
- 372 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Possible Worlds Theory and Contemporary Narratology
About this book
The notion of possible worlds has played a decisive role in postclassical narratology by awakening interest in the nature of fictionality and in emphasizing the notion of world as a source of aesthetic experience in narrative texts. As a theory concerned with the opposition between the actual world that we belong to and possible worlds created by the imagination, possible worlds theory has made significant contributions to narratology. Possible Worlds Theory and Contemporary Narratology updates the field of possible worlds theory and postclassical narratology by developing this theoretical framework further and applying it to a range of contemporary literary narratives. This volume systematically outlines the theoretical underpinnings of the possible worlds approach, provides updated methods for analyzing fictional narrative, and profiles those methods via the analysis of a range of different texts, including contemporary fiction, digital fiction, video games, graphic novels, historical narratives, and dramatic texts. Through the variety of its contributions, including those by three originators of the subject area—Lubomír Doležel, Thomas Pavel, and Marie-Laure Ryan— Possible Worlds Theory and Contemporary Narratology demonstrates the vitality and versatility of one of the most vibrant strands of contemporary narrative theory.
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Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Series Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Tables
- Introduction
- Part 1
- 1. Porfyry’s Tree for the Concept of Fictional Worlds
- 2. From Possible Worlds to Storyworlds
- 3. Interface Ontologies
- Part 2
- 4. Ungrounding Fictional Worlds
- 5. Postmodern Play with Worlds
- 6. Logical Contradictions, Possible Worlds Theory, and the Embodied Mind
- Part 3
- 7. Escape into Alternative Worlds and Time(s) in Jack London’s The Star Rover
- 8. “As Many Worlds as Original Artists”
- 9. The Best/Worst of All Possible Worlds?
- Part 4
- 10. Digital Fictionality
- 11. Possible Worlds, Virtual Worlds
- 12. Rereading Manovich’s Algorithm
- Postface
- Contributors
- Index
- About Alice Bell
- About Marie-Laure Ryan
- Series List