‘Crisis’ in comparative literature and the perspective to overcome

Abstract

The article introduces the publication of the three fragmented contributions to the event known in the history of literary studies as the ‘crisis’ of comparative literature. It was memorably initiated by René Wellek in his review (1953) of ‘littérature comparée’ brought out in the Sorbonne according to the principles worked out there and in the first half of the 20th c. universally adopted. Its ‘old factualism’ was rejected by Wellek, who claimed to advance a comparison with a broader cultural perspective, based on deeper analogy studies, as typology was known then. One of the standing issues in the evolution of the comparative method is a changing notion of world literature in its relation to national literatures. Special attention in the article is paid to the ideas found in Russian comparative studies that seemed productive at the time of the crisis though did not enjoy expansion when the ‘crisis’ seemed over. Thus, the name of Aleksandr Veselovsky and his historical poetics are in demand only now, when a new search for ideas in the field of comparative studies seems to be launched.