Assignment: P-208:(Comparative Literature & Translation Studies)

 Hello Beautiful People,

This blog is a 208 (Comparative Literature & Translation Studies) assignment writing on assigned by Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad sir, Head of the English Department of Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavsinhji Bhavnagar University (MKBU).

Name          Bhatt Riddhiben D.
                     riddhi28bhatt@gmail.com
Sem 4
Roll No.          15
PG year          2020-2022
PG Enrollment No.  3069206420200004
Paper Name          208 (Comparative Literature & Translation Studies)
Topic Name       What is Comparative Literature Today? 

Submitted to  Smt. S.B.Gardi Department of English

What is Comparative  Literature Today?

Abstract :

In the Comparative Literature  A Critical Introduction, Sussan Bassnet argue that Anyone working in comparative literature must, sooner or later, attempt to answer the inevitable question: What is it? The simplest response is that comparative literature is concerned with patterns of linkage in literature across time and location, that it is multidisciplinary, and that it involves the study of works across cultures. Susan Bassnett explains Comparative Literature in a critical manner. She claims that there is no specific goal for studying comparative literature. Another issue is that we do not have a specific word for comparative literature. Different authors of literature provide different viewpoints on comparative literature. In common parlance, comparative literature refers to diverse civilizations from across the world as reflected via the history of literature.

Introduction :

Here I am going to analysis that Critics at the end of the twentieth century,in the age of postmodernism, still wrestle with the same questions that were posed more than a century ago:

“What is the object of the study in comparative literature? How can comparison be the objective of anything? If individual literatures have canon,what might a comparative canon be? How can be comparatist select what to compare ?Is comparative literature a discipline? Or is it simply a field of study ?”

Susan Bassnett argues that there are different terms used by different scholars for comparative literature studies. Therefore, we cannot put in a single compartment for comparative literature. The second thing she argues is that the west students of 1960 claimed that comparative literature could be put in single boundaries for comparative literature study, but she says that there is no particular method used for claiming.

What is Comparative Literature Today?

There have been various definitions of comparative literature, which greatly varies from one scholar to another, but they all agree that it is one of the most modern literary sciences.Throughout the past two decades, new critical theories, such as gender-based criticism, translation studies, deconstruction and Orientalism, have changed approaches to literature and accordingly have had a profound impact on the work of the comparatists.

“Sooner or later, anyone who claims to be working in comparative literature has to try and answer the inevitable question : What is it ? The simplest answer is that comparative literature involves the study of texts across cultures, that it is interdisciplinary and that it is concerned with patterns of connection in literature across  both time and space.”( Bassnett, p.1)

"Everywhere there is connection, everywhere there is illustration," as Matthew Arnold puts it. According to Susan Bassnett, everybody who is interested in books is on the path to comparative literature.We come upon Boccaccio while reading Chaucer. Shakespeare's primary materials may be traced back to Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian. We can see how Baudelaire's affinity for Edgar Allan Poe influenced his own writing. Consider how many English authors learnt from the great Russian writers of the nineteenth century. We may compare James Joyce's borrowing and lending to Italo Svevo. Clarice Lispector reminds us of Jean Rhys, who in turn reminds us of Djuna Barnes and Anais Nin.

Comparative Literature revolves around the study of literature outside the borders of one particular culture, the study of relations between literature on the one hand and other areas of human expression such as philosophy on the other hand.  Critics have also related it to history as it examines the convergence (junction) of different literatures and its historical aspects of influence, considering that Comparative Literature is the essence of the history of literature, beyond the scope of one culture or language. Another arguments is there west students of 1960 claimed that comparative literature could be put in single boundaries for comparative literature study, but she says that there is no particular method used for claiming. Critics at the end of the twentieth century,in the age of postmodernism,still wrestle with the same questions that were posed more than a century ago :

1. What is the object of the study in comparative literature? 
2. How can comparison be the objective of anything? 
3. If individual literatures have canon, what might a comparative canon be? 
4. How can be comparatist select what to compare ?
5. Is comparative literature a discipline? Or is it simply a field of study ?

A comparative analysis involves an interdisciplinary study of texts across cultures, as it is concerned in connecting different works of literature across both time and space.  Hence, it requires moving beyond the boundaries of a single subject area to find out how texts, authors or cultural contexts are related.  Matthew Arnold propounds that no single literature is adequately comprehended except in connection to other literatures.

