From Narrative (Poetic) Discourse Analysis to Hypertext (Cybernetical) Analysis: Said Yaktine’s Literary Criticism Project

Abstract

This article, through a study of literary critic Said Yaktine's work, explores the theoretical transition of literary criticism from a narrative, or "poetic", discourse analysis to a "cybernetic" fictional text analysis. It argues that this transition is not arbitrary, but rather based on the critic's effort to rigorously ensure the transition from imitation in discourse, to functionalism in the narrative text. This also represents a transition from the closed towards the open, from the narrator to the writer, and from the narrator to the audience. This does not disregard the question of structure, however, because structuralism remained the basis on which Yaktine's work was conducted, upholding a gradual and smooth passage of analysis starting with print and ending with digital text