Representations of the Black Sea in Radu Tudoran's Nautical Novels

Author(s): Roxana Elena Doncu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

Radu Tudoran, the son of a maritime officer, was one of the few writers committed to writing about the sea and seafaring in Romanian literature. Among his nautical novels the best-known are Un port la răsărit [A harbour in the East], Toate pânzele sus! [All Sails Up!] and Maria și marea [Maria and the sea]. The last two were turned into movies by Mircea Mureșan, but only the filmic adaptation of Toate pânzele sus! enjoyed long-lasting success with the public. I will analyse only the first two novels, the first written before the communist take-over, and the second during Ceaușescu's rule, at the high time of national communism. Although Tudoran kept his distance from his brother's (Geo Bogza) communist sympathies, Toate pânzele sus! [All Sails Up!], a classic of adventure on the seas, allowed the nationalist ideology of the Communist party to seep into it.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, or the Redemption (?) of Coriolanus Snow

Author(s): Alexandra Roxana MĂRGINEAN / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

The starting point for this analysis is that Coriolanus Snow is a character that has not beencapitalized on fully in the trilogy of The Hunger Games, leaving us with a sense ofincompleteness, as far as the narrative, emotional and psychological potentialitiesconnected with him, as well as, perhaps, a feeling that this unexploited potential has donehim injustice. The introduction to the study, called Relay, puts this notion forth, lookingback (or, rather, forward, in the chronology of the story) to the context of the trilogy’sending, to see what avenues of meaning it has opened to cause this sense in both thereceiver of the work and in its author, since Collins decided upon a prequel. Then, once wehave established that Coriolanus Snow is the highlight of the research and explained thepotential rationale behind that, the next section looks into the biography of the character,relying on the logic that his background and origin of his family, as well as significantevents in his early life, which turn out to be highly traumatic, may delineate some traits ofcharacter that he sets out with in the journey of his life and becoming. The third partfocuses on elements that may be considered as links with the trilogy, i.e. aspects that arehighly symbolical and rich in signification and which will go through a type of flourishmentlater on, holding the skeleton for the interpretation of the whole story. This part reveals theother directing line in our research, or other interest, but the scrutiny into these aspects isalways related with the character Snow, shedding light on his future way of being as well.The conclusions reiterate the ideas stated previously with respect to Snow’s personality andaspects that connect the prequel with the trilogy, also highlighting the focal protagonist’sevolution. We conclude that Coriolanus Snow’s becoming is influenced by his traumaticpast, but mainly and mostly, as far as its negative turns, by the politics and morals of TheCapitol.

Metaphors of Limitation in Vasile Voiculescu’s Poems

Author(s): Mădălina Deaconu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

The present paper aims at at giving an insight into Vasile Voiculescu’s poems focusing onthe metaphors of limitation. They are present in a large number, in all stages of creation,pointing to Vasile Voiculescu’s consistent and permanent attempt to surpass all obstaclesin order to establish a genuine relation with God. Mention should be made of the fact thatthese metaphors of limitation are analysed having in cognitive linguistics.

Expresii ale autenticismului în literatura română interbelică

Author(s): Carina-Maria Josan / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2024

The Romanian interwar poetics of authenticity is characterised by the establishment of an aesthetic and ideological program that involves, on the one hand, the reconfiguration of literature through new forms of writing and, on the other hand, the revitalization of Romanian culture as such. At the same time, interwar Romanian authenticism is characterised by the inclusion and reconfiguration of a series of literary, philosophical and aesthetic influences from Europe (but not only) which will be translated into works of fiction or non-fiction (diaries, studies or treaties) whose aim is to strengthen the sense of identity, both individual and collective. In this paper, a series of prominent examples of Romanian literature (Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran, Mihail Sebastian, Eugen Ionescu etc.) will be analysed through the lenses of European ideas that have permeated literary and philosophical discourse. Thus, this paper analyse the way in which interwar Romanian discourse (in its variety of forms) was influenced by the circuit of European ideas, which were (re)adapted to the Romanian reality and ethos of the time.

LA CONDITION HUMAINE/HUMAN CONDITION. A Literary Interpretation of “Veiller sur elle” through a Semiotic Reading of Tomasso’s Story within a Story

Author(s): Olivia-Cristina Rusu / Language(s): English Issue: 41/2024

This article explores Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s novel “Veiller sur elle”, from a semiotic perspective and shows how complex themes and aspects of human existence are constructed and conveyed through narrative techniques such as symbols and stories within stories. Building on Charles Sanders Peirce’s semiotic triangle as a theoretical framework, this analysis reveals how symbols and imagery function as semiotic triggers that draw upon complex interpretations of the human condition. Linking semiotic processes to aspects of the human condition - such as the quest for knowledge, the power of imagination, the contemplation of mortality, the pursuit of artistic immortality and protection – this article shows how multifaceted layers of literary texts reveal universal human themes.

