Professor of comparative literature in University of Warwick
and authority on translation studies and comparative literature
Major works
Translation studies, 1980
Comparative literature, 1993
Exchanging , 2002
Fellow at the Royal Society of literature
This essay is the introduction to her comparative
literature: a critical introduction
Content of the essay
The essay tries to answer what is comparative literature ,
it involves the study of text across cultures
it is interdisciplinary
it is concerned with patterns of connection in literature
across both time and space
Any interested reader ends up with comparative literature.
people do not start with comparative literature but reach
there from different starting points.
The author quotes Arnold from his inaugural lecture at
Oxford in 1857
“everywhere there is connection everywhere there is
illustration, no single event, no single literature
adequately comprehended except in relation to other
events, to other literature.”
Author presents a list of examples for influences and
connections among orders and works.
Chaucer reminds Boccassio
Shakespeare’s sources are seen in Latin, French, Spanish
and Italian
Development of romanticism across Europe.
Bauldlaire’s fascination with Edgar Allenpoe.
Learnings of English novelists from Russian authors.
Mention some debating topics from beginning of the 19th
century to the day.
What is the object of study in comparative literature?
How can comparison be the object of anything?
Is comparative literature a discipline?
This is the crisis of comparative literature as Rene
Welleck defined.
Opinions and claims for and against comparative literature.
Benedetto Croce – in 1903- comparative literature was a non
subject.
Dismissed the suggestion it might be seen as a discipline.
He studied the definition of comparative literature as
vicissitudes and alterations of themes and literary ideas
across literatures.
Then concluded that there is no study more arid than
researches of this sort.
The proper object of study should be literary history.
To him, the term comparative literature was obfuscating –
not clear -which is disguised one, because the true object
of study is literary history in real.
He claimed, he could not distinguish between the two –
comparative literature and literary history.
So no substance to the term comparative literature.
Charles Mills Gayle- one of the founders of North American
comparative literature, he said working promise of a student in
comparative literature is,
“Literature as a distinct and integral medium of thought….
differentiated by the social conditions… prompted by common need
and aspirations of man…”
Franois Jost, in 1947
National literature cannot constitute an intelligible field
of study because of its arbitrarily limited perspectives.
Comparative literature is an overall view of literature of
the world of letters… a vision of cultural universe,
inclusive and comprehensive.
Josh, Gayle and others are proposing comparative literature as
some kind of world literature.
All cultural differences disappear when readers take up
great works as instruments of Universal harmony.
Comparists facilitate that harmony.
Wellek and Warren suggest in in theory of literature, 1949
Comparative literature asks for a widening of
perspectives, a suppression of local and provincial
sentiments, not easy to achieve.
Comparatist is here an international ambassador working
in the comparative literature of United Nations.
Literature is one as art and humanity is one.
Wellek and Warren
Goethe said “national literature means little now” in 1827 but
Wellek and Warren offered the cultural equivalence of the
same, which was powerful after world war second.
This single, harmonious reading vision of comparative literature
is yet to be met.
the subject appeared to be gaining ground in 1960 and 70.
But it was shattered forever by the waves of critical thoughts
that swept through one after the other,
Structuralism to post structuralism
Feminism to deconstruction
Semiology to psychoanalysis.
High flying graduate students in the western turned to
comparative literature as a radical subject during 1950s and
60s.
lack of coherent methodology did not matter
but by the late 1970 new generation high-flying graduate
students in the West turned to literary theory.
Women studies, semiotics, Film and Media studies,
cultural studies
New programs in comparative literature emerged in China
Japan Taiwan other Asian countries.
Based on the specificity of national literatures, not on any ideal
of universalism.
According to Swapan Majumdar,
“it is because of this predilection for National literature –
much deplored by the Anglo American critics as a
methodology – that comparative literature has struck
roots in the Third world nations and in India particular.”
Ganesh Devi suggest that,
comparative literature in India is directly linked to the
rise of modern Indian nationalism.
Though the nationalism and comparative literature go
incompatible in the deep sense.
To Majumdar, Indians consider literature derived from Greeco-
Roman matrices via Christianity as European without
geographical precision.
English, French, German etc. are subnational literatures.
