The journal Connotations has issued a Call for Papers for its 2015 symposium, which it will hold at the Eberhard Karls University in Tuebingen from July 26 to July 30 of 2015. Here is more information.
The first textbook definition of the concept of poetic justice goes back to Thomas Rymer’s The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d (1678). According to him, the term signified “the distribution, at the end of a literary work, of earthly rewards and punishments in proportion to the virtue or vice of the various characters” (Abrams, Glossary of Literary Terms 299-300). The introduction of virtue and vice into the concept immediately refers to a moral dimension; on aesthetic grounds, however, it was soon (and has continued to be) criticized.
Poetic justice, as examples from literary texts across the genres illustrate, may be realized in various ways – and sometimes the term may mean much more than the distribution of earthly rewards and punishments. Literary texts may suggest or even envision a justice never to be established in real life. But literary texts may likewise abstain from offering judgments at all, whereas the real world is full of them. In these cases, they may make us recognize vindictiveness dressing up as the pursuit of justice; or, as in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, they may show us the absurdity of passing judgment. Are human beings entitled to pass judgement at all, or should this be left entirely to God? If this is a valid question, the relation of human, divine and poetic justice should be taken into account.
The symposium does not primarily aim at the connection between literature and the law which has recently met with increased attention in literary studies. Rather, we are interested in papers that combine reflections on poetic justice with close readings of literary texts in the field of literature in English.
Questions to be asked may include the following:
As the emphasis of the Connotations symposia is on critical debate, talks should not be longer than 30 minutes, leaving another 30 minutes for discussion.
A PDF version of the Call for Papers can be downloaded here.
The symposium will take place at Schloss Hohentübingen, „Fürstenzimmer“ [“The Earl’s Room” in Tübingen Castle], Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.
Click here if you want to learn more about former Symposia.
Prof. Matthias Bauer
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Department of English
Wilhelmstr. 50
72074 Tübingen
Germany
The first textbook definition of the concept of poetic justice goes back to Thomas Rymer’s The Tragedies of the Last Age Consider’d (1678). According to him, the term signified “the distribution, at the end of a literary work, of earthly rewards and punishments in proportion to the virtue or vice of the various characters” (Abrams, Glossary of Literary Terms 299-300). The introduction of virtue and vice into the concept immediately refers to a moral dimension; on aesthetic grounds, however, it was soon (and has continued to be) criticized.
Poetic justice, as examples from literary texts across the genres illustrate, may be realized in various ways – and sometimes the term may mean much more than the distribution of earthly rewards and punishments. Literary texts may suggest or even envision a justice never to be established in real life. But literary texts may likewise abstain from offering judgments at all, whereas the real world is full of them. In these cases, they may make us recognize vindictiveness dressing up as the pursuit of justice; or, as in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, they may show us the absurdity of passing judgment. Are human beings entitled to pass judgement at all, or should this be left entirely to God? If this is a valid question, the relation of human, divine and poetic justice should be taken into account.
The symposium does not primarily aim at the connection between literature and the law which has recently met with increased attention in literary studies. Rather, we are interested in papers that combine reflections on poetic justice with close readings of literary texts in the field of literature in English.
Questions to be asked may include the following:
- Is the relationship between crime, punishment and justice an example of literature mirroring real life, or does it primarily give evidence to literary art producing “another nature”?
- Is poetic justice the reason for our satisfaction with tragic action? What are the stylistic and semantic features of a text that suggest a particular idea of poetic justice, i.e. what is it that makes us see justice as an aesthetic quality?
- What is the relation between the representation of law and justice and the kind of justice provided or withheld by the action of the story, play, or poem?
As the emphasis of the Connotations symposia is on critical debate, talks should not be longer than 30 minutes, leaving another 30 minutes for discussion.
A PDF version of the Call for Papers can be downloaded here.
The symposium will take place at Schloss Hohentübingen, „Fürstenzimmer“ [“The Earl’s Room” in Tübingen Castle], Burgsteige 11, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.
Click here if you want to learn more about former Symposia.
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Department of English
Wilhelmstr. 50
72074 Tübingen
Germany
Link here to the webpage for the CFP.
A tip of the chapeau to Simon Stern, University of Toronto, for this info.
A tip of the chapeau to Simon Stern, University of Toronto, for this info.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment