Abstract
The 1908 Yiddish story “Toytntants” was the last creation of the young Galician author
Shmuel Yosef Halevi Czaczkes before his transformation into S. Y. Agnon of the
Land of Israel. The story, which can be understood as a farewell to the romanticsentimental
style identified by Agnon with his writing in Yiddish, was also his longest
and most elaborate creation in either Yiddish or Hebrew up to the time of its writing. It
stands in sharp contrast to the “single-storied” structure of Agnon's previous tales,
some of which were even integrated into “Toytntants.” This article analyzes Agnon's
use of “musicalization” in the text, a phenomenon that scholars have also identified
in James Joyce's writings. When read in historical context, “Toytntants” reveals new
aspects of the cultural atmosphere in which Agnon lived while he resided in Galicia.
Original language | American English |
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Pages (from-to) | 127-144 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Jewish Social Studies |
Volume | 18 |
Issue number | 1 |
State | Published - 2011 |
RAMBI Publications
- RAMBI Publications
- Agnon, Shmuel Yosef -- 1887-1970 -- Toytntants
- Yiddish literature -- History and criticism