Po

etr

y, P

ostc

ritq

ue

, a

nd

th

e

Co

nsis

ten

ce o

f S

tory

Ben

jam

in J

. R

ob

ert

so

nU

niv

ers

ity o

f C

olo

rado

, B

ou

lder

be

nja

min

.j.r

obe

rtso

n@

colo

rad

o.e

du

Ou

tlin

e,

slid

es,

an

d o

the

r m

ate

ria

lsa

va

ilab

le a

t

eve

nin

gre

dn

ess.n

et

Ou

tlin

e

●B

ackg

rou

nd

on

He

re a

t th

e e

nd

of

all

thin

gs

●F

ou

r d

efin

itio

ns:

sto

ry,

co

nsis

ten

ce

, p

ostc

ritiq

ue

, p

oe

try

●T

wo

exa

mp

les o

f co

nsis

ten

ce

: T

he

Lord

of

the

R

ing

s a

nd

Th

e W

ay o

f T

ho

rn a

nd

Th

un

de

r

●F

an

tasy,

his

tory

, sto

ry

He

re a

t th

e e

nd

of

all

th

ing

s

●P

art

1: F

anta

sy a

nd its

Oth

ers

–H

ow

fa

nta

sy,

scie

nce

fic

tio

n,

an

d h

orr

or

ea

ch

re

act

to m

od

ern

ity a

nd

th

e

ad

ve

nt

of

his

tori

ca

l co

nscio

usn

ess

●P

art

2:A

Ge

nealo

gy o

fS

tory

:F

rom

the

Tolk

ien

Eventto

the

Alie

nP

ast

–H

ow

the

pu

blic

atio

no

fL

otR

in1

95

4sh

ap

ed

the

ge

nre

’s f

utu

rea

nd

pa

st,

ma

kin

g t

he

su

bsu

mp

tio

n o

f fa

nta

sy p

ossib

le

●P

art

3: M

anifold

Sto

ry

–H

ow

co

nte

mp

ora

ry f

an

tasy r

eth

inks t

he

ge

nre

an

d its

re

latio

n t

o h

isto

ry a

nd

id

en

tity

Fo

ur

De

fin

itio

ns

●S

tory

●C

onsis

ten

ce

●P

ostc

ritiq

ue

●P

oe

try

Sto

ry

●D

efin

itio

n 1

–John C

lute

: “A

ny n

arr

ative w

hic

h tells

or

implie

s a

sequence o

f events

, in

any o

rder

whic

h c

an b

e

follo

wed b

y h

eare

rs o

r re

aders

, and w

hic

h

genera

tes a

sense that its m

eanin

g is c

onveyed

thro

ugh the a

ctu

al te

lling, m

ay b

e c

alle

d a

Sto

ry.”

–opposed to n

arr

ative a

nd h

isto

ricis

t th

ought

Sto

ry

●D

efin

itio

n 2

–th

e g

ram

mar/

str

uctu

re o

f th

e ideal fa

nta

sy text

–m

oves fro

m w

ron

gn

ess, to

th

inn

ing

, to

re

co

gn

itio

n, to

retu

rn

–scie

nce fic

tion a

nd h

orr

or

have their o

wn g

ram

mars

, para

dig

mand d

isappoin

tment,

respectively

Sto

ry

●C

lute

: “F

anta

sy te

xts

[…

] can

be c

ha

racte

rize

d a

s

alw

ays m

ovin

g tow

ard

s th

e u

nve

ilin

g o

f a

n irr

educib

le

sub

str

atu

m o

f S

tory

, an

esse

nce s

om

etim

es o

bscu

re

but ultim

ate

ly o

mnip

resen

t; th

e k

ey e

ven

ts o

f a

fa

nta

sy

text are

bou

nd

to e

ach o

the

r, to

th

e n

arr

ative

wo

rld,

and id

eally

to

the

tale

’s th

em

e in

a w

ay tha

t p

erm

its

endle

ss r

ete

lling

s […

], e

nd

less p

erm

uta

tio

ns o

f th

e

narr

ative

's u

nb

ou

nd

Motifs

, an

d a

sen

se o

f e

nd

ing

.”

