Results found: 2

Search results

Search:
in the keywords: Irish fiction

Sort By:

Limit search:

The Significance Of Space In Iris Murdoch’sThe UnicornAs A Twentieth-Century Irish Gothic Novel

100%

Jarząb J.

Studia Anglica Posnaniensia

2014

vol. 49

issue 4

5-20

During the twentieth century almost all literary genres came back to prominence in different and alternative forms. The Gothic is no exception to this phenomenon as many a writer made an attempt at using this eighteenth-century genre once again, but adding to it some contemporary elements. Consequently, an abundance of new techniques have been introduced to Gothic fiction to evoke the feeling of horror and terror among the more and more demanding readers of modern times. Still, some writers prefer to return to the traditional concept of the Gothic – as does Iris Murdoch in her novel The Unicorn. The purpose of this article is to analyse the text from the perspective of the Irish Gothic. Those features of the genre which are traditional as well as local are going to be discussed in the context of space as the dominating aspect of the novel. The typical Irish landscape abounding in marshes, bogs and the sea will be contrasted with the inner space of the house, and its resemblance to the old Victorian mansions popular among the Anglo-Irish ascendancy of nineteenth-century Ireland. In what follows, the paper aims at showing how Murdoch’s skilful play with the spatial differentiation between the inside and the outside dislodges other more universal issues, such as the question of freedom, of social taboos and of the different anxieties still present in Irish society today.

“Addiction is a strange bastard”: Alcohol(ism) in Irish Fiction

75%

Klepuszewski W.

Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica

2021

vol. 61

issue 2

25-37

Chociaż trudno jest odrzucić twierdzenie, że alkohol można uznać za nieodzowny element kultury irlandzkiej, w powszechnym odbiorze przekonanie to często oparte jest na stereotypach. Pomocna w zrozumieniu tej kwestii jest literatura irlandzka. Znaleźć tu możemy obrazy radosnego opilstwa, ale także, zwłaszcza w tekstach współczesnych, dramat uzależnienia alkoholowego i powiązane z nim problemy. Prezentowany artykuł podejmuje próbę przyjrzenia się, jak literatura irlandzka przedstawia kwestię spożywania i nadużywania alkoholu, a także w jaki sposób teksty literackie ukazują szerszą perspektywę, która pozwala na zrewidowanie stereotypów dotyczących przysłowiowej kultury alkoholowej Irlandii.

Although it is hard to challenge the claim that alcohol can be considered inherent in Irish culture, the common perception of the fact often feeds on clichés. What helps understand this question is Irish literature. On the one hand, it portrays jubilant festivity to be found in many literary works; on the other, it renders the drama behind alcohol dependency, shifting the focus from joviality towards the more murky aspects of drink consumption, mostly thematised in contemporary literature. This article takes a closer look at how Irish literature renders alcohol use and abuse, and how the literary representations offer a broader perspective, allowing to reconsider some of the stereotypical notions of the proverbial Irish propensity for drink.

Refine search results

1 Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Litteraria Polonica

1 Studia Anglica Posnaniensia

1 Jarząb J.

1 Klepuszewski W.

1 2021

1 2014

Search results

The Significance Of Space In Iris Murdoch’sThe UnicornAs A Twentieth-Century Irish Gothic Novel

“Addiction is a strange bastard”: Alcohol(ism) in Irish Fiction