Stacie Friend’s theory of fiction departs from those approaches that seek to identify the necessary and sufficient conditions for a work to count as fiction. She argues that this goal cannot really be achieved; instead, she appeals to the notion of genre to distinguish between fiction and nonfiction. This notion is significantly more flexible, since it invites us to identify standard—but not necessary—and counter-standard features of works of fiction in light of our classificatory practices. More specifically, Friend argues that the genre of fiction has the genre of nonfiction—and only that genre—as its contrast class. I will refer to the particular way in which Friend elaborates this claim as the contrast view. I have, nevertheless, the impression that this view unnecessarily narrows down the array of perspectives and attitudes from which we can approach works of fiction. I will thus develop a line of reasoning to the effect that the contrast view should rather be construed as picking out a particular way of relating to works of fiction that lies at the end of a continuum defined by different degrees of reflectivity and estrangement. This implies that the contrast view is false as a general claim about how we experience works of fiction, even though this view may appropriately depict a specific way of approaching such works.
Článek je pojmovou a teoretickou syntézou založenou na zkoumání metaforičnosti, narativity a dialogičnosti, které bylo autorem realizováno v průběhu posledních 15 let. V těchto výzkumech se postupně objevila potřeba jednotícího teoretického rámce, který byl nalezen v konceptu aktivní imaginace. Je pojednáno o klíčových konceptech navrženého konceptuálního systému, k němuž vedle aktivní imaginace patří také transcendentní funkce a sémantická inovace. S využitím těchto pojmů je navrženo několik dimenzí pomyslného prostoru, v němž lze uvažovat o rozmanitosti různých forem aktivní imaginace, jimiž jsou: 1) rovina ztvárnění, 2) orientace přesahu, 3) prostředkující relace, 4) režim věrohodnosti, 5) modus identifikace. V kontextu přijatých východisek a navržených dimenzí je vymezena řada pojmů označujících různé formy aktivní imaginace, jimiž jsou: 1) metafora a symbol, 2) vyprávění a mýtus, 3) dialog a dramatická hra, 4) žánr a styl. and Shapes and forms of active imagination: proposal of conceptual framework
The article deals with conceptual and theoretical synthesis based on research on metaphor, narrative, and dialogue realized by author in last 15 years. In these researches, a need for unifying theoretical framework appeared. This framework was found in concept of active imagination. The article deals with key concepts of proposed conceptual system which include active imagination, transcendent function and semantic innovation. There were proposed five dimensions of conceptual space, in which it is possible to consider about varieties of different forms of active imagination: 1) level of enactment, 2) orientation of transcendence, 3) mediating relation, 4) regime of veracity, 5) mode of identification. In the context of accepted assumptions and proposed dimensions, a set of concepts denoting various forms of active imagination is defined: 1) metaphor and symbol, 2) narrative and myth, 3) dialog and dramatic play, 4) genre and style.
Large synchronic textual corpora of the Czech National Corpus are built as representative: they contain a balanced quantity of texts of various styles, divided into three genre subcorpora: fiction, technical/scientific literature and journalism. Comparisons of these genres have been performed on phonological and morphological level; in this paper, I deal with differences between genres on the surface-syntactic level. I use an automatic syntactic annotation of the SYN2005 corpus in the formalism of the analytical layer of the Prague Dependency Treebank. I compare the frequencies of syntactic functions of nouns in the three genres represented by the corresponding subcorpora of SYN2005. I also present a more detailed analysis of four syntactic phenomena: subtypes of the function of attribute in non-prepositional genitive; frequencies of groups of the type pan Novák (Mr. Novák); frequencies of the function of agent in passive constructions expressed by nouns in non-prepositional instrumental and the ratio of the expression of the nominal part of a verbal-nominal predicate by nominative and instrumental. Significant differences found between genres in all the syntactic phenomena analyzed show that in comparing corpora one should carefully monitor their genre composition.
In this study we consider the comedies of Ignaz Cornova. Locating his plays within the landscape of late 18th century genres, we examine the specific use the writer makes of contemporary dramatic conventions and the way in which he engineers the social reconciliation that characterizes his comedies. First we take a closer look at the dramatic construction of his plays and compare them with the comedic output of his contemporaries active in Bohemia. We then focus on Cornova’s particular use of the language of comedy, of which we find echoes in his many and varied writings on culture and politics. Finally, we address the issue of relations between the social estates or classes. Our conclusion shows that the storylines Cornova rehearses in his comedies are later exploited in his historical writings and may thus be considered as the author’s recipe for pacifying the social conflicts of the period.