The study of literary topoi as an area of comparative literature: the case of “murder for love”

Abstract

This article aims to examine the position of literary topoi in the field of comparative literature using Escobar (2000) and Laguna Mariscal’s (1999) definition of topoi. One of the requirements for distinguishing a topos from similar literary terms is its recurrence in literary history from the classical tradition towards modern literature. As a result, the study of literary topoi always constitutes evolution, development, and comparison. To show this in practice, we introduce “murder for love” as a literary topos and trace its development in Eugene O’Neill’s tragedies Desire Under the Elms (1924) and Mourning Becomes Electra (1931). The results of the study validate the necessity of comparison (in the sense of looking for parallel structures or syntaxes) when examining literary topoi. Consequently, when analyzing the development of “murder for love” in O’Neill’s plays, it is essential to look for its architextual relationships with classical texts, such as Medea narratives.

Keywords

• literary topoi
• comparative literature
• classical reception
• Eugene O’Neill
• murder for love