THE NEW CRITICAL IDIOM Sees E008: Jonn Deaans, UnIvEsTy oF Sms The New Cam ine es of too gle oy Tieton tro 2 TREES SSQA Sea Sedeonr eng ery Sa +t the tem to the egret of curl epee rong emp ocay debate a he ld poeie est of "he We Cai em naopavabeappesensy apes nt he tory Anew Bennet Insescpinan oe Marae ‘Anatigany by in ncerion nel by Cir Alen ‘Adyar nd Agerepratonby ale ony by Cie Clock aes rte Pate Won assy ary ay ogc Ra. Cmalam/Peesonioe by seg A ener Stondedton ys samba eve, hn VF coma ae tt ty Pip Hebron ine tanh Sess Moers See hie attire Mh Larerce Coupe ty Fanceslnrn Nove by Ful Caley ies ak aie Poy Son Gent ze Su its Pr yey io ‘ramet Peformonce The Paar Sen Moat br Smon Sheed ander Wale Regen er a Dromate nds ama Baba Fh amantcion by san Day See Fon by Adar bars tyeow on ert Greg Cara ‘Cendes by Davi love od Contaden Senay by lop Bro ene ok Pow Sai oy See acd Cat yd Boing Satay by Dons Hal ioc by Pl Manton The Sabie by Pi Stow Human Toy Das Benenson egy y Di Hass i atnrEere GENRE john Frow I RoutledgeFirst published 2006 by Routledge 2 Pat Square Miton Par, Abingdon, Oxon Og 4RN Simulteneovsy published nthe USA and Canada byRoutledge 2370 Madison ve, New York NY 10006 otedge on mri of he Topo Fanci Grove (© 2005 hn Frow ‘Typeset in Garamond ad Sela Sans by Taylor Francis Booke Pete and bound in Great Brain by 1 ternational 3, P2300, Comal [Aight reserved. No par ofthis book maybe reprinted or reproduce or tlsed in any form a by any elecwonc, Inechanical or ether means, rou kroun or ereater inverted, incuding sotcopying and cording On any information storage or etival system, whoa ermsion in sting fom he pbliahers sh ibrar Ctloguing in Pubcon Data ‘Neato card or thes books aalable fom the British brary Libor of Congas Coalogngn Publestion Doo [cdl record fr this bok has been quested SEN on4is-28062-1 (hbk) JS@N o-415-28083-X (po) Contents, SERIES eDITOR'S PREFACE, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. Introduction ‘Approaching genre Preliminary questions The station of genre “The perermance of genre ‘Simple and complex genres ‘Simple forms: the riddle Generic complexity Gitation and interexualy LUterary gente theory Genre as taxonomy Presentational modes: Plato and bricratle “The natural forms Genres and modes Poetics and history Implication and relevance “The structural dimensions of genre \replication and presupposition Genre as schema Generic rths: Philosophy Generic tuths: History 29 23 40 45 * 3 8 63 58 nm ” 8 ® 925 Genre and interpretation Reading gente The fame Generic cues Figues of genre 6 System and history Genre systems Synchrony and diachrony Genifietion Teaching Beare cuossary siauiocaeeHy Inoex 103 103 ne 124 24 ote “7 139 us se 166 Series EoiTOR’s PREFACE The Naw Crit lio sx secs of intraducary books which secs © tend the leon of literary ses, in onder co address the sti changes mich ave taken place ithe dy of Liztacure ducing che se ecades ofthe twentieth contr. The simi 20 provide lee, well iluseraed accoune of the full range of texinology cree ia se, snd w evolve histories of es changing usage. “The cucrent ste of se dition of ier sie is ene where here i considerable debate concering hase questions of tema ‘This involves, among eter sings, the boundaries which dings the Hera fom the aonliteny the potion of literature within che larger sphere of cucu he selatonship between literatures of diene invo ordinary alle an wring 2nd inc syseme forthe ordering of texte snd lk. We hae alteady sen it happening spontaneously and without oncios ince, n the two ewrpapes teins, Ky cae che for tf explice quselces,o of nfoemal election by way of als, silent (gestres, complains’ (Giltow 2002, 202) small hints that war ‘oF boundaries, 1 embed in ling systems, in he organisation oF Tosks and jours bea, in School sllabuses, in che instretons| fe ling out 12x ceurns, in Powerpoine temple, an in online ‘sions of ie eigueee elutes tthe cheeshold of communis (of discourse, pateolling oe conerolling individuals” paticiption in she callecrive, ftesceing or suspecting tei involvements elsewhere Aietentaing, inicaing, sesiting, iadatng forms of xy, rio ‘lising and representing the felons ofthe gence tothe community thar uses ie (Giltow 2002° 203). Embed in sorring mechanisms tae ae concinsousy enknced by discussion, by use, ven by conte. ti, generic casiiation i st once ‘conta Gin the Sea of pei ‘ene pate of change and sion, resource fo organising abstain) td mae (inthe tense of being inscribed, eranepoced, and affixed {© su) (Bowker and Str 1999: 289) "This i o say tac genre is oe Jase a anes ce and conventions, ut that ica cals ito play fnstems of wie, durable social inseerions, and che eeganecion Of physical space 'At another level, clasiicio tan instil mater I enacted in ‘publisher’ cxslogues and bookele”castiacons, ia the alloeadon of ime slots for relevision shows and ia elevision guides, nthe guide Fines and dlitercions of ats organisations, and in che disoures of smarking and publicity. eogether wth the whole appara of even Ing an iting ad ecommending, tac deve so moch of lm Produc sion. The consumes of books, eeeded music, ieleison and Ben ae ongoing schooled, and sctivelyachol themselves, athe fne-tained eels of genre. But eis schooling’ anaes ine dice a precat= fo udgement: ig chi story