Heroizability : an anthroposemiotic theory of literary characters / Ibrahim Taha.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ṭāhā, Ibrāhīm, author.

Series:

Semiotics, communication and cognition ; Volume 16.

Semiotics, Communication and Cognition, 1867-0873 ; Volume 16

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Iconicity (Linguistics).

Characters and characteristics in literature.

Semiotics.

Linguistics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (244 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin, [Germany] ; Boston, [Massachusetts] : De Gruyter Mouton, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

It is commonly believed that some approaches of structural semiotics, narratology and cognitive science have not yet succeeded in constructing a complete and coherent theory of literary character. The author argues that the primary explanation of the failure is the artificial separation between characters and their actions. One of the chief implications of such separation is treating characters in terms of structures, agents, actants, functions, roles, and signs, which obviously mean that actions can hardly be explained as intended, motivated, performed and experienced. Survival, as a motivation-based concept, is one of the key concepts making the separation between character and action something impossible. Humans in literary narratives search for survival as an aware process of knowing and meaning making. Meaning in literary narratives can be produced by heroizability, which treats literary characters as living anthroposemiotic entities aware of their natural motivation to achieve in order to survive and produce meanings of their survival. As such, characters in literary narratives have active cognitions, and their cognitive activities remain meaningless without a process of semiosis. Applying Anthroposemiotic theory with Modeling System Theory, heroizability provides methodical tools to explain how the narrative text is represented and, thus, how it is to be interpreted properly by the reader not only to find, but also to make meaning in narrative world.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction. Literary Characters and Anthroposemiotics

Chapter One. Author's Circle: Natural Semiotic Characterization

Chapter Two. Character's Circle: A 3A Model

Chapter Three. Reader's Circle: Natural Semiotic Response

Chapter Four. Author-Reader Encounter: A Natural Sharing

Conclusion. Heroizability: A Communication Model

References

Subject index

Name index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781501502651

1501502654

9781501502675

1501502670

OCLC:

919869947