331. Theory 06: Mikhail Baktin

Mikhail Baktin (1895-1975)
Russian Philosopher, Anthropologist, Historian
Mainly analysed Novels

"Problems of Dostoyevsky's Poetics" (1929), revised in 1963: Introduces 'Polyphony' in Dostoyevsky's novels.

Argues that Dostoyevsky created a new novelistic form where characters possess independent voice consciousness.

Explores how characters are not subordinated.

"Rabelais and His World" (1965) : Concept of 'Carnivalesque' as a literary mode that subverts and liberates from dominant styles structures.

Examines how folk humour and carnival traditions influenced Renaissance literature.

Speech Genres: Explores speech genres as recurring patterns of language use.
Discusses the relationship between primary (simple) and secondary (complex) speech genres.
Examines how utterancces relate to their contexts. 

 4 essays in "The Dialogic Imagination" 1975. "Discourse in the Novel", "Chronotope" (time-space coordinates), "Heteroglossia" (multiple voices), "Forms of Time"

Concepts
Dialogism: All meaning is relative. It comes with respect to 2 or more bodies in everyday life. It emits diverse perspectives. It is intrinsic to language. It is not imposed from outside. It is natural. It is the multiplicity of voices. 

Speech Genres and Other Late Essays (posthumous collection): Explores speech genres as recurring patterns of language use;
Discusses the relationship between primary simple and secondary (complex( speech genres;
Examines how utterances relate to their contexts;


Polyphony: Multiple independent voices are there. Borrowed it from Music where it is coexistence of simultaneous melodies. Similarly, novel has no supreme voice of the author but desires of the characters. It characterises our society.

Heteroglossia: Presence of Multiple voices, speech styles, languages within a particular context, such as a novel, a conversation or a cultural setting. It is the diverse voices in languages which enriches the narrative. To him, novels are the prime example. Dostoyevsky is his example.

Carnival: It is a public festival.
To Bakhtin, humor and chaos are used to break daily monotony.
The use of the idea by Bakhtin began in "Problems of Dostoyevsky's Poetics" and later expanded in "Rabelais and His World." 
Carnivalesque: Where he talks about liberating the dominant structures. It is  a literary mode which uses humour, chaos and profanity.
Salman Rushdie uses it in "Midnight's Children" to show how nationalism and Identity are less serious

Utterance: It is very important for Bakhtin. Every utterance is a link in a chain of speech communication.

Unfinalizabity: Human beings cannot be completely known or defined as they are always changing or developing. It also applies to dialogue which is never complete. 

Outsideness or Exotopy: The position from one can truly see another person or culture fully. One must be positioned outside to check it.

Chronotope: It comes from a Greek word meaning time and space. It is usually used in Maths.
Bakhtin uses it in his work "Forms of Literature" 
Bakhtin's Chronotope is intersection of time and space in literature. There is a particular time and space which each work or story's structure has. It is aesthetic background to the work plus plays an active role too. It influences the character, narrative, plot, economic, social and political climates.



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