World Literature: a synoptic view

1) Objective: To introduce students to the concept of world literature and the dynamics involved in the way world literature evolves. To familiarize them with texts that have come to be recognized as world literature. 1.1) Introduction: World literature (weltliteratur in German) is a term invented by Goethe and the term became popular with the publication of Gesprache mit Goethe in den letzten Jahren seines Lebens by Peter c!erman" a disciple of Goethe. #arx and ngels adopted the idea in the context of global trade relations. $n idea of Goethes personality serves for a better understanding of his ideal world literature. Goethe was a world citizen" a world writer only writing in German for having been born in Germany with a dream of world literature. %onathan Wolfgang von Goethe (&'()*&+,-) was a German poet" dramatist" critic" novelist and scientist. Goethe comes as close to deserving the title of a universal genius as any man who has ever lived. .e had an intelligent grasp of all arts" he successfully carried out burdensome responsibilities as a public administrator and his scientific interests led him to ma!e significant contributions to mineralogy" optics" comparative anatomy and plant morphology. $s a young man he came under the influence of the /rench theater and his earliest dramatic attempts were in the mode of /rench 0eo*classicism. $t the age of &1 he too! up legal studies at 2eipzig 3niversity but due to serious illness which made him semi*invalid he had to leave his legal studies which he too! up again and successfully finished from the 3niversity of 4trassburg. #eanwhile he studied alchemy and 5hemistry. 2ater he was influenced by .erder who was leading a revolt against the artificial literature of 0eoclassicism by opposing to it the strong natural voices of .omer" 4ha!espeare" 6ssianic Poems and the fol! song. .e burst on the literary horizon in &'', with his Gotz von Berlichingen (a play) which was followed in &''( by The Sorrows of Young Werther (Die Leiden Des jungen Werther" an epistolary novelette). /rom the court of 7u!e of Weimar as a guest he made a 8ourney to 9taly which he recorded in The 9talian %ourney. This 8ourney completed his development away from the earlier influences of .erder and toward a !ind of classicism. Iphigenia in Tauris (a classical play in verse" &'+')" Egmont (a play in prose"

&'++)" Torquato Tosso (&'):) portray as an evolving world artist. The first deals with a classical theme. /or the second he chose 0etherlands and 4pain as setting. /or the third he chose an 9talian sub8ect" the poet Tasso. 9n &'): he published the first version life wor! as Faust, a Fragment. The completed Faust was published in two parts later" part 9 in &+:+ and part 99 in &+,-. Wilhelm eisters !pprenticeship (Wilhelm eister "ehr#ahre" &');*)1" a nover showing the educational force of theater) was continued in Wilhelm eisters $ournr%mans Years (Wilhelm eister Wan&er#ahre" &+-&*-)). 'ermann (orothea" a poem about village life and love appeared in &')+. 7uring the last twenty years of his life he wrote his autobiography under the title )oetr% an& Truth from % "ife (!us meinem "e*en, (ichtung an& Wahrheit ). West+Eastern (ivan (westostlicher (ivan) which appeared in &+&)" a series of lyrics inspired by a study of Persian poetry made him stand in the line of the greatest world lyric poets. ven before his death he was recognized as one of the greatest figures in world literature and appeared as the living embodiment of world literature and world culture. Great writers as 5arlyle" 4cott and 0erval wrote his biographies. .e is now placed in the class of the supreme writers of the world.

1.2) Definition: #any scholars expressed doubts and fear about world literature being defined. What is world literature< 9s it all the literatures in the world together< 9s it various literatures available to world reading< 6r is it literature written with a world=universal vision< We can say that what encompasses all literary wor!s that circulate beyond their culture of origin" either in translation or in their original language is world literature.

1.3) Dyna ics of world literature: 9n the most elaborate sense of the word world literature could include any wor! that has ever reached beyond its home base. 9f a wor! is read as literature and if it has traveled into a broader world beyond its linguistic and cultural point of its birth place it can be said to have entered the sphere of world literature. $ny given wor! may fall out of and reenter world literature any number of times in its history by being read as literary at one time and non literary at another. 2i!ewise for some readers and for some !inds of reading a wor!= text may be considered a part of world literature at one time and

not at another. 4uch are the dynamics world literature. These dynamics are caused by cultural and historical forces. Traditionally" an accepted body of classics" a gradually metamorphosing canon of masterpieces and such wor!s which are considered indispensible for the understanding of their cultures are often been seen as world literature. Traditionally" wor!s that have Greco*>oman origin or wor!s that are recognized for their transcendental" universal and foundational sub8ects are considered classics. 6n the other hand masterpieces are those ancient or modern wor!s which are written in modern (vernacular) languages claiming to have as sublime themes as the classics. #asterpiece is a concept which decenters the significance of Greco*>oman texts as the sole authority of universal themes. #asterpieces are written for the middle classes and they offer them great sub8ects for discussion in the language of masses. 9n the &) th century ngland (where in the university literature departments only classics were taught) the rise and propagation of nglish and nglish studies can be said to have been along with the abundance in the availability of masterpieces which were read by the nglish people so avidly as the elite had done with classics earlier. /inally certain wor!s would serve as thresholds to foreign cultures whether or not they are considered masterpieces. 9t may also happen that a masterpiece or classic becomes the source for the study of a particular culture and the masterpiece becomes a classic (today" we do not find a Gree! or >oman text in the classics selection boo!shops but nglish or German or /rench masterpiece). ?irgil s Aeneid is the very type of a timeless classic" but it is also a masterpiece of its genre" registering one stage of development in the long series of wor!s from Gilamesh and the lliad up to %oyces 3lysses and Walcotts Omereos. @ually" the Aeneid is a window on the world of imperial >ome. ?ery few wor!s secure a @uic! and permanent place in the limited company of perennial world masterpieces. #ost wor!s shift around over time" even moving into and out of the category of the masterpiece. With many classics" masterpieces and other significant wor!s world literature consists of a huge corpus of wor!s. Their producers" societies" histories" cultures and literary traditions are also widely disparate. Their readership is much more varied with which there may be a wide variety of responses to the texts received into particular cultures. $ classical 4ans!rit text when read by an nglish reader may suffer a reading in terms of the nglish literary tradition. 4uch reading may not generate a sense of reading literature so one must be attentive. $ccording to some scholars literary wor!s across cultures exhibit common literary patterns and such must provide the necessary basis for any truly global understanding of world literature. Today" we live in a world where we are culturally aware" essentially modern and necessarily global. The term world literature defines our new cultural and literary

perspectives. The world of world literature is less a set of wor!s than a networ!. This networ! had a fundamentally economic character" serving to promote a traffic of ideas between peoples" a literary mar!et to which the nations bring their intellectual treasures for exchange. Aut a wor! only has an effective life as world literature whenever and wherever it is actively present within a literary system beyond that of its original culture. B) Write an essay on the dynamics of world literature.