Co

ns

iste

nc

e

●A

da

pte

d f

rom

Be

rna

rd S

tie

gle

r

●C

onsis

ten

ce

: a

bso

lute

con

gru

en

ce

of b

ein

g a

nd

m

ea

nin

g

●o

pp

ose

d t

o b

oth

exis

tence

and

su

bsis

ten

ce

(a

sso

cia

ted

with

scie

nce

fic

tio

n a

nd h

orr

or,

respe

ctive

ly)

Ke

y Q

ue

sti

on

s/S

tak

es

●H

ow

do

we

pro

duce

meanin

gvia

exis

tence,v

iahis

torical pro

cesses, in

a n

eolib

era

l era

in w

hic

h

these p

rocesses h

ave b

een s

o thoro

ughly

underm

ined?

●H

ow

do w

e c

om

bat T

INA

, th

e c

laim

that T

here

Is N

o

Altern

ative, w

hen o

ur

ca

pacity to im

agin

e d

iffe

rence

is c

onditio

ned b

y a

co

mpro

mis

ed h

isto

ricis

m?

Po

stc

riti

qu

e

●M

arjo

rie

Le

vin

so

n o

n the lim

its o

f cri

tiqu

e

–W

hen

a “

para

dig

m o

f kn

ow

ing

,” s

uch a

s c

ritiq

ue

, “s

tart

s

fee

ling

lik

e the

form

of

the

re

al […

] w

e m

ust

‘work

ha

rder

not

to u

nde

rsta

nd

.”

–“T

hro

ug

h n

o fau

lt o

f th

eir o

wn,

our

sto

rie

s o

f cu

ltura

l p

roductio

n h

ave

be

com

e e

pis

ode

s in c

ap

italis

m’s

maste

rplo

t:

the

tra

nsfo

rmatio

n o

f m

att

er

into

va

lue

, sufferin

g in

to

mea

nin

g,

giv

enn

ess in

to n

ece

ssity,

na

ture

in

to c

ulture

.”

Po

stc

riti

qu

e

●R

ita

Fe

lski

–w

ork

ing o

uts

ide

of th

e “

he

rme

neu

tics o

f susp

icio

n”

(Ric

oeu

r)

●B

run

o L

ato

ur

(an

d Y

ve

s C

itto

n)

–[F

IC]: th

e m

od

e o

f e

xis

tence

pro

pe

r to

fic

tio

n

–u

nde

rsto

od

th

is w

ay,

fic

tio

n in

tera

cts

with

th

e w

orld

ra

the

r th

an r

epre

se

ntin

g it

Postcritique

●M

itchum

Hue

hls

–A

fter

Critique

, “T

he P

ost-

Theory

Th

eory

Novel”

–H

ow

does fic

tion b

uild

worlds r

ath

er

than d

econstr

uct th

em

?

●R

ach

el G

reen

wald

Sm

ith

–Im

pers

onal fe

elin

gs a

nd tonal in

tenis

ty

–th

e latter

“indic

ate

s the a

mp

lific

ation o

f a g

enera

l affectivity

that re

lies o

n e

xte

rnaliz

ation r

ath

er

than inte

rnaliz

ation”

Su

mm

ary

●T

he c

on

sis

ten

ce

of

sto

ry h

as t

o d

o w

ith

ho

w

sto

ry e

nta

ng

les s

ub

ject

an

d o

bje

ct,

ch

ara

cte

r a

nd

wo

rld

●S

tory

re

qu

ire

s p

ostc

ritiq

ue

be

ca

use c

ritiq

ue

is

bu

ilt f

or

and

ap

pro

pria

te t

o n

arr

ative

an

d o

the

r h

isto

ricis

t fo

rms

Po

etr

y

●F

ran

co

“B

ifo

” B

era

rdi

De

sire

is m

on

str

ou

s, it is c

rue

l, a

nd

no

nco

mp

lian

ce

an

d n

on

reco

mb

ina

bili

ty

are

at th

e in

mo

st n

atu

re o

f sin

gu

larity

. S

ing

ula

rity

ca

nn

ot b

e c

om

plia

nt w

ith

a

fin

ite

ord

er

of

inte

rpre

tatio

n, b

ut it c

an

be

co

mp

assio

na

te w

ith

th

e in

fin

ite

a

mb

igu

ity o

f m

ea

nin

g a

s s

en

su

ou

s u

nd

ers

tan

din

g. C

om

pa

ssio

n is s

en

sib

ility

o

pe

n t

o th

e p

erc

ep

tio

n o

f u

nco

un

tab

le s

en

su

ou

s b

ein

gs, th

e c

on

ditio

n f

or

an

a

uto

no

mo

us b

eco

min

g-o

the

r, b

eyo

nd

th

e fin

an

cia

l fr

ee

ze

, b

eyo

nd

th

e

tech

no

-lin

gu

istic c

on

form

ism

th

at is

ma

kin

g s

ocia

l lif

e a

de

se

rt o

f m

ea

nin

g.

