I find Jerome McGann's notion of "performative interpretation" helpful. (The Scholar's Art, U of Chicago P, 06) I had come up with a similar concept myself at one time, but without that handy label. A performative interpretation of a poem or any other literary performance might be
translation
parody
pastiche
homage, implicit or explicit
oral recitation / dramatic performance
song setting / sung performance of the song so set
musical setting of the text without words?
illustration (in any visual medium: drawing, photography, sculpture)
etc... [add your own examples]
(This list is my own, not McGann's).
What's NOT performative interpretation? Scholarly interpretation: presmably it is the typical scholarly article in discursive prose. Yet that too is performative, since "All interpretive action is performative/deformative" (McGann). So is scholarship *less* performative?
Don't we still need some form of scholarship (discursive prose) to explain what the interpretation implicit in the performance consists of? Does the scholarly performance include a specifically performative aspect alongside its discursivity?
Yes, in answer to the last question. I don't see how we could ever get out of the performative mode when engaging with either the text or the performative interpretation. Whether dealing with the "original" or an interpretation once removed, there will be a performance, and, for better or worse, discursivity must be performative. Mustn't it?
ResponderEliminarYes, I agree Dan. Very good. I was just wondering what that does to the distinction between these two modes.
ResponderEliminar