| American Hieroglyphics: The Symbol of the Egyptian Hieroglyphics in the American Renaissance Contributor(s): Irwin, John T. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1421421151 ISBN-13: 9781421421155 Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press OUR PRICE: $49.40 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: September 2016 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | Semiotics & Theory - Philosophy | Movements - Transcendentalism - Literary Criticism | American - General |
| Dewey: 810.915 |
| Physical Information: 1" H x 6" W x 9" (1.20 lbs) 384 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the subsequent decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics captured the imaginations of nineteenth-century American writers and provided a focal point for their speculations on the relationships between sign, symbol, language, and meaning. Through fresh readings of classic works by Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville, John T. Irwin's American Hieroglyphics examines the symbolic mode associated with the pictographs. Irwin demonstrates how American Symbolist literature of the period was motivated by what he calls "hieroglyphic doubling," the use of pictographic expression as a medium of both expression and interpretation. Along the way, he touches upon a wide range of topics that fascinated people of the day, including the journey to the source of the Nile and ideas about the origin of language. |
Contributor Bio(s): Irwin, John T.: - John T. Irwin is the Decker Professor in the Humanities at Johns Hopkins University. His other books include F. Scott Fitzgerald's Fiction: "An Almost Theatrical Innocence"; The Mystery to a Solution: Poe, Borges, and the Analytic Detective Story; and Unless the Threat of Death Is Behind Them: Hard-Boiled Fiction and Film Noir, all published by Johns Hopkins. |