Assignment: Paper E-E-205(A) Comparative Literature

Topic: What is Comparative Literature today? How CL came into Being?

Student’s name: Payal G Patel

Roll no: 18

M.A. Sem- II

Batch: 2010-‘11

Submitted to – Prof. Dilip Barad.

Department of English

Bhavnagar University

Bhavnagar.

What is Comparative Literature today? How it Came into being?

First of all, the question to our mind may arise what is Comparative Literature and how far it is good for the students.  Another question may also arise whether Comparative study is serious or not. And the answer we get is, it is new term in literature which is concerned with patterns of connection in literature across both time and space. One possibility we should note down is most of the readers do not start with comparative literature but they end up with it in some way or other way.

Matthew Arnold, has, in his Inaugural Lecture at Oxford in 1857, said in this regard,

“Everywhere there is connection, everywhere there is illustration. No single event, no single literature is adequately comprehended except in relation to other events, to other literatures.”

Similarly, Comparative literature is linked with another literature for instance it is connected with translation literature. It can be said that anyone who has an interest in reading books, he can easily go for comparative literature or who can compare the things at different levels.

In sincere manner, comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the literature of two or more different linguistic, cultural or national groups. It is also included in the range of inquiry are comparisons, a relationship of film to literature. (For example: literature is “Five point someone” and film is “3 idiots” both are related with each other).

This term was coined at the beginning of the nineteenth century and continues still today. In 1903, Benedetto Croce argued that Comparative literature was a non-subject. Then he discussed the definition of comparative literature as the exploration of ‘the vicissitudes, alterations, developments and reciprocal differences’ of themes and literary ideas across literature, and concluded that ‘there is no study more arid than researches of this sort.’

Croce argues that the term ‘Comparative literature’ is confusing, and he believes that the true sense of study is literary history because he did not find any distinction between pure and simple literature history and comparative literary history.

Thus, Croce gives his views about the comparative literature considering it as a non-subject.

In the 1920s Lane Cooper called the term comparative literature a ‘bogus term’, ‘one that makes neither sense nor syntax’, and added, we may say “comparative potatoes”, or “comparative husks”. Even Cooper in a way considers it as a non- subject.

There is also the influence of new criticism upon the literature. As new criticism takes no note of the texts, the contrast raises here because CL is more dependant upon the texts, the number of texts. But here, the argument is that among new critics, T.S.Eliot is also included, through his work “Tradition and Individual Talent”, he seems somewhere in favor of comparative literature because the very function of tradition is to compare and contrast and find out the ways and works in which tradition works. So, in a way, New Criticism is connected with comparative literature.

‘Comparative literature’ implies a study of literature which uses comparison as its main instrument. It is true that in comparative literature the process of comparison is important but with that the product is also significant. As Harry Levin complained in 1969;

“We spend far too much of our talking...about comparative Literature and not enough of it comparing the literature.”

                                                                       [Levin: 74-90]

These concepts of process and product remind us of the different schools like French School, the German School, the American School, and the British School etc. And for American what is important is process.

American School:

                             As we have got the idea of Americans that they are interested in process. They believe that the product we already get at last but what about the process. It is as important as translation literature has. The interdisciplinary is found in their approach. The approach of the American School would be familiar to current practitioners of cultural studies also.

French School:

                           It deals with positivism, means it is more interested in experiments and observations. The conclusion comes from their experiments and minute observation. Here, the scholars work forensically, where every detail is noted down. In the French school of comparative literature also there is the influence over studies. Product is more important for French.

German School:

                            It deals with the idea of Zeitgeist or “spirit of the times”. Comparative literature began as a part of literary history rather than literary criticism or theory. Kasper Daniel Morhof is the person who actually founded the study. Goethe used the term “Weltliteratur” or world literature suggest that of ‘General Literature’. A difference is made between what is called ‘comparative Literature’. R.A.Sayce has given the differences between these two:

 “General Literature’ as ‘the study of literature without regard to   linguistic frontiers’ , Comparative Literature as the study of national literature in relation to each other.”

