Southerne’s Oroonoko: A Tragedy and Tapia y Rivera’s La Cuarterona Translated as Juliet of the Tropics by John Maddox: A Comparative Study
Loading...
Date
2023
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Université Mouloud Mammeri
Abstract
The aim of the current study was to examine the different parallels and similarities between Thomas Southerne‟s Oroonoko (1696) and Alejandro Tapia‟s La Cuarterona (1867) which was translated as Juliet of the Tropics (2016). To deal with this comparative study, we borrowed some concepts from Julia Kristeva‟s theory of Intertxuality which focused on the idea that all narratives were the result of intertexts and assumed that there was no pure creation in literature. Among these concepts, we used the concept of “ambivalence” which involves a text‟s interaction with its historical and literary backgrounds. In other words, to understand a literary work, there must be a comprehension of the historical events which influenced the writer to produce the text. Transposition was another concept of intertextuality we used to conduct our research. It claimed that writers transposed “signs” from previous texts to write their own ones. This dissertation has been divided into three major chapters. Each one dealt with one specific topic. The first chapter was entitled „Historical and Literary Context of the Texts‟. It has analyzed slavery as the main circumstance under which the works were produced and how it was portrayed by the playwrights. The second chapter was „Intertexual Parallels in Southerne‟s Oroonoko and Tapia‟s La Cuarterona (Juliet of the Tropics). It has sought to explore the different similarities existing between the two plays at the level of characters and themes. As to the third chapter whose title was Tragedy in Southerne‟s Oroonoko and Tapia‟s Juliet of the Tropics, it has emphasized the tragedy of Oroonoko and Carlos and their losses of their beloved ones. As a conclusion, it could be noticed that the two writers express their abolitionist stances regarding slavery. They were like the voice of all those slaves who struggled from that institution and bore its consequences. At the same time, they displayed the real image of colonization and slavery whose only result was tragedy.
Description
59 p. ; 30 cm. (+CD-Rom)
Keywords
Colonialism, Intertextuality, Racism, Slavery, Tragedy, Thomas Southerne, Alejandro Tapia y Rivera
Citation
Littérature et Civilisation