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The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s “The Idiot Boy”
Abstract
William Wordsworth, a prominent poet of the Romantic era, emphasizes non-normative figures, therefore instigating an aesthetic revolution in the literary interpretation of the period while simultaneously effecting a transition in the ideological milieu of the time, particularly through works like "The Idiot Boy," which challenges societal perceptions of disability and innocence. Wordsworth's "The Idiot Boy," found in his Lyrical Ballads, is about a youngster with a mental disability. Through this child, Wordsworth employs poetic language to depict a lifestyle that deviates from societal norms and is marginalized. Psychoanalytic theory, which serves as the theoretical basis for this study, is an effective instrument for examining individuals who diverge from societal norms, the unconscious, and personal experiences that do not conform to societal expectations. Freud's notions of the unconscious and repression, alongside Lacan's perspectives on language and the symbolic order, offer a theoretical framework for elucidating how non-normative figures are situated within literature. In this environment, another psychotherapist, Julia Kristeva, builds on the tradition of Freud and Lacan, developing terms like "the abject," "chora," and "semiotic" to show individuals excluded by society and violations that are beyond the symbolic order of language. This study analyzes the phenomenon of deviation via the character of an outcast in William Wordsworth's "The Idiot Boy," elucidating how Julia Kristeva's concepts of the abject, chora, and semiotic render this deviation perceptible on a psychoanalytic plane.
Keywords
Ethical Statement
Since this study did not require approval from an ethics committee, it was conducted without such approval.
References
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Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Romantic Literature
Journal Section
Research Article
Publication Date
June 30, 2026
Submission Date
March 16, 2026
Acceptance Date
June 1, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Number: 20
APA
Görürüm, G., & Baktır, H. (2026). The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s “The Idiot Boy”. Artuklu Humanities, 20, 39-51. https://doi.org/10.46628/ahu.1911217
AMA
1.Görürüm G, Baktır H. The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s “The Idiot Boy.” Artuklu Humanities. 2026;(20):39-51. doi:10.46628/ahu.1911217
Chicago
Görürüm, Gamze, and Hasan Baktır. 2026. “The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s ‘The Idiot Boy’”. Artuklu Humanities, nos. 20: 39-51. https://doi.org/10.46628/ahu.1911217.
EndNote
Görürüm G, Baktır H (June 1, 2026) The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s “The Idiot Boy”. Artuklu Humanities 20 39–51.
IEEE
[1]G. Görürüm and H. Baktır, “The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s ‘The Idiot Boy’”, Artuklu Humanities, no. 20, pp. 39–51, June 2026, doi: 10.46628/ahu.1911217.
ISNAD
Görürüm, Gamze - Baktır, Hasan. “The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s ‘The Idiot Boy’”. Artuklu Humanities. 20 (June 1, 2026): 39-51. https://doi.org/10.46628/ahu.1911217.
JAMA
1.Görürüm G, Baktır H. The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s “The Idiot Boy”. Artuklu Humanities. 2026;:39–51.
MLA
Görürüm, Gamze, and Hasan Baktır. “The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s ‘The Idiot Boy’”. Artuklu Humanities, no. 20, June 2026, pp. 39-51, doi:10.46628/ahu.1911217.
Vancouver
1.Gamze Görürüm, Hasan Baktır. The Semiotic, Chora and Abject in William Wordsworth’s “The Idiot Boy”. Artuklu Humanities. 2026 Jun. 1;(20):39-51. doi:10.46628/ahu.1911217