The English Patient, A Narrative of Diasporic Identity

Author(s): Georgiana Monica Iorga / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

This paper is a text-applied comparative approach to some thematic aspects of identity formation in a chosen fictional text belonging to diasporic literature in English, at the intersection of various geographical, ethnic and cultural spaces. Rather than aiming at an exhaustive survey of diasporic fictions in English (almost an impossible task, given the amount of such writing that is being produced in the contemporary global age), I shall aim at focusing on a number of recurrent topics approached throughout the chosen literary work. My main intention will be to point out various ways in which the textuality of written fictional text reflects on issues related to migration, nomadism and diasporic identity from a variety of theoretical perspectives, but situated mainly in a postcolonial, transnational and global light. Place and time are connected to memories and homeland as they represent important values for those who live in diaspora (place: where they were born and they spent their childhood or a part of their lives; time: events, customs and traditions associated to a certain moment in their lives).

Das Panorama der Weimarer Republik im Roman ,,Drei Kameraden'' von Erich Maria Remarque

Author(s): Alexandra Nicolaescu / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2021

The novel ''Drei Kameraden'' (Three Comrades) by Erich Maria Remarque could be considered as the third and last volume of a trilogy which also includes ''Im Westen nichts Neues'' (All Quiet on the Western Front) and ''Der Weg zurück'' (The Road Back). However, because of the political changes in Germany in the 1930s, the book was published much later than originally planned and for this reason neither readers, nor literary critics acknowledged the book as part of the trilogy at that point in time. Nevertheless, in all three novels the author discusses the problem of the so-called Lost Generation and depicts the collective psychological state of young men, who inherited values that were no longer relevant in a post war world. Erich Maria Remarque depicts the reality of The Weimar Republic revealing the financial and social crisis that dominated everyday life. He raises questions about surviving in a post war era, and it is therefore that ''Drei Kameraden'' can be interpreted as a literary chronicle of those troubled times in German history.

Der Großstadtroman der Weimarer Republik: Die Bedeutung der sinnlichen Wahrnehmung in Hans Falladas Roman ,,Wolf unter Wölfen'' (1937)

Author(s): Lúcia Bentes / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2021

The aim of this paper is to examine sensory spaces and how social unrest can be caused and strengthened through odours, sounds, and looks. The city of Berlin and the bodies of the characters Wolfgang Pagel, Petra Ledig, and Joachim von Prackwitz-Neulohe during the Weimar Republic, described in the novel ''Wolf unter Wölfen'' (1937) by Hans Fallada, are examples of sensory spaces. The analysis focuses on how life and behaviour of these three characters are influenced by different sensorial perceptions and how their physical and emotional relationships with themselves and their relationships with the other characters and with the city develop through their sensory relationship to the world. Ultimately, the paper aims at showing that the Weimar Republic could be considered as an intervening period in which unpleasant smells, noises and looks arise and accumulate. This contributes to a greater understanding of the social and political unrest during the Weimar Republic.

Literarischer Antisemitismus in Fritz Namenhauers ,,Untergang''

Author(s): Fabian Wilhelmi / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2021

Antisemitism was a widespread phenomenon in the society of the Weimar Republic. This had an impact on literary texts. Based on the analysis of specific aspects of Fritz Namenhauersʼs historical fiction novel ''Untergang'', this paper will show how antisemitism is effective in literary texts. The paper offers at first a short overview of how antijudaistic and antisemitic elements are presented in historical fiction about the First Roman-Jewish War. The analysis then focuses on the role of the Essenes and early Christianity as well as on the literary representation of the end of the war. It concludes with an evaluation of how antisemitism operates in the text.