1.3.1 !ational Literature versus World Literature Goethe spea!ing to Peter c!erman in &+-' said 9 am more and more convinced that poetry is the universal possession of man!ind" revealing itself everywhere and at all time in hundreds and hundreds of men ..9 therefore li!e to loo! about me in foreign nations" and advise everyone to do the same. 0ational 2iterature now is an unmeaning termC the epoch of world literature is at hand" and everyone must strive to hasten its approach (@uotation ta!en from 7avid 7amroschs What is world Literature?). The age Goethe grew out of was the age when uropean countries li!e ngland" /rance" Germany" 4pain" Portugal and 7enmar! completely evolved into imperial countries and (extreme) nationalist fervor was brewing which eventually was to lead to the Great War. 9t was the same time when the colonial practices of these countries were at the height. These countries loo!ed at their respective literatures as if they were inherently national literary traditions raising their countries to a level of respect in the eyes of other countries and prove their superiority. 2iterature became a means of national identification. 9n political and cultural discourse literature combined with terms nglish=German=/rench was used to capture the attention of the public and draw their love and respect toward their countries. 4uch was the birth of 0ational 2iterature. This attitude of national literature gradually developed into a disrespect for the literatures of other counties. When Goethe spo!e of German 2iterature or nglish 2iterature he !new he was essentially spea!ing of 0ational 2iteratures and he was aware of the dangers involved in it and the necessity of the emergence of something called world literature opposed to national literature. .e wished national literature was obsolete. #arx and ngels e@uated the idea of national literature to narrow

mindedness and national one sidedness and anticipatorily tal!ed about the necessity of the emergence of a world literature not from the literature with the influence of a nationalistic nature but simply from local and national literatures. They say 0ational one*sidedness and narrow*mindedness become more and more impossible and from the numerous national and local literatures there arise a world literature ( ommunist !ani"esto). George 4ampson in his the oncise ambridge #istor$ o" %nglish Literature says the history of a national literature" however much destined to be international is part at first of the national story . 9n order to write a world or international story a history of world literature must be written however difficult the tas! may be. 9n a world where multiple volumes of the history of a particular national literature is written" it is not unimaginable for the history of a world literature to be written. The selection of writers and texts must be done carefully and it must be done in terms of the literary value of the texts under scrutiny. &he 'orton Antholog$ o" World Literature in six volumes is a step ta!en in this direction. The @uestion that troubles many scholars is how can world literature be studied as world literature< That is any literary text" however fundamental the theme of the text may be" is produced in a particular culture and in particular historical time" which is one reason for a particular text to become a part of 0ational literature. $ >ussian studying Gor!y may feel comfortable with the reading of the text for the reason that he is a >ussian. Aut" how can an $frican identify himself with a >ussian text since he is not a >ussian< $ full appreciation of world literature re@uires us to see it as at once locally influenced and internationally flexible. .ere one must remember that a text leaving its cultural and national origin aspiring to ta!e a place in world literature becomes a literary text and nothing else. 9t is read as world literature when it is read as literature and nothing else. The text no more is a >ussian text but simply a literary text. 9f the purpose were to study a particular period out of the text the text would serve the purpose. Aut that is a different reading. .ere we can say that World literature is simply that which is not read as national literature. 6ur reading of Dalidasa" or of 4ha!espeare" will benefit from a leavening of local !nowledge" an amount that may vary from wor! to wor! and from reader to reader but that will remain less than is needed for a full contextual understanding of a wor! within its home tradition. $s such" world literature can be aligned with the nuanced" localized cosmopolitanism. /ar from being a rootless cosmopolitan" a writer is doubly or multiply lin!ed to events and audiences at home and abroad.

B) .ow do 0ational 2iterature and World 2iterature assume negative stances and where do they contribute to each other< Write in your own words.

1.3.1.1 World literature" circulation and translation of literary te#ts: 6ur world is such that a literary text written in a particular language and published in a particular place has to circulate beyond its point of origin. 9t is due to the multiplicity of the nations spea!ing one language. We have more than six countries in the world that have nglish as the first language. 4panish and /rench are national languages in more than one country. $ text published in /rance compulsorily circulates in Aelgium in the same language. $nother text published in ngland circulates in $merica" 5anada" 4cotland and others in the same language. $nother mode of circulation is in translation. #ost world literature circulates in translation. 9f a wor! is to circulate in more than one country which do not spea! the same language it has to be translated. We can say that for world literature to come into existence translation is the reason. 9 do not li!e to read my /aust any more in German said Goethe once. .e would li!e read it in a /rench or 9talian translation where he thought it would assume new spirit. 9n 2atin my wor! seems nobler and as if it had returned to its original form he said at another time. Aoo!s benefit by translation. There are literary artists who along with publishing their wor!s in their own languages translate them on their own into languages they !now. /or example" >abindranath Tagore translated his wor!s into nglish after he wrote them in Aengali. Thus the Geetan8ali became a masterpiece of world literature. 4ome people read widely and voraciously. specially writers are great readers. They read translations as originals. $nd they read foreign texts in the original language of the texts. Ay translation" texts enter world literature in many ways. The translated texts far from suffering a loss of authenticity or essence may gain in many ways. Today" authors of highly successful wor!s can hope to have them translated into twenty or thirty languages within a few years of publication" and foreign countries may even provide the primary readership for writers who have small audience at home or who are censored by their governments. 9n earlier centuries" writers li!e 7ante rarely thought of themselves as writing anything resembling this !ind of world literatureC though they might hope to be read abroad" their patrons and most immediate audience were at home. 7ante" indeed"

wrote his ommedia in the vernacular precisely in order to be read by the widest possible audience in 9taly" instead of using 2atin to reach a large uropean public. Today" when he is translated into more than twenty languages" he is read by world readers and not alone 9talian readers. 7ante became a world writer as well as an 9talian writer. Writing for publication abroad can be a heroic act of resistance against censorship and an affirmation of global values against local parochialismC yet" it can also be only a further stage in the leveling process of a spreading global consumerism. This is almost the opposite of the long*recognized problems of cultural distance and difficultyE these new globally directed wor!s may be all too easy to understand. Aut world literature is not an ungraspable canon of wor!s. 9t is rather a mode of circulation and of reading. $ mode that is applicable to individual wor!s as to bodies of material available for reading*established classics and new discoveries ali!e. Aut it is important to !now first of all that there has never been an established single set of world literary canon" so too no single way of reading can be appropriate to all texts" or even to any one text at all times. The variability of a wor! of world literature is one of its constitutive features. 6ne of its great strengths is when the wor! is well read and presented well" and its greatest vulnerability is when it is mishandled or misappropriated by its new found foreign friends. 6n examination we can find that it resolves always into a variety of worlds * these different worlds vary by region" audience and cultural prestige. To read an authors wor!s in translation" we should be alive to relevant aspects of the context of their production" but we dont finally need the context in all its particularity. When all is said and done" an author in a particular language is not the same in receptor language. 9n such a context many scholars fear that World literature is fated to disintegrate into the conflicting multiplicity of separate national traditions but the fearers may have to rethin! their fears. B) World literature" translation and circulation 1.$ World Literature: %o e &lassic 'e#ts (il)a es*E is a Aabylonian epic poem belonging to around -;::*&;:: A5. /rom ancient records it is !nown that this poem is once more than twice as long as what has survived from it. 9n its present form it is pieced together from nearly ,:"::: tablets or fragments in three languages. The poem tells the adventure of Gilgamesh" who begins as a harsh ruler" has a terrific battle with a terrific figure