hearing meant ro be serious of joking? De I rea tis movie melodrama o asi? Rend and viewers td listeners have constant reson £0 Kid of Folk cussion, a ways cemacialy systematic taxonomy which Fes inritive an yee coves rove of che dificule and ambiguous eae they ate likely co encouste, ta earhaces an exptience a et no the terms of @ marl rofl ‘ide (I dos’ like Hellywood serio movies bcs they're dent) "Folk clifton’ i pethaps 4 pattoniing way oF putting i ‘Amoi ll clsifiacion sysems hae kindof alk loge others in the ‘seo that George Lak speaks of thee being folk they of catego: ‘ston el which a tha hinge come in well-fned nde hae ch kinds re characerad by shared oper, and that cere one ihe taxonomy ofthe kinds’ (Lakoff 1987" 22, ced in Bowker and Sear 1999153). les easy enough to sce abitearings ad incoerece in the aniston of sheers n the vide wore a he een sg. ae the cat ‘ponies of comedy, Seams wat, ‘stio' adult, Science iio inthe fone plac and ek’ ‘listening, sounded, pop,-and weld muse in he che sean co be nual exclusive, do they evel? Yet as we Sai wee it Chaya 8 she sea finer coetenee carats mona aremps st ysematcsebolcly analy ofthe ery ge. re, which uneanly ik emai, ema, modal ad Fanon tera, Toe imporaae ses, however, thee hoa and incre sc evans. Gene clasiScaions ae real, They ave an otganising force in eveeyday life, They ae eribedded in mai ears a Jin the eecrrene practices of clishiying aad dierencicing kinds of symbolic action. Aad they bind abstree and delete negotiations ff meaning tothe social sions in which they occu Te wosld alone be dlinicion of genre vo saya a redatinip berwen text] seracutes ad the situations that occasion them alough, a6 We stall se, she concep aston’ a 0 be defined! wich ome ce“This emphasis on che socal an sigutional underpinnings of geare corresponds clely co she way much eecene work in the field of tetorie Ie tended eo shink abou aa stroctured complex which has te fie charceer and inert with the demands ofan ensronmene. For Campbell and Jamieson,“ gene 18 composed of + constellation of recognisable fom bound together by a0 Satecral dynamic’, and this dynam i «fasion of substance, syle, and seeaciona element tnhich works as «range of potential strategic responses eo the demands (ofthe sisi’ (Campbell and Jamieson 1978: 148), Gentes ae to be ‘fined noc i tects of che nei steuctre of eee scour But by the ation hey ate used 0 accomplish i Catlya Millers words, ey tre “pied thetoricl scons based in ecutene situation” (Mller 199430, “The wot af genre he, to mediate Deewee sca situation and she tet which eases cern fexutes of tht stutian, oF which ‘responds strategically it demands. Gen shapes stapes fx ocasions: ‘eget certain kind of work done, Bur We need ro make ome ditine= tions bere berwcen che level of stractfe and che level of the tex vent. Gente ne itl an action or» pedformance: ire & ‘pitied ‘sion, aster itd. Simi, the stain xo whi 6 aap {stots one event but a eecatent em. The fecurence tat Undees gee ptens “ie aoe + mera stution (rel, abjetve, fctal vent) bor opr constral of «ype (Miller 1994 29), and genre equtes meaning’ fom che kinds of sitsaton ie eles eo (Miler 1994: 37) Te “embodis the ype of reusing stuacion eat evokes and. provides wreategic response ta a scaton (Coe. 2002: 6) ‘A sanry of metaphors operat here C0 £0 atch something ofthe compleiy of hae relation between gente a5 eypified ation and situa tion at rcutentftm: genre is baa in stuton and “acguites mean- ing’ fom iit ‘embodied ‘evoked by it anda the ste cme fe provides a stacesie responce’ coi, The patecns of get, that i sy, ae at once shaped by 2 ype of situation and in car shape the ‘eter ction hs at etformed in response 0 Tet us ee ow this zlation works OU concretely in she case ofthe two differene secings in which the ‘ape cave judge’ rest mas placed. Tn the cate of the Heal, the setting was inthe ise instance a physi ‘al one: street hostdings cote to newsagents shop or a papersllers hoe. This sting & deeemined by tbe marketing skewegies of de ews indus, and sets materi Limits on the way the beadinee se presented, But the actual physical deel will der sighely om place co place; what macters the kindof sercing thi i, the Kind of feformacies embeded init, and how this information gives a certain Consaneshage #0 the daly chasing messages permed within this Framework. We could imagine this information in he fou ofa set of reading iscrocion about the vious sacral dpensions ofthe mn sage: the mast general esrsctin specie tha this message belongs 0 the news” gent, and should ths Be rad st face, televan, and an sien; lowetievel mesages specify an appropiate thematic range (he Iegal system, tragic deaths =), tlevane femal seruries (bal type, ominaliation, compresion ~). and 2 specific kind of therorial achority (ke parila forn of cedbilicy imputed ro aloidnewsp: er). Roughly the mame information could, howevee. be cerweyed by &| ‘ite dlleent physic seting” a simile beacline coal, fr example be incl in digs of cutee news ries ene by email ro nes ee subcribers, with lnk co a eletomic version of the ful atony. The rater gounding is quite differen, bur she geese pater would be Compare no extty the sme Inthe cse of the renorked Yenion ofthis aline that | iain being published in an anbogy of poetry, the physic