Bakhtinian Thought : an Introductory Reader

BAKHTINIAN THOUGHT Mikhail Bakhtin, and the writers associated with him, have come to be recognised as writers of trail-blazing importance. Working in the extraordinarily difficult conditions of Stalinist Russia, they nevertheless produced a body of writing in literary theory, linguistics, the history of the novel, philosophy, and what Bakhtin called ‘philosophical anthropology’, which continues to inspire and challenge people working in a number of different areas. Above all, Bakhtin insists on locating all utterances, whether spoken or literary, between the participants in a dialogue and thus involves them in considerations of power and authority. This introduction and reader serves a double function. In the first place, Simon Dentith provides a lucid and approachable introduction of the work of Bakhtin and his circle, taking the reader helpfully through the many areas of their thought, and indicating the points of controversy, difficulty and excitement. This introductory section culminates in a discussion of the particular emphases lent by Bakhtin to current debates in literary theory. The other feature of the book is the anthology of writing by Bakhtin, Voloshinov and Medvedev, drawn from all the major areas of their work. This provides an especially helpful reader for a body of work otherwise published in disparate and relatively inaccessible forms. Special emphasis has been given to the still unsurpassed linguistic thought of Voloshinov, and the practical analyses of the novel found in Bakhtin’s writing on Dostoevsky and Dickens. This book will be especially interesting to readers new to the work of Bakhtin and his circle. The combination of an introduction and an anthology will allow such readers a context for their reading of Bakhtin, an indication of his importance for contemporary debates in literature, language and social history, and the opportunity to engage directly with the writings of this important and indeed, for the student of literary theory, essential writer. Simon Dentith is Reader in English at Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education. He has previously published books on ii George Eliot and rhetoric, and has written extensively on nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature. Critical Readers in Theory and Practice GENERAL EDITOR: Rick Rylance, Anglia Polytechnic University The gap between theory and practice can often seem far too wide for the student of literary theory. Critical Readers in Theory and Practices is a new series which bridges that gap: it not only offers an introduction to a range of literary and theoretical topics, but also applies the theories to relevant texts. Each volume is split into two parts: the first consists of an in-depth and clear introduction, setting out the theoretical bases, historical developments and contemporary critical situation of the topic. The theory is then applied to practice in the second part in an anthology of classic texts and essays. Designed specifically with the student in mind, Critical Readers in Theory and Practice provides an essential introduction to contemporary theories and how they relate to textual material. Bakhtinian Thought: An introductory reader Simon Dentith War Poetry: An introductory reader Simon Featherstone BAKHTINIAN THOUGHT An introductory reader SIMON DENTITH LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 1995 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Reprinted in 1996 © 1995 Simon Dentith All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Dentith, Simon Bakhtinian Thought: An introductory reader/Simon Dentith. p. cm.—(Critical readers in theory and practice) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Bakhtin, M.M. (Mikhal Mikhaĭlovich), 1895–1975. 2. Philology. 3. Criticism—Soviet Union. 4. Philosophy, Russian—20th century. I. Title. II. Series. P85.B22D46 1995 801′.95′ 092–dc20 94–16524 ISBN 0-203-43044-1 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-39623-5 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-07751-6 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-11899-9 (pbk) For my parents, Edward Dentith and Ann Dentith Contents General editor’s preface ix Preface x Acknowledgements xiii List of abbreviations xiv Part I An overview of the writings of Bakhtin and his circle Introduction 3 1 Voloshinov and Bakhtin on language 21 2 Bakhtin on the novel 39 3 Bakhtin’s carnival 63 4 Bakhtin and contemporary criticism 85 Notes to Part I 99 Part II Extracts from the writings of Bakhtin and his circle 5 V.N.Voloshinov: ‘Language, speech, and utterance’ 105 and ‘Verbal interaction’ 6 M.M.Bakhtin and P.N.Medvedev: from ‘Material and 143 device as components of the poetic construction’ 7 M.M.Bakhtin: ‘The hero’s monologic discourse and 155 narrational discourse in Dostoevsky’s short novels’ 8 M.M.Bakhtin: ‘Heteroglossia in the novel’ 195 9 M.M.Bakhtin: from ‘The grotesque image of the body 225 and its sources’ Notes to Part II 253 viii Suggestions for further reading 261 Index 263 General editor’s preface The interpretation of culture never stands still. Modern approaches to familiar problems adjust our sense of their importance, and new ideas focus on fresh details or remake accepted concepts. This has been especially true over recent years when developments across the humanities have altered so many ideas. For many this revolution in understanding has been exciting but difficult, involving the need to integrate advanced theoretical work with attention to specific texts and issues. This series attempts to approach this difficulty in a new way by putting together a new balance of basic texts and detailed, introductory exposition. Each volume in the series will be organized in two parts. Part One provides a thorough account of the topic under discussion. It details important concepts, historical developments and the contemporary context of interpretation and debate. Part Two provides an anthology of classic texts or—in the case of very recent work—essays by leading writers which offer focused discussions of particular issues. Commentary and editorial material provided by the author connect the explanations in Part One to the materials in Part Two, and in this way the reader moves comfortably between original work and enabling introduction. The series will include volumes on topics which have been of particular importance recently. Some books will introduce specific theoretical ideas; others will re-examine bodies of literary or other material in the light of current thinking. But as a whole the series aims to reflect, in a clear- minded and approachable way, the changing ways in which we understand the expanding field of modern literary and cultural studies. Rick Rylance Preface It is now some twenty-five years since the writings of Mikhail Bakhtin (1895–1975) began to make an impact in the West—since, that is, the publication of Rabelais and his World in 1968. During that time his influence has grown enormously, not only in literary criticism but also in history, anthropology, linguistics and philosophy. But during that time also, the nature of his influence has been constantly changing, both as the range and variety of Bakhtin’s own writing has gradually emerged and been translated, and as the intellectual, social and political climate in Europe and America has altered. In the heady days of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Bakhtin, in France at any rate, was the celebrator of carnival, of the force that subverts and upturns everything official, authoritarian and one- sidedly serious. As the work on Dostoevsky and the novel became known, Bakhtin came to be seen more as the supreme theorist of the novel, speaking directly to the openness of the novel form and praising Dostoevsky above all as the novelist of polyphony. When the connection became established between Bakhtin and two other Russian writers from the 1920s, P.N.Medvedev and V.N.Voloshinov, they jointly appeared as critics of Saussurean linguistics and Russian Formalism, and thus, to their readers in the West in the 1970s and 1980s, as pointing beyond the structuralism and formalism then prevalent. But during those decades also, different Bakhtins have appeared, first in Russian and then in English. He can now be seen as providing a profound, socially and linguistically grounded history of the novel; and also as a philosopher who emerges from early twentieth-century neo-Kantianism and in whose thinking ethics and the I—Thou relationship are central. Moreover, this real diversity within the writings of Bakhtin and those connected with—what has been called the Bakhtin circle—has meant that he has been appropriated by writers and critics of widely different intellectual and political persuasions. In Russia, indeed, his apparent commitment to some kind of Christianity—though what kind exactly xi remains unclear—has meant that he has appealed, though not exclusively, to intellectuals

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