and then becomes his staunch friend" loses this friend" tries vainly to regain him" and finally confers with his shade in the land of the dead. The poem li!e most primitive epics is probably pieced together from a good many stories originally independent. 6ne of the most interesting sections is the Aabylonian tale of the flood (Tablet F9)" which is remar!ably parallel to the story of 0oah s /lood in Genesis. The final section" which describes the world after death" is a literal translation from a 4umerian poem. $ standard translation into nglish is that of D. 0 4anders. (4ee &he 'orton Antholog$ o" World Literature volume & for the text)

'*e +a*ab*arata:
The #ahabharata is the earlier of the two great 4ans!rit epics of Western 9ndia (the other is >amayana). The Great War of the 7escendants of Aharata is probably based on a historical fact" a struggle for the possession of the Ganges ?alley about &::: A.5. The Dernel of the poem was probably in existence as early as ;:: A.5. 6ver a period of time it attracted and incorporated within itself a great variety of episodes" treatises of didactic and religious intent" and other miscellaneous materials. 9n its present recension in classical 4ans!rit" probably achieved between $.7 ,;: and ;::" it consists of &::"::: couplets and is by far the longest poem that has ever existed about eight times the combined length of the 9lliad and 6dyssey. The central story concerns a war fought among cousins and rival bands of brothers for the succession to the throne. 6ne of the brothers" $r8una" wins the lovely 7raupadi and brings her bac! as the wife of all five brothers. When after more than ten years of exile and war the rightful heirs gain the throne" the story ends. The finale is not that conventionally found in western poems long life and material prosperity but instead expiation. The victors" renouncing the world and its desires" retire to the sacred .imalayas. The culture revealed is that of a feudal aristocracy led by contentious !ings. 5aste is well established and its obligations are taught. $s is usual in 4ans!rit poetry" the position of women is high" and the women in &he !ahabharata are most attractive both in appearance and in character.

The main action is interspersed with moral digressions" loosely related episodes" prayers" a variety of religious" ethical and romantic complications. There are charming narratives" full of moving tenderness and sensibility" li!e the tale of 4avitri" whose religious learning" s!ill in dialectics" and devotion to her husband rescued him from death. The most famous section of the poem is a long dialogue between $r8una" the hero of the epic" and his charioteer Drishna" an avatar of ?ishnu. This section of &+ chapters" often reprinted separately as the Ahagavadgita is the great devotional classic of .induism. Written possibly as early as the - nd century A.5" it represents the essence of .induism" much as the 4ermon on the #ount presents the essence of 5hristianity. 9n this long dramatic poem the character of Drishna" The Alessed 6ne" who explains the single identity of all messiahs and the need for the righteousness is introduced into .indu Theology for the first time. 0o more climactic moment can be imagined. $r8unas armies are drawn up on the eve of a decisive battle. Get he hesitates" horrified before the impending slaughter of his !insmen and the deadly sin of bloodshed. .ow shall he" who desires to be righteous" act< $ fundamental @uestion is posedC how can a man live without sin yet perform his manifold duties as a social being< Drishna reassures him" first explaining that no one can be !illed" since the soul is immortal" and then going on to 8ustify activism and the performance of duty if it is disinterested" without selfish desire" and does not lose sight of ultimate spiritual reality. The learned will not grieve for those who are slain or who live. 4o are reconciled activity and spirituality through an interpretation of man s attitude and intention. 9t is 6pen* eyed disillusionment without the anguish of desire. This resignation" in a senseC brings peace" and Drishnas ultimate advice is E Giving up all 7harmas (righteous and unrighteous actions)" come unto #e alone for refuge. 9 shall free thee from all sinsC grieve not. 7espite some dull passages" as a philosophic poem the Ahagavat Gita #erits comparison with 2ucretius On the 'ature o" &hings. The compatibility of the Ahagavat Gita with 5hristain Philosophy has made it a favorite with Westerners" who have made more than (: translations.

Iliad:

The world (liad means the &ale o" (lios" that is" the &ale o" &ro$. Aut .omer ma!es no attempt to tell the whole story of Troy in the poem. .is theme is the Wrath of $chilles" a single event in the tenth year of the siege. 9n presenting this theme" .omer ta!es the details of the war and the life histories of the heroes for granted and plunges without explanation into the midst of the most critical episode of the campaign*the insult given by $gamemnon to $chilles and the @uarrel which arose because of it. Aut this is also the critical episode in the career of the hero $chilles. Gears before" he had been offered his choice for two livesE either he could remain in Greece and live to old age without glory" or he could go to Troy" win renown on the field of battle" and die young. $chilles went to the war" and his !nowledge of this approaching death ma!es $gamemnons insult unendurable. When $gamemnon ta!es away his prize of war" the captured girl Ariseis" he ta!es away the glory for which $chilles has sacrificed the ease and length of life he might have had. The day the @uarrel arises is therefore crucial for $chilles" because it brings him the deepest humiliation of his career. $nd it is crucial in the story of the war because" when $chilles anger leads him to withdraw to his hut" the Gree!s lose the ablest of their champions. When $chilles refuses to fight" the weight of the campaign falls on the other chieftains" and .omer extends his theme by describing their deeds of valor in the interval between $chilles defection and the attempt made by Patroclus" $chilles friend" to save the ships (Aoo!s 99*F?). 0or does he hesitate to include in the account matter that properly precedes the awa!ening of $chilles wrath. 9n Aoo! 99" when the Gree! army advances against Troy" he describes the forces involved in the 5atalogue of 4hips" though such a muster toll belongs to the part of the story detailing the Gree! preparations for the war. 9n Aoo! 999" he presents the duel between Paris and #enelaus" though this action would ta!e place in the first year of the siege" if at all. Aut in a story which the audience already !new in detail" such displacement of incident from the natural time se@uence would cause no embarrassment. 4imilarly" .omer indicates what will happen after $chilles anger has reached its fulfillment in the death of .ector. 9n Aoo! ?9" when .ector says farewell to his wife $ndromache" he foretells that fall of Troy and her own captivityC in Aoo! FF99" when .ector is dying at the hands of $chilles" he relates the manner in which $chilles himself soon will meet his end. Where suspense is

