Language and Literary Form in French Caribbean Writing (Contemporary French and Francophone Cultures LUP)

This book analyses French Caribbean writing from the point of view of its language and literary form - questions which until recently were somewhat neglected in postcolonial studies but are now becoming an important area of research. Britton supplements postcolonial theory with structuralism and poststructuralism to show how analysis of the textual illuminates the political and ideological positions of the writers. Topics including genre, intertextuality, narrative voice, discursive agency, orality, the 'creolization' of languages and the renewal of realism are discussed in relation to Glissant, Césaire, Ménil, Chamoiseau, Confiant, Depestre, Condé, Schwarz-Bart, Pineau and Maximin. This Title Links Postcolonial Theory With Structuralism And Poststructuralism To Show How Analysis Of The Textual Illuminates The Political And Ideological Positions Of Writers. Part I: Genre, Intertextuality, Discourse -- How To Be Primitive: Tropiques, Surrealism, And Ethnography -- Problems Of Cultural Self-representation: René Ménil, Patrick Chamoiseau And Raphaël Confiant -- Eating Their Words: The Consumption Of French Caribbean Literature -- Intertextual Connections: The Jewish Holocaust In French Caribbean Novels -- Breaking The Rules: Irrelevance/irreverence In Maryse Condé's Traversée De La Mangrove -- Discursive Agency And The (de)construction Of Subjectivity In Daniel Maximin's L'Île Et Une Nuit -- Part Ii: On Édouard Glissant -- Discours And Histoire, Magical And Political Discourse In Le Quatrième Siècle -- Collective Narrative Voice In Malemort, La Case Du Commandeur And Mahagony -- [part Iii]: Language And Literary Form In French Caribbean Writing -- Fictions Of Identity And The Identities Of Fiction In Tout-monde -- Mixing Up Languages In The 'tout-monde' -- 'la Parole Du Paysage': Art And The Real In Une Nouvelle Région Du Monde -- Appendix: 'writing In The Present': Interview With Maryse Condé. Celia Britton. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book analyses French Caribbean writing from the point of view of its language and literary form - questions which, until recently, were somewhat neglected in postcolonial studies, but are now becoming an important area of research. Britton supplements postcolonial theory with structuralism and poststructuralism to show how analysis of the text illuminates the political and ideological positions of the writers. Topics including genre, intertextuality, narrative voice, discursive agency, orality, the 'creolization' of languages and the renewal of realism are discussed in relation to Glissant, Césaire, Ménil, Chamoiseau, Confiant, Depestre, Condé, Schwarz-Bart, Pineau and Maximin. -- Publisher's description This book analyses French Caribbean writing from the point of view of its language and literary form - questions which, until recently, were somewhat neglected in postcolonial studies, but are now becoming an important area of research. Britton supplements postcolonial theory with structuralism and poststructuralism to show how analysis of the text illuminates the political and ideological posistions of the writers. Topics including genre, intertextuality, narrative voice, discursive agency, orality, the 'creolization' of languages and the renewal of realism are discussed in relation to Glissant, Césaire, Ménil, Chamoiseau, Confiant, Depestre, Condé, Schwarz-Bart, Pineau and Maximin Cover 1 Half-title 2 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 Abbreviations 10 Introduction 12 Part 1 24 Chapter 1 26 Chapter 2 38 Chapter 3 59 Chapter 4 72 Chapter 5 88 Chapter 6 100 Part 2 112 Chapter 7 114 Chapter 8 126 Chapter 9 138 Chapter 10 149 Chapter 11 165 Appendix 180 Notes 188 Bibliography 218 Index 227 This book links postcolonial theory with structuralism and poststructuralism to show how analysis of the textual illuminates the political and ideological positions of French Caribbean writers.