setting would aecivace quite diferent gene isaction. Hete se setting of the ‘words onthe puge a= book, che xt of rine eo blank rap, te ca ‘ention of lineation, andthe context of othe texts which the rile ad ‘asi cee cues ive oo undestand a ier lle se es of redieting our exgectacions of haw the text wll work The mote gene specication of the text as «poem wll ovte us ad ia «fet imitation of action rather chan asa diece cepeesentation of «ee, ren, and the resounding af forma) sracturs (thm, vst b> fue wil tec sto give grits Semaatic weight (0 these earares han ‘hey would otherwite erry “Thesituaton to which a enee respond, and which sin some sse bul nt its own taceure, thus oly atone level an empl even To the extent tae shapes and regloes ce loi oF gente, the 8 Won ecuten oF typi! seuceue of formation. Ie conveys 2 tof coneraining iecracions about the frm of retrial beaviour wich 5‘ould be spprprite £0 is citcumtencs, dd chus anaes a set of strocurl consrines ac a et of geotic posible. In he anthro poogis Bronislaw Malinowski Famous phase, if eontext of si tio information inden sacse tha cones the Durpose sim ab dieetion of che accompanying activite® (Malinowski 1935: 214) The linge Michael Halide cakes up shi concep as ptt of his apumeat that ehe'itunion eye i mi crate, constellation of meaning rade up of ‘the ongoing Social aexvity, the role telaconshipsiavoled, and the sjmbalic or chetoccal channel” Haliday 1978: 109), What Halliday calle linguistic pir, concepe which [rake to be sughly equivalent co thar of gente, sehen the configuatin of semantic ‘erources thatthe member ofa culture spicy sceiats with ie tion type It the meaning posencl thi is accessible in give social feontexe (Haliday 1978: 111), where the nocon of "mesing” refers not only co ehematic content but tothe complex of emai, faa, and etorial dimensions ‘Whae Iam proposing i tha texts respond 19 and ate organised in accedance with ewo distinc bt elated level of information, eat of ‘the social seting i which eey Sco (a seting which va ecucene lope rather tan a panier ire a plac), aed tha of the genre ‘obilied by the setting sod by conrexcal curs. We should oe, MOM fer assume tat there 4 one-o-one cortepondence Bete setting Dagens, or that gence can be fea a fom thei esi. Some Sete ings such at cure of laa, wll ake posible » amber af eilrent esses (ouh bing, depoution, tesexamination, summing uP, o€ Pronouncement of sencence, for empleh, and some gente, such 2 he comple itera foes, wl be eaivelysndieret to phy sting. ‘We could ue the mehr of tansation think about reaions Lerween the level of seting, gee and tee 24s ernie (atv, ‘efor, but also ernsfrn the complex of mearngs made avaible by fhe seraccue of the gente, which in rarn cuter the stormaion steucturlly embeded nthe siustion to which responds “Anne Freadman develops yet another metaphor, chat of the cer ‘mony, thik about the motel and siurioal dimension of gee ‘Any performace of tense ites, takes place within abroad ce ‘moni fame ap wives ale cnernoaes fee ean: te ail- ence, the actions of epening and concluding se pedormance, alk about the perfomance, and its demarcation fom other peroemances. Sich tings a ‘eading a book, acending sed giving lets, diner conver ‘scons filing in foams, ierviews~ and a hoe of others ~ areal cee ‘moaial fumes and/or the genes that ocur within then eeudron 1888. Cernnice ae lke gues hac iui ther ames they ar the rules fr eheseciag of game, fr coneititng priipats 2 play (sin hat game, fr placing and ciming i in elation to other places nd ies (Erendman 1988: 71, We ea sy then ha che cereal ames atime aod space, setting i apa Frm ones. ad marin is sec (Frealiman 1988: 88), ‘Agsin, cis har the effec of placing cexts and genes in maton x9 social actions in aso ercing, They ze ao, hater, redible (0 this tering extualiey i never simply frcton of situation, ae the concept of gente’ and ‘ceremonial’ may or may ot be coextensive ‘nce 4 text may hive diferent rove of eiiaion, snd may take pace in quite ferent ceremeninie, Cy, "ame gees cabs it Seren ceremonial fom the ae i which they conventionally are. fn such cae, they ake wth them the signs of the lost ceremony, connce Ing that ceremony aa the socal relation it governs (Freda 1988 89) A frginee of home movie may be shows Wichin« docureaay, and wl carey with ie some ofthe free of is iil Tancion {will ‘nsraduce a datincrian in the ext chapter between genes, sch as hase af everyday elk, which sem 0 be fey grounded inthe cereponies of faceoricecmversation, and those, sch a he more complex ssthetic eases, whic ate highly syle and are gosetned by appacnly uc ‘ote sburactisiutional eames; but this dtinson between simple abd comples ences i inhetey unstable, since even the sie ot [ence (and the many genes of everyday tall are by n@ meant simple) hat the capacity £0 cite oer genes, o to potody them, or i9CaePo sate them, of (0 elect upon its own stacere If Setting and gene are -etacmmusatve fame lain fo texts texts in uth af ays potenraly Metacommunicaons aur hie Hac ‘THE PERFORMANCE OF GENRE Discourses, writes Michel Foucault ae “pectices hac sytemaciclly oem the obec of whch espa Boucule 1989-49) Fach element ”8 of tis senenee manner: dizoura a fata inthe sense char chy cary cut an actin; they ae somatic ecase they ae clatively