This is very remarkable distinction, from this we get the idea that the concept of ‘national literature is not without its problems, and these two kinds of study are linked with each-other. For example when we trace the development of the sonnet in European language since Petrarch’s time as we do when we discuss about literary theory, poetics and principles of criticism in a supra-national context. But when we compare a Shakespearean sonnet with a Petrarchan one, we are within the area of ‘comparative Literature’. Thus, we may say that these two activities are inseparable.

In his ‘wiltliteratur’, Goethe seems to suggest that awareness of national traditions other than our own, openness to works written in other countries and other languages is also necessary. His “weltliteratur”is in a way, clearly related to Comparative Literature.

In the book named ‘Discrimination’ there is the definition of ‘comparative literary study, thus;

“An examination of literary texts (including works of literary theory and criticism) in more than one language, through an investigation of contrast, analogy, provenance or influence: or a study of literary relations and communications between two or more groups that speak different languages.”

There is a contrast with this passage, by Claude Pichois andA.M.Rousseau, that one cannot be a comparatist unless one deals with more than one national culture. Henry. H. Remark also tried to define comparative literary studies, as he said,

Comparative literature is “the studies of relationships between literature on one hand and the other areas of knowledge and belief, such as the arts, philosophy, history, the social sciences, the sciences, religion etc. on the other hand.”

We also should give value to Anthony Thorley’s words. His ideas are quite well that comparative literature helps us to analyze the works of art. And to compare the thing we should have another similar kind of thing. And to prove this concept he gives examples of one building that to compare one building there should be another building with some similar qualities so as we can compare it in real sense. From all these we are reminded of the conditions of comparative literature that we have to choose two things or texts. If we do not choose the two, comparative Literature would not allow. In which uncommon things are not important but common things are more important as well as long-lasting. Through comparative there is the impact of one literature to another literature. If we study comparative literature and we cannot judge the works, then our study is still incomplete. In this literature what is more important is what we picked up from the text and what did we reject?  There are many universal themes to which we can classify under several meta-themes and which are always fresh and evergreen like love, war, marriage, family, moral upliftment, moral degeneration, justice, injustice, jealousy etc. The person who compares the thing is now comparatist should be polyglot. As Wellek and Warren in their book “Theory of Literature” in 1949, said that;

 “Comparative Literature... will make high demands on the linguistic proficiencies of our scholars. It asks for a widening of perspective, a suppression of local and provincial sentiments, not easy to achieve.”

They both emphasize on the skills that the comparatist must possess. This comparative literature is quite difficult and challenging that one should be very careful while comparing the texts.

“Literature without borders”

                                                This comparative literature is considered as the literature without borders to some extent. For example, the scholar studies literary and social status in the Americas, medieval epic and romance as well as mythology in the other country and colonial and postcolonial writings in different parts of the world. So, from all these scholars in comparative Literature share is a desire to study literature beyond national boundaries and an interest text in their original form. Many corporatists also share their literary experiences with other culture such as historical change, philosophical concepts, and social movements. In this way literature becomes borderless.

So, this is how comparative literature works and what the characteristics to this process of comparative literature are. With these, one should also remember

                      “How comparative Literature came into being.”

First this comparative literature acquired its name from a series of French anthologies used for the teaching of literature, published in 1816 and entitled “Cours de literature Comparee.” Here, again Rene Wellek argued that this title was ‘unused and unexplained’ but he also observes how this term has been introduced in 1820s-1830s in France. Many ok the writers like one German writer, Matthew Arnold etc, have also referred to ‘comparative literature’ in their writings earlier. So, in this way comparative literature came into being.

Culture and Nationalism :

                                        Comparative literature is the study of literature of two languages, of literature of two nations, of literature of two cultures. Our ideas changes through different ways of spectacles, when we change the spectacles our perspective changes. For example, there is one English novel “The Outsider” written by Albert Camus, this title is suitable or appropriate for him, but in Indian culture the same novel may be described under the title of “The Stranger”. Thus, it clearly suggests that cultures change with nations.

Conclusion:

                      While summing up, we may say that this is all over the process and information of comparative literature. But there is not any example of product, in real sense, the comparing things or objects. So, at last the example, which also includes the idea as comparing, is,

                                        “Kalidasa is the Shakespeare of India.”