Po

etic la

ng

ua

ge

is th

e in

so

lve

ncy in

th

e fie

ld o

f e

nu

ncia

tio

n: it r

efu

se

s th

e

exa

ctio

n o

f se

mio

tic d

eb

t.

Tw

o E

xa

mp

les

of

Co

ns

iste

nc

e

●JR

RTo

lkie

n,

Th

e L

ord

of th

e R

ing

s:

Th

e

Fe

llow

sh

ip o

f th

e R

ing

●D

anie

l H

ea

th J

ustice

,T

he

Wa

y o

f T

ho

rn a

nd

T

hun

de

r: D

reyd

Co

ns

iste

nc

e i

n L

otR

Fro

do

began to

lis

ten.

At

firs

t th

e b

eauty

of

the

melo

die

s a

nd o

f th

e inte

rwoven

wo

rds in

elv

en-t

ong

ue

s,

eve

n t

hou

gh

he

unders

tood t

hem

little,

held

him

in

a s

pe

ll, a

s s

oon

as h

e b

ega

n

to a

ttend t

o t

hem

. A

lmost

it s

eem

ed t

ha

t th

e w

ord

s t

oo

k s

ha

pe

, an

d v

isio

ns o

f fa

r la

nds a

nd b

right th

ings t

hat

he h

ad n

ever

yet

imagin

ed o

pe

ne

d o

ut

befo

re h

im,

and

the

firelit

hall

be

cam

e lik

e a

gold

en m

ist

above th

e s

ea

s o

f fo

am

th

at sig

he

d

upo

n th

e m

arg

ins o

f th

e w

orld

. T

hen t

he

enchantm

ent b

ecam

e m

ore

an

d m

ore

d

rea

mlik

e, u

ntil h

e f

elt th

at

an e

nd

less r

iver

of

we

llin

g g

old

and

silv

er

was flo

win

g

ove

r him

, to

o m

ultitu

din

ous f

or

its p

att

ern

s t

o b

e c

om

pre

he

nd

ed

; it b

ecam

e p

art

o

f th

e t

hro

bb

ing a

ir a

bout

him

, and it

dre

nche

d a

nd d

row

ned

him

. S

wiftly h

e s

ank

und

er

its s

hin

ing w

eig

ht

into

a d

ee

p r

ealm

of

sle

ep.

Co

ns

iste

nc

e i

n W

oT

aT

He r

ea

che

s o

ut

with

a g

na

rle

d g

rey h

and

an

d I

pull

aw

ay,

bu

t he

kee

ps

sin

gin

g,

and

the

fire

ris

es in

my b

loo

d.

In life h

e w

as o

ne

of

the E

ate

rs o

f O

ld,

and

he

’s s

till

da

ng

ero

us in

th

e S

pirit W

orl

d,

but

not

to m

e,

not

now

. H

is b

lood

is

my o

wn

. T

he

son

g e

nd

ure

s f

rom

th

e a

ncie

nt

days t

hro

ug

h t

he

live

s a

nd

dea

ths o

f th

ose w

ho

he

ar

it,

an

d I

’m ju

st

on

e m

ore

thre

ad in

a w

ove

n c

ord

tha

t tr

ave

lsth

rou

gh

the

De

ep

Gre

en

toth

efirs

td

ays

of

the

Peo

ple

.It

will

end

ure

long

aft

er

my

ow

nfle

sh

ha

sjo

ined

the

rich

soil

and

sta

rs,

bu

ton

lyif

Isurv

ive

now

. If

I’m

lo

st

in t

his

pla

ce,

I’ll

be lo

st

fore

ve

r. T

ha

t’s w

hy h

e r

etu

rne

d.

He’s

co

me

to

kee

p m

e a

part

of

the w

yr-

wo

ven

pa

ttern

. I’m

no m

ore

spe

cia

l th

an

all

those

wh

o c

am

e b

efo

re a

nd t

hose

wh

o w

ill c

om

e a

fte

r m

e,

bu

t ea

ch is n

ee

de

d

in its

tim

e a

nd

pla

ce f

or

the p

att

ern

to e

nd

ure

. A

nd

my t

ime

is n

ow

.

