Death, existence and limit in the works of Maurice Blanchot

by Poon, Wan-lam

(Uncorrected OCR) Abstract Maurice Blanchot, one of the most influential writers on the 20th century French literary scene, published a vast collection of works which includes essays, literary commentaries and fiction. Blanchot is a writer with extraordinary insights, especially into the nature of literature and of language. This study will focus on one of his most important essays 'Literature and the Right to Death' (1949) and also his famous fiction piece entitled La Folie duJour {The Madness of the Day, 1949). It analyzes his views on language and literature and discusses the relevance of these concepts to his fiction. A further aim of the study is to explore possible influences of Blanchot's writing on post-structuralist thought.