Aesthetic Illusion and the Breaking of Illusion in Ancient Literature?

Werner Wolf

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Chapter 12 Aesthetic Illusion and the Breaking of Illusion in Ancient Literature?

In: Taking Stock â Twenty-Five Years of Comparative Literary Research

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Werner Wolf

Werner Wolf
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 341â371

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004410350_014

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Abstract

This essay is a contribution to a new (or renewed) focus of interest observable in various disciplines, including â over the last few years â classical philology: an interest in the historical dimension of an important reception effect which representations in literature and many other media can elicit, namely âaesthetic illusionâ (frequently also termed differently, e.g., âimmersionâ). Aesthetic illusion is particularly difficult to ascertain for remote periods and cultures, for which empirical methods are inapplicable and where reception testimonies are scarce. However, there is indirect evidence in aesthetic theory, in rhetoric, and above all in certain artefacts and literary texts. After a clarification of the concept and term âaesthetic illusionâ and of the cultural-historical preconditions for its emergence, this essay discusses some evidence for the existence of aesthetic illusion in ancient âtheoryâ and literary practice (in Homer, Sophocles, and Heliodorus), including instances of a playful use of this phenomenon (in Pseudo-Homer and Aristophanes). All of this indicates that aesthetic illusion is not a recent phenomenon of the past few centuries but can be traced back to ancient cultures.

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Taking Stock â Twenty-Five Years of Comparative Literary Research

Series:Â Internationale Forschungen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft Online, Volume: 200Â andÂ Internationale Forschungen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft, Volume: 200

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004410350

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 22 Oct 2019

Subjects
- Literature and Cultural Studies

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African Studies	Education	Media Studies
American Studies	History	Middle East and Islamic Studies
Ancient Near East and Egypt	Human Rights and Humanitarian Law	Musicology
Art History	International Law	Philosophy
Asian Studies	International Relations	Religious Studies
Biblical Studies	Jewish Studies	Slavic and Eurasian Studies
Biology	Languages and Linguistics	Social Sciences
Book History and Cartography	Life Sciences	Theology and World Christianity
Classical Studies	Literature and Cultural Studies

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Chapter 12 Aesthetic Illusion and the Breaking of Illusion in Ancient Literature?

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Taking Stock â Twenty-Five Years of Comparative Literary Research

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Taking Stock â Twenty-Five Years of Comparative Literary Research