Ju

sti

ce

on

kin

sh

ip

Kin

ship

is t

hus “

pote

ntially

ever-

expansiv

e a

nd inclu

siv

e”

as w

ell

as

bein

g “

att

entive t

o a

bro

ad c

onstitu

ency”

that

inclu

des h

um

an life,

non-

hum

an life,

and t

hat

whic

h h

as n

ever

been a

live in r

ela

tionship

s t

hat

are

difficult if not

impossib

le t

o s

tandard

ize:

“As s

uch,

kin

ship

is v

ery

m

uch e

mbedded in b

oth

a local and localiz

ed m

atr

ix o

f re

lationship

, one t

hat

isn’t m

uch s

uited t

o d

ista

nce,

larg

e s

cale

, or

national polic

y.

Recognitio

n in t

his

conte

xt

is t

hus a

conte

xt—

and a

com

munity s

pecific

re

sponse

toadaptive

and

dynam

icaction—

itis

behavio

rand

rela

tionship

that

are

that

inte

rwoven m

easure

of

acknow

ledgm

ent,

not

sim

ply

a f

ixed s

tate

of

bein

g.”

Ja

me

so

n’s

Ho

rizo

ns

of

Inte

rpre

tati

on

Ind

ivid

ua

l te

xt

as s

ym

bo

lic r

eso

lutio

n o

f so

cia

l contr

adic

tion

Ind

ivid

ua

l te

xt

as ide

olo

gem

e,

a p

art

icip

ant

in a

long

term

con

ve

rsa

tio

n w

ith o

the

r id

eolo

ge

me

s

Ind

ivid

ua

l te

xt

as insta

nce

of

form

m

anifesting c

on

trad

ictio

ns a

cro

ss m

od

es o

f pro

duction

, i.e

. his

tory

pro

per

Ja

me

so

n o

n t

he

th

ird

ho

rizo

n

I w

ill s

ugg

est

tha

t w

ithin

th

is f

ina

l ho

rizo

n t

he in

div

idua

l te

xt

or

cu

ltura

l art

ifact

[…]

is h

ere

re

str

uctu

red

as a

fie

ld o

f fo

rce in

w

hic

hth

ed

yna

mic

sof

sig

nsyste

ms

of

se

vera

ldis

tinct

mo

de

so

f pro

du

ction

ca

n b

e r

egis

tere

d a

nd

app

reh

en

de

d. T

he

se

dyna

mic

s—

the n

ew

ly c

on

stitu

ted “

text”

of

our

third

hori

zon

—m

ake

up

wh

at

ca

nbe

term

ed

the

ideo

logy

of

form

,th

at

is,

the

dete

rmin

ate

co

ntr

ad

ictio

ns o

f th

e s

pecific

me

ssag

es e

mitte

d b

y

the

va

rie

d s

ign s

yste

ms,

whic

h c

oe

xis

t in

a g

iven

art

istic

pro

ce

ss a

s w

ell

as in its

gen

era

l socia

l fo

rma

tion

.

Ja

me

so

n’s

Ho

rizo

ns

of

Inte

rpre

tati

on

Ind

ivid

ua

l te

xt

as s

ym

bo

lic r

eso

lutio

n o

f so

cia

l contr

adic

tion

Ind

ivid

ua

l te

xt

as ide

olo

gem

e,

a p

art

icip

ant

in a

long

term

con

ve

rsa

tio

n w

ith o

the

r id

eolo

ge

me

s

Ind

ivid

ua

l te

xt

as insta

nce

of

form

m

anifesting c

on

trad

ictio

ns a

cro

ss m

od

es o

f pro

duction

, i.e

. his

tory

pro

per

His

tory

an

d S

tory

His

tory

Na

ture

Ide

olo

gy

Irra

tio

na

lity

Sto

ry

Sto

ry a

nd

his

tory

Sto

ry

Mo

de

rnity

Diffe

ren

ce

Na

rra

tive

His

tory

Po

etr

y, P

ostc

ritq

ue

, a

nd

th

e

Co

nsis

ten

ce o

f S

tory

Ben

jam

in J

. R

ob

ert

so

nU

niv

ers

ity o

f C

olo

rado

, B

ou

lder

be

nja

min

.j.r

obe

rtso

n@

colo

rad

o.e

du