„Die Welt ist nicht Ihr Zirkus.“ Bertolt Brechts „Baal“(1922) als Abgesang auf den Ästhetizismus

Author(s): Robert Hermann / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2021

The article focuses on the critical depiction of Aestheticism in the 1922 version of Bertolt Brecht’s play ''Baal''. While many scholars argue that Brecht’s 1919 version is to be preferred due to its socio-critical and more ambivalent design, I put forward the hypothesis that the 1922 revision stands out by dismissing a decadent form of Aestheticism as well as the prototypical artist that goes along with it. After a brief introduction concerning the production history of the play, I will define the notions of Aestheticism and decadent Aestheticism to provide a foundation for the following in-depth analysis of the text. The analysis will be concluded by a comparison to the 1919 version of the play. My aim is to point out the important role that the 1922 variant of ''Baal'' played for the artistic development of the young Brecht and to thus highlight the significance of this rather neglected version both for Brecht’s oeuvre and for the ambivalent – and often competing – artistic trends of the Weimar Republic.

Männlichkeitskonstruktionen in Ernst Tollers Dramen „Der deutsche Hinkemann” (1923) und „Der entfesselte Wotan” (1923)

Author(s): Anna Sator / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2021

The social changes that took place throughout the Weimar Republic Era affected gender roles in their depth – not only the image of the New Woman arose, but at the same time the traditional image of the heroic soldier was questioned. New images of a more sensual masculinity coexisted with the old ones. Dramatic texts and theatre in particular were and are predestined spaces to try out new forms of gender roles and characters. For instance, Ernst Toller’s ''Hinkemann'' is one of the first plays to address the effects of disability caused by war on ideas of masculinity as well as individual fates. Alongside this tragic illustration of the effects of missing representation and failing identification with the hegemonic idea of masculinity Toller wrote a comedy on the same hegemonic masculinity of the war hero in the same year. In ''Der entfesselte Wotan'' an unsuccessful hairdresser manages to gain power through founding an emigration society and staging himself as the messianic leader of this company. The analysis of the two dramatic texts points out that fictional texts are an important mirror of social change and especially the theatre is the place where new concepts of gender are staged and discussed.

Tier- und Naturwelt als Projektionen eines idealisierten Selbst bei Franz Marc und Gottfried Benn

Author(s): Raluca Rădulescu / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2021

The article aims to explore the way in which the aesthetical programme of the German Expressionism proves to be valid both in literature and in the visual arts. Thus, it focuses on two artists – Franz Marc and Gottfried Benn – that have never been compared with one another in an intermedial approach so far. One of the most important themes the Expressionism deals with is the self. By choosing representations of animals and nature as alternatives and symbols of a transfigured, better self in the works of Marc and Benn, the paper explores the interconnectedness between literature and arts in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century along with its aesthetic motivations and strategies.

„Die Wittembergisch Nachtigall, die man jetzt höret überall“ – Die Reformation Martin Luthers im Werk des Nürnberger Poeten Hans Sachs

Author(s): Markus Fischer / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2020

The present paper deals with the productive impact of Martin Luther’s reformatory doctrine as being reflected in selected works of the Nuremberg shoemaker, poet and meistersinger Hans Sachs: in his poem ''Die Wittembergisch Nachtigall, die man jetzt höret überall'' (1523), in the first of his four reformatory prose dialogues ''Disputation zwischen einem Chorherren und Schuhmacher, darin das Wort Gottes und ein recht christlich Wesen verfochten wird'' (1524) as well as in his religious aubade ''Von dem Wort Gottes'' (1525) and in his poetic version of the eleventh psalm ''Ich trau auf Gott, den Herren mein'' (1526). The paper elucidates as to what extent the literary work of Hans Sachs was steeped in the fundamental ideas of Martin Luther’s reformatory discovery during those early years of protestant Reformation and how strongly Hans Sachs engaged in the publishing business during the beginning of the reformatory era in Germany.

Martin Luther als Romangestalt am Beispiel von Feridun Zaimoglus „Evangelio. Ein Luther-Roman”

Author(s): Susanna Konnerth / Language(s): German Issue: 1/2020

Literature is about fictions, yet simultaneously entwines historic events as the reformer Martin Luther is made a character of Feridun Zaimoglu’s latest novel ''Evangelio'' (2017).“If you stay true to your word, I shall stay with my affliction”: Opposed to the raw and ferocious first-person-narrator Burkhard, a catholic farmhand, Martin Luther stays at the Wartburg from the 4th of May 1521 to the 1st of March 1522, as he translates the New Testament into German. The present paper is concerned with Luther’s portrait as a historic figure in Zaimoglu’s novel. Based on guiding questions regarding the explorations of space and time, the suspenseful narrative perspective is analyzed, which, in addition to the narrator Burkhard, reaches a new dimension through a montage of Luther’s letters to Philipp Melanchthon and Georg Spalatin. Examinations of Luther’s characterization are placed in the foreground of this paper and are further illustrated through the functions and effects of focusing and antithesis as narrative strategies.

