On the Analogy between the Language of Architecture and Language of Literary Work : The Role of the Conception of Architecture in Generating the Poetics of the Glass Room
Abstract
The article is based on the assumption that the role of literary language in the intergeneration communication is crucial but, at the same time, that it is not restricted to this field only. What the author of the article strives to prove is the close interconnection between the language of literature and architecture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries which, although seemingly distinctive and incommensurable, not only determine and materialise the cultural paradigm of a given period, but also contribute to a large extent to the act of generating communication links between individuals, generations and historical eras.
The author of the article assigns a prominent place to the category of space which echoes the focus of contemporary literary theory and practice. As close attention is paid to this field of study it displays a great diversity of interpreatations of literary space.
This focus is especially prominent in the work of philosophers and literary critics adhering to Phenomenology. Nowadays it is Alain De Botton, a great promoter of philosophy whose work is avidly greeted by millions of readers, who follows the steps of this tradition.
The article reflects especially the viewpoint of the philosophical work of Martin Heidegger, Gaston Bachelard, Michel Foucault, Anna Hogenová, Karsten Harries and Michel de Certeau. The Glass Room (2009), a novel by a contemporary British author Simon Mawer generates the frame of reference of this article since it is closely related to the specific treatment of the space and especially architecture.