''Chintayami Manasa'' (; ), published in 1983, is a critical work of essays in the Gujarati language by Indian writer

Suresh Joshi Suresh Hariprasad Joshi was an Indian novelist, short-story writer, literary critic, poet, translator, editor and academic in the Gujarati language. Along with his teaching career, he led the modernist movement in Gujarati literature. He was prol ...

. Joshi evaluated ideas based on European and American criticism, like

new criticism New Criticism was a Formalism (literature), formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of l ...

, semiotics linguistics-oriented criticism, modernism, and postmodernism in the book. In 1983, he received the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for his book, which he refused to accept.

''Chintayami Manasa'' contains thirteen chapters, written during 1977 to 1980.

Chapters 1-5

The first chapter of the book, "Arthaghatan?" ("Interpretation?"), begins by questioning whether 'interpretation' is the appropriate term for the kind of literary analysis commonly conducted by scholars and their students. It is an analysis of the concept of interpretation, with an inquiry into symbols and metaphors. In the second chapter, "Sahitya ane Philsufi" ("Literature and Philosophy"), Joshi explains the relationship between these two concepts. It gives perspective on how literature should be read, with or without philosophy. The next chapter, "Kasmai Devay Havisha Vidhema?" ("To Which Deity Shall We Make the Offering?"), is a study of the role of literature and creative writers in the society. The fourth chapter contains a discussion on

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French ph ...

entitled "Sartre: Aaj Na Sandarbhma" ("Sartre: In Today’s Context"), in which Joshi discusses Sartre in the context of the decay of values and ideas that society once held high and the emergence of a new reality of human lives and of science. It also focuses on Sartre's

existentialism Existentialism is a family of philosophical views and inquiry that explore the human individual's struggle to lead an authentic life despite the apparent absurdity or incomprehensibility of existence. In examining meaning, purpose, and valu ...

. Chapter 5, "Sarjak, Sarjan ane Vivechan" ("Writer, Writing and Criticism"), is a detailed analysis of the nature and functions of all three: writer, literature, and criticism.

Chapters 6-13

The sixth chapter, "Vivechan no Chaitanyavadi Abhigam" ("The Critical Approach of the Critics of Consciousness"), is a descriptive account of the school of Critics of Consciousness. It examines the fruitful application of this school of thought in literary criticism, in the context of Joshi's time. Joshi explains the position of the critics of consciousness and states that a critic or reader must understand the consciousness of the artist who has created the work. He also places all the major critics of consciousness, namely Marcel Remo, Albert Bengui, and

Georges Poulet Georges Poulet (; 29 November 1902 – 31 December 1991) was a Belgian literary critic associated with the Geneva School. Best known for his four-volume work ''Studies in Human Time'', Poulet rejected formalist approaches to literary criticism ...

, in terms of their contributions to the theory. In the next chapter, "Kavya Vivechan no Ek Navo Abhigam?" ("A New Approach to Criticism of Poetry?"), Joshi critiques the influence of criticism on writers and readers. He adds that criticism is useful and appropriate as long as it helps readers with interpretation, but if it takes away the joy of reading it should be abandoned. In the eighth chapter, "Octavio Paz ni Kavyavibhavana" ("

Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, a ...

'’s Concept of Poetry"), Joshi reviewed the ideas of poetry given by Octavio Paz. The ninth chapter, "Sanketvigyan ni Saiddhantik Bhumika" ("The Theoretical Position of Semiology"), describes the basic theoretical position of ''Sanket Vigyan'' (

Semiology Semiotics ( ) is the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning. In semiotics, a sign is defined as anything that communicates intentional and unintentional meaning or feelings to the sign's interpreter. Semiosis is a ...

). He discusses the areas semiology should focus on and the way a number of topics can be studied with a semiological approach. Chapter 10, "Navya Vivechan Vishe Thodu" ("A Bit about New Criticism"), is an essay on how

New Criticism New Criticism was a Formalism (literature), formalist movement in literary theory that dominated American literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. It emphasized close reading, particularly of poetry, to discover how a work of l ...

emerged and developed as a school of

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

. The essay explains the origins of its development by the leading exponents of New Criticism like

John Crowe Ransom John Crowe Ransom (April 30, 1888 – July 3, 1974) was an American educator, scholar, literary critic, poet, essayist and editor. He is considered to be a founder of the New Criticism school of literary criticism. As a faculty member at Kenyon ...

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems " Ode to th ...

Kenneth Burke Kenneth Duva Burke (May 5, 1897 – November 19, 1993) was an American literary theorist, as well as poet, essayist, and novelist, who wrote on 20th-century philosophy, aesthetics, criticism, and rhetorical theory. As a literary theorist, Burke ...

, and

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

. The eleventh chapter, "Sahitya Vivechan ane Bhasha Vigyan" ("Literary Criticism and Linguistics"), shows the function of

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

in literary criticism. In the last chapter, "Arvachinata ane Anuarvachinata" ("Modernity and Postmodernity"), Joshi explores the

Modern Modern may refer to: History *Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Philosophy ...

and

Post-Modern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experi ...

schools of literary theory.

Awards

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

selected this book for the

in 1983, but Joshi refused to accept the award, saying: "The book contains nothing more than some stray essay ic" He further added that it only contains critical articles based on European and American criticism and does not reflect his own original critical thinking.

References

External links

* {{Gujarati Vishwakosh
Chintayami Manasa
at Ekatra Foundation Works by Suresh Joshi Sahitya Akademi Award–winning works Gujarati-language books 1983 non-fiction books Books of literary criticism Indian essay collections

Contents

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-13

Awards

References

Further reading

External links