The works of Akugatawa has been evaluated to connote the Drama-like expressiveness, which enables readers to perceive his works as if they are watching the visual arts as film or play.
Elaine (1997) analyse those characteristic of Akutagawa works, and suggested the resemblance of it with the technique called as "Montage (Eisenstein, cited in Aumont, 1987)"used in some Visual Arts. Accordinng to Einstein, this technique is the "juxtaposition of two fragments resembles their product more than it does their sum", in which each scene is carefully framed and accumulated one after another, as if it is Kaleidoscope.
In this research, those carefully accumulated scenes and its shifts are focused on, and how two elements, the narration by the protagonist’s view and the description of what happens are structured in each novel are examined. As well, the relevance of the shifts of scenes and how "tense" as syntactic element are differently managed are also subjects to be examined, based on his two works "Toshisyun" and "Torokko".
To look into the usage of tense in "Toshisyun", "-ta form (past tense)" is used in the dialogue at the opening part as narration, in other hands, "-ru form (present tense)" is shown in the descriptive part.
Same tendency is also shown in "Torokko". "-ta form (past tense)" is used the monologue by protagonist at the opening part, however the "-ru form (present tense) "is used in the descriptive part, which is actually considered to precede the narrative part chronologically.
One reason of these contradicted usages of tense could due to the expressional effect of present form in Japanese. Maynard (2005) implies the descriptive effect of present tense as the vividness that gives readers the sensation of chronological and physical closeness to the event shown in the narrative.
These two works also shows the structural equivalence; In addition to the usage of tense in the monologue or dialogue part in opening, "-ta form (past tense)" is also used in the closing part. This structural accordance of tense makes readers to refrain a scene, which has already been submitted. Ricio (2007) suggested the same technique in films as "flash forward". Thus management of tense in Akutagawa could realize the expressional means in visual arts in the literature, and it could be one element of Drama -characteristic in his works.
[References]
Aumont,J.(1998).Montage Eisenstein, London and Bloomington Publisher (BFI).
Elaine Gerbert (1997). A new look: The Influence of Vision Technology on Narrative in Taisho, In
Haruko Minegishi Cook, Kyoko Hijirida, Mildred M. Tahara, eds., New Trends and Issues in
Teaching Japanese Language and Culture, Volume 3, Issue 15, Second Language Teaching and
Curriculum Center University of Hawai’I ,pp 15-30.
Maynard, Senko, K. (2005) Danwa Hyogen handbook, Kuroshio publisher, Tokyo.
Rocio Montoro (2007). Analysing Literature through Films, In Greg Watson and Sonia Zyngier, eds.,
Literature and Stylistics for Language Learners: Theory and Practice, Palgrave macmillan,Finland,
pp48-59.
International Society for Akutagawa Ryūnosuke Studies , 2013. , p. 19
8. Internationale Akutagawa Ryûnosuke-Konferenz Zur Internationalität und Aktualität der Literatur Akutagawa Ryûnosukes Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Japanologie, Akademiestrasse 4-8, D-69117 Heidelberg 1.-3. November 2013