Romantic Irony as a Counterpart to Enthusiasm in Borges and Cortázar Cover Image

Romantická ironie jako protihráčka entuziasmu u Borgese a Cortázara
Romantic Irony as a Counterpart to Enthusiasm in Borges and Cortázar

Author(s): Vít Kazmar
Subject(s): Other Language Literature
Published by: Univerzita Karlova v Praze - Filozofická fakulta, Vydavatelství
Keywords: Romantic irony; Friedrich Schlegel; Jorge Luis Borges; Julio Cortázar; litotes

Summary/Abstract: The study offers an interpretation of Borges and Cortázar in the light of romantic irony, in particular Friedriech Schlegel’s concept from the Athenaeum fragment 37 where irony is defined as an art of controlled enthusiasm. This is something that can be found in Borges, at the level of language, in the figure of litotes, in his penchant for brevity and a relative disdain for novels. In Cortázar, the taming of enthusiasm manifests itself more openly, as a contrast of two alternating modes of speech. Thus, Borges and Cortázar embody two answers to the question of enthusiasm.

  • Issue Year: XXXII/2022
  • Issue No: 65
  • Page Range: 59-69
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Czech