University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Portuguese

Den västerländska kanon har varit ett omdiskuterat begrepp ända sedan dess intåg i litteraturvetenskapliga kretsar - en debatt som pågår ännu idag. Debatten har främst kommit att handla om kanons legitimitet i förhållande till dess representation, då den sedan uppkomsten främst har representerats av litteratur skriven av västerländska män. År 2004 uppmärksammades debatten i Norden, vilket resulterade i att Danmark fick en etablerad kulturkanon, som syftar till att representera det danska kulturarvet. Detta inspirerade till en liknande debatt i Sverige, där folkpartisten Cecilia Wikström lade fram ett förslag på en liknande svensk kulturkanon för att därmed stärka det svenska kulturarvet. Detta förslag möttes av kritik från olika håll, vilket vi undersöker i denna uppsats för att ge en bild av kanons många aspekter. Uppsatsen är uppdelad i två delar: en makroanalys och en mikroanalys. Makroanalysen undersöker forskning kring kanonteorier, kanondefinitioner, kanoniska egenskaper och kanonrepresentation, för att kunna erhålla en tolkning och vidare en förståelse för vad som utgör kanon. Mikroanalysen är en undersökning som utmärker och legitimerar en romans plats i kanon, utifrån resultaten i studiens första del. Litteraturobjektet är Gustave Flauberts Madame Bovary från 1857, då den förekommer på flera kanonlistor, och är både hyllad och kritiserad. Litteraturen vi granskar består av etablerad litteratur som är representerad i kanon i egenskap av en manlig västerländsk författare, för att undersöka i vilken mån de kanoniska egenskaperna går att utröna i verket, och med detta motivera dess plats i kanon. Makroanalysen visar att kanon fortfarande till största del är representerad av västerländska män. Detta, visar forskningen, beror på traditionella urvalsprocesser som inte alltid följer samhällets utveckling mot jämlikhet och mångfald. Likväl har det uppstått en del alternativa listor och forskning som bidrar till att de försummade författarskapen representeras i kanon. Mikroanalysen visar korrelationen med resultaten i makroanalysen. Madame Bovary besitter de kanoniska egenskaper som eftersträvas i kanon genom stil och särart, tradition, värderingar, kulturarv samt står emot tidens tand. Resultaten av studien visar att det inte alltid handlar om de kanoniska egenskaperna per se, utan att det snarare är vad ett litterärt verk representerar i relation till det litterära fältet, eller den kanoniska diskursen, som avgör vad som anses vara kanoniskt eller ej. / The Western canon has been a debatable topic ever since its entry into the field of literature - a debate that is still on-going. The focus of this particular debate has primarily been about the canons legitimacy in relation to its representation, since it is mostly represented by literature written by Western males. In 2004, the debate was brought to attention in Scandinavia, which resulted in an established culture canon in Denmark, which intended to represent the Danish cultural heritage. This inspired a similar debate in Sweden, where the politician Cecilia Wikström suggested a similar Swedish cultural canon, in order to strengthen the Swedish cultural heritage. This suggestion was met by critique from different directions, which our study is partly based on. This thesis study is divided into two parts: a macroanalysis, and a microanalysis. The macroanalysis analyses research about canon theories, canon definitions, canonical qualities, and canon representation, in order to establish an interpretation and understanding of the constituents of the canon. The microanalysis is a study that distinguishes and legitimizes a novel’s place in the canon, based on the results from the macroanalysis. The literary object of this study is Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary from 1857, since it is recurrent in many lists of canonical works, and has been both praised and criticised throughout the years. The literature that is studied is established literature represented in the canon as a work of a Western male writer, in order to study how the canonical qualities are represented in the novel, and thus legitimise its place in the canon. The results from the macroanalysis show that the Western canon is still mostly represented by Western males. Research indicates that this is due to traditional sampling processes, which do not always follow the development in society towards equality and cultural diversity. However, some alternative canonical lists have emerged, as well as research that has contributed to further representation of previously neglected authorships to the canon. The microanalysis shows the correlation with the results from the macroanalysis. The canonical qualities of style and peculiar nature, tradition, values, cultural heritage and standing the test of time, are all represented in Madame Bovary. The results of this study indicate that it is not always about the canonical qualities per se; it seems to be more about what a literary work represents in relation to the literary field, or the canonical discourse, that determines what is considered as being canonical or not.

