linguistics, the research aims to explore the deeper implications of metaphors, which are believed to be deeply ingrained in our thought processes and reasoning about the world. According to Lakoff and Johnson’s theory, metaphors are more than just linguistic tools; they are integral to understanding and interacting with the world around us. Moreover, the meaning of language is not solely determined by individual words or grammar but is also shaped by the social and cultural context in which it exists.
The poet and their work are intertwined in a syncretistic world where diverse cultural expressions converge. In this context, the Muspilli becomes a center for religious syncretism, where metaphors of the older belief system intersect with those of the newer one. As a place of “polyvocality,” it seeks to be didactic, shedding light on the complex interplay between language, culture, and religion. Overall, this research offers a nuanced understanding of the OHG Muspilli, revealing its significance as a cultural artifact.
{"title":"Metaphors in the Muspilli","authors":"Tina Marie Boyer","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09803-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09803-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study delves into the metaphorical nature of the OHG <i>Muspilli</i>. Employing cognitive linguistics, the research aims to explore the deeper implications of metaphors, which are believed to be deeply ingrained in our thought processes and reasoning about the world. According to Lakoff and Johnson’s theory, metaphors are more than just linguistic tools; they are integral to understanding and interacting with the world around us. Moreover, the meaning of language is not solely determined by individual words or grammar but is also shaped by the social and cultural context in which it exists.</p><p>The poet and their work are intertwined in a syncretistic world where diverse cultural expressions converge. In this context, the <i>Muspilli</i> becomes a center for religious syncretism, where metaphors of the older belief system intersect with those of the newer one. As a place of “polyvocality,” it seeks to be didactic, shedding light on the complex interplay between language, culture, and religion. Overall, this research offers a nuanced understanding of the OHG <i>Muspilli</i>, revealing its significance as a cultural artifact.</p>","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140146310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-28DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09799-8
Matías A. Spector
Miguel de Cervantes had firsthand experience with spying techniques in North Africa, first as a captive in Algiers and later as a royal envoy on a secret mission in Oran. In this paper, I examine how the author articulated his knowledge on espionage in “La gitanilla” (“The Little Gypsy”) (1613). Firstly, I propose that, by 1610, Cervantes found himself in an auspicious geopolitical context to bring to light, in the fictional realm, his knowledge on intelligence. Secondly, I argue that, in his novella, a group of Gypsy girls reveal practices and skills commonly associated with real seventeenth-century spies. Also, I claim that Preciosa and Andrés can be understood as ideal informants. In this way, I conclude that, although Cervantes had little direct participation in the Spanish intelligence services, his proximity has left important traces on his fictional work.
{"title":"Cervantes y los servicios de inteligencia: Espías e informantes en “La gitanilla”","authors":"Matías A. Spector","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09799-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09799-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Miguel de Cervantes had firsthand experience with spying techniques in North Africa, first as a captive in Algiers and later as a royal envoy on a secret mission in Oran. In this paper, I examine how the author articulated his knowledge on espionage in “La gitanilla” (“The Little Gypsy”) (1613). Firstly, I propose that, by 1610, Cervantes found himself in an auspicious geopolitical context to bring to light, in the fictional realm, his knowledge on intelligence. Secondly, I argue that, in his <i>novella,</i> a group of Gypsy girls reveal practices and skills commonly associated with real seventeenth-century spies. Also, I claim that Preciosa and Andrés can be understood as ideal informants. In this way, I conclude that, although Cervantes had little direct participation in the Spanish intelligence services, his proximity has left important traces on his fictional work.</p>","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140004863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-27DOI: 10.1007/s11061-023-09797-2
Xiaohua Jiang
{"title":"Effeminate Bodies, Individual Confusion and National Crisis: A Comparative Analysis of Robert Musil’s Die Verwirrungen des Zöglings Törleß and Yu Dafu’s “Boundless Night”","authors":"Xiaohua Jiang","doi":"10.1007/s11061-023-09797-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-023-09797-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140424723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-24DOI: 10.1007/s11061-024-09802-2
Guylian Nemegeer, Mara Santi
In 2010, the American graphic designer Seymour Chwast (New York, °1931) published Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation, which condenses Dante’s masterpiece into 127 pages. Previous scholarship has mainly focused on how Chwast adapts the Comedy and the specific passages he chooses to include. Chwast has been viewed as just one of many interpreters within a long tradition of Dante adaptations. However, we argue that Chwast possibly introduces a new chapter in this tradition. Specifically, he diverges from two types of Dante illustrators. Firstly, he surpasses illustrators who subordinate their work to Dante’s literary text and who simply depict images and characters from the book to visually represent and explain the text. Secondly, he deviates from artists who engage with Dante as equals, creating a work of art with double authorship, e.g., Gustave Doré. Chwast moves beyond Dante and engages primarily with American pop culture, particularly its cinematic tradition and comic books, rather than with Dante. The same process can be observed in Chwast’s other literary adaptations. Hence, in this paper, we mainly focus on Chwast’s adaptation of the Divine Comedy within the artist’s broader Americanisation of European literature. The key aspect of this process is Chwast’s cultural appropriation, wherein the literary sources disappear to make room for 20th-century American pop culture. As a result, the significance of the relation with the sources diminishes in comparison to Chwast’s main goal of representing European literature from his own American viewpoint and appealing to an American readership.
{"title":"Dante, American-Style: Seymour Chwast’s Graphic Adaptations of the Divine Comedy and European Literature","authors":"Guylian Nemegeer, Mara Santi","doi":"10.1007/s11061-024-09802-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-024-09802-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In 2010, the American graphic designer Seymour Chwast (New York, °1931) published <i>Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Graphic Adaptation</i>, which condenses Dante’s masterpiece into 127 pages. Previous scholarship has mainly focused on how Chwast adapts the <i>Comedy</i> and the specific passages he chooses to include. Chwast has been viewed as just one of many interpreters within a long tradition of Dante adaptations. However, we argue that Chwast possibly introduces a new chapter in this tradition. Specifically, he diverges from two types of Dante illustrators. Firstly, he surpasses illustrators who subordinate their work to Dante’s literary text and who simply depict images and characters from the book to visually represent and explain the text. Secondly, he deviates from artists who engage with Dante as equals, creating a work of art with double authorship, e.g., Gustave Doré. Chwast moves beyond Dante and engages primarily with American pop culture, particularly its cinematic tradition and comic books, rather than with Dante. The same process can be observed in Chwast’s other literary adaptations. Hence, in this paper, we mainly focus on Chwast’s adaptation of the <i>Divine Comedy</i> within the artist’s broader Americanisation of European literature. The key aspect of this process is Chwast’s cultural appropriation, wherein the literary sources disappear to make room for 20th-century American pop culture. As a result, the significance of the relation with the sources diminishes in comparison to Chwast’s main goal of representing European literature from his own American viewpoint and appealing to an American readership.</p>","PeriodicalId":44392,"journal":{"name":"NEOPHILOLOGUS","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139955532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}