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Possible Worlds in Literary Theory

Possible Worlds in Literary Theory

Possible Worlds in Literary Theory

Author:
Ruth Ronen, Tel-Aviv University
Published:
May 1994
Availability:
Available
Format:
Paperback
ISBN:
9780521456487

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    The concept of possible worlds, originally introduced in philosophical logic, has recently gained interdisciplinary influence; it proves to be a productive tool when borrowed by literary theory to explain the notion of fictional worlds. In this book Ruth Ronen develops a comparative reading of the use of possible worlds in philosophy and in literary theory, and offers an analysis of the way the concept contributes to our understanding of fictionality and the structure and ontology of fictional worlds. Dr Ronen suggests a new set of criteria for the definition of fictionality, making rigorous distinctions between fictional and possible worlds; and through specific studies of domains within fictional worlds - events, objects, time, and point of view - she proposes a radical rethinking of the problem of fictionality in general and fictional narrativity in particular.

    • The first interdisciplinary study of the problem of fiction through the originally philosophical concept of possible worlds
    • Makes issues crystal-clear in lucid style
    • No. 7 in prestigious Cambridge University Press series Literature, Culture, Theory

    Product details

    March 2011
    Adobe eBook Reader
    9780511883842
    0 pages
    0kg
    This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.

    Table of Contents

    • Acknowledgements
    • Introduction
    • 1. Possible worlds, fictional worlds
    • 2. The possibility of fictional worlds
    • 3. The fictionality of fictional worlds
    • 4. Fictional entities, incomplete beings
    • 5. Fictional events and the intricacies of plot
    • 6. Focalization and fictional perspective
    • 7. Fictional time
    • Conclusion
    • Bibliography
    • Index.
      Author
    • Ruth Ronen , Tel-Aviv University