Conflict as a Problem in Historical Poetics

The depiction of conflict in literature is associated with the idea of a violation of harmony and of the existing order, as well as ways to revive it or establish a new order. The classical understanding of conflict that has developed in European scholarship based on Western literature may not always be applicable to the analysis of non-Western, especially non-Indo-European, literature. Discussions of conflict can be found in Aristotle’s “Poetics,” while in Chinese, Indian and Arabic poetics this issue has not been discussed, even though the “Natyashastra” (the doctrine of drama) was created in Ancient India by Bharata Muni. There are three elements required for conflict in European thought: the beginning, the culmination, and the denouement, each of which is clearly indicated in the work. Meanwhile, in the East, especially in China and Japan, the conflict was seen as a complex multifactorial process that is also linked to other processes. There are many options for conflict development, so the concepts of “tie” and “denouement” are not always applicable to non-Western literature, and the “climax” as a turning point is extremely rare to detect. The article attempts to comparatively analyze the comparative aspect of conflict, examines conflicts in the works of Western European (ancient and medieval), Indian and Chinese literature: Homer’s Iliad, Sophocles’ “Antigone,” “Mahabharata,” “Beowulf,” “The Three Kingdoms” by Luo Guanzhong, Guan Hanqing’s “Resentment of Dou E,” “Jin Ping Mei,” and others.