impossible because the audience already !nows the story" there is no artistic loss in such foreshadowing. The 9liad" then" is the story of the Wrath of $chilles told against the bac!ground of the story of the siege of Troy. The two tales" advancing together" support and heighten one anotherC and the poem is richer in character and incident than it would be if .omer had developed his theme more narrowly. The two chief sources of interest throughout the poem are warfare and debate. The battle scenes show an astonishing !nowledge of military matters on the part of the poet. The speeches" as in the assembly of warriors in Aoo! 9 and the embassy to $chilles in Aoo! 9F" indicate his complete familiarity with the principles of rhetoric. $nd there are famous passages of other types" such as the picture of .elen among the aged men of Troy" the parting of .ector and $ndromache" the ma!ing of $chilles armor" and the ransoming of .ectors body by his father Priam. The heroes whose words and deeds are related in the 9liad are ideal types whose characters were apparently established before .omer composed the poem. $chilles" the central figure" is a young man great beauty and strength" supremely courageous and s!illed in combat. $s a warrior he far surpasses the other Gree!s" while his mere presence" though he is unarmed" stri!es terror into Tro8ans. .e is an excellent orator" and at the assembly he uses his s!ill in speech for the common good. .is wea!ness lies in the violence of his emotions" though it should be observed that he is able to master them when the gods command him to do so. 9n the @uarrel with $gamemnon his wrath is 8ustified by the !ings conduct. 0evertheless when he is about to slay $gamenon and $thena bids him desist" he thrusts his great sword bac! into its sheath. Aut he nurses his resentment" and when $gamemnon offers him immense reparation he scornfully re8ects it" though the Gree!s are in extreme peril at the time. 9n spurning the !ing s attempt at reconciliation" he disregards the rights of the Gree! army and destroys his position as its champion. Alinded by arrogance and the desire for vengeance" he refused to do his duty in the crisisC instead" he sends Patroclus out clad in his armor and thus loses his friend. .is grief at Patroclus death ta!es him bac! into the battle but is so excessive that he answers .ectors dying re@uest li!e a savage and abuses his corpse li!e a barbarian. 9n the end" it is true" he redeems himself" when" in obedience to Hues" he curbs his anger and welcomes Priam to his hut. Aut his self

control is stained to the brea!ing point. .is emotions are so turbulent that he fears he may slay the old !ing and bring on himself the wrath of Heus" as $gamemnon brought on himself the wrath of $pollo. $chilles is forerunner of the tragic heroes of Gree! drama" a man preeminently noble but led by an excess of his on high nature to error and great unhappiness.

'*e ,rabian !i)*ts:

The $rabian 0ights" also called The Thousand and 6ne 0ights" is a collection of tales in $rabic" built up during the #iddle $ges. $s early as the &: th century some of its -1( tales were transmitted orally by story tellers among the #ohammedan peoples of the 0ear ast (some of them even reached urope during the #iddle $ges). $s time went on" the $rabs increased the collection by the addition of tales from other sources and cycles and organized it" in the 6riental manner" within a framewor! supplied by a frame*tale of Persian origin. Ay about &(;: the wor! had assumed its present form. The frame*tale recounts how the 8ealous 4ultan 4hahriar" Persuaded of the faithlessness of women" married a new wife each evening and put her to death the following morning" until his bride 4haharazad won a reprieve by commencing a story on her wedding night and artfully sustaining 4hahriar s curiosity about the outcome of her tales within tales. /or a thousand and one nights" he !ept reprieving her (during which time she produced three male heirs)E then he abandoned his original plan. The first uropean translation was a /rench one by $ntoine Galland" &':(* &'. 4ince then $li Aaba" 6pen 4esame" $laddin and his #agic 2amp" 4inbad the 4ailor" the #agic .orse have become familiar references. The stories inspired the >ussian >ims!y*Dorsa!off to compose a symphonic suite entitled 4cheherazade. ven in the expurgated version of most nglish translation" the tales convey the spirit of the astern and #ohammedan life" its exotic setting and customs and its sensuality. $lthough there is no specific moral purpose" there is a moral core beneath the fantasy. The astounding narratives cover an amazingly wide range of fact and fiction. 5amel trains" desert riders" the insistent calls to prayers*the solid

ground of reality*form the tissue of the scenes. The adventures are fabulous and supernatural" or aristocratic and romantic" bawdy and satiric. $s it figures in these tales" the fabulous" mysterious ast with its spirit of adventure" its blac! magic" its seductive scents" its ecstatic lovers" its enchanting blossoms and enchanted princes" produces an effect uni@ue and unforgettable. &he &ale o" Genji is an important wor! of %apanese literature" and numerous modern authors have cited it as inspiration. 9t is noted for its internal consistency" psychological depiction" and characterization. The novelist Gasunari Dawabata said in his 0obel Prize acceptance speechE I&he &ale o" Genji in particular is the highest pinnacle of %apanese literature. ven down to our day there has not been a piece of fiction to compare with itI. The Genji is also often referred to as Ithe first novelI" though there is considerable debate over this J some of the debate involving whether Genji can even be considered a InovelI. 4ome consider the psychological insight" complexity and unity of the wor! to @ualify it for InovelI status while simultaneously dis@ualifying earlier wor!s of prose fiction. 6thers see these arguments as sub8ective and unconvincing. >elated claims" perhaps in an attempt to sidestep these debates" are that Genji is the Ifirst psychological novelI or Ihistorical novelI" Ithe first novel still considered to be a classicI or other more @ualified terms. .owever" critics have almost consistently described &he &ale o" Genji as the oldest" first" and=or greatest novel in %apanese literature" though enthusiastic proponents may have later neglected the @ualifying category of in Japanese literature" leading to the debates over the boo!Ks place in world literature. ven in %apan" the &ale o" Genji is not universally embracedC the lesser !nown Ochi)ubo !onogatari has been proposed as the IworldKs first full*length novelI" even though its author is un!nown. 7espite these debates" &he &ale o" Genji en8oys solid respect among the wor!s of literature" and its influence on %apanese literature has been compared to that of Philip 4idneyKs Arcadia on nglish literature. The novel and other wor!s by 2ady #urasa!i are staple reading material in the curricula of %apanese schools. The Aan! of %apan issued the -::: Gen ban!note in her honor" featuring a scene from the novel based on the &-th century illustrated handscroll. The debate over how much of the Genji was actually written by #urasa!i 4hi!ibu has gone on for centuries and is unli!ely to ever be settled unless some