This thesis explores ways in which T. S. Eliot, when he wrote his most autobiographical poetic work<em> Four Quartets</em>, might have been influenced by Thoreaus famously autobiographical prose work <em>Walden</em>, written nearly a century earlier<em>.</em> Much evidence suggests that Eliot knew of the earlier writer and his work. Not only did Eliot assign <em>Walden</em> as suggested reading in a course he taught, but as time went on Eliot also admitted that he was influenced by the New England literary tradition. Reading <em>Four Quartets</em> in light of <em>Walden</em> and its context not only helps a reader understand the connections between the two works, it also gives a reader a better understanding of <em>Four Quartets</em>' fundamental meanings. Although Eliot in <em>Four Quartets</em> adds another layer of his spiritual goals beyond those expressed in <em>Walden</em>, he expresses his religio-philosophical quest for Incarnational "still point[s] of the turning world" (<em>Burnt Norton</em> 62) using autobiographical aspects and poetic tropes that are in many ways strikingly similar to the expressions also present in <em>Walden</em>. </p> <p>The chapters of this thesis unfold these concepts. My Introduction highlights some of the key connections. Chapter One sets the stage for the discussion of the Incarnation by explaining how <em>Four Quartets</em>' spiritual round-trip journey from England to America is grounded in real world places and experiences. This chapter also explains how this guardedly autobiographical re-collection of an almost-real journey includes a response to Eliots personal history and to his literary ancestors, including Thoreau<em>.</em> In Chapter Two, I unpack the similarities and differences between many of the religio-philosophical questions asked in the two works, focusing in on Eliots and Thoreau's complex handlings of such themes as simplicity versus complexity, Incarnation, stillness versus activity, and the difficulty of achieving spiritual goals. Finally, these religio-philosophical questions are incarnated in very similar poetic devices and tropes within both works; in Chapter Three, I describe the most important of these. The "still point of the turning world" (Eliot, <em>Burnt Norton</em> 62) and the "mathematical point" (Thoreau, <em>Walden</em> 1.100) are rich metaphors that form the heart of this chapter.</p>

My proposed PhD, titled Zola's Naturalism in The Rougon-Macquart: The Fatality of Sexuality, aims to study the basics of the naturalistic novel in the second half of the nineteenth-century France. Firstly, I have looked back at previous critical studies that were dedicated to the themes of sexuality and/or fatality in Zola's writing. This introductory chapter helped me understand how far critics have gone and what a long way we still have to go before we can fully appreciate the importance of these themes in the context of naturalism. Throughout the twenty novels that make The Rougon-Macquart series, I studied the fictional characters in their being, their appearance and their evolution in space and time. I therefore investigated whether or not these characters were masters or slaves of their space and time and beyond that, what influences they had on each other. Afterwards, I questioned the fecundity of the theme of sexuality in Zola's work to find out both the aspects of originality in his writing and his contribution to the modern novel. Nevertheless, I have criticized Zola on a wider angle as an emeritus writer with his own "weaknesses". Methodologically, I have largely used the semiotics approach along with psychoanalysis due to the specificity of sexuality. Despite the wide range of critical studies on Zola's novels, in my sense, most of them have so far failed to tackle naturalism at its foundations, i.e. sexuality. In fact, if one attempted to free The Rougon-Macquart from the theme of sexuality, neither the Rougon-Macquart family would exist nor the twenty novels they generated. Studying sexuality therefore appeared to be essential to the understanding of the naturalistic theory. However, and surprisingly so, most of Zola's critics have avoided that inescapable theme, perhaps more likely for reasons of decency rather than for scientific ones. It is in such context that I have decided that it was time to bring it to light for the sake of truth about the knowledge of Zola.

