Hybridity

Summary

Genre as a concept is perhaps one of the more systematically referenced or used critical tool in literary studies. Yet it is very rarely defined. Despite the fact that most literary critics resort to it in one way or another to define their topics or to delineate their arguments, there does not seem to be any general consensus on what genre actually is, how it should be defined and what the generic categories we use actually entail. We usually refer to generic categories dismissively, as simply a gesture of modern pragmatism or as useful (on the basis that they are generally accepted) categorisations to outline our critical arguments. Most critical theory on genre comes from modern literary studies and the applicability of modern genre theory to medieval literatures adds a secondary layer of complexity when it comes to critical discussion on genre and medieval literature.

This chapter addresses genre from the perspective of generic hybridity. It delineates briefly the relevant critical theorising of genre and its anachronistic complexity, suggesting ‘hybridity’ as a useful concept for approaching generic frameworks for medieval literatures. It then stages hybridity as an umbrella concept that encompasses the shifting nature of generic affiliation, particularly when it comes to translation or transmission of material (both linguistically speaking and in terms of form). Evidence of generic conversions in transmission calls attention to the generic stipulations that govern the creation and appreciation of literary works. Such evidence can in turn assist in understanding how generic markers were understood by medieval authors and audiences and in what way we can successfully utilise them to approach medieval literatures. Ultimately, the chapter suggests emotion as a mode – undeniably one of many – of formulating a theory of genre that encompasses both the creative process itself, i.e. the medieval context of literary production, and our under-standing today of the place those works have in literary history and the role they might have played in formulating such histories.

Generic Verisimilitude and Hybridity

Fredric Jameson notes that the conception of literary history is by necessity preceded by a perception of genre.