Abstract Philip Larkin is known for his rejection of metaphysical consolation, and yet in some of his more philosophic and existentialist poems, such as ‘Absences’ and ‘Here’, many critics describe a desire for freedom that leads to a metaphysical transcendence that seems at odds with the vision of such a confirmed atheist. This interpretation of transcendence in these poems by Larkin is a misreading of his thought. What Larkin is describing in ‘Absences’ and ‘Here’ is freedom without transcendence, arrived at through the promise of the endless creation of new limits. The philosophic framework for this insight is from Nietzsche, an influence that is pervasive in Larkin though little acknowledged.

Abstract This study analyses three categories of works by William Shenstone – Elegies , Levities; or Pieces of Humour and Odes – in terms of their poetic and cultural specifics. The findings are further applied to the process-oriented research of the poems’ translation into Chinese in order to explore their cultural implications. It is concluded that the most challenging category for translation is Levities due to the lack of an equivalent tradition in Chinese poetic history. As a result, the cultural expressions and certain references natural for Western literature are a complication. Nevertheless, the overall tendency of imitating the poetry of the past and deploying the said types of poetry by Shenstone make the cultural reverberations in the Chinese translations more vivid and vibrant.

Abstract This article is an application of concepts to the reading of poetry borrowed from Jonathan Culler's Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism, Linguistics and the Study of Literature (Cornell University Press, 1975). I also use Roland Barthes’ language codes; hermeneutic, semantic, symbolic, actional and cultural-referential demonstrated in his well-known text S/Z , with slight modifications for their application as well. The discourse advocated by Culler was itself explored earlier and developed by Bulgarian/French historian Tzvetan Todorov in a reading method called Poetics, not to be confused with Aristotelian poetics. These concepts have been previously applied to literary fiction, though they have never been systematically applied to the reading of poetry. This is the sixth article in applied poetics published utilising this methodology since 2019.

Abstract This article examines the depiction of failed masculinity in Kiran Nagarkar's Cuckold (1997). Within conventional gender standards, men are often regarded as privileged because hegemonic masculine ideals are inscribed upon them. Yet, despite holding powerful positions, such as kingship, the struggles of men who fail to fulfil socially appointed masculine roles have long remained unnoticed. The intricate interplay of historical, social, and political forces contributes to the rigid construction of masculine norms, marking any breach as a sign of unmanliness, emasculation, or failure. Nagarkar, an Indian author who fuses history and myth, explores this notion of failed masculinity through the fictional Maharaj Kumar, a sixteenth-century Rajput prince. The novel traces his failures across multiple spheres of life and his relentless attempt to align himself with the ideal of a ‘manly king.’ Through close reading, this article ultimately foregrounds the destiny of a failed man shaped through Maharaj Kumar's character.

Abstract This study aims to examine the historical and present influence of foreign literary processes on Chinese literature, emphasising the integration of cross-cultural influences into Chinese literary forms. A mixed-method approach, incorporating historical, comparative and critical text analysis, was utilised to examine the adaptation and transformation of foreign components in Chinese literary works, notably evaluating contributions from India, Western Europe, Japan and Russia. Research demonstrates that foreign literary exchanges provided significant thematic and stylistic enhancements, including Indian mythological elements, Western realism and Russian psychological depth, each influencing unique literary trends in Chinese literature. Modern Chinese literature evolves through digital platforms, fostering cultural exchange and enhancing its global presence. Incorporating external elements deepens Chinese storytelling and positions it in global literary discourse. Globalisation enriches its cultural uniqueness while integrating universal themes, offering valuable insights for scholars and readers exploring Chinese literature's global significance.

Abstract This article argues that writer's block in Mahmoud Darwish's works is a reflection of the poet's experience of a creative block, a clinical condition that emerged after his surgery in 1998, and is also a metaphor for the ongoing block or impasse in the Palestinian political situation. The central thesis of this article is that writer's block in Darwish is akin to experiences like Heideggerian anxiety, the Sartrean attraction of the abyss, the Lacanian eruption of the Real, and Freud's neuroticism. In all these cases, the poet, through a momentary awareness of his impending death, experiences an ecstatic intensification of Being and an expansion of life possibilities, in the Nietzschean sense. This article further demonstrates that Darwish turns into a successful neurotic writer who utilises stuttering and his potential mental illness as a creative means to overcome the abject reality and invent a new reality, wherein unsatisfied wishes could be fulfilled.

Abstract Efraim Sevela was a Russian Jewish émigré who lived in a variety of countries in the West, including Germany. His view of Germany was controversial, and did not fit the prevailing stereotypes. He recognised that post-WWII Germany acknowledged the Nazi atrocities, but felt that Germans had become atomised and still regarded those who were not German as inferior. At the same time, he implicitly praised Nazi Germans for their sense of ethnic solidarity, and even implied that Israeli Jews should follow the same template to ensure their survival.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to reveal the topic of universal human values through the prism of artistic searches of Kazakhstan's poets of the late twentieth to early twenty-first centuries. The scientific work was conducted using the methods of system analysis, cultural-historical analysis and hermeneutics. In the course of the research, the authors came to conclusions about the special place of Kazakhstan's national poetry in the country's axiological discourse. It has been revealed that national poetry is an artistically meaningful carrier of the moral and ethical categories of the Kazakh people. The programme of spiritual modernisation of Kazakhstan, ‘Rukhani Zhangyru’, is evidence of this. The theme of the axiological potential of citizens occupies far from the last place in this programme.

Abstract This article conducts a detailed examination of Peter Kimani's Before the Rooster Crows (2002), highlighting its portrayal of Kenya's relentless quest for liberation, justice and dignity within the complex framework of postcolonial literature. The analysis delves into protagonist Muriuki's personal odyssey, which encompasses themes of love, identity and survival, as he navigates through the corruption permeating Kenya's elite and the challenges of national liberation. The narrative vividly captures the lasting impact of neocolonialism, exposes critical flaws in the judicial system and explores the resulting societal divisions. Furthermore, the article critically analyses the depiction of foreign aid as a powerful instrument of neocolonial dominance, alongside the responsive efforts of local media and the determined populace. Set against the expansive canvas of postcolonial literature, Kimani's novel is presented as a compelling story of resistance to both internal and external power structures.

Abstract Statistical analyses of Shakespeare's vocabulary have suggested that the order of the sonnets in the 1609 edition does not reflect their chronological order of composition, and that the ‘Dark Lady sonnets’ might be placed among the earliest, thus predating the ‘Fair Youth sonnets’. While sharing the hypothesis that the composition of the sonnets may have been discontinuous, I attempt to approach the question from a methodologically alternative viewpoint, namely text linguistics. In my view, the Sonnets reveal a structural unity which, far from being the result of a final artificial reordering, is likely to have shaped the author's writing process since its early stages. For instance, I argue that some of the ‘Dark Lady sonnets’ contain probable anaphoric references to the ‘friend’, thus disclosing their full meaning only if read in conjunction with the first section. Further evidence comes from a comparison of the Sonnets with Love's Labour's Lost, which is characterised by a similar thematic and structural relationship between the ‘fair’ and the ‘black’.