coher ent inthe way they work they ae formate of objec in the very at of speaking of them, no it the sense hae they rere eects out of ath Ing ue insofar at ebey build a weight of meshing around che cate ties ofthe wold. Discourses ~ by which Four here mea something ‘et close o wha Il gente ~ ae pesormariv seucrues chat shape the word inthe vee proces of puting cinco speech Thus the dscurse of the nese ealine etboraces the eaegoey imdge’ wien bnadee moa indeed, moralistic discourse that sles cestin fears ofthe word as being worth tenting co. This thematic focus is ene dimension of che hesdlines message, bu in the very cof making a statement about the worl the text also projets a ate rude cowards it, an evaluative tone wich is built info the seusture of adares The tied dimension of is elity-frming eft i ctied by the ehrsial chanal through which it speaks che use of bold print on a poster conveys a sense of wegen, as ehough she hesline ‘wee cy ithe ster (rn some utes, ete newspaper eh tah out the headlines, ite ip, Though these hie dimensions ofthe message layered series of background knowledges ad wales 4 once creed lle int being, and eilerced hey include knowlege about 1 previous conrovesy sedimented Sto ericisms of lenient setene Jing by jodges, an » sens hat sh formation s urgently elevane 1 Coli woes, 2 syser of Bere offers set of nctpetarions of anes” ot "Suet the wort! (Calle 1973: 8) This | shink, ia way saying that every cegeieion af expec spa ad i defined by te tems of one of anche gene: dierene genres st up ‘words which ate specific eo them, although they may ovetap with hes as in the very paciculae wot of the rabloid press, made up of scandals and clerics. fa puting i this way, lam eying to gc ofthe esos why genre theory has something imporsane ¢o say about how enies are consruced and maittained or Baklin/Medvede (the name ele, to text aired eo Medvede but probably ently ster, pene is ‘an aggregate of the means for sting and “oncepunlising aly (Bakhtia Medvedev 1985: 137, cited in Hanks 2000: 143), «cena implication af ehe concept of genre is thus Uae che relics in aed amongee mich we live ae noe eransparency conveyed eo us beat mediated by seems of eprezenttion: by tlk, by weting by acing in All senses ofthe wot), by images, even by sound. Whereas the ‘reali? ents of pilowphy o histry ot wien, ad indeed of even comma Sense end co sume that rely i singulat abd ecernal ro the Fors ‘dough which we apprehend the nocon of pent "amet" of "es fon the world” implies the divisbliey uf the word and the forsatie ower ofthese tepeesentasonal fee, If however, wes eiilyBelese {hae we can ook ehtugh pices of tex, a8 thEOUgh 8 window, £53” slready-constitated world ouside i eit i above all case we een So naturally by fous ad formulae at we een ene Sa 0 SER rise eee for wha they ate (Cali 19735) ‘This is the ceezl argument of tis book: thas, far fom being mecely"stylisi’ devices, genes ere eer of reality and erat which ar contac the diferene mays che world i understood in the ting ‘of hieory or philosophy or cen, oi panting, ot in everyday elle, “The emiocic frames wihin which gente ace embedded implicate sed spe layered onclogical domains ~ impli tealitis which Recs Sv as pre-gncn clean, together wich chefs of abort art plasibiliy which ae specific eo the genre. Gene, ike formal see ture gener, works at level of semiosis ~ shat i of meaning making ~ which is deep and mote frcefal than cha of he expii ‘conten of ext Lee me illustate cis with emo examples, The fs ea ceading by ‘he liteay crite Nerbop Frye of Milton’ Lycida a pet pubis ‘16538 ima clive volume of elegies fra end who bad drowace ta sing she occasion to denounce che flings ofthe eased church “Arqing agin a ili port Romantic way of eng poe a acts of slfexpression,Fiye writes thar che satin poi fr an informed reading ofthe poor mse be he koawledge that i i'n elegy i he pastoral eaicion (Fe 1963: 19), The eration aera wet of es Cal and biblial sources such at Theoerivt Veils Eloe, the 23d Palm, and the New Testamenes imagery of Chis as shepherd, the hi ink between ese rw sande Milton's day being Vers Foch lor Messianic Felogue, which stead a prophecy ofthe beh of Chie The conventions of che pasta egy ed che maura hee Ota an india but a he ding male god of Geek myehology: Orpheus and Adonis, Sheley® Adonis, the Daphais of Thecus and Ver20 He i actocsted with ce cial chythan of che seasons, and widh a oc purple Hower the hyacineh, othe Feld poppies ofthe First World ‘War. The lames for Edvasd King, the osesible subject of Mion poem, should chs age be ted at x mater of petsonal grief ota in some more recent cis of homoerotic atachment, bea this to miss the mode of ‘inceiy the Milton works with: Uyeda’ writes Frye, is passionately sincere pears because Milton wat deeply ite. ‘seed in the structure and symbolise of fone egies. add been practsng since adolescence om every fresh corpse in sigh, fom Che ai ‘erst belle co he fai infant dy af cough’ (Eye 1962 125). The "tha ped in che poem is thar ofa prasional pac jn hit commen nal shepherd disgise, no tha ofthe giving personal sl Milton is ofcourse, & poet who i actely amie othe geet tai. tions within which be woeks, Bu as che stm inges an onventions| meg in the work of two aches goes who seem co be resolutely hole (o convercionl forms of expression For Frye, Wotdsworth's Lacy ows, smal se of Iycs published berween 1798 and 1862, consist, (of fa simple saxemenes which repcesent, in literature, the inate Totnes of petsonal sincerity No motion has she now, no force: she nether hears no see, (Fee 1965115) Buc this “pretence of petal sincerity i lf «lier cerention Frye concinues, sed at eoon aa death becomes a port image, thae image i asimlsed co oer poetic image of death in nara hence Tey inevitably becomes a figure of Proeepine {che Boess of the tanderdorld, jase as King becomes so Adonis Rolled ound in earths dural course With rocks and stones and ees (Fe 1963 128. Something simular happens i che case of anther pore who seven mote stcongly resistan co convention and even mate stonely commited 9 an aesthetics of penonalstaremene. In Wale Whttaa’s "When Liles Las in the Dooryard Bleomed an elegy compote insmedatly afer ‘he asiation of Abraham Lica a 1865 the dead man snot abby 2 pastoral name, bt neither ishe called by his Rstorcal mame. He iin cof whichis carte the length and breath ofthe lap: he is denied with 2 ‘owed western fallen star’ he 6 the Beloved comvade of the poe. who thiows the pura Rower ofthe lac on his cof a sing bird laments the eat, ust atte woods and caves doin yids’ Contention, gee archetype, andthe autonomy of forms ae al lustated a ley in Whitman they aren Mion (ye 1965: 15-6) In both cases, een, she structure ofthe elegiae Bere imps tea ings which predominate aver whatever the poss mare ummedice tions and intent might have been: and T conclude with Frye thar ‘niuteer event might have provoked the act of wring, ‘he fool ‘nopeation, the poetic strate dat cyalises aud the nem evens, ‘an oly be derived other poems (Frye 1968 125) ‘My second example again sera ceading of conventions (hte, those of speech) agunst a notion of Uterance as eexpeson. Erving Golfmansaoaysie of elk cleey establishes that the noel sate of fits i dialogue, of ather the ineeraconal steuceae of sequences if eponses. Yer here are cern aes, a8 whe Tag amy ow jhe or conect something Ihave sid, when ie becomes apparent chat och he speaker and the listener oe canbe taken by sng peron,a caving tha de nts ter not eo individuals a such, bu a ene Capacities’ (Goan 1981: 46) This ssikingly tbe case free ve ous gence (form of tlk) and subgentes be ls "blred vast hee there aemoce roles than pesos (Goffman 1981: SU ‘One of the norms governing tehiviout ie public is chat aking 1 oneself beaches the equine that one shou be respec ale inand ro che socal sation: ike reading i public of, in mae cons porary tems, meting exons of talking 00a mobile phone, cee Sents a widszaval fom soci. File «cease talking t0onesell 0 the presence of eters looks ke madness and a 2 lowe level ce sure, we feel erbarsed sf caugheeeeasing «play sn 2 miron ech‘hough tis is no sicly sect. Yee woe cca crcumstanes the robibiion on aking to opesl is otetsidden: when one is cold ofthe ‘at of lave one, for example cern display of emorion or concen is called for shich requ » momentary wichdeal from the sss, Ince, noe ro expuessemacion verbally C1 can’ belive ito whateve®) looks like coldness oe indieence. Or agin if we ty cute a cat that earns ou ne to be ous, eae arf a Ble outa selected emak Uae propedy fumes ou foe those who witness indcing (o the wud thr we are abientminded ether shan » thief (Goffman 1981: 94. Jn such cate, wha looks Like » spontaneous expreion of emotion is, Goffman argues rather form opted public display. Instead. ofthnking of aka something Bate out under res sure # might beter be tought of as» mode of response constant read fr thse ercumstanee in which tis excsabe Indeed, the time ad place when our vate reactions what strangers present eed to know abouts the occaen when slfwhis mere than excusable (Goran 896-7) Uumgections ~ exlamation® (it?) shat we let out when eaken by surprise = als For 2 form of behaviour whose very meting i that is something blurted out, someting that has escaped conta, and so sch Behaviour very often io has; ut this mpi feature does not mask the lms to which the uterance i socal processed ther the conventionaled sing to which ts blige to aahere, (Coffman 19898) aly, the gente of alk cae Goffman cls “espnse cries’ ~ Oh Bre! sch ~ wens simi to be sen «rural outflow ings Mood Ing up of previously conesined fling, «busting of rocmal consis, 2 case of being caighe off guard’ Goffman 1981: 99), and sic ork, be gues, as forms oF display which ae strategically sed for Geiling with 2 poeencilly darpeive or enibamsing sation the spl cy’ Os char T make whea clumsy’ rof-balance fines my loss of control as a momentary aiden, isting ie fom the tse of my behaviout and minimising che serianest of my incompetcace. Theat expressions ate then, the very oppsite of spontancns: they ae general seucered eo spy spontaneity, but wha comes tobe tice fof piricalar individuals show of “tasaal emerional eptstion” on any occasion sa considerably awesome thing aor depend onthe ex tence anythere ofan emacionl expressions (Goffman 1981: 108) ‘My angumene hee hat ofcourse been polemicaly sand 9 empha rise the shaping force of gederc conventions. The danger ith such = flan, however, i ha hit shaping understood derermisiaially, and gee cores tobe son arg ranhaecl clase