PROBLEMS OF GENRE THEORY
The article examines some of the most problematic aspects of genre theory: the relationship between the concepts of architext and genre; the grounds for the existence of genre and its function in the social being of the work of art; the prerequisites that led to the emergence of genre as an important element of artistic communication. For a long time, genre was perceived primarily as a structural entity, serving mainly the needs of classification. Recently the idea that its function is related to the communicative essence of the artistic discourse appeared. In practice, genre fulfills the role of a discursive norm, organizing all aspects and levels of artistic impact. This circumstance also determines the role that genre plays in realizing the social functions of verbal art. Therefore, the main prerequisites that led to the emergence of genre as an important element of artistic activity are considered mainly within the framework of cultural anthropology. The most important prerequisite for the emergence of genre, according to the hypothesis defended by the article, is the appearance of the fiction related to the emergence of narration, dividing artistic discourse into two events – referential (the event that is narrated) and communicative (the event of the narration itself). It is this duality that defines any artistic discourse as fictional, regardless of whether it presents documentary or fictional events. The other two main prerequisites for the emergence of the literary genre are the nature of literature as writing, which is a specific social phenomenon, and on the other hand, the appearance of the idea of aesthetic activity, which in turn leads to the formation of such specific literary institutions as individual authorship and poetics as a manifestation of literary self-awareness.
PROBLEMS OF GENRE THEORY
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Alexander Panov, Prof. DSc.
- [email protected]
- Institute for Literature – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- Bulgaria
Aleksandar Panov, born in 1953 in Pernik, graduated in Bulgarian Philology from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" in 1978. He earned his PhD (Candidate of Sciences) with a dissertation titled "Genres in Bulgarian Lyric Poetry at the Turn of the Century: An Essay in Historical Poetics" (1985). He became a Senior Research Fellow (Associate Professor) in 1997. He obtained his Doctor of Sciences (D.Sc.) degree with a dissertation on "The Artistic System of Botev's Poetry" (2011) and was appointed Professor of Literary Theory and History at the Institute for Literature, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, in 2012.
His primary research interests encompass literary theory, literary anthropology, genre theory, and the historical poetics of Bulgarian literature.
Major Publications:
"Literary Theory" (1995; 2nd ed. 2000)
"Cultural Issues of Bulgarian Literary Development" (1997)
"The Artistic System of Botev's Poetry" (2012)
"‘Songs and Poems’ by Hristo Botev: Structure, Main Plots, and Symbolic Images" (2012)
"The Literary Image Outside the Space of the Book" (2013)
Alongside numerous academic articles and studies on literary theory, historical poetics, literary anthropology, and genre theory, as well as multiple secondary school textbooks and educational resources
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Abstract:The article examines some of the most problematic aspects of genre theory: the relationship between the concepts of architext and genre; the grounds for the existence of genre and its function in the social being of the work of art; the prerequisites that led to the emergence of genre as an important element of artistic communication. For a long time, genre was perceived primarily as a structural entity, serving mainly the needs of classification. Recently the idea that its function is related to the communicative essence of the artistic discourse appeared. In practice, genre fulfills the role of a discursive norm, organizing all aspects and levels of artistic impact. This circumstance also determines the role that genre plays in realizing the social functions of verbal art. Therefore, the main prerequisites that led to the emergence of genre as an important element of artistic activity are considered mainly within the framework of cultural anthropology. The most important prerequisite for the emergence of genre, according to the hypothesis defended by the article, is the appearance of the fiction related to the emergence of narration, dividing artistic discourse into two events – referential (the event that is narrated) and communicative (the event of the narration itself). It is this duality that defines any artistic discourse as fictional, regardless of whether it presents documentary or fictional events. The other two main prerequisites for the emergence of the literary genre are the nature of literature as writing, which is a specific social phenomenon, and on the other hand, the appearance of the idea of aesthetic activity, which in turn leads to the formation of such specific literary institutions as individual authorship and poetics as a manifestation of literary self-awareness.
Keywords: genus genre discourse fiction aesthetic activity poetics
