| Sounding the Classics: From Sophocles to Thomas Mann Contributor(s): Binion, Rudolph (Author) |
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ISBN: 0275959651 ISBN-13: 9780275959654 Publisher: Praeger OUR PRICE: $34.65 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 1997 Annotation: This book is a comparative study of twelve works of fiction broadly representative of the Western canon. Its aim is to discover what gives these twelve works their lasting appeal and vitality over and beyond their formal qualities. It focuses on the interplay of "text" and "subtext" within each work after defining these terms at the outset. It then compares its twelve sample classics systematically in a conclusion that argues from the works themselves to classics in general. Binion's key finding is that for a piece of fiction to feel deep, whole, and great, as classics do, its text must be underpinned from start to finish by a subtext, or alternative reading, which calls that text itself into question. A book for scholar, student and educated public alike, no serious reader will be able to consider what makes a classic without reference to this work. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism |
| Dewey: 809.3 |
| LCCN: 97001693 |
| Lexile Measure: 1490 |
| Series: Contributions to the Study of World Literature |
| Physical Information: 0.56" H x 6.14" W x 9.2" (0.63 lbs) 176 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book is a comparative study of 12 works of fiction broadly representative of the Western canon. Its aim is to discover what gives these 12 works their lasting appeal and vitality over and beyond their formal qualities. It focuses on the interplay of text and subtext within each work after defining these terms at the outset. It then compares its 12 sample classics systematically in a conclusion that argues from the works themselves to classics in general. Binion's key finding is that for a piece of fiction to feel deep, whole, and great, as classics do, its text must be underpinned from start to finish by a subtext, or alternative reading, which calls that text itself into question. A book for scholar, student and educated public alike, no serious reader will be able to consider what makes a classic without reference to this work. |