THE STUDY OF LITERARY TOPOI AS AN AREA OF COMPARATIVE LITERATURE: THE CASE OF “MURDER FOR LOVE”

• Zahra Nazemi ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad de Córdoba

     Universidad de Córdoba

     Cordoba, España

     
• Localización: Philologia hispalensis, ISSN-e 2253-8321, ISSN 1132-0265, Vol. 36, Nº 2 (Estudios literarios), 2022, págs. 173-193
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.12795/PH.2022.v36.i02.10
• Títulos paralelos:
  • El estudio de los tópicos literarios como área de la literatura comparada: el caso del “asesinato por amor”
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    Este artículo tiene como objetivo examinar la posición de los tópicos literarios en el campo de la literatura comparada partiendo de la definición de los tópicos literarios de Escobar (2000) y Laguna Mariscal (1999). Uno de los requisitos para distinguir un tópico de términos literarios similares es su recurrencia en la historia literaria desde la tradición clásica hacia la literatura moderna. En consecuencia, el estudio de los tópicos literarios siempre implica evolución, desarrollo y comparación. Para mostrar esto en la práctica, presentamos el “asesinato por amor” como un tópico literario y analizamos su desarrollo en las tragedias de Eugene O’Neill Deseo bajo los olmos (1924) y A Electra le sienta bien el luto (1931). Los resultados del estudio validan la necesidad de la comparación (en el sentido de buscar estructuras o sintaxis paralelas) al examinar los tópicos literarios. En con-secuencia, al analizar el desarrollo del “asesinato por amor” en las obras de O’Neill, es fundamental rastrear sus relaciones architextuales con los textos clásicos, como las narraciones de Medea

  • English

    This article aims to examine the position of literary topoi in the field of comparative literature using Escobar (2000) and Laguna Mariscal’s (1999) definition of topoi. One of the requirements for distinguishing a topos from similar literary terms is its recurrence in literary history from the classical tradition towards modern literature. As a result, the study of literary topoi always constitutes evolution, development, and comparison. To show this in practice, we introduce “murder for love” as a literary topos and trace its development in Eugene O’Neill’s tragedies Desire Under the Elms (1924) and Mourning Becomes Electra (1931). The results of the study validate the necessity of comparison (in the sense of looking for parallel structures or syntaxes) when examining literary topoi. Consequently, when analyzing the development of “murder for love” in O’Neill’s plays, it is essential to look for its architextual relationships with classical texts, such as Medea narratives.

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