On Western Literature Of Man-beast Metamorphosis In The 20^th Century

As a part of Western literature history,man-beast metamorphosis story,which shows the fantastic imagination,the attitudes towards life and the unique way of thinking of the primitive people,is an important type of early human literature.In primitive society,man-beast metamorphosis was a transformation ritual held in groups of people to get some interlink between human and animals.Metamorphosis myth,which appeared in human society with the influence of primitive religion,is closely related with Western literature of metamorphosis.Taking the 20 th century Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis as the main object of the study,this paper firstly analyzes the occurrence and development of literature of man-beast metamorphosis by comparative study of transverse and vertical sections of Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis,and then attempts to discuss the characteristics and rules of literature of man-beast metamorphosis in the 20 th century by the studies of comparison,mythological archetype,thematic,narratology,and body aesthetics,and finally talks about its aesthetic and cultural values.This article consists of six parts.By summarizing the development,characteristics and present situation of Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis,the introduction offers a brief explanation for the background of the topic,the present situation and the significance of the study,and determines the research direction,purposes and the methodology of this research as well.Chapter One: The emergence and development of Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis before the 20 th Century.Based on the analysis of the thinking characteristics of the primitive people,this part attempts to explore the origins of the literature of man-beast metamorphosis.Primitive rituals have a direct impact on the production of metamorphosis myth,which are important causes of literature man-beast metamorphosis.Moreover,the development of literature of man-beast metamorphosis is not the same in each period of literary history.Ancient Greece and Rome were the prosperous periods of metamorphosis literature,in which a large number of literatures appeared.In the Middle Ages,due to the influence of Christianity and the power of theocracy,the literature of metamorphosis experienced the hard time,because Christianity believed that metamorphosis was a pagan superstition,and this kind of literature,such as Greek mythology and Ovid's The Metamorphosis were suppressed.During the Renaissance and Romantic periods,literature of metamorphosis flourished again.But at the time of Classicalism and Enlightenment,the era of rationality,literature of metamorphosis and Irrationalism withered again.Chapter Two: The Revival of Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis in the 20 th Century.With the rise of Irrationalism in the 20 th century,in the modern writers' observation of the world and human,literature of metamorphosis has returned unstoppably with a strong retro color.Many literary themes reminded people of some collective memories.Literature of metamorphosis is a modern "ritual" and a modern "myth".In Kafka's The Metamorphosis,a story of humans transforming into beetles is like a modern myth,which is the beginning of western literature of metamorphosis in the 20 th century,and also a very influential literary work throughout the 20 th century.Chapter Three: The "changed" and "unchanged" of the Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis in the 20 th Century.First of all,through a cross-section analysis of deformed literature in various periods,it's found that there are many similarities like deformation modes and characteristics,deformation themes,narrative modes,and unfamiliar effects in the literature of man-beast metamorphosis.Secondly,after a diachronic analysis of the literature of man-beast metamorphosis in various periods,we can find that this kind of literature is completely different from previous ones,mainly in the process and the subject of metamorphosis,narrative style and artistic techniques.Chapter Four: The unique value of Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis in the 20 th Century.The 20 th century literature of metamorphosis has important aesthetic and cultural value.From an aesthetic perspective,the transformation of the human body in literature of metamorphosis is in line with the characteristics of modern body aesthetics.Because of the emphasis on the body,this type of literature has a different era color.In addition,the dynamic and ecological beauty of the literature of metamorphosis reflects the aesthetic consciousness of Westerners and the new needs for beauty in the 20 th century.From the perspective of cultural value,it includes the survival dilemma,spiritual aspirations and search for a way out.The conclusion of this paper assumes the future prospect of Western literature of man-beast metamorphosis: it is not a short-lived rise in the 20 th century,and there is still room for its sustainable development.