Abstract
This article stems from the research conducted for my doctoral study. For the purposes of the larger study, Breytenbach’s entire Afrikaans poetic oeuvre is divided into four periods which are compared with each other to determine whether signs of late style are present, and if so, which type(s) of late style can be identified. Qualitative and quantitative research methods are used to examine Breytenbach’s oeuvre in terms of three parameters (style, identity and theme). The quantitative analysis is done with the help of a corpus program (#LancsBox).
This article presents the results of the investigation of three subcategories of Breytenbach’s identity (biographical detail, names used by Breytenbach, and personal symbols) in relation to late style. The term late style, which is derived from Theodor W. Adorno’s German term for works in Spätstil, is the work that artists produce near the end of their lives and is accompanied by intense “intimations of mortality”, such as that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) in his thirties (Said 2006:xiii).
There are four types of late style according to Lourens (2017:80), and their characteristics are:
1.1 serenity, acceptance and transfiguration
1.2 fragmentation, exile and incoherence
1.3 resurrection
1.4 fellow humanity, coherence, freedom, transformation and transcendence.
While late style has been examined in Breytenbach’s work, it has not previously been investigated to this extent, and the central thread of his identity throughout his oeuvre has not yet been examined in connection with late style. The corpus investigation presents the possibility of a comprehensive investigation.
A corpus-based approach is used to investigate signs of late style with regard to Breytenbach’s identity. The way in which he perceives himself in the poems is important, as is the persona he attributes to himself. Self-presentation is highlighted, and how he presents himself to the reader will therefore be investigated in relation to late style. Although the larger investigation included many aspects (Breytenbach’s age when he created poems; references to his age; biographical detail; his names for himself; pronouns and proper nouns; personal symbols; elevation of common nouns and pronouns to proper nouns), only three subsections of identity are discussed in the article: biographical details, names used by Breytenbach, and personal symbols.
Breytenbach’s oeuvre is divided into four periods: early poetry, prison poetry, post-prison poetry and later poetry. I created a Breytenbach subcorpus for each period, consisting of the following texts:
2.1 Subcorpus A: Ysterkoei-blues 1964–1975 (2001)
2.2 Subcorpus B: Die ongedanste dans: Gevangenisgedigte 1975–1983 (2005) with Die singende hand: Versamelde gedigte 1984–2014 (2016) pages 21–80
2.3 Subcorpus C: Die singende hand: Versamelde gedigte 1984–2014 (2016), pages 81–301
2.4 Subcorpus D: Die singende hand: Versamelde gedigte 1984–2014 (2016), pages 302–726 with die na-dood (2016) and op weg na kû (2019).
Each of the three parameters is investigated with regard to each period in the larger study, and a comparative approach is followed. The conclusions of A are thus compared with B, A with C, A with D and then B with C, B with D and C with D.
Place names and other biographically related words or references were studied under the parameter of biographical detail. In terms of place names, Africa is the primary focus. Even though Africa is the place name with the highest frequently throughout all periods, the greatest difference in frequency is between the early work (subcorpus A) (41) and the prison work (subcorpus B) (13). Additionally, Breytenbach’s approach to the continent differs: He has a strong affinity for Africa in the early work, but he develops a disassociated perspective of the continent in the prison work. Viljoen (2014:70) mentions that a clear contrast exists between Breytenbach’s concrete approach to South Africa and Africa in the early period and the uncertainty regarding the existence of the outside world that is expressed during the prison period.
In the post-prison work (subcorpus C) Breytenbach again reveals a strong identification with Africa, similar to his early work. Viljoen (2014:75) does point out, however, that Breytenbach’s experiences with Africa are “diverse and complicated”. The frequency of references to Africa rises again in the post-prison (27) and later work (subcorpus D) (42). Viljoen (2014:59) also states that Breytenbach consistently created Africa as a reference point for his identity throughout his oeuvre, and although this was largely confirmed, the investigation shows that this was not so much the case in the prison work.
It was also found that the later works (sometimes only subcorpus D, but sometimes also C) again show similarities to the early work. Tait and Van Vuuren (2017:176) state that Breytenbach, through references to his previous poems, “talks to” his younger self, and thereby attempts to build a type of bridge from the past to the present. This intratextuality is clearly visible in the biographical details, names for himself, pronouns and proper nouns, and personal symbols that are repeated throughout the oeuvre. This bridge is not, however, applicable to all the elements investigated, and there are elements that differ. The role of Africa in the post-prison work (C) and later work (D) differs with respect to the concept of identity in the prison work (B), which shows a different kind of relationship with Africa, namely estrangement. There is also a kind of return to the early work (A) in (D) concerning the names Breytenbach uses (Breyten versus Breyten Breytenbach), but relative to the early work this is now both more reflective and more informal.
Furthermore, the expectation was that the autobiographical proper noun Breyten Breytenbach would yield a high frequency in the oeuvre, but this was not the case, with Breyten and Breyten Breytenbach occurring 15 and 14 times respectively. However, Breytenbach also uses other proper nouns to refer to himself, including Panus, Kamiljoen and Woordfoël.
Breytenbach consistently developed certain personal symbols throughout his oeuvre (Ferreira 1982), and the frequencies of these symbols were investigated. In three of the subcorpora (A, B, and C), wit (white) is the most frequent personal symbol, with maan (moon) being the most frequent personal symbol in subcorpus D. The moon has a connotation with life and death in Breytenbach’s oeuvre, but there is a closer association with death (versus life) in the later work than in the early work. Tait and Van Vuuren (2017:156) are of the opinion that the moon is one of Breytenbach’s personal symbols, and in this study the high frequency of this symbol confirms this, with maan appearing 585 times across the entire oeuvre.
The role of trauma can also be considered, as it likely had a direct influence on Breytenbach’s identity in the prison work. Breytenbach produced far less poetry in the post-prison work, with trauma possibly being the reason. There is a break in poetic productivity in this period, probably as the poet tries to find his feet after long-term imprisonment (Tait and Van Vuuren 2017:170). Anker (2008:156) states that extreme experience of trauma almost always leads to a loss of words, a defeated silence, because language is simply not capable of, or sufficient for, describing the experience. All these phenomena lead me to suspect that the prison work shows a noticeable shift in the poet’s representation of his identity, so that a fifth form of late style can be postulated. Further research is therefore required to explore this fifth type of late style, as well as the aspect of trauma that has been identified.
In conclusion, a proposed fifth type of late style can be identified based on the trauma experienced during the prison period of subcorpus B, during which Breytenbach’s work differs significantly from his early work. Characteristics of estrangement, reflection, introspection and fragmentation (like the second type of late style) were also observed, as well as signs of the first and fourth types of late style.
Keywords: Afrikaans poetry; Breyten Breytenbach; corpus; corpus linguistics; identity; late style
- The photo used as focus image was taken by Izak de Vries.
Lees die volledige artikel in Afrikaans
Laatwerk en identiteit in die poësie van Breyten Breytenbach: ’n korpusondersoek