Locating the Grotesque: A Meta-theoretical Reading

Abstract

Authors and artists have progressively tried to capture the crisis of human life in their works. For such representations an adept tool is required and the ‘grotesque’ is artfully brought to fore by authors and artists as the most efficacious artistic weapon for mirroring the intricate reality and inherent contradictions in human life. The grotesque has become the most coveted and the, “the most genuine style” of modern art. The word ‘grotesque’ has been received differently across the changing times. The article seeks to understand the multifaceted understanding of the term ‘grotesque’ with reference to the different ideologies, disciplines, thought practices and representations in sync with the spirit of the age it is associated with.