exercising conta ve the text which generates, Sach a ie is posible only nena, tf pach o iin 0 film opting ate seen a members of pre sefned clases which have causal prionity over chem. This, I wane co fgu, at once the tadiionl and il prevaene view af ent, and ane ‘hat mistakes the dynamic catate fal cei Lee me begin thi further sage of segment by drawing an ele mentary but eracial distinction from the aneopolgis Dall Hymne Heweer erves whether minimal or comple, ate notin themselves the doing of gee ats ae not themselves acs. ever, per rmances. They an occur 38 whole e725, oF in various reaionships to whole events. The structure of am event may encompass preim raves and aftermath, may allow ony for paral vse oF a genre oF ven ut allusion to, and vo forth, (ames sara 483) ‘A sermon it ot the gene of eh sera Wester sno the, gene of che stme name. A’novel, of # chiens story, my incorporate tlemencofeither without belonging to cither genre: The textual event is nae a member of a genres because :t may have membership 19 many gees, and because is eve fll defined by ts! geve. Himes ‘has continues BY stesing the compleney and netdeswaivenes of ‘his elation: rather chan speaking of merership in a las, he wats ro comierpeformances a marie gents spe tat one can of pevtormanc tha its materials gents) were reported, decribed, rt hough, illstted, gored, enacted (Hymes 1974 43) Tents are as 232 ‘ot profrmances which work uso st of genetic rw neti. The reasioaship is one af prods laboration eather cn of eevsion or ‘determination. Thi tthe ae thal wterancs, and we Sei operat ing i literary texs whenever water extends che poubities of the frste Within whic he o hei noel working Tn atking «question abou he relation between cents and genres, and becwcen a reat and gente traditional genre theory pose the lem ope af the telaion berwcen empirical phesemens a8 cemeeps osclating the exe a something like physical cbc, 20d genes 4 fan aseace and rascendentl cls, "asorms a generic dscouse neo an omtlagi discourse’ (Schafer 19WS: 184, myelin) ht fs ieuas gente ito Someehing telly existent, rate sh. «shorthand Fee set of sumlaities and ferences between teats apd works with an abiolue dichotomy fermen the conceeipariular and che hsrcigenl, The membership of «txt in genre js taken robe & {elaonshipbermeen general spe and a presente or “take! ‘of ha yp logical relaonship cha allo for no slippage ao lack oF ft, berween oe level and the ober "Ewadman describes chis model as incoepoating sya of marching fase atsumprion abou gence 1 that atextis ‘ina gene, i, tht itis primary, soley escribable in tems ofthe rues of one gene 2 that geist ae, thatohe Features of et wl con spond tothe rules ofthe gene (Frama yi: 73) Like Schacler,she argues car € is more weil co sink of gence in| retms of sts of itertetual eatons~ minimally, he Sigal ele tion af emo rexts in sng setting or ‘errmony” in which they alk 0 ‘ch ater, a 0 che bee? and te ‘epoch fll frm but also the ravion betwen al chose texts cha 26 perceived tbe elewaely sila to his Oe, aswell 5 all howe tents da re ptceived a le ‘nly dita. sermons deine by its telation totes sermons ten though the kindof ching hii chnges overtime; bc alo by che ct that eta prayer oF a eulogy or ott spech To ee exene that ont ate undeitod & havea sategic on pagmstie vlan £0 their conten, gente clasifiations area ace of ening the posi se hat tees may ave. They deine ee potecal use values of tet, (eebee 1994, 277, alcough beeae th ange of posible wes ays ‘open-ended, gee clawifiaions are neesirily unstable apc unpe- resents a shift any fom aso” model of esxonomy sn wich = telaioeship of hearchicl Belonging between class and ts member predominates, ro. me reflexive model in which ene ae hou £9 tse o to psf he pects by which they ar shaped. Pethape che most Forceful sarmene of what i enaled in tht ave ~ and a feet putting into question ofthe category of gee iif ~ i hat made by the pose-srgtualis pulsope Jcqoes Deteida in "The Law af Geare Bis yeni simplest and sees form is his ‘text would ot belong to any gee very tt parcpates in ne for several genes, hore Is mo penvless tet, theres abwaye 2 genre 1 gov, et such participation never amounts belonging (Gevrids 580: 230) ‘The law of ese iss soe of participation without belenging — 2 ring jt ica Being par of, without hating membership oF =| Sec (Derrida 1980" 227) And the eaion why a retoeship af belong ing i nor posible i logical one: ee mark that designates meee ship in a Se the word “oovel, fr example) des nae icelf belong te that ses and may indeed be cake a a object of remark (may be erated upon) by a ret within the Sete woul Uns ecg 2 ost ‘on acne outside’ ce et, ea designation a its ls, an nde it 5 coment which felled. upon. This logical pardon what Dessda cls invaginaion’, a faldng in ofthe set upon sel he Word also plays with the oppsicin of mater an cara tha pin le. by ee logical eos of dhe word ents, and the elev that sus tains this peador i, he sys, characteris of "what we cll a, poetry ‘or lineata (Derrida 1980: 229), These are che fms oF wet hich 2526 ie once mad by gear and papell at work upon neal ‘ng and thetebyeanforming is rles ules, li, gente law a oon at ee word gene is sounded, says Dest "simi ie dravo. Aad when limes eeablished, norm and ineicians ate soe fr Behind “Do” "Do aot" (Deis 1980: 224), The law of genres law of purity law against misepenaion. Yet lodged st the ber of chit as is another, a law of impurity oF a prince of contamination’ (Dercida 1980: 225) which esters the impossilicy ‘of mt mixing genres, The tension beeween these two principles sive by che face of eperiin or citation: ehe fact tha any eet (or example, the ew senences with which Derrida begins hit esa, and which be thea made slightly By repetition canbe shifrd fom is generic com tent and place in another othe dficuley of distinguishing #ctton fom 2 nomitation, The aw of gene ie the very beginning under: mined by its lack of hold ver the texts hich i seen c tegulate; sate, th law of gente a orders principle’ is countered by ‘the made es of gente’ (Decide 1980. 