Ders iz Mesnevije

Author(s): Mubina Moker / Language(s): Bosnian,Persian,Persian, Old (ca.600-400) Issue: 65-68/2024

The Divergent or Convergent Paths of Law and Emotions in William Shakespeare’s Plays. Introductory Remarks

Author(s): Katarzyna Jaworska-Biskup / Language(s): English Issue: 15/2024

The paper provides an introduction to law and emotions in William Shakespeare’s plays. It briefly discusses the existing research in the field of affect and the law and how those two dimensions are reflected in Shakespeare’s literature. The Author also briefly comments on the research outcomes of the Contributors to the current volume

Retributivism Gone Mad: Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure

Author(s): David A.J. Richards / Language(s): English Issue: 15/2024

Measure for Measure is ostensibly a comedy (no one dies, and the main penalties at the play’s end are, hilariously, requiring marriage), but it is a much darker comedy than any other Shakespeare wrote written after Hamlet, retaining features of that play’s moral nihilism. Its nihilism takes the form of a criticism of the claims of strong retributivism as a basis for criminal justice, namely, that it is necessary and sufficient for punishment that there be a moral wrong, and the nature of punishment is to be determined by the nature of the wrong (thus, death for killing). The play focusses on the criminalisation of two forms of consensual sex: the commercial sex business of Mistress Overdone and Pompey, her servant, and the non-commercial loving sex of Claudio with Juliet, now pregnant, who shortly intend to marry. The play questions the first comically, the second tragically. The article explores the play’s indictment of strong retributivism, and charts a path to an alternative, namely, restorative justice.

“The Sense of Death is Most in Apprehension” Law and Death in Augustine, Donne and Measure for Measure

Author(s): Terry Reilly / Language(s): English Issue: 15/2024

Early modern English law recognised two forms of death that are mostly unfamiliar to modern culture – civiliten mortuus, a term in Civil Law to indicate that a criminal convicted of a capital crime was considered dead at the time of conviction, not when he was executed, and mortuus saeculo, referring to the form of “secular death” which occurred when a man or woman entered a religious order, such as a convent or monastery (Clarkson and Warren: 261). After developing legal and literary contexts about the contemporary discourse concerning death, using legal cases and selected works of Augustine and John Donne this paper examines representations of these legal definitions of death in Shakespeare’s play Measure for Measure.

The Ambiguity of Milk: Lactation and Maternal Identity in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Author(s): Hanna Gęba / Language(s): English Issue: 15/2024

This article discusses the motif of lactation in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Breastfeeding was an ambiguous phenomenon for Shakespeare’s contemporaries – it meant both an absolute power over the nursing child and an act of self-sacrifice, often out of love. It is no coincidence that Lady Macbeth admits she “had given suck” and that in her monologue directed to “spirits” she asks them to “take her milk for gall” to do dark deeds. The article’s main methodological contexts are the medical knowledge and superstitions about breastfeeding in Early Modern England and sexual difference feminism as it is understood in the works of Elizabeth Grosz and Rosi Braidotti. The argument for such a combination is the non-dichotomic perception of the mind and body relationship in both Shakespeare’s times and these scholars’ theories. By closely examining the motif of lactation we can better understand how Shakespeare depicts motherhood and how he constructs maternal figures in the Scottish Tragedy.

Czy milkną muzy, gdy grają armaty? Perspektywa antropologiczna w romansie Adam i Ewa Sergiusza Piaseckiego

Author(s): Jakub Horbacz / Language(s): Polish Issue: 15/2024

The article is a reading of the work by Sergiusz Piasecki (1899–1964) Adam and Ewa by approaching love in confrontation with the system from an anthropological perspective. Piasecki’s tragic romance is subjected to a critical sketch in a research approach to the affective turn, placing in the center the feelings and emotions of the main characters, as well as the author of the text himself. Piasecki’s words become a determinant about two great loves – Adam’s for Eve and the author’s love for Vilnius and the Vilnius region. For the proper reception of the work, the chosen practice of close reading remains important – focused reading, emphasizing what is detailed, the elements of articulating love and describing the system, as well as specific parts of the work. The whole thing is an attempt at an answer to the question whether the muses fall silent when cannons play in understanding whether love ultimately kills war and the political system. The verification of the meanings hidden in the romance Adam i Ewa does not avoid confrontation with historical and philosophical contexts, thus building a colorful portrait of the Polish, especially Vilnius, socio-political situation in 1939 and the outbreak of World War II, at the intersection of feelings and the system.