ma8or archival discovery is made. 9t is generally accepted that the tale was finished in its present form by &:-&" when the author of the *arashina 'i))i wrote a famous diary entry about her 8oy at ac@uiring a complete copy of the tale. 4he writes that there are over fifty chapters and mentions a character introduced near the end of the wor!" so if other authors besides #urasa!i 4hi!ibu did wor! on the tale" the wor! was done very near to the time of her writing. #urasa!i 4hi!ibuKs own diary includes a reference to the tale" and indeed the application to herself of the name K#urasa!iK in an allusion to the main female character. That entry confirms that some if not all of the diary was available in &::+ when internal evidence suggests convincingly that the entry was written. 2ady #urasa!i is said to have written the character of Gen8i based on the #inister on the 2eft at the time she was at court. 6ther translators" such as Tyler" mention the fact that the character #urasa!i no ue" that Gen8i eventually ta!es as his wife is based on #urasa!i 4hi!ibu herself. 9nterestingly #urasa!i 4hi!ibu started writing the novel with 4uma* chapter &- and $!ashi *chapter &, before she wrote the rest of the boo!. Gosano $!i!o" the first author to ma!e a modern translation of the Genji" believed that #urasa!i 4hi!ibu had only written chapters & to ,," and that chapters ,; to ;( were written by her daughter 7aini no 4anmi. 6ther scholars have also doubted the authorship of chapters (- to ;( (particularly ((" which contains rare examples of continuity mista!es). $ccording to >oyall TylerKs introduction to his nglish translation of the wor!" recent computer analysis has turned up Istatistically significantI discrepancies of style between chapters (;L;( and the rest" and also among the early chapters. The wor! recounts the life of a son of a %apanese emperor" !nown to readers as #i)aru Genji" or I4hining Gen8iI. /or political reasons" Gen8i is relegated to commoner status (by being given the surname #inamoto) and begins a career as an imperial officer. The tale concentrates on Gen8iKs romantic life and describes the customs of the aristocratic society of the time. #uch is made of Gen8iKs good loo!s. Gen8i was the second son of a certain ancient emperor and a low*ran!ing concubine (!nown to the readers as 2ady Diritsubo). .is mother dies when Gen8i is three years old" and the mperor cannot forget her. The mperor then hears of a woman (I2ady /u8itsuboI)" formerly a princess of the preceding emperor" who resembles his deceased concubine" and later she becomes one of his wives. Gen8i

loves her first as a stepmother" but later as a woman. They fall in love with each other" but it is forbidden. Gen8i is frustrated because of his forbidden love to the 2ady /u8itsubo and is on bad terms with his wife ( Aoi no +e). .e also engages in a series of unfulfilling love affairs with other women. 9n most cases" his advances are rebuffed" his lover dies suddenly during the affair" or he finds his lover to be dull in each instance. 9n one case" he sees a beautiful young woman through an open window" enters her room without permission" and proceeds to seduce her. >ecognizing him as a man of unchallengeable power" she ma!es no resistance. Gen8i visits Ditayama" the northern rural hilly area of Dyoto" where he finds a beautiful ten*year*old girl. .e is fascinated by this little girl (I#urasa!iI)" and discovers that she is a niece of the 2ady /u8itsubo. /inally he !idnaps her" brings her to his own palace and educates her to be his ideal ladyC li!e the 2ady /u8itsubo. 7uring this time Gen8i also meets the 2ady /u8itsubo secretly" and she bears his son. veryone except the two lovers believes the father of the child is the mperor. 2ater" the boy becomes the 5rown Prince and 2ady /u8itsubo becomes the mpress" but Gen8i and 2ady /u8itsubo swear to !eep their secret. Gen8i and his wife 2ady $oi reconcile and she gives birth to a son" but she dies soon after. Gen8i is sorrowful" but finds consolation in #urasa!i" whom he marries. Gen8iKs father" the mperor" diesC and his political enemies" the #inister of the >ight and the new mperorKs mother (IDo!idenI) ta!e power in the court. Then another of Gen8iKs secret love affairs is exposedE Gen8i and a concubine of his brother" the mperor 4uza!u" are discovered when they meet in secret. The mperor confides his personal amusement at Gen8iKs exploits with the woman (I6borozu!iyoI)" but is duty*bound to punish his half*brother. Gen8i is thus exiled to the town of 4uma in rural .arima province (now part of Dobe in .yMgo Prefecture). There" a prosperous man from $!ashi in 4ettsu province(!nown as the $!ashi 0ovice) entertains Gen8i" and Gen8i has a love affair with $!ashiKs daughter. 4he gives birth to a daughter. Gen8iKs sole daughter later becomes the mpress. 9n the 5apital" the mperor is troubled by dreams of his late father and something begins to affect his eyes. #eanwhile" his mother grows ill" which wea!ens her powerful sway over the throne. Thus the mperor orders Gen8i pardoned" and he returns to Dyoto. .is son by 2ady /u8itsubo becomes the emperor and Gen8i finishes his imperial career. The new mperor >eizei !nows Gen8i is his real father" and raises Gen8iKs ran! to the highest possible.

.owever" when Gen8i turns (: years old" his life begins to decline. .is political status does not change" but his love and emotional life are slowly damaged. .e marries another wife" the IThird PrincessI (!nown as Onna san no mi$a in the 4eidenstic!er version" or '$,san in WaleyKs). 4he bears the son of Gen8iKs nephew later (IDaoruI). Gen8iKs new marriage changes the relationship between him and #urasa!i" who now wishes to become a nun. Gen8iKs beloved #urasa!i dies. 9n the following chapter" !aboroshi (I9llusionI)" Gen8i contemplates how fleeting life is. 9mmediately after !aboroshi" there is a chapter entitled -umoga)ure (I?anished into the 5loudsI) which is left blan!" but implies the death of Gen8i. The rest of the wor! is !nown as the I38i 5haptersI. These chapters follow 0iou and Daoru" who are best friends. 0iou is an imperial prince" the son of Gen8iKs daughter" the current mpress now that >eizei has abdicated the throne" while Daoru is !nown to the world as Gen8iKs son but is in fact fathered by Gen8iKs nephew. The chapters involve Daoru and 0iouKs rivalry over several daughters of an imperial prince who lives in 38i" a place some distance away from the capital. The tale ends abruptly" with Daoru wondering if the lady he loves is being hidden away by 0iou. Daoru has sometimes been called the first anti*hero in literature. The tale ends abruptly" in mid*sentence. 6pinions vary on whether the ending was the intended ending of the author. $rthur Waley" who made the first nglish translation of the whole of &he &ale o" Genji" believed that the wor! as we have it was finished. 9van #orris" author of &he World o" the *hining .rince" believed that it was not complete" but that only a few pages or a chapter at most were ImissingI. dward 4eidenstic!er" who made the second translation of the Genji" believed that it was not finished" and that #urasa!i 4hi!ibu did not have a planned story structure with an IendingI and would simply have gone on writing as long as she could. Aecause it was written to entertain the %apanese court of the eleventh century" the wor! presents many difficulties to modern readers. /irst and foremost" #urasa!iKs language" .eian Period court %apanese" was highly inflected and had very complex grammar. $nother problem is that naming people was considered rude in .eian court society" so none of the characters are named within the wor!C instead" the narrator refers to men often by their ran! or their station in life" and to women often by the color of their clothing" or by the words used at a meeting" or by the