252), by che face that there i 90 madness ‘waboue che li (Deve 1980: 251), 00 law wich mada. "Yer to put the mar this way go suppose chat gent the Ft place and however mach itis fea the very beginning. undermine, {mater of lw Agsos ts limit, closure, its injunction £9 parity i then st the wildness of leetue, of wetings, like the Blachor sey Derrida rede inthe tof hi esa, which se che achemaie lai tons of gente theory Spming. Bur this depesa om ie iia des sion co view genre as principle of eaxonomic puts, something like che {alk theory of categorisation ! mentioned eaier As Froid pus i, Derric'spradox holds for just che gene staremens that ace made according #0 the Arstotelian model of genre theory, 42. clasi-names tected portvely(eeadman 1986-563) eral produce ambience, Deis argument partite ia (4 won’ say ‘belongs 10 familie post-Remanticreusance eo geore Uundentood as a prectgeve exonomy and ar conse on tex eve, What matters abou the erry iit singly ori ‘Schlegel words, whic i a ee ini eis erin acu the end af the eighteenth century Die mado Dida mar Ei ae eich rl dr Gal me Gating fa ch: dhe modern penne ae ether jus (One oran ens mulipliiy very wotk iis om gene, gor (Sehlega 1957: 116. On te te hand, then, edi of we Yo system: for Benedeta Croce, wing cennary afte the bother Schlegel, esthetic or incutve moder of thinking ate asithei olga o entific modes nd gene theory. the theory of artic and rear kind’ makes the cor of eying ‘to deuce the expression fom che concep td tof i wh takes place te laws ofthe ching woe plc is taken (Croce 2000: 27. The esthetic has 0 logic, lie il ethecc expt ‘son, For she deconstrutonist Thomas Keenan, writing mother eatuty Lae, he hee ofthe Leary experince ‘ou espe tthe singlity ofa text, somrhing tha canoe be nga in advance, whose ees ites cannot be sete decid by "thea othe application of ore ‘oc es mecca programs (Keenan 199. 1) But of enue ou per ce ofa eat always i orgie in advance — by expectation above Wat ind of eat i oching eb. (On the ott hand, owes this absluce sila ofthe Hook is at he samt Cie an absolute generality, that of Ueatue, Mace lanchoc kes this tadieion of esistance ro gente cis logial extreme ‘when he wets Theory thing that mater isthe book ue 2 fr om gene, out side the ribres~ prose, Bot, noe, fat prion acount — unde hich icrefses to lace tse and to which denies the power of Fang itn ts place and determing for. A book no lange bong 10 ere vey back anaes oom erature, eater possesses diane, the generality he secrete and formulae wich sone petit tobe pten to what writen the reaity of = bos Eventing would ths take pace as If the pees having been diated, rte clone were fred, though here were hen anesence’ of iterstire (Blanchot 1959: 29, my tanlation ‘This is whe Philippe Lacove-Labarehe and Jean Lae Nany (1988), praphrasiog and extrapolating, from Schlegel, cll the, Lierey Asolue,itrarare not as ane gent o another but a at once he cee ity and the dsoution of kinds ‘One posible response to this tadition i t0 se it as Michel Beavjour dees, at «way of azalsing iteratute, turing ic ot # tra scendental eaegory which ca ave na cru wth the profane vesives, 27oF che “cursive functions and speech ace embed in all kinds of ‘wxerince, incding the ‘lip of gears (Beasjoer 1980" 18). "Yer want to argue tat the post Romantic resacance to gente notin ny simple way "wrong On the coma © seems to me important tostiess th opemendednes of genes and the ied af tet ‘ingle iuerpeetive framework, Deda is right to distinguish beeween icipicion and telonging, and eo argue tht che “pticipaion of teat in gents canoe mean a subsumption of dhe member of clase in che closed toa 19 which they belong. Tents werk upon genres as ‘muchas they ate shaped by them, genres are open-ended sets, far ‘path ina gence takes may ifleen forms ‘Ache sete, 9 en 8 eee uofamed, even if i i the case ta the ac of cation oof easton o metey survival fom one moment in cime to anoher al altet ce generic Famework within which ters se ead Texts and genet exe in an unstable relation, but at any On¢ Imoment shi relation is stabised-fornon’ ot stbilied-noegh (Sehryer 1994; 107), Been when a text dares ll the expectations we nay have of it, these experaions reverts Sens the ways in mich ‘we can read ic and che ways in which we can change out minds hat i, eveop new expectations AS the German iterary theorist HR Juss (1982299) passe ius as there sno ac of verbal communication that not rated to 2 general, sailor stustionaly condoned norm or