Gerard Genette Rhetoric Thought

Gérard Genette is one of the most influential critics in contemporary France and a representative of the French structural criticism. As a creative and talented thinker and critic, Genette has made great contribution to rhetorics, narratology, textual theory, comparative poetics and aesthetics. His knowledge covers ancient and contemporary studies. He is earnest to his work and keeps well informed. Plenty of publications demonstrate his deep thinking, especially in literary critic and poetics. His writings have produced far-reaching influence. His findings in narratives and textual theory have cleared away many misunderstandings in these fields. They help to reform and explain many concepts in literary critics.However, his efforts in these aspects have obscured his fame in earlier rhetorics. His rhetoric studies was related to the school of French structuralist new criticism which emphasized on the second semiotic system in literary study during 1960s. Inspired by Roland Barthes's idea to set up scientific discipline for literary studies, i.e. semiotics, Gerard Genette started to think of the possibilities and rules that make the linguistic symbol into literary language. He devoted to the study of rhetorics, especially the rhetoric devices with the purpose to explore the nature of language, the connotation and denotation of the literary symbols. Besides, he tried to figure out the relation between rhetorics and semiotics. He pointed out that structuralist new criticism can not ignore the traditional theory, so he maintains that it is necessary for literary study to return to its poetic and rhetoric tradition handed down from the remote time. He appeales to a more open poetics which will serve as the supplement in literary criticism.It is pity to say that literary critic circle, especially the Chinese literary circle gives a little attention to Genette's work in this field. Up till now, only a few publications deal with his rhetorical theory and rhetorical devices in narrow sense, and most of which just have some touches but not a monograph has ever appeared.Present paper will focus on Genette's rhetorics in narrow sense, and figures of speech and classification of rhetorical devices from the perspectives of rhetorics and comparative literature. First, the background and motivation in constructing the narrow rhetorics and rhetoric devices will be traced revealing their nature and value. The author argues that Genette's efforts in constructing the narrow rhetorics relate to the then French structuralist new critics, which gives more concern on textual meaning and understanding of code function. Second, beside the analysis of his rhetoric theory this paper will discuss the meaning and function of metonomy, metaphor and metalepse by careful reading of literary classics by Proust, Mallarméand Flaubert based on comparative system. The paper will further analyze Genette's long-time efforts in his classification of rhetorical devices from multi-dimensions. Thirdly, the paper extends its view to Genette's later work Metalepse, focusing on the relation between his earlier and later rhetorical theories to see the changes in the process. Finally the paper will give an overall review of Genette's rhetoric theory and its position in the poetical thinking system with the purpose to frame his poetical ideas by drawing clear lines in the studies on his rhetoric views, through which the abundance and complexity of his theoretical system could be well seen. How Genette makes the French structural theory more systematic and how his poetic theory gets its uniqueness are also taken into consideration.Genette's earlier rhetoric theory lays foundation for his poetic theory. The sources for his ancient literary criticism and the complementary to French classic comparative theory originate from his rhetoric studies. Present paper will put Genette and his studies back to the historical contexts when the structuralism and deconstructivism prevail in French academia from 60-80 in 20 centaury and illustrate the value and significance of his studies. The author tries to comb out Genette's main points of view from the complicated theories with the help of the first-hand materials to show the importance of Genette in the contemporary French literary criticism...