ALAA ALASWANY'S THE YACOUBIAN BUILDING: A NEW HISTORICIST READING
Mona A. M. Ahmed
In his novel, The Yacoubian Building, Alaa Alaswany presents an accurate image of Modern Egypt; he masterfully depicts the social, political and economic conditions of the Egyptian society during the last few decades that preceded the publication of this successful literary work. The purpose of the present paper is to attempt a reading of Alaa Alaswany's novel, The Yacoubian Building, in the light of New Historicism. Since a work of literature, according to that school, is a reflection of the historical situation that produced it, the text of the novel will be analyzed with reference to …show more content…
The term was originated by Stephen Greenblatt whose book, Renaissance Self- Fashioning (1980), was ''one of the pioneering studies in that genre'' (Hoover 360). New Historicism is a reaction against the formalistic approach of New Criticism which is mainly concerned with the textual or close reading of the work of literature. The New critics focus their attention on the form of the work of literature. Cleanth Brooks, for instance, points out that '' form is meaning'' (45). Similarly, Allen Tate states that ''form is meaning and nothing than meaning'' (269). The New Critics are of the view that the work of literature should be studied without relating it to any extraneous considerations such as the social, political and economic considerations. In other words, they are against interpreting the work of art in terms of its historical background which is regarded by the New Historicists as indispensable for a thorough interpretation of the work of literature. According to H. Aram Veeser, ''[T]he New Historicists combat empty formalism by pulling historical considerations to the center stage of literary analysis'' (X1). Their point of view is that a literary text echoes the historical circumstances out of which it emerged; hence, it is inescapable …show more content…
Consequently, the New Historicists' approach is '' based on the parallel reading of literary and non literary texts, usually of the same historical period'' (17). They believe that a work of literature cannot be isolated from the social and cultural circumstances that participated in its production; a literary text is actually ''shaped by the socio-cultural reality that they themselves are part of'' (Bertns
Mona A. M. Ahmed
In his novel, The Yacoubian Building, Alaa Alaswany presents an accurate image of Modern Egypt; he masterfully depicts the social, political and economic conditions of the Egyptian society during the last few decades that preceded the publication of this successful literary work. The purpose of the present paper is to attempt a reading of Alaa Alaswany's novel, The Yacoubian Building, in the light of New Historicism. Since a work of literature, according to that school, is a reflection of the historical situation that produced it, the text of the novel will be analyzed with reference to …show more content…
The term was originated by Stephen Greenblatt whose book, Renaissance Self- Fashioning (1980), was ''one of the pioneering studies in that genre'' (Hoover 360). New Historicism is a reaction against the formalistic approach of New Criticism which is mainly concerned with the textual or close reading of the work of literature. The New critics focus their attention on the form of the work of literature. Cleanth Brooks, for instance, points out that '' form is meaning'' (45). Similarly, Allen Tate states that ''form is meaning and nothing than meaning'' (269). The New Critics are of the view that the work of literature should be studied without relating it to any extraneous considerations such as the social, political and economic considerations. In other words, they are against interpreting the work of art in terms of its historical background which is regarded by the New Historicists as indispensable for a thorough interpretation of the work of literature. According to H. Aram Veeser, ''[T]he New Historicists combat empty formalism by pulling historical considerations to the center stage of literary analysis'' (X1). Their point of view is that a literary text echoes the historical circumstances out of which it emerged; hence, it is inescapable …show more content…
Consequently, the New Historicists' approach is '' based on the parallel reading of literary and non literary texts, usually of the same historical period'' (17). They believe that a work of literature cannot be isolated from the social and cultural circumstances that participated in its production; a literary text is actually ''shaped by the socio-cultural reality that they themselves are part of'' (Bertns