Ornamental Narration: Case Studies from German and Russian Literature

Wolf Schmid

Book

Ornamental Narration

Case Studies from German and Russian Literature

Wolf Schmid

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2025

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This book is in the series

Volume 95 | Narratologia

About this book

Ornamental Narration is a narration in which thematic and formal equivalences dominate. Equivalence comprises two types of relations: similarity and opposition. They have in common that the elements linked by them are identical in at least one characteristic and non-identical in another characteristic. Equivalence produces, against the sequentiality of the story, a simultaneity of elements which are often distant from one another not only on the syntagmatic axis of the text, but also on the time axis of the story. Equivalence competes with temporal links such as sequentiality and causality. This untemporal relationship brings the temporal change and its logic to light.

The study examines works by Puškin, Rilke, Čexov, Beer-Hofmann, Belyj, Babel’, Vsevolod Ivanov, Nikitin, Pil’njak, Schnitzler, Zamjatin, Barskova.

Author / Editor information

Wolf Schmid, Hamburg University, Hamburg, Germany.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	I
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	VII
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	IX
1 Introduction: Ornamentality Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	1
I Theory
2 Thematic and Formal Equivalence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	7
3 Ornamentalism – Nineteen Theses Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	15
II Analyses
4 Aleksandr Puškin’s “The Coffin-Maker” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	27
5 Nikolaj Gogol’s “The Overcoat” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	59
6 Rainer Maria Rilke’s The Lay of Love and Death of Cornet Christopher Rilke Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	62
7 Anton Čexov’s Stories Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	67
8 Richard Beer-Hofmann’s The Death of George Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	92
9 Andrej Belyj Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	97
10 Isaak Babel’ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	107
11 Vsevolod Ivanov’s “The Child” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	113
12 Nikolaj Nikitin’s “The Dog” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	117
13 Boris Pil’njak Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	119
14 Arthur Schnitzler’s Dream Novella Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	130
15 Evgenij Zamjatin’s “The Flood” Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	143
16 Polina Barskova’s Living Pictures Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	161
17 Summary and Conclusions Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	165
18 Works Cited Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	169
19 Index of Authors and Works Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed	179

Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

June 30, 2025

eBook ISBN:

9783111665054

Hardcover published on:

June 30, 2025

Hardcover ISBN:

9783111664743

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Front matter:

11

Main content:

182

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111665054

eBook ISBN: 9783111665054

Hardcover ISBN: 9783111664743

Keywords for this book

Equivalence; poeticization; ornamental prose

Audience(s) for this book

Scholars of literary studies, esp. German studies and Slavic studies, narratologists

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Ornamental Narration

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Topics

Table of contents

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