Oorspronklikheid en verwante begrippe by N.P. van Wyk Louw

Abstract

Originality and related concepts in N.P. van Wyk Louw’s work
This article investigates N.P. van Wyk Louw’s confrontation with originality and related concepts. Throughout his writing career, especially in his essays and public lectures, he attempted to clarify originality as "one of the most difficult concepts in literature". An outstanding feature of his research is that he repeatedly distanced himself from the Romantic view of the concept of originality. In stressing the importance of tradition he criticized the concept of “make it new” by substituting it with "acknowledged forms" from which a writer could work. The sole criterion is to ask whether a work of art is “good” and not whether it is “new”. Van Wyk Louw’s view of originality is closely related to intertextuality, but in contrast to many postmodernists, the "text" is of crucial importance to him. In the domain of literature one would say that Van Wyk Louw’s view of originality positions him essentially in line with the Esthetics of Identity.