“The Essays” by Montaigne: Postmodernist Interpretation

Authors

Tetiana SHEVCHENKO Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8118-9663
Olha FILIPENKO Odesa National Academy of Food Technologies https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4559-1636
Mariia YAKUBOVSKA OdesÐ° Polytechnic State University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0787-3827

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v20i4.567

Keywords:

Montaigne, essay, essay compilation, postmodernism, intertextuality, irony, rhizome, game, experiment

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of Montaigne?s book “The Essays” from the point of view of postmodernist criticism. The work is conceived as an experimental eclectic and mosaic formation, full of paradoxes, which creates the multiplicity of its interpretations in terms of different practices, including postmodernist practices. The features of the author’s self-identification are analysed through the postmodernist paradigm. The originality of the essayistic method of understanding reality through the philosopher?s own beliefs is investigated. The intertextual nature of his essays, based on individual authorial commentary on citation material, reinterpretation, and reevaluation of the past experiences, through which the author creates his image, are analysed. The ironic nature of Montaigne?s works, his methods of playing with the reader are analyzed separately. It is generalized that the author?s ironic position in the book “The Essays” is an indicator of the freedom of his personal thinking and a catalyst for readers to develop their own attitude to everything he contemplates.

The comprehension of the compositional organization of the book “The Essays” from the point of view of rhizomatism is suggested. It is concluded that by combining tradition and experiment, Montaigne demonstrates the limitations of both classical tradition and postmodern aesthetics.

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Author Biographies

Tetiana SHEVCHENKO, Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University

PhD, Doctor of Science in Philology, Head of the Department of Ukrainian Literature at Odesa I. I. Mechnikov National University. Her academic interests include modern Ukrainian literature, writer’s essays, typological processes in literature, the study of literary traditions in works of writers around the globe. Shevchenko is the author of more than 100 scientific articles covering various topics and a monograph “Essays of Ukrainian Writers as a Phenomenon of the End of the XX – Beginning of the XXI Century”. Recent articles include “The Performative Potential of the Essay” and “Features of the Mentative in Sketch Essays”.

Olha FILIPENKO, Odesa National Academy of Food Technologies

PhD in Philology, Assistant Professor at the Department of Ukrainian Studies and Linguodidactics at the Odesa National Academy of Food Technologies. Her areas of academic interest include Ukrainian diaspora, current issues of Ukrainian studies, typological processes in the literature, the study of literary and cultural traditions. Recent articles include: “Aesthetic Functions of Symbols in the Works of Dokia Humenna”, “Food Traditions – the Mental Code of the Nation”, “Taste-Saporistic Modes of Ukrainian and World Cultures”, “Let’s Communicate in Ukrainian”.

Mariia YAKUBOVSKA, OdesÐ° Polytechnic State University

PhD in Philology, Associate Professor at the Department of Information Activity and Media Communications at Odesа Polytechnic State University. Her areas of academic interest include higher school pedagogy, modern and classical literature, study of languages for special purposes, scientific and professional communication. Recent articles include: “Composition of Portrait Essays by Heinrich Neuhaus”, “Understanding Space in a Journalistic Work”, “Communicative and Pragmatic Potential of O. Goncharʼs Essays”, “Glossy Publications in the Conditions of Convergence”.

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Published

2021-12-24

How to Cite

SHEVCHENKO, T., FILIPENKO, O., & YAKUBOVSKA, M. (2021). “The Essays” by Montaigne: Postmodernist Interpretation. WISDOM, 20(4), 188–199. https://doi.org/10.24234/wisdom.v20i4.567

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Vol. 20 No. 4 (2021): 4-2021

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Articles

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