The vast majority of videogames is consisting of fiction. One of the ways of approaching fiction is the literary theory of fictional worlds. However, this begs a question if we would be able to use this theory. The purpose of our thesis is to determine how literary theorists define fictional worlds. Furthermore, we will look at the way that this concept is used by ludologists and how they work with it. If our hypothesis, that we can apply this theory to videogames, will be confirmed, then we investigate how those worlds are different from the literary ones. Then, with the help from the acquired knowledge, we will conduct case studies on selected games. Finally, we will demonstrate how researching of fictional worlds can be profitable for game studies and how to utilize the theory more.

Poetics of space in The Alexandria Quartet is created by multilevel structures. This poetics is closely connected to the main space of the story - Alexandria, which is at the same time one of the novel's topics. Each level is suggested in connection to various theoretical conceptions which are subsequently used for my own analysis. Alexandria is initially an aesthetic coulisse of the story which is portrayed by descriptive passages. Strongly subjective and lyrical descriptions of the city establish overall impression of the story and potentially support reader's experiential illusion. Alexandria and its specificity is further modulated and thematised by its special macroscopic conditions which border Alexandria as an autonomous fictional space with its own rules within the novel's fictional world. Part of poetics of the space in this novel is also portraying spatio-temporal aspect of the reality (chronotope) no only on the level of the story, but also on the level of storytelling. Alexandria is further explicit rhetoric and also through semantic indexation personified and enters semantic relations with the main characters and events. Each level is complementary to another and all are part of the semantic gesture of the novel. Alexandria becomes a separate symbol, mythical entity which importance is...

So far the academical reception of Czech chronicle by Václav Hájek of Libočany was criticized for not being considerate of the early modern period literary context. It can be concluded from this paper's analysis of previous critiques and interpretations of Hájek's chronicle and from the excerption of key aspects of the theory of fictional worlds, that there is a lack of knowledge about the early modern period discoursive praxis, which defined the fictionality of text(s), as well as about formal and methodical aspects of this kind of work. Only through a thorough inspections of these two aspects it is possible to understand Czech chronicle and similar works as both historiographical sources and components of literary progress. This paper is comprised of selection of theoretical tools meant to identify the distinctions between fictional and non-fictional narratives, of overview of Hájek's chronicle's reception in compendia and editorial comments, and finally of a synthesis of theoretical conclusions and practical classifications of Hájek's chronicle, meaning this paper evaluates their expressive value regarding the current (non-)fictional state of Czech chronicle.

The thesis analyzes the possibilities of application of the fictional worlds theory as a possible basis for a different literary-theoretical approach to the study of literary texts. Not being a mere literature research, the thesis inquires into issues which are necessarily connected with the fictional worlds theory and which have been so far rarely dealt with, if discussed at all. It contributes to the discussion on advantages and drawbacks of the mimetic approach and of the fiction theory, it analyzes the possible applicability of the fictional worlds theory in literary history, it attempts to determine the correlation between the Seymour Chatman's textual types and the fiction theory nomenclature, and last but not least the thesis deals with the possibilities of this theory in the fictional worlds of lyrical poetry. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

The thesis presents an assumption that literature is inspired by reality (besides other factors), and that specific literary worlds may, to a certain extent, reflect the actual state of society. Historical events around the end of WWII and the consequent rapid social changes in Japan during late 1940s and 1950s had an indisputable impact on literary production at the time. The aim of this thesis is to affirm this assumption through an analysis of selected short stories and novels from the time concerned. The analysis focuses on remarks and on references about the period of time when the prose was written, and also on behavioral and attitude changes of its characters - prototypes of the Japanese society. The direct impact of historical and social transition on literary work may also be traced in the works' themes, motifs and narrative. We can thus, in many cases, follow the development of the Japanese postwar society from 1945 until the late 1950s, when the country started to prosper economically. The selection of the analysed pieces of literature includes two novels which did not only describe the time of their origination, but also had reverse effect on society. The impact hypothesis is thus confirmed and, what is more, we can see a mutual influence exercised by both, the society and art: The...

IVETA PASTYŘÍKOVÁ: ORDER, PROGRESS, AND IDEAL GOVERNMENT IN CLAUDIAN'S EPIC DE RAPTU PROSERPINAE ABSTRACT The aim of the diploma thesis is to show how late Ancient poet Claudius Claudianus deals with the problem of ideal government in the mythological epic De Raptu Proserpinae, by which strategies he exhorts his reader to evaluate Jupiter's rule in the world of the poem and to compare it with the situation in the real world. The chosen method is the theory of fictional worlds. Firstly, the thesis outlines the relation between the fictional world of the epic and the real world, then, the attention is paid to the essential question of this fictional world, ideal government. The thesis presents the prefaces of the epic as entrances into the fictional world foreshadowing topics elaborated in the world of the poem, where the ruler Jupiter has a difficult task ahead of him: to harmonize progress with protection against chaos. The last chapter summarizes the author's strategies and compares the epic with Claudian's other poems.

