Topic And Reason - Elements of literary analysis

Topic and Reason

For some, these terms designate the same, others consider them different. The truth is not so easy to perceive the differences that arise. It is convenient to consider the subject as a kind of topic.

Wolfgang Kayser explains these issues separately and shows the more general concept of topic, since, according to him, in studies on topics including the reasons and other literary traditions, research topics has two aspects. First, it investigates the literary tradition of still images and certain specific patterns or stereotypic thoughts also, and on the other hand, pursues the tradition of certain technical modes of expression (Kayser, 1970, 93).

The topics are topics, content, or literary forms typical situations that are repeated over several times in the literature and have become literary traditions whose original source is difficult to pinpoint. Have passed from writer to writer, from one era to another, and have varied, but have retained their essence as meaningful units that relate to an action or content of the work and experiences become typical for the human soul. They allow us to identify in advance a typical situation that has already been addressed in previous works. The topics are "clichés" fixed or schemes of thought and expression from ancient literature and through the medieval Latin, penetrated the national literatures of the Middle Ages and later, during the Renaissance and Baroque. ... There is a wealth of poetic imagery, fixed formulas and ways of exposing techniques that are learned and not despised or disdained the greatest poet (Ibid., 91-92).

Among the topics most famous are: the pleasant landscape tradition, that of the nightingale, the wounded deer and the source, the topic of comfort, of false modesty, of fate or predestination, the prologue, the withdrawal of life or ille beatus (happy one), the free will, the glory of fame, the world upside down, the child and the elderly, the elderly and the young woman, that of the nature goddess or mother nature, carpe diem (taste the day), the golden mediocrity (mediocritas aurea), the crime of being born.

The reasons are topics that are meaningful units that refer to a before and after in the work, the reasons "move" the characters to perform an action. The reason raises an issue that arises, creates tension and needs to be solved or resolved. The reasons are imbued with motive power, which justifies, in the background, the name of "reason" (derived from "Move") (ibid., 77). Stress may cause the reason is not released in the play and the action take a different course in this case, the pattern is called "ground blind."

Some examples of reasons: the recognition of a character through the middle of a ring is needed, the recognition of a maid by a shoe that only serves it, the performance of work or business that is only possible by magic items that a supernatural being given to a character, the love between the descendants of two feuding families, the error of apparent death, the prince disguised as a servant passion, the two warring brothers, the fulfillment of a promise that causes a fatal situation, the maid unfaithful, search for her brother, the prodigal son, the boat of salvation.

To be more clear how one reason is reflected in a work, consider the argument of La Estrella de Sevilla, Lope de Vega, which shows the fulfillment of a promise that causes a fatal situation: A king falls in love with a girl but is humiliated by her brother. A noble king gives his word to avenge him, but he knows then that the offender is his close friend and future brother in law, because the girl was his own girlfriend. Yet keeps his word and kills his friend. The king has to meet his, which had promised him impunity. The two lovers give up their love (Ibid., 98-99).

Some popular topics:

1. Topical or Topical Fame The Glory of Fame

This topic is that, in our passage through life, it is essential to perform feats that remain timeless. We do great works that immortalize. The topic raises, as you can understand, fame as a possibility to overcome oblivion This theme is very typical of the epic, but is very much in works of other genres. It appears, for example, Verses on the death of his father by Jorge Manrique.

2. Beatus Ille topical

This topic (happy one) is how blessed is he who lives a secluded life problems, a quiet life in the midst of nature and removed from the crowd, who lives in the quiet and out of trouble and evil. So arises in a very direct and clear in the most famous epode of Horace, the "Beatus ille qui negotiis Proculus ..." ("Blessed is he who fights far as the ancient race of men, spend their time working paternal fields ... "), which inspired Fray Luis de Leon in his Ode to a retired life, which begins with these words: What relaxed life / fleeing from the madding crowd / and follow the hidden path along which have been / the few scholars who have been in the world!

3. Topic of Carpe Diem

This topic (or taste lives on the day) warns us that we live today, to enjoy the present, as warned one of the Odes of Horace ends with these words: carpe diem. In the Ode is suggested that as we do not know what we're going to live, as we know if we can enjoy tomorrow, as we do not know what we leave for tomorrow what we can carry out or you will do, we must seize the Today, the present tense, which is the only one there, but at the same time is fleeting. It argues that the past no longer exists, the future has not arrived yet and do not know if it will. We have only this, but it is so fleeting, that immediately becomes the past and the future becomes the present. For all that, the conclusion is, therefore, carpe diem, seize the day today.

4. Topic of Free Will

The topic or doctrine of free will raises the fact that human beings should have the right or the free will to determine their life is, be able to decide what you want to be and do in their lives every time they do not affect the lives of others. When one's freedom harms another, falls into debauchery.

For the analysis of this topic should consider aspects such as moral, social prejudices, the prison, slavery, human exploitation, subjugation, prejudice, ethics, social laws, human relations.

4. Fatal Destiny Topic

The fate (tragic destiny, "Moira and Ananke") is the destination toward which moves the protagonist biased manner of Greek tragedy, drawn by an irresistible and inexorable cosmic force that neither humans nor gods can counteract or overcome . It is an unfortunate fate, fateful, grim, fateful miserable. If you can escape the fate, can only be done through the device dramatic deus ex machina, that is, a god who appears in the work to save the hero.

Classical tragedy governs irresistible force called Ananke, the need, the destination. We can now interpret the extent that the entire fate had in mind of the Greeks. Sometimes poets show him as a cosmic force, which are subject to men and gods. The Force of Destiny is invincible, says Aeschylus, and Zeus himself can not avoid it. The Fates weave it within the old Cronos. But together with this implacable Fate imposed on men from its metaphysical remoteness, the tragic hero feels immediate artificer of his Fate itself, up to the catastrophe and death through his will, along the straight line of a higher duty. Nothing would oblige him to sacrifice, but he wants to, and thereby determines their destiny. This willingness on the part of the hero is essential to the tragic conflict arises. It is clear that the springs will shoot the hero and bring him to fight and succumb not be the vulgar motives of everyday life, but high ideals, ethical and Religious: justice, well, friendship, duty, patriotism, piety, atonement ... (Gili Gaya, 1967, 37).

In classical tragedy the tragic fate is inexorable, irresistible, inescapable: it can not be avoided or changed, in the modern tragedy, things like reason and the passions of the character is imposed generally on target.

From Greek literature, the fate, or predestination tragic fate has become a topic of universal literature.



----------------------------------

Kayser, Wolfgang (1970), Interpretation and the Literary Work A4nálisis, Madrid, Spain, Editorial Gredos.Gili Gaya, Samuel (1967), Initiation into Universal Literary History, Barcelona, ​​Spain, Editorial Teide.