REAL

Anxiety of Ideology: Resistance to Allegory in the Literary Narration of History

Cooper, Thomas (2006) Anxiety of Ideology: Resistance to Allegory in the Literary Narration of History. Hungarian Studies, 20 (1). pp. 83-91. ISSN 0236-6568

[img] Text
hstud.20.2006.1.8.pdf
Restricted to Repository staff only until 30 June 2026.

Download (62kB)

Abstract

The efforts of the communist regime, following the Revolution of 1956, to channel discussion of the events of the Revolution into a simplistic ideological opposition exerted (and arguably continue to exert) a powerful influence on political discourse in Hungary, in spite of numerous challenges issued against the validity of this opposition by historians and political scientists. It is possible that literature may offer new perspectives from which the terms that have exercised such a constrictive influence on this discourse can be reevaluated. This discussion of works of poetry by French, German, and American poets on the events of 1956 in Hungary examines the ways in which not only these events, but also the terms in which they were cast were perceived and thrown into question by writers living outside Hungary, several of whom also wrote influential essays on politics. Moreover, it considers how literary theory, specifically because it makes language and the creation of meaning the object of its inquiry, provides critical strategies through which the terms of this discourse can be deconstructed and deflated, creating opportunities for new (re)constructions of our understanding of these events.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences / társadalomtudományok > H Social Sciences (General) / társadalomtudomány általában
Depositing User: xFruzsina xPataki
Date Deposited: 24 Jul 2017 06:29
Last Modified: 24 Jul 2017 06:29
URI: http://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/57130

Actions (login required)

Edit Item Edit Item