The Possibilities of Theory – the Theory of Possibilities
The Possibilities of Theory – the Theory of Possibilities

Summary/Abstract: This essay attempts to describe a new field of research in contemporary literary theory, defined interms of performative, dramatic, and dramaturgical interactions and relations. The focus is placed onthe dynamic movement of concepts and categories, as it allows theory to keep up with the constantnew developments in literature and culture. These movements give rise to a dramatic discourse thatreplaces traditional methodologies. Such a transdisciplinary dialogue allows for a complex play ofmeanings. Any theory is a sum of choices made from among many possibilities, compatible approach-es and ideas, and potential perspectives. In the new theoretical perspective described in this essay,no theory of a work of art is rejected and each remains valid, as long as it functions inclusively ina field of many different possibilities. The dramaturgy of concepts, the potential tensions and possiblecontradictions between them, which, paradoxically, are not mutually exclusive, complex plays anddisplacements, fractures and entanglements, open up new theoretical horizons.Indeed, we should ask whether the time of grand theories has passed or whether one of themost comprehensive literary theories is being created today, as it unites all past and future con-cepts involved in the study, interpretation, and reception of literature. It is the theory of possibilities.

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