ran! of a prominent male relative. This results in different appellations for the same character depending on the chapter. $nother aspect of the language is the importance of using poetry in conversations. #odifying or rephrasing a classic poem according to the current situation was expected behavior in .eian court life" and often served to communicate thinly veiled allusions. The poems in the Genji are often in the classic %apanesetan!a form. #any of the poems were well !nown to the intended audience" so usually only the first few lines are given and the reader is supposed to complete the thought themselves" much li!e today we could say Iwhen in >ome...I and leave the rest of the saying (I...do as the >omans doI) unspo!en. $s with most .eian literature" the Genji was probably written mostly (or perhaps entirely) in !ana (%apanese phonetic script) and not in 5hinese characters because it was written by a woman for a female audience. Writing in 5hinese characters was at the time a masculine pursuitC women were generally discreet when using 5hinese symbols" confining themselves mostly to native %apanese words (yamato !otoba). 6utside of vocabulary related to politics and Auddhism" the Genji contains remar!ably few 5hinese loan words (!ango). This has the effect of giving the story a very even" smooth flow. .owever" it also introduces confusionE there are a number of homophones (words with the same pronunciation but different meanings)" and for modern readers" context is not always sufficient to determine which meaning was intended. #urasa!i was neither the first nor the last writer of the .eian period" nor was the Genji the earliest example of a ImonogatariI. >ather" the Genji stands above other tales of the time in the same way that William 4ha!espeareKs plays outshine other lizabethan drama. The complexities of the style mentioned in the previous section ma!e it unreadable by the average %apanese person without dedicated study of the language of the tale. Therefore translations into modern %apanese and other languages solve these problems by modernizing the language" unfortunately losing some of the meaning" and by giving names to the characters" usually the traditional names used by academics. This gives rise to anachronismsC for instance Gen8iKs first wife is named $oi because she is !nown as the lady of the $oi chapter" in which she dies.

Aoth scholars and writers have tried translating it. The first translation into modern %apanese was made by the poet Gosano $!i!o. 6ther !nown translations were done by the novelists %unKichirM Taniza!i and /umi!o nchi. Aecause of the cultural difference" reading an annotated version of the Genji is @uite common" even among %apanese. There are several annotated versions by novelists" including 4ei!o Tanabe" 6samu .ashimoto and %a!ucho 4etouchi. #any wor!s" including a manga series and different television dramas" are derived from &he &ale o" Genji. There have been at least five manga adaptations of the Genji. $ manga version by Wa!i Gamato" Asa)i$umemishi (&he &ale o" Genji in nglish)" is widely read among %apanese youth" and another version" by #iya!o #a!i" won the 4hoga!u!an #anga $ward in &)+). #ost %apanese high* school students read selections of the Genji (the original" not a translation) in their %apanese classes.

-a let:
.amlet is a tragedy by 4ha!espeare (&1::*:&). .amlet is the world s most @uoted play and its hero the most discussed character in dramatic literature. 4ha!espeare is responsible for the temperament of .amlet" the passion and vitality 8oined with brooding intellect and lyric sensitivity. Aut the plot of a son avenging the murder of a father was not original. ven the fratricide" usurpation of the throne" feigned madness" forged letter" the characters 6phelia and .oratio" the duel of wits between uncle and nephew go bac! ultimately to a tale in a 2atin .istory of the 7anes by a 7anish cleric" 4axo Grammaticus (c.&-::). 9t was revived in a /rench collection" Tragic .istories (&;+-) by Aelleforest" and dramatized on the nglish 4tate (c. &;+)) in a play no longer extant (referred to as the 3r*.amlet" 4ource* .amlet. To the main plot 4ha!espeare gave tragic intensity both by the character of his hero and by a series of parallel situations and characters" with ironic duplications and contrasts. /railty" thy name is woman can be said of both Gertrude and 6phelia" and both are victimized by plotting malesC but more affecting is the contrast between the @uic! remarriage of middle*aged Gertrude and

the suicide in the madness of spurned love of young 6phelia. There is a stri!ing parallel of three sons .amlet" 2aertes and /ortinbras * each see!ing to avenge a murdered father. .amlet and /ortinbras (whohave both been deprived of their thrones by uncles) are the inheritors of a blood*feud. /ortinbras father was !illed by the elder .amlet" and 2aertes father by .amlet himself. $ fight between .amlet and 2aertes in inevitableC and both die by the same poisoned foil. .amlet had recognized the essential similarities of their positionsE by the image of my cause" 9 see the portraiture of his. /ortinbras" though of unimproved mettle hot and full" is not wea!ened li!e 2aertes by silly impetuosity" nor li!e .amlet by passionate introspective intellectuality. The paradox is that 2aertes hot* headed devotion to his familys honor and .amlets cautions hesitations lead e@ually to tragedy. 6nly /ortinbras goes into action with cold shrewdness. .e is not so attractive as .amlet" but he will survive to reassert the moral law and carry on the !ingdom. Plunged into misery by his fathers death and into a tragic disillusionment by his mothers overhasty second marriage" .amlet moves about silent and despondent in in!y cloa! and customary suit of solemn blac! . .is normal world has been shattered" and the duty of revenge forces him to play of role essentially foreign to his own nature. 9ronically" he is undone by his need to be certain of this victims guilt a need which is both a genuine" honorable scruple and an excuse for procrastination. To confirm his suspicious .amlet puts on an antic disposition (feigned madness)C and it is this madness which first arouses the suspicions of the !ing. 4imilarly with .amlet s next test the plays the !ing wherein 9 will catch the conscience of the !ing the !ings behavior confirms .amlets suspicions" but the play also confirms 5laudius conviction that he has been found out. .amlet then re8ects the opportunity to !ill the !ing at prayer" because to do so would send him to heaven . 9n this chain of moves and countermoves" the decision to spare the !ing releases him to plot further against .amlet. This is .amlets problem" but he sees in it a symbol of the deeper mystery of life. The times are out of 8oint and something is rotten in the state of 7enmar!. $venging his father is only one fact of the struggle of good against evil. There are more things in heaven and earth" he tells .oratio" than are

dreamt of in your philosophy. Throughout the play" his speeches are pac!ed with these more*than*private meaningsC and his dialogue" under the guise of madness" bristles with irony and paradox. 7esirous of revenge" he yet must weigh the impulses which !eep him from it" wonder whether man is the author of his woe or there is a divinity that shapes our ends. .e feels responsibility for the 4afety and health of the state" recognizes that he is heavens scourge and minister" and reluctantly accepts his destined mission. 7espite the sensational details of a revenge*tragedy .amlets character remains central. .e is" it is true" in part an idealized >enaissance prince" whose 5ourtiers" 4oldiers" 4cholars eye" Tongue" 4word" conform to 5astigliones dream of the courtier. .e is also another conventional lizabethan dramatic typeC a victim of the humor of melancholy. Get he is more than these. .e is complex and subtle" sensitive to the imponderable ironies of life and the mysteries of human destiny. ven as he moves from passion to rational control and to determination" neither we nor he can pluc! out the heart of this mystery. 6nly when" at the moment of his own death" he had rid the state of the source of its disease by !illing 5laudius is moral order reasserted so that the world of the play" impoverished as it is" returns to normal.

