Table of Contents
Preface x
Introduction
Method, Subject and Problems of the Study 1
Method of the study 1
Subject of the study 2
Stance of the researcher vis-a-vis the subject of historico-typological studies and the prospects they open 7
Central theme and material of the study 11
Interpretation of material: the 'optics' of the study 13
Historico-typological studies in Russian comparative literature (the epoch of reflective traditionalism) 15
Principal methodological premises of the study 24
Culture 25
Culture of the reflective-tradionalist type 25
Literary canon 26
System of writings 27
Literary self-awareness 28
Literature 29
Literary aesthetics 29
Functions of literature 31
Problems of the study 32
Literary Aggregations
Essay 1 Literary Zones: Structure and Transformations 37
The emergence of literary aggregations: the transformation of zone-shaping literatures 38
From the pre-reflective traditionalist (ancient) to the reflective-traditionalist (medieval) type 38
The religious Canon 41
The system of writings 43
Fine literature 54
Time of formation of literary zones 56
Incorporation of integrated literatures 57
The stage of the emergence of a written tradition in ethnic languages within integrated literatures 58
The stage of flourishing of integrated literatures 62
Literary ties 62
Illustration 1 Traditional South East Asia as a Literary Region and Literary 'Asia in Miniature' 65
The oral 'core' of the regional aggregation 66
The 'attraction of India' and the emergence of the aggregation 67
Centrifugal and centripetal tendencies 72
Systems of writings and fine literature 75
Self-Awareness of Zone Shaping Literatures
Essay 2 The Creative Process as an Ascent: Inspiration (Receptive Stage) 88
Literature and spiritual core of tradition 90
The Absolute - inspiration - the poet 102
The 'energetics' of literature 123
Essay 3 The Creative Process as a Descent: Literary Work (Agentive Stage) 131
The universal in the system of literary expression 131
Intellectualised emotion 131
Genre structure 136
Linguistic style 148
The individual in the system of literary expression 155
The mental structure of a literary work 155
The verbal structure of a literary work 171
Essay 4 Belles-Lettres and the Reader: The Synthesis of Pragmatic and Aesthetic Effects 174
Effects of fine literature 174
Fine literature in the system of writings: several concluding observations 194
The Anthropomorphism of Literary Systems
Essay 5 The Isomorphism of Macrocosm, Microcosm and Letters as a Prerequisite of Anthropomorphic Literary Systems 206
Types of the description of macro-/microcosmic parallelism 208
Macro- and the microcosm as two copies of the sacred text 214
The sacred text as the paradigm for fine literature in its macro- and microcosmic dimensions 223
Illustration 2 The System of Classical Malay Literature as an Example of Anthropomorphic Literary Systems 230
Macro-/microcosmic parallelism and the ideological context of classical Malay literature 231
Anthropomorphism of classical Malay literature 236
Genre structures and mechanisms of poetics in different spheres of the literary system 242
Genre structures 242
Genres in the sphere of beauty 244
Genres in the sphere of benefit 249
Genres in the sphere of spiritual perfection 253
Literary synthesis in classical Malay literature 256
Instead of a Conclusion 266
Epilogue: Neo-Traditionalism
Essay 6 Neo-Traditionally and Neo-Traditionalism in Modern Asian Literatures 273
Neo-traditionality and neo-traditionalism vis-a-vis traditional and modern literature 275
Stages of neo-traditionality and neo-traditionalism 287
Some observations on neo-traditionalist poetics 293
Illustration 3 Neo-Traditionalism in Indonesian and Malaysian Literatures (Two Case-Studies) 297
Bibliography 307
Index 337