The dissertation presents and explores a mode of literary studies, which bypasses the question of literary value, and instead aims to assess how and where creative writing challenges hegemonic norms (that is, its political value). In so doing, it reflects on the practice of literary studies per se, and the mechanism(s) by which discourse can impact on subjecthood. The exploration entails the application of certain theoretical tools (concepts) in a reading of a literary work. The primary concepts employed are: performativity, subjectivity and gender. The dissertation seeks to read Muriel at Metropolitan (Tlali 1994) as a performative act, that is, a discursive event which re-enacts the practice of fictional writing and thereby extends (and possibly changes} the convention of crealive writing. If it is true that creative writing is performative, that it partake in the making of the individual, then it is important to study such writing in order to discover the consequences for the subject / English Studies / M.A. (English)

This thesis examines epic impressions between two disparate literary genres, the classical Homeric epic and the science fiction novel, Frank Herbert's Dune in particular. This is done by applying Jung's archetypes and his notion of the collective unconscious to both literary works. This thesis argues that, through intertextual dialogue, continuities can be seen to exist between the Homeric epic and Dune and other science fiction texts of a similar nature. Chapter one examines epic impressions through a study of the classical heroic superhuman. This superhuman, his birth, divine attributes and heroic adventures shall be isolated and applied to both the classical hero and the hero of Herbert's narrative. Chapter two will examine the relationship between prescience ("hyperawareness") and the divine oracle of the classical epic. Chapter three will examine the archetype of the "Terrible Mother" and the masculine fear of feminine powers that works to keep the feminine subordinate. / English Studies / M.A. (English)

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:32:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-12-11Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:03:27Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 santos_lao_dr_sjrp.pdf: 998365 bytes, checksum: 64c44cd8cdee38e4625c1de745e7a697 (MD5) / O foco deste trabalho assenta-se no percurso da indianidade nas obras selecionadas a partir das afinidades com o universo natural, mítico e aculturado do indígena. Objetiva analisar as estratégias de figuração criadas no âmbito literário, em que o nativo é posto em interação com um elemento externo à sua cultura, seja ele o não-índio, o cristão ou o civilizado, responsável pela oposição índio versus brasileiro. No percurso de leitura estabelecido, as análises dos textos apontam como o homem americano foi visto frente às relações sócio-econômicas e culturais determinadas pelo encontro com o colonizador e as conseqüências derivadas dos conceitos contraditórios que emergiram do quadro de ocupação da terra brasileira. A seleção das obras significativas para este trabalho deu-se a partir da Carta de Achamento, de Pero Vaz de Caminha até a publicação de Maíra (1976), de Darcy Ribeiro. Considerou-se a presença do índio sob diferentes convenções ideológicas e de estilo, em obras representativas dos vários movimentos culturais, nas quais se revelam os matizes que promovem o diálogo entre o indianismo e o indigenismo literário brasileiros. Dessa maneira, o trabalho obedece a dois propósitos: o científico, por meio da interpretação das imagens da realidade nacional tecidas pelo aspecto literário; e o didático, pela composição em forma de um roteiro de leitura, estabelecendo ligação entre a análise e o excerto-referência, pelo qual se dá o contato direto do leitor com o fragmento da obra. / The focus of this study is based on the course of Indian identity in the selected works, with particular regard to their affinity with the natural, mythical and accultured worlds of indigenous peoples. The objective is to analyse the strategies of representation created in the literary field, in which the native is placed in interaction with an element extraneous to his/her own culture, whether that element be the non-Indian, the Christian or the civilised, responsible for the opposition Indian versus Brazilian. In the course of the established reading, the analyses of the texts indicate how the Native American was seen against socio-economic and cultural relations determined by the encounter with the coloniser, and also the consequences of the contradictory concepts that emerged as a result of the pattern of occupation of Brazilian territory. The selection of works relevant to this study ranges from the Carta de Achamento, written by Pero Vaz de Caminha, to the publication of Maíra (1976), by Darcy Ribeiro. The presence of the Indian was considered according to various ideological and stylistic conventions, in works representing various cultural movements, which reveal the shades which give rise to the dialogue between Brazilian literature concerning Indians and literary studies of Indians. The study thus fulfils two purposes: the scientific, by means of the interpretation of literary images of Brazilian reality; and the didactic, by means of the composition of a programme of reading, establishing links between the analysis and the reference-excerpt, enabling the reader to have a direct contact with fragments of the selected works.

