The Total Artwork in Comparative Literature Analysis: Belletristic and Scientific Positions from Wagner’s Operas and Tolstoy’s Art Philosophy to Business Branding and the Olympic Games
The Total Artwork in Comparative Literature Analysis: Belletristic and Scientific Positions from Wagner’s Operas and Tolstoy’s Art Philosophy to Business Branding and the Olympic Games

Summary/Abstract: The total artwork has been defined since the mid-1800s as the artistic integration, within one piece of artwork, of all (or at least many) of the major art forms, such as drama, music poetry, dance, and architecture. Its definition and application is currently, in the 21st century, afresh debated in international scholarly literature from various academic fields (such as comparative literature, art history, philosophy, linguistics, and music). This research studies the total artwork under theoretical, methodological, and empirical key aspects, via a comparative literature analysis and transdisciplinary investigation. This research coincides with the renewed scholarly interest, an ever more widespread access of artists to potential media of expression, and a rising popular demand for works of art that might be considered as “total”. Therefore, the area of this research is located in both comparative literature and contemporary art history, the nature of the research is both theoretical and applied, while the methods of the research are firmly taken from comparative literature, Comparative literature’s methodological potential is shown with references to systems theory as well as to feminist and cultural studies, supporting this research to include the relationship between artworks, literature, and society.

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