What is Comparative Literature?

~ CHWYFLEIAN ~ EDIT

Brunel P., Pichois C., Rousseau A-M. (1983), What is comparative

literature?,Athens:Pataki
Introduction-Translation-Notes by Dimitris Aggelatos
Literature, besides being an excellent means for everyone to broaden
their knowledge and trigger their imagination, has been the object of
cultural studies for centuries. Questions concerning style, types of
narration, themes and literary movements have been raised multiple

times. So, today, I am launching a new series in my blog, in which I am

going to talk about books and studies that concern the theoretical side of
literature and belong, specifically, to the field of Comparative
Literature.

Although I wanted to focus mainly on literary texts, seeing how much

time I spend reading scientific writings I decided to incorporate them in
my posts, in the hope that they will turn out to be helpful to the
researcher and interesting for the bookworms.
The first book that I chose to introduce myself in the field of comparative
literature was Quest-ce que la littrature compare by French authors
Pierre Brunel, Claude Pichois and Andr-Michel Rousseau, translated into
Greek by Dimitris Aggelatos. While the Greek translation is superb,
unfortunately the book hasnt been translated into English yet.
The writers thoroughly examine every aspect of comparative literature,
such as when and how it evolved, how it spread to the world, how it
relates to the History of Literature and where it derives its themes from.
Lets revisit some extracts (translated form French to Greek and from
Greek to English, so be tolerant):
Defining Comparative Literature:

Comparative literature is based on analytical

description, methodical and differential comparison,
complete interpretation of interlingual or intercultural
literary phenomena by means of history, criticism and
philosophy, with the intention of gaining a better
understanding of Literature, a special function of
human spirit. (p.240-241)
Conditions for becoming a comparatist:

Passive and, if possible, active knowledge of more than

one foreign language is the sina qua non of becoming a
comparatist.
[]
Bilingualism,
studies
abroad,
cosmopolitan family: behold so many excellent
advantages. (p.241-242)
The role of the translator:

While creative writers recreate the original text,

professional translators, unassertive as they are, treat
it with caution. We shall benefit from both translations
of every literary masterpiece. (p.80)
Numerous references throughout the book aim to orient the future
researcher, but end up being extremely tiring. This is an essential
reference work for every student but I would never recommend it to
someone who just now begins his journey in comparative literature.