convention, 's also unnaginable that a Iterary work set tif ito an informs tional vacuum, without indicating 4 specie skuston of understand ing Toth een, every work belongs toa ere and gente matte othe reading of every sexs 2 SIMPLE AND COMPLEX GENRES SIMPLE FORMS: THE RIDDLE Some genes sem rath simple, hers ery complex, Some ac cloely anchored roa partculat kindof station, others seem to Roe fe. of ‘ny such groin Some are clon oo even deel wit, a sing speech act a8 15 the payer to pang, the military command 1 onder ing, while others sh a5 the novel oe the shapgy-de ny ge made up of x mulipicey of speech acts and can incorporate a wie range ot other gents. Foc these senons, «number of writers have made a chee Uncen beeween simple and complex gente, oc berace fandamental forms and the tore elaborate forms built them, AnH alles deserter nine simple forme which ace the ancestors ofthe developed literary genres Andeew: Welsh explores the “roots of yt in ies, charms, and chats, which he takes to correspond tothe shee fund renee! forms of poetry defined by Pound melipie (musical, Phawpia (sual) and lps Cehe dance of inlet stnong words) (Web. 1978: 5). The Rain cheoise VN, Volsiney, who ws pert of the cic around Mika Babin inthe 19208 apd 19506 and hose published work may in pace have been auehened by Balkin, writes of the “litle speech gente! of ofa communiencon. Erphasising, dhe Impotnce of “agguage eiquete, speech tact 2nd other fem of30 jung an uteraace c0 the hierarchic orgasisaion of sci’, he ‘seguts tha each period and each socal clase as a tepersite OF ways of speaking” in pasuiclar kinds of situation, where the content of ‘cerances is adaped f0 particla form of wteance (Valosnoy 1973 21) Bakivin picks wp che argumene in one of his lace essays. Spec [gees he say ace tied to pticun “phates of activi’ and each och sphere ‘contains an ence repertory of speech gente ta irene fist and grow asthe purcuar sphere develops and becomes more comple’ (Bakhcis 1986: 60). The nétion of complex and he dis ‘inction becweea primary and secondary genes, nays: Secondary (comple) speech genes — novels dramas al ins ofS: ere earch, major genes of commentary, and so fot ~ ann ‘more complex and comparatively highs develope and organised ul {ural communication (primarily writen) that is anise, scifi Secopoiia, and soon, During the process of th formation, they ‘so ard digest various primar (simple) genres that have then ‘oom ih unedited speech communication, These primar Bees ave eed and assure a special haracter we they enter nto om Glew eves. They lose ther immediate relation to atl vaity ard to ‘there uterances of ates. (@avhin 1986 62) “The distinction can be exended beyond vetbal texts. Architecture, for cample, can be thought of as working with «small ange of simple types such a the ht, the costae he fetid keep the sat oom, the Cel, she temple, which fom ae bars for all of te mote sopisicaed Sad omples fens, and o which it constandy fers. Tiss ntesting foc bectuse it llone us eo redice che complex tothe simple, bur because the simple forms cend to ave speci and definite meanings tr finetions which ace then extended, expanded, ageeraed,gareied fr in sone cer way eraslored in the more complex fms T begin che chaper by esting ou Some af thew assimpCions against cone of Joes nin simple frm’ che riddle, «gente Which seems 19 be universlydisibuced sod to tage fom simple cilen's games ro elaborate lieraty frm, The cide is uname in che sense that se works as basic language game bul on se soil dynamics of ques ‘ion and ane, challenge and repone, and expos chese dyes rough the conc of an enigmatic or hues knowledge. I che £0 some of the mart base Bigures of speech, espaclly catches ice pplication f= erm co ching which i des noe propesiy dene, a8 ‘the eg fe able) and metaphor, bt it des have an elaborated leary form and seers give shape 194 number of ote gente, ache Mechs 6, che Malay penta he Bacoque emblem, or detective Seton Ie eof cote ancquiy: he oldest recorded idles, en in Sumerian with Assan tranlains, come lem ancien Babylon somne 2000 yas before the Christian ers Tayler 1976: 13) ‘You wont and ook the enemy's propery ‘The enemy eame an took your propery (eshte Who vacomes pregnant without conceving Whe becomes ft without enim (arain clo), “These ate recognisably sds in thei posing ofa parle formed by the escption of an unknown bjet which has to be gure. Although the Hist of cese Sumerian rides sot ia the Frm of a question and nat an ently be temsce in terms of the underlying act: ‘What isthe name of eat ching which, that we — we an Western neerniay ake obec asec frm ofthe le, “Yee ics peehaps too simple to suppose that rides 26 universally cast a comman fon Nov ll queston-and-ansmer est ards, A numberof Afsican cent clase 2 idles may skews 3 anomslovs. [ee Haring (1985: 165) cies he fllowing perfume fom the foes (ing ‘he grease [fa] of wood honey) Since ehey have nly one predicate, i she they sy only one ching bout she bjee they decibe, rather thi ewo, dis eran ee (0 ‘ork as meaphor, lacking the element of paradox oft the we tend 232 co associate with sds. Again, some Malagasy idles simpy describe he ears of a wellknown place: perched high whete there ate beat shadome {dombohimangs) This is barely more than a ier statement, skin to