Literary City and Urban Literature: Theoretical and Methodological Problems

This paper examines the fictionalisation of real cities and the literary functions of urban space—a task that first requires establishing a conceptual framework for the semiotics of the city. It explores the theoretical foundations of the "literary city" and urban literature, emphasizing their inherently interdisciplinary nature. The study considers the historical, social, and cultural contexts that shape representations of the city, alongside the formal and generic features of urban texts. Tracing the evolution of the literary city through romanticism, realism, and modernism, the paper argues that urban space in literature emerges as an artistic interpretation of real-world geography, a wholly imagined construct, or a creative synthesis of both.