“Everywhere there is connection, everywhere there is illustration.No single event,no single literature is adequately comprehend except  in relation to other events,to other literature.” (Arnold,1857)

Comparative Literature is an inevitable stage in reading.  To conduct a comparative analysis you should have already read for different prominent writers, for instance: Chaucer, Shakespeare, Baudelaire, Poe, Joyce, etc.  Reading extensively means that you will be able to move across any frontiers as noted by Goethe through which you will be able to perceive culture differences.

“Comparative Literature …will make high demands on the linguistic proficiencies of our scholars.It asks for a widening of perspectives, a suppression of local and provincial sentiments,not easy to achieve.”(Wellek and Warren,1949)

Wellek and Warren go on to state that, “Literature is one; as art and humanity are one.”It is an idealistic vision that recurs in the aftermath of major international crises. The focus is no longer comparing texts and tracking patterns of influence, besides, new theories emerged like: Structuralism, deconstructionism, semiology, psychoanalysis, etc. The Eurocentric CL studies, which focused only on the ideal of universalism, the third world schools have turned to focus on the specificity of national literatures and directly influenced the rise of nationalism and the interest in cultural identity.  The West started to be scrutinized from without from a radical alternative perspective. African, Indian and Caribbean comparatists have refused the denial of their cultural and literary history.

The 'Myth of the Other' emerged and the concept of 'Great Literature' has become questioned.  Comparative Literature has developed globally as a result of the mounting national consciousness of the need to move beyond the colonial legacy.  Shakespeare in India represented the representative of colonial values and thus it is not easy to treat his literature comparatively. Comparative Literature, cross-cultural criticism, has lost ground in the West and it is no longer a binary study as many comparatists are approaching many challenges and it is being compared to translation studies, which are significantly important at times of great cultural changes.  The long unresolved debate is on whether CL is or is not a discipline in its own right.

Comparative Literature have always claimed that translation as a sub-category,but as translation studies establishes itself firmly as a subject based in inter-cultural study and offering a methodology of some rigour, both in terms of theoretical and descriptive work, so comparative literature appears less like a discipline and more like a branch of something else.Seen in this way, the problem of the crisis could then be put into perspective,and the long,unresolved debate on whether comparative literature is or is not a discipline its own right could finally and definitely be shelved.

According to Ganesh Devy, comparative literature in India is inextricably related to the birth of modern Indian nationalism. He observes that comparative literature has been utilised to assert national cultural identity. There is no notion here that national literature and comparative literature are irreconcilable. The argument is significant because it helps to remind us of the roots of the word Comparative Literature in Europe, a phrase that originally originated during a period of national conflict, when new limits were being established. The issue of national culture and identity was then debated throughout Europe and the United States.

What is Translation Studies' contribution to Comparative Literature?

Translation Studies has progressed to the point that many people regard it as a distinct field in its own right. Work in linguistics, literary studies, history, anthropology, psychology, and sociology all contribute to Translation Studies. It makes the daring claim that translation is not a peripheral activity, but rather a key shaping agent for change in cultural history. Translation has historically been claimed as a sub-category in comparative literature, although this assumption is currently being challenged.

Scholars including such Toury, Lefevere, Hermans, Lambert, and others have demonstrated that translation is especially important at times of tremendous cultural upheaval. According to Evan-Zohar, substantial translation activity occurs when a civilization is in transition. However, when a culture feels it is dominating, translation becomes less necessary. Whereas comparative literature inside the West is moving backwards, translation studies is gaining strength.

Conclusion :

The comparative literature could not be brought under one umbrella unless it becomes a particular branch of the discipline of literature. There are a lot of efforts are being taken to study comparative literature through a common language that is done in translation, which is understood by all people. Comparative Literature has traditionally claimed translation as a sub-category,but this assumption in now being questioned.The work of scholars such as Toury,Lefevere,Hermans,Lembert and many others has shown that translation is especially at moments of great cultural changes. Evan Zohar argued that extensive translation activity takes place when a culture is in a period of translation :when it is expanding,when it needs renewal,when it isin a pre-revolutionary phase,then translation plays a vital part. 

Work Cited :

• Asaad, Sondoss Al. “Summary Of Susan Bassnett's A Critical Introduction To Comparative Literature | Sondoss Al Asaad - Academia.edu.” Summary Of Susan Bassnett's A Critical Introduction To Comparative Literature | Sondoss Al Asaad - Academia.edu, Www.academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/40176264/Summary_of_Susan_Bassnetts_A_Critical_Introduction_to_Comparative_Literature.

• Bassnett, Susan. “Comparative Literature A Critical Introduction.” "Introduction : What Is Comparative Literature Today ?" , 1993.

• Wellek, and Warren. Theory Of Literature , 1949.