&,!DID.:
andide is a philosophical tale by ?oltaire (&';)). 6ne month after andide or Optimism ( andide/ou loptimisme ) was published in Geneva" it was condemned by the 5ity 5ouncilC shortly after" copies of the boo! were being read in Paris and in others uropean cities. When an accusing finger was pointed in the direction of ?oltaire he mischievously defended himself by asserting that he had absolutely nothing to do with this 4choolboy trifling. The boo! saw (: editions during the authors lifetimeC it has since been transalated into all the important languages of the world and has been called the greatest of short stories. 6ne of ?oltaires purposes is to parody the romances of adventure and the so*called philosophical novels which were in vogue at the time. To this end" he ta!es as his main hero the young man 5andide" who" as his name indicates" gazes upon the world with eyes that are astonished" naNve and shortsighted. .is manners

are polite" his 8udgement good" but he is very unsophisticated. 5andide is raised in Germany in the castle of Thunder ten*tronc!h (the name is ?oltaire s invention) in West Phalia" with 5unegonde" the Aarons daughter. Aecause 5andide was brought up under the tutelage of master Pangloss" a believer in the 2eibnitzian philosophy that all is for that best in the best of all possible worlds" it would seem that the pupils optimistic point in view should prepare him for a rather happy life. Aut providence rules otherwise. 5andide" because of an indiscretion with 5unegonde" whom he loves" is !ic!ed out of the castle and compelled to enlist in the Aulgarian army. .e deserts" flees to .olland" finds Pangloss in a deplorable state" and learns from him that all the inmates of the former best of all possible castles in Westphalia have been scattered to the four winds. $ 7utch $nabaptist ta!es Pangloss and 5andide into his service and brings them to 2isbon" where they arrive in time to witness the famous earth@ua!e and to be condemned by the tribunal of the 9n@uisition. Pangloss is hanged" but 5andide is rescued by 5unegonde" who happens to be in 2isbon" too. .e leaves with her of Auenos $ires" but only after !illing a %ew and the Great 9n@uisitor both of whom have tried to ta!e 5unegonde away from him. $rriving at his destination" 5andide learns that the 9n@uisition is hot in pursuit. .e then leaves 5unegonde and ta!es refuge among the %esuits of Paraguay" who are waging was on 4pain and Portugal. .e !ills a colonel*priest* none other than 5unegones brother and escapes to the country of the man eating 6reillons. 2ater he spends some time in the ideal !ingdom of ldorado" which the leaves only after ac@uiring great treasures. 5andide is ever on the moveC we find him next in /rance" where he is threatened with imprisonmentC in ngland" where he witnesses the shooting of $dmiral AyngC then in ?enice" a free state" where many dethroned !ings have come together for the carnival. /inally 5andides wanderings ta!e him to 5onstantinopleC here he discovers to his great amazement 5unegonde (who has grown repulsively old and ugly)" Pangloss (from whose nec! the noose had slipped) and 5unegondes brother (whom 5andide had wounded but not !illed). The long*lost friends settle down on a farm. Pangloss is still inveterate optimistC but" after the old tutor has tried to prove rationally that all events are lin!ed in his

best of all possible worlds" 5andide sums it all up in his famous words of adviceE Tis well said" but we must cultivate our garden. 5andide is" above all" a rollic!ing caustic satire which deals a strong blow at the blissful optimism of the inveterate followers of 2eibnitz. ?oltaire had for a time leaned towards Philosophical optimism" but his own experience at the hands of men and circumstances brought him to consider at close range the problem of evil in the world. #oreover" the concentrated reading that he had been doing in preparation for his exhaustive ssay on #anners" as well as his personal observations" had provided him with a multitude of examples of the tyranny" fanaticism and ignorance of man. ?oltaire believes that mere chance governs the world" except during rare epochs when a few great men impose their enlightened wills and cause civilization to flourish. What stupidity to call upon providence at random" and to proclaim that all is for the best" assuming that every effect has its ade@uate causeO /acts themselves and contemporary events provided ?oltaire with fearful weapons. The 2isbon earth@ua!e of &';;" for instance" was a hard fact that bitter*end optimists found difficult to reconcile with their theological pronouncements about of loving God. Buestions such as the following remained unansweredE Why then must we suffer if God is 8ust< What am 9< Where am 9< Whither am 9 going< .ow to explain my origin< 4ince the earth@ua!e there had occurred other events which grieved ?oltaire and seemed to 8ustify his conviction that everything in the world was amissC the war was still going onC the /rench had been defeated to >osbachC the Aritish $dmiral" 4ir %ohn Ayng" was un8ustly shot to satisfy public opinionC an attempt was made on the !ings lifeC the ncyclopedia was suppressedC the Government" bac!ed by the 5hurch" intensified its campaign against the .hilosophes. ?oltaire" disgusted with human stupidity and cruelty" had in mind one single ob8ectiveC to ma!e fun of mans aberrations and heap sarcasm on them. ?oltaires peculiar type of pessimism re@uires some elucidation. .e does not claim to be personally unhappy" nor does he accuse Providence of having been un!ind to him. 6ne must observe also that" if his 8udgment on the march of the universe is disillusioned" it is far from hopeless. 9t is true that he no longer believes

in a beneficial providence" yet he still has faith in true progress. 9ndeed" his opponents who proclaim that all is for the best are precisely those who would li!e to maintain humanity in the lamentable situation in which it is at the present" and always by invo!ing the most scared causes. They are the enemies of Philosophy" and this all is for the best is their only recourse. andide is the violent and impatient reaction of a Philosopher who believed that progress was possible and immediately realizable" and who observed with bitter disillusion that the good cause was still far from being victorious. 5andide is the ill*humored outburst of an $lceste who has aged and who has ta!en the measure of the innate perverseness of men and yet not lost faith in the perfectibility of the human species. The only positive advice in 5andide is contained in the famous but we must cultivate our garden. ?oltaire has been criticized for not explaining the lesson of his diatribe at greater lengthC he has been accused of excessive sarcasm without redeeming counterbalance of ade@uate moral teaching. Get he might have ended on completely hopeless note" instead of holding out" as he does" the possibility of remedying human stupidity by energetic action and hard wor!. #ental weariness" despair and #elancholy are romantic reactions which ?oltaire never experienced himself" nor could he understand them in others. 9naction seemed absurd to him. When ?oltaire gave 5andide to the reading public" he was 1;C from that time until his death in &''+ he strove with youthful ardor and disinterestedness to act" to wor!" to struggle against ignorance and tyranny to build" to sow" to defend the cause of the oppressed and underprivileged.

