Amongst the many genres in the lyric mode, the intent to lament sets the tone for the much-anthologised literary forms – elegy, monody and threnody, to name a few. This paper shall attempt to depict the relation between the performativity of genres and the construction of grief found in the act of using language, beyond the temporal and spatial boundaries of the European literary system, in the primary texts – Amrita Pritam’s 'Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu' ('Today I Invoke Waris Shah') and in Usha Ganguli’s dramatization of Mahasweta Devi’s 'Rudali'. Despite having residual elements of an ode in its title, Amrita Pritam’s 'Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu' ('Today I Invoke Waris Shah') emerges as a lyric of lament, instead of a lyric of celebration/glorification, due to the difference in its intentionality and aesthetic reception. Further, the use of intertextuality is exemplified in the invocation of Waris Shah to lament for the “heers” (daughters) and the land of Punjab during the time of Partition. Simultaneously, the intermediality in Usha Ganguli’s dramatization of Mahasweta Devi’s 'Rudali' offers the voices of the “Rudalis”–women who cry at funerals for a living–the space to disclose as well as claim the performance of their expression of grief, both through language and their bodies which is exhibited in the act of beating their bosoms and breaking their bangles-a conventional sign of widowhood in the language-culture system the text is located in. Although the change is in the mode–from narrative to dramatic, that is, the novel 'Rudali' written by Mahasweta Devi in Bengali to the play of same name written by Usha Ganguli in Hindi, respectively–the intent to lament manifests itself in the poesis of grief in the performance of the Rudalis and suggests the possibility of reading the text as a lyric. A close reading of the primary texts in this paper, therefore, challenges the canonical approach towards the literary historiography of genres with the aim to extend the horizon of expectations through a phenomenological understanding of genres with respect to plurality and relationality.

Abstract: The Bildungsroman Until I Find You by contemporary American writer John Irving unfolds with Jack Burns’ tumultuous journey to uncover the mystery of his father’s prolonged absence. Set against the backdrop of a turbulent society, the narrative depicts the struggles and explorations of an individual in search of the answer to “Who am I?” Jack's twisted family relationships plunge him into a state of self-loss from a young age, and his quest for his father becomes his proactive response to the emotional and identity crises he faces. This journey aids him in rediscovering his true self and reflects Irving's profound contemplation on the relationship between the “self” and “others”— the discovery of the father ("you") is essential to Jack's self-discovery ("I") . The “you” in the novel’s title refers not only to the father Jack has long been looking for but also to the true self he has been pursuing. Through an analysis of Jack’s growth process, it becomes evident that the restoration of one’s true self is not achieved by erasing painful memories but rather by confronting and embracing all experiences, thereby shaping a complete, rich, and authentic self.

Both in the area of Walden and Hunan province, water has witnessed life derived from it circulate continuously and maintain its original form despite the alternation of seasons and recurrence of historical events. As a special archetype, water carries the collective memories of human civilization, which symbolizes life and circulation in many primeval myths and legends east and west. Both Northrop Frye and Jung took water as an important archetypal image related to life and circulation. This research will adopt the archetypal criticism theory by Frye and the collective unconsciousness theory by Jung to explore the archetype of water, which symbolizes the circulation of life and carries the human collective unconsciousness in both Chinese and western culture. This research will also analyze the difference of water archetype in Chinese and western myths, in the aim of enhancement to mutual learning among civilizations.