Quando nos debruçamos sobre as letras de samba e tango compostas entre 1917 e 1945, notamos a reiterada presença nos sambas do personagem chamado malandro e outros de seu universo. No caso do tango, testemunhamos a do denominado compadrito e outros relacionados a ele nos tangos. Essa presença se relaciona a uma contradição constitutiva, já que esses gêneros musicais, muitas vezes relacionados à representação do nacional, propagavam um modo de vida marginal, fora do apregoado como ideal de cidadão pelos respectivos Estados nacionais. É nosso objetivo nesta tese analisar como, nas composições nas quais aparece esse tipo de personagem, emergem embates, nas diferentes formas da heterogeneidade discursiva, entre vozes que identificamos, de um lado, como filiadas com a perspectiva marginal e, de outro, com posicionamentos relacionados às ações disciplinadoras dos Estados nacionais. Trabalharemos com composições elaboradas no período de 1917-1945, momento privilegiado de discussões de cunho nacionalista, quando o samba e o tango foram, por diferentes motivos e em distintas medidas, sendo associados a questões identitárias. Os referenciais teóricos que norteiam nossa pesquisa se relacionam especialmente aos estudos discursivos e enunciativos; porém, tendo em vista o caráter interdisciplinar de nosso trabalho, também lançaremos mão de conceitos relacionados aos estudos históricos, sociológicos, musicológicos e das ciências da comunicação. / When we dedicate our attention to the samba and tango lyrics produced between the years 1917 and 1945, we notice in them the persistent presence of the character known as malandro (smooth operator), and others belonging to his universe, as well as of the character known as compadrito, and others related to him in the tango songs. Such presences are related to a constitutive contradiction, for those musical genres which were constantly related to a national representation produced a propaganda of a marginal way of life, that is, the one of the outcast opposite to the ideal of citizen such as defended by national States. In this thesis, we take the compositions in which those characters are presented, and aim to analyze the way how clashes are established in the different manners of discursive heterogeneity. We identify voices sided with the marginal perspective, and we also identify other voices, on the other side, whose position stands for the one defended by the disciplining perspective of the national States. In such a frame, we work with lyrics composed in the period from 1917 to 1945, given that is a privileged moment for discussions from a nationalist perspective. Due to several reasons and different measures, that was the period when the samba and the tango were associated to identity matters. The theoretical references heading this research are mainly related to the enunciation and discourse studies; however, once we aim at maintaining the interdisciplinary aspect of our study, we also make use of conceptions related to the historical and sociological studies, as the ones belonging to the fields of musicology and communications