He suggests comparative literature as a radically
alternative perspective and a re-evaluation of the
discourse of ‘national’ literatures.
Developments in comparative literature beyond Europe and
North America cut all Eurocentric notions of literature.
Author mentions concepts of Hegel that,
African culture is weak
Africa has not a history
Mentions James Sneed’s criticism on Hegel that,
Late 20th century European culture reconciles with
black culture.
Became late to realise that separation between
cultures was all along not one of nature but one of
force.
A very varied picture of comparative literature is seen today.
Changes are according to where it is taking place to
accept the implications of their literary and cultural
policy.
According to Terry Eagleton, emergence of English as an
academic subject in the 19th century had quite clear political
implications.
He explains it with the changes brought after the First
World War
War-time nationalism
More strident forms of chauvinism following carnage
of ruling class rhetoric.
Eagleton’s explanation ties with aspirations of early
comparatists.
For a subject that would transcends cultural boundaries
and unite the human race through the civilising power of
great literature.
Comparative literature has been called into questions by the
emergence of alternative schools of thoughts.
The author explains it with examples of orientalism by
Edward Said etc.
which gave new vocabulary and turned discussions to
cultural ‘other’.
Different issues tackled by a European syllabus and a colonized
nation’s syllabus.
European could be concerned with an established Canon of
great writers.
For a colonised nation an author is not only a great writer but
an author from a nation in conflict with one another.
he gives example of Shakespeare for Indian students.
one way of tackling this problem is to syudy Shakespeare
comparatively, advent of Shakespeare is Indian cultural
life etc.
National consciousness and Awareness of the need to move
beyond colonial legacy lead to development of comparative
literature in many parts of the world.
Comparative literature is used in a constructive way of
exploring both indigenous and imported traditions.
Nations like China Brazil India and many African States’
focus was national culture, the way how it was affected
by importation.
Ganesh Devi mentions the coincidence of emergence of
comparative literature in India and Europe with rise of
nationalism in both the parts.
Comparative literature is facing a troubled situation in the
west, for
falling student numbers
uneasiness or reluctance of scholars in defining the area
of study exactly.
continuation of the old idea of comparative literature as
binary study.
study of two authors or two text
but the subject is expanding and developing in many parts
linked to questions of national culture and identity.
New comparative literature questions the Canon of great
European masters.
other theories are too.
For example, feminism – questions male orientation of
cultural history.
post modernist theory – revalue the role of the
reader, role of institutionalized power structures
Western readers too approach this challenge,
but without recourse to something called comparative
literature.
mentions example of the work ‘The Empire writes back; theory
and practice in colonial literatures’
its opening statement says, “the term ‘post-colonial’ is
most appropriate as the term for the new cross cultural
criticism which has emerged in recent years and for the
discourse through which this is constituted.”
what is this, comparative literature under another
name.
Translation studies and comparative literature
It has profound implications for the future of comparative
literature.
Since the early usage of the term in 1978, translation studies
developed to such an extent that there are many now who
consider it to be a discipline in its own right.
This development distinguishes translation studies from poly
system theory by Ivan Zohar and Tori.
it sees literature as a poly-system.
individual literature as part of multi-faceted whole.
debate about majority and minority cultures changes into
great literature and marginal literature.
But translation studies posit the radical proposition that
translation is not a marginal activity but has been and
continues to be a major shaping Force for change in the history
of culture.
To Even and Zohar, extensive translation activity takes place
when a culture is in a period of transition.
when a culture is expanding need renewal in a pre-
revolutionary face
When a culture is solidly established, believe itself to be
dominant, in an Imperial stage, translation is less important.
Justify with example of English.
Emergent European Nation in early 19th century, were in
struggle against Austro-Hungarian or Ottomen empires,
translated more.
British Empire grasped ever further, language of
international diplomacy, language of world commerce,
Translation begin to decrease compared to proliferation
of translation to other languages.
Now the time is approaching for comparative literature to
rethink the relation with translation studies.
Like semiotics which was considered as a branch of
linguistics, but it becomes wider than linguistics now.
Comparative literature always claimed translation as a
sub category..
but now comparative literature appears less like a
discipline more like a branch.
Then the un-resolved debate on acceptance and identity
of comparative literature could be definitely shelved.
