Komparatistiese klassifikasie, of die dampkring van die Afrikaanse literêre historiografie

Abstract

This article attempts to explore the comparative classification approach, employed by critics and literary historians as a method of forming the literary canon. Departing from the case of Boniface being compared to Moliére, the discussion focuses on possibilities offered by comparative classifications as an instrument of analysing literary history, the field of reference from which literary historians write, and expectations regarding intended readers. Within this context, the framework of references to foreign writers in major Afrikaans literary histories by G. Dekker, R. Antonissen and J.C. Kannemeyer are taken into account. Macro- and microstructures within the discussed histories are looked into. On the one hand, the manner in which N.P. van Wyk Louw’s position is defined with the use of foreign authors’ names is analysed. In order to illustrate the approach of various literary historians, relevant quotations are presented. On the other hand, collected statistics are interpreted as general quantitative data. These two approaches complement each other and serve within this research to indicate possibilities of analyses which make use of the comparative classification method.