The class discussed the third chapter of Peter Zima’s Literature and Philosophy. The chapter
mainly discusses about Czech Structuralism and their structuralist thinkers
Jakobson, Mukorovscky and that of Vodicka.
Czech structuralism is
mostly known as Prague structuralism. Prague criticism mainly emerged in Europe
and that the New criticism from that of United States of America. Saussure the
Swiss Linguist not only talks about sign but also talks about language having
two levels that of langue and parole. Langue is nothing but what we hear in
parole. It’s said that the manifestation of langue are endless that is idea is
possible but not language. Langue is a basic structure and that Prague
structuralists were not interested in content but structure. For them the whole
work of art, novel per say depends upon the structure and not the content.
Saussure died on 22 February 1913.
The Russian formalist
showed hardly any interest in the idea that the literary text is a sign which
permits communication between author and reader. The Prague structuralists on
the contrary were particularly interested in that notion. They conceived of
literature as a communication process as a continuation process, as a dialogue
between author and public. Mukarovsky’s way of thinking is that of a
semiotician. The textual sign maintains its independence with respect to the
communication process. The text is neither a direct expression of the authors
psyche nor can it be identified with its reflections in the readers psyche.
Moreover in spite of its central and independent position in the communication
process, the text loses its absolute character of a formal construction fixed
for ever.
In Linguistics and
Poetics, a well-known article by Jakobson, he distinguishes six functions of
language:
Ø The emotive function which is linked to the
sender or author of a message.
Ø The
connotative function that is the connotation which is related to the receiver
or listener.
Ø The
metalingual function that discusses about the language is geared towards the
code in question.
Ø The
phatic function which is oriented towards the contact medium.
Ø The
referential function which designates the context of communication
Ø The
poetic function which becomes an end in itself.
According to Mukarovsky
and Jakobson, a verbal message, produced, transmitted and perceived in the
process of communication, and embedded in its socio-cultural context, always
carries a dominating function and that the other functions may be present as accessory. The dynamic aspect of function,
pointing to the historicity, or socio historical embededness of verbal
messages, implies that one and the same text may acquire different, especially
the dominant functions at different times and in different cultures.
The conception of semantic
gesture expressed at once both the dynamic semantic unity and inner
differentiation and the human significance of the concrete work of art.
Philosophical angst is
different from that of normal day to day life “angst” (acute but nonspecific
sense of anxiety or remorse) that we discuss because philosophically this means
the dread caused by man’s awareness that his future is not determined but must
be freely chosen.
The class also
discussed and was enlightened about:
·
Knowledge system always links to the
political power. In 44 BCE that is Before Common Era, Romans became powerful
and continued to be powerful for several years. It was during this period that
they made roads to make trade easier. After this the scholarships from Rome
goes to Prussia and Prussia becomes the knowledge keeper but with the emergence
Renaissance this status of Prussia was moved to Europe.
·
Turkey, the then Istanbul
(Constantinople) was known as the first Islamic centre which was later moved to
Italy, this continued till the First World War. Islamic renaissance ends in the
9th century and that the in first university was established in Paris
in the 12th century followed by the second one in Belgium which was
known as the University of Nouvelle and finally it was in the 13th
century that University of Oxford and University of Cambridge was established.
·
First World War was mainly fought by the
kings; this was mainly the culmination point. It was in the year 1912 that the
people from different countries started getting passports which made trade and
travel easier, due to this the ideas and knowledge started moving from country
to country.
Prepared by
Dhanya G Nair
Works Cited:
Pinto, Anil. “Class on Anglo-American New
Criticism and Russian Formalism.” Christ
University. Bangalore
Zima, Peter V. The Philosophy of Modern Literary Theory. New Jersey
Press, 1999. Print.