War and /eaceE

a novel by Tolstoi (?oyna"9 mir &+1-*1)). This picture of >ussian life" set against a bac!ground of 0epoleons invasion" is one of the great novels of world literature. 9n scope" organization" and variety of character studies" War and Peace defies limitation to any particular category of fiction. To classify the boo! as a historical" sociological" psychological" political" epic or panoramic novel or as an exemplum for a philosophy of history arbitrarily limits a breadth of treatment which combines all these elements. Get the wor! has angered many. .istorians @uarrel with the appraisal of 0apoleon and with Tolstois theories of history" military strategists find fault with the accounts of battlesC non* >ussian readers are confused by the many classes and groupsC and literary critics have decried the loose episodic structure. The answer to all these critics is that the sweep of the novel and the force and interest of its characters are enough to carry the reader through the difficulties and win the respect of the critics in spite of the flaws. The problem for the reader is orienting himself. $t first he is lost amidst faces and names. 4ome figures ma!e a vivid impression at onceC others hover nebulously in a marginal area of recognition. The reader must pic! up threads of continuity in the lives of the characters and fit together pieces of the 8ig*saw picture. Gradually each locale ta!es definite formC personalities seem richer with each contact until the reader is at home in each group. With the ease of familiarity he is able to move about in the social circles of #oscow and Petersburg" to male @uic! visits to estates in the provinces" and to live with the armies at the front. The people in War and Peace are worth !nowing. 0apoleon is met face to face only a few times" but his personality permeates the story and he is seldom out of the thin!ing of the chief characters. Aut he is not the hero. 9ndeed" there is no one hero but a half dozen" each ma!ing a bid for the chief interest. There are 7olo!hof" a man of personal fearlessness and cold cynicism" and $natol Duragin" the son of Prince ?asili and one of the most convincing debauches in literature. 9n contrast to the unprincipled Prince ?asili is old prince Aol!ons!y" rigid in his routine and principles. $bout his son $ndrei hovers an aura of impending doom even in his most triumphant moments" and his potentialities are wiped out by a horrible death from a wound received in heroic but fruitless effort at the indecisive battle of Aorodino. Then there are 0i!olai >ostof and Pierre Aezu!hoi" unli!e in

almost every respect. 0i!olai" a dashing extrovert" reveled in the life of a soldier. When the marries the wealthy princess #ariya" sister of the ill*fated $ndrei" 0i!olai finally finds contentment in family life and an outlet for his energy in the management of estate. Pierre" introvert" ungainly" fumbling for the right values" is the illegitimate son of Prince Aezu!hoi but is made legal heir to the Prince s title and fabulous wealth. $ccepted as a well*intentioned fool" he mixes with all the >ussian groups from the highest aristocrats to the bedraggled mob rescued from the /rench. Aut finally he too finds self*respect and contentment in a love marriage and family life with 0atasha >ostof. The story ends in peace" with a visit of Pierres family to 0i!olai and #ariya at their provincial estate and Tolstoi ma!es it pain that though 0apoleons" empires" movements" and ideas may come and go" human love" trust" and everyday domestic life are the abiding values. 5onsiderable parts of the boo! (including all the final chapters) are devoted to Tolstois theory of history. This theory is essentially fatalistic. /ree will is an illusion" and hence it is an illusion to attribute the events of history to the efforts of great men. This idea is wor!ed out in the contrast between the two historical figures and War and Peace" 0apoleon and the >ussian commander*in*chief Dutuzof. 0apoleon won the battles but lost his army in >ussia. Dutuzof spent a large part of his time reading novels" lost the battles" lost #oscow" but saved >ussian. 0apoleon was a blunderer who does not deserve the credit for his successesC hence he was not a great man. Dutuzof was great" not because of personal ability" but because he happened to be the embodiment of the forces of necessity and was wise enough not to try to shape the course of history. (The obvious inconsistency here is apparently inspired by patriotism" though Tolstoi does develop the idea that the difference in greatness between the two men lies more in what they were in their own characters than in what they did). 9n general" Tolstoi opposed the idea of the great man or leader. 4ince the will is not free" events shape of the manE he is governed by the manifold natural and supernatural forces which combine to produce necessity. $nd mans tragedies and disasters are the result of his inability to read the signs of this necessary. The greatness of War and Peace does not li!e in its philosophy or in any contribution to the facts or theory of history. 9t depends on the budding of a vast panorama of a whole society out of innumerable minute realistic details. These

details of events" settings" and characters ma!e every part of the story vivid and interesting" but without artistic organization they would merely overwhelm the reader. War and Peace does have plan. 3nli!e many long &)th century novels" the sprawling story has structure. 9ndividual episodes and groups of characters are not merely episodesE they turn out to be bloc!s functioning as parts of a larger structure. 9n the finished wor! and design of related movements" events and personalities become apparent. The total picture is an unforgettable vision" distinguished by its depth and scope.

!oteE 4tudents must study (about) the most popular texts around the world which
are generally included in anthologies of world literature. They may refer to 'orton Antholog$ o" World Literature.

1.0) su ary: There can be found no accepted canon of world literature li!e that of national literature. Whichever wor! finds a place in the canon of national literature" most of the times" finds a place in world literature also. The circulation of the text for reading and the way we read a particular text determine whether it is world literature or not. $s said above" a wor!s designation to world literature depends on its circulatory and translational value as well as the politics of reading" and economics of a text production and transmission. 1.1) odel 2uestions

1) Write an essay in your own words as to how translation contributes to world literature. -) >einventing classics ,) What involves ma!ing a wor! part of world literature< () .ow does reading in a particular way can ma!e any literature world literature< ;) What is a classic< 1) Write an essay on Goethes idea of world literature<

') .ow do you thin! world literature is of urgent necessity in a world rapidly globalizing< +) .ow does national literature become world literature< Write an essay in your own words. )) Write an essay on 9liad. &:) .ow do texts come to assume the status of classics or masterpieces<

1.3) 4eferences 'orton Antholog$ o" World Literature in six volumes %erome W. 5linton" /. $biola 9rele" .eather %ames" -::). 0eading World Literature1 &heor$/ #istor$ and .ractice by 4arah 2awall #ow to 0ead World Literature by 7avid 7amrosch" -::+.