German Contribution to
Comparative Literature
The Germans studied their
folk-tales seriously, with special emphasis on their themes
They gave the ‘thematic
universals’ and added thematology to Comparative Literary Studies
French and the American
Contribution
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The French comparatists introduced the Influence
Study mainly in order to proclaim to the world that they were the first
literary influence in Europe
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The Americans specialized in Analogy/Parallel
studies
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Parallel study is likely to place more
emphasis on the importance of cross-country literary study
(resemblance in style, structure, mood or ideas between works which have no
other connections)
Ø
It is the Americans who widened the scope of
Comparative Literature to include the Psychological and the Sociological
Approaches
Definition of Comparative
Literature
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As an academic discipline, Comparative
Literature is defined beautifully by the famous American comparatist,
H.H.Remak....
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His definition is, “Comparative Literature is
the study of literature beyond the confines of one particular country, and the
study of the relationships between literature on the one hand and the other
areas of knowledge and belief, such as the arts (painting, sculpture,
architecture, music), philosophy, history, and social science (politics,
economics, sociology), religion, etc., on the other.”
Ø
It is the comparison of one literature with
another or others Comparative Literature, a way of looking into Literary
Response
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Comparative literature is a way of looking at or
into a literary response concerning national and international literatures both
occidental and oriental (The term "Orient" derives from the Latin
word oriens meaning "east”. The opposite term "Occident" derives
from the Latin word occidens, meaning west)
Comparative Literature, a way
of looking into Literary Response
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Comparative literature is not for establishing
either the superiority or inferiority of any individual literature, but for
enhancing the total understanding of literature in mutual terms
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The comparison aims at transcending all
differences and variations by a dispassionate practice of the trade by every
comparatist
Comparative Literature, a
universal view of literature
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Comparative Literature is primarily a mode of
studying different literatures from a comparative point of view
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It finally culminates in a concept. It is a
universal view of literature, independent of linguistic, national or racial
demarcations
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Its content is human experience in its essential
form and its medium is imaginative language
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When Aristotle defined art as imitation of
nature, his basis was not Greek art or Greek poetry but art and poetry in
general
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The target of Comparative Literature, as in
science, is the discovery of cosmic principles (universal view of
literature)
Comparative Literature &
Human Experience
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The content of Comparative Literature consists
of all that is valuable in human experience --- uncontaminated by racial or
political discriminations
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This concept has emerged from a comparative
study of various literatures underlining the elements of unity in diversity
The Scope of Comparative
Literature
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From the above discussion, one can have a
comprehensive idea about the scope of Comparative Literature
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The comparatists may study questions of cultural
migration
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The cultural beliefs and social
patterns that influence people to move. For example, a scholar may study the
impact of the American novels on French fiction in the inter-war years
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He may also study the interaction between
individual writers
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Comparatists are interested in translation as
translation remains one of the basic tools of comparative literature
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Comparatists study the interaction between
literature and other arts like music, painting, sculpture and architecture.
They also closely observe the impact of different schools of thought on
literature
Ø
Goldman’s study of the ‘Marxist Influence on
French Writing’ may be cited as a good example
Main Drawback
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There is one main drawback in the scope of
Comparative Literature
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It ignores the style and subtle differences in
language
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It overlooks particularity in its search for
universality
Major Aspects of Comparative
Literature
The following are the major aspects of Comparative
Literature:
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Influence study examines
how one literature is influenced by the other
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Analogy studies the
parallels between writers and works
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Thematology is the study of
themes or motifs
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Reception study aims at
measuring the response to a writer’s works abroad
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Translation is an important
tool for a translator
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Genre studies analyses
the various literary forms involved in comparative study
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Movements and Trends
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Literature and other arts
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Literature and Philosophy, Sociology and
Psychology
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