The growing accessibility of quantum mechanics and chaos theory over the past eighty years has opened a new mode of world-creating for dramatists. An increasingly large collection of plays organize their fictional worlds around such scientific concepts as quantum uncertainty and chaotic determinism. This trend is especially noticeable within dramatic texts that emphasize a fictional, not material or metafictional, engagement. These plays construct fictional worlds that reflect the increasingly strange actual world. The dominant theoretical approaches to fictional worlds unfairly treat these plays as primarily metafictional texts, when these texts construct fictional experiences to speculate about everyday ramifications of living in a post-quantum mechanics world. This thesis argues that these texts are best understood as examples of speculative fiction drama, and they speculate about the changes to our understanding of reality implied by contemporary scientific discoveries. Looking at three plays as exemplary case studies—John Mighton’s Possible Worlds (1990), Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia (1993), and Tony Kushner’s Homebody/Kabul (2001)—this thesis demonstrates that speculative fiction theories can be adapted into fictional worlds analysis, allowing us to analyze these plays as fiction-making texts that offer nonclassical aesthetic experiences. In doing so, this thesis contributes to speculative fiction studies, fictional worlds studies, and the dynamic interdisciplinary dialogue between aesthetic and scientific discourses.

The thesis derives from my bachelor thesis "The Motif of Dream in Selected Czech 19th century Fiction (Zeyer - Mácha - Erben)", which is focused on dreams in fiction literature, mostly on selected Czech authors of the 19th century. This diploma thesis will be devoted to Jakub Arbes and Svatopluk Čech, Czech authors of the second half of the 19th century. In the titles selected, the accent will be put on the importance of the motif of dream and the possibilities of their usage in the plot. The thesis will also consider the diversity and concepts of the literary motif in question. This work should be comparative (in the international sense), and will also consider both the common and the variating elements of dreams in chosen literary texts. Attention will be paid to the analysis of dreams, the activity of dreaming itself and the symbols used. The entire work will be based on traditional concepts of dream in psychology and psychoanalysis (Carl Gustav Jung, Sigmund Freud), but also will keep in mind the fictional nature of literary "dreams". Due to that, it will also stem from the so-called fictional worlds theory, which is in current naratology described eg. in the book "How to Do Fiction with Words" by Jiří Koten.

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Ce travail de recherche s’intéresse au potentiel thérapeutique de la lecture et vise à mieux comprendre le fonctionnement du dispositif littéraire, notamment dans son interaction avec le lecteur. En nous appuyant sur la théorie des mondes parallèles, nous faisons l’hypothèse que l’œuvre littéraire induit une simulation de la vie psychique du lecteur. Par le biais du canal sémiotique qu’est le texte et selon des dispositifs de représentation, le lecteur ressaisit le sens des mots et s’approprie le récit. En tant qu’expérience esthétique, la lecture littéraire fait appel au vécu du lecteur et engage ses émotions autrement que tout autre type de discours. Le geste de la lecture sous-entend déjà une certaine subjectivité du lecteur et nous pouvons donc, dès lors que nous nous intéressons de plus près à l’interaction entre texte et lecteur, concevoir une utilisation thérapeutique de la littérature. En proposant l’œuvre littéraire comme support de développement psychique, nous avons conçu, animé et évalué un atelier thérapeutique de lecture et d’écriture dans trois structures en santé mentale, à Toulouse et à Montréal. Destiné à un public souffrant de psychose, cet atelier s’appuie sur les principes de l’art-thérapie et vient concrétiser l’aspect (re)constructeur de la lecture littéraire inscrite dans notre réflexion théorique. Nos observations, d’une part, interrogent la perspective théorique littéraire, la fonction attribuée à l’œuvre et l’activité du lecteur et, d’autre part, débouchent sur des propositions thérapeutiques pour un atelier de lecture et d’écriture en milieu psychiatrique. / This research is interested in the therapeutic potential of literary reading and looks for a better understanding of the literary device, particularly in its interaction with the reader. Basing our work on fictional worlds theory, we make the hypothesis that literary work induces a simulation of the reader’s psychic life. Using the semiotic channel of the text and according to representation devices, the reader seizes the words’ sense and adapts the story for himself. As an aesthetic experience, literary reading calls for the reader’s past experiences and engages his emotions in a different way than any other type of discourse. The gesture of reading already implies a certain subjectivity for the reader and we can therefore, as we take a closer interest to text-reader interaction, imagine a therapeutic use of literature. Proposing literary work as a support for psychic development, we have designed, ran and evaluated therapeutic reading and writing sessions in three mental health infrastructures, in Toulouse and Montreal. Destined to a psychotic audience, these reading sessions are based on art therapy principles and concretize the (re)constructive aspect of literary reading within our theoritical reflection. On one hand, our observations challenge the literary studies perspective, the function of the literary work and the activity of the reader and, on the other hand, they lead on therapeutic propositions for reading and writing sessions in a psychiatric context. / Réalisé en cotutelle internationale avec l'Université de Toulouse II-Le Mirail