Comparing Themes and Images

The comparative study of themes and images lies at the heart of Comparative Literature. It enables scholars to trace universal motifs—love, exile, identity, resistance, nature—across diverse cultural and linguistic landscapes. Yet, in today’s globalized world, such comparisons acquire new complexity, demanding sensitivity to cultural context, historical background, and ideological nuance.

Themes and images serve as connective threads linking literatures of the world. Whether it is the image of the wandering hero in epics or the theme of alienation in modern fiction, these recurring patterns reveal shared human experiences and distinct cultural articulations.

This theme welcomes chapters that engage with cross-cultural motifs, archetypes, and metaphors. How do certain images evolve as they move between traditions? How can comparative reading expose both convergence and divergence in cultural meaning?

Contributors may also examine interdisciplinary comparisons, exploring how visual, cinematic, or performative representations interact with literary ones. By comparing themes and images, scholars not only map global literary interrelations but also illuminate the universality and diversity that define the human imagination.

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