Particulars

Literature between Morphology and History

Abstract

Until half a century ago, the question “what is literature?” was common in literary studies. Today such questions have something naïve, especially in a time that has become sceptical towards theories. This article tries to avoid this naïve side starting from two books that have enquired into the question ‘what is literature’, in an analytical and genealogical way (Die Logik der Dichtung by Käte Hamburger and Fiction et Diction by Gérard Genette) and going back to the ancient theories of poiesis and mimesis.