Como um mesmo crítico, a partir de sua perspectiva, leu Graciliano Ramos e, depois, Guimarães Rosa? Essa foi a pergunta primordial que motivou todo o andamento da pesquisa. A ela se seguiram outras: quais dificuldades impunham o trânsito entre leituras dos dois escritores brasileiros que talvez sejam os mais complexos prosadores do século XX? Quais os procedimentos de leitura crítica adotados? Quais transformações são perceptíveis na sucessão do ofício da crítica literária? Quais diálogos (declarados, velados, acidentais), para concordância ou discordância de pontos de vista, foram estabelecidos entre as leituras de diferentes críticos? Englobando dificuldades, procedimentos, transformações e diálogos, essas indagações dizem respeito a dois problemas centrais que podemos especificar como tensão entre a escrita dos escritores e a leitura dos críticos e tensão metodológica entre os críticos. Sendo assim, partindo da crítica de rodapé nos anos 1940, selecionamos oito críticos para tratar de tais indagações e problemas: Sérgio Milliet, Alvaro Lins, Franklin de Oliveira, Wilson Martins, Antonio Candido, Alfredo Bosi, Luiz Costa Lima e Adélia Meneses. O estudo comparativo, com foco em oito críticos e dois escritores, permitiu desenvolver abordagens, capítulo a capítulo, com um triplo interesse, ou seja, investigar três problemas principais: condições de recepção, leituras da crítica, questões de método. / How did the same critic read first Graciliano Ramos and then Guimarães Rosa from the same perspective? It was the main question which motivated throughout the course this research. It was followed by others: what were the difficulties imposed by the transit among the readings of the two Brazilian authors who may be the most complex prose writers of the twentieth century? What were the critical reading procedures adopted? What changes are noticed in succession of the literary criticism\'s craft? What dialogues (declared, veiled, accidental), agreeing of conflicting points of view have been established among the readings of different critics? Encompassing difficulties, procedures, changes and dialogues, these questions relate to two central problems that we can specify as \"tension between the writings of the writers and the reading of the critics\" and \"methodological tension\" among critics. Thus, starting from the newspaper criticism of the 1940s, we have selected eight critics for researching these questions and problems: Sergio Milliet, Alvaro Lins, Oliveira Franklin, Wilson Martins, Antonio Candido, Alfredo Bosi, Luiz Costa Lima and Adelia Meneses. The comparative study, focusing on eight critics and two writers, allowed the development of approaches, chapter by chapter, with a triple interest, that is, investigate three main problems: conditions of reception, readings of the criticism, questions of method.

Quel intérêt les études littéraires auraient-elles à remettre au goût du jour l’apprentissage par cœur de textes littéraires ? Le par cœur semble aujourd’hui une pratique pédagogique de nostalgiques et de réactionnaires. On lui reproche de faire moins bien et moins rapidement ce que la technologie fait sans effort. On l’accuse aussi de ne pas favoriser l’intelligence : elle est un travail mécanique de perroquet dans lequel la compréhension et l’esprit critique interviendraient peu. Ces critiques, qui peuvent paraître de bon sens, sont en fait selon nous le produit de trois logiques ou pensées qui dominent la pensée occidentale : la pensée matérialiste, la logique marchande et la logique de domination du masculin sur le féminin. Elles imprègnent tellement nos croyances et nos cadres cognitifs qu’on a du mal à penser en dehors d’elles. Nous confrontons dans cette thèse ces trois logiques à la question du par cœur : en interrogeant leurs présupposés et en mettant au jour certaines de leurs failles, on s’aperçoit alors que le par cœur, en fonction de la manière dont on le pratique, peut revivifier les études littéraires. / Why would it be worthwhile for literary studies to reintroduce learning by heart of literary texts? Learning by heart now appears to be an old-fashioned method, only practiced by nostalgic, reactionary teachers. It has been criticized for its lesser learning efficiency and velocity as compared to what technology has made available for fewer efforts. Another reason why it has been condemned is that it would impede the development of intelligence, as it is thought to be a parrot-like, mechanical exercise requiring very little understanding or critical thinking. These seemingly well-founded criticisms are, we argue, the product of three logics – or thoughts – dominating the Western thought, namely: the materialist thought, the mercantile logic, and the logic of the domination of the masculine over the feminine. Our beliefs and outlines of thought are so imbued with these three principles, that we are reluctant to depart from their influences to think. In this dissertation, we confront the three above-mentioned logics to the “learning-by-heart” issue. By questioning their presuppositions and shedding light on some of their flaws, we find out that learning by heart, depending on how it is carried out, helps revitalize literary studies.