The Epic
A Very Short Introduction
Seiten
2024
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-879512-4 (ISBN)
Oxford University Press (Verlag)
978-0-19-879512-4 (ISBN)
The epic is an ancient, diverse, and global art form. This Very Short Introduction aims to showcase the scope and variety of epic storytelling around the world. Welch takes a global approach that traces key resemblances between the European classics and traditional heroic poetry from Africa, Central Asia, and the Near East.
Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring
The epic is an ancient and universal form of artistic expression. Storytellers around the globe have long told of heroes who are touched by greatness and win lasting fame. These sprawling heroic tales convey the grandeur and pain of human life. They have been preserved for millennia in Sumerian clay tablets, Egyptian papyrus rolls, fragmentary manuscripts salvaged from European monasteries, oral traditions in Africa and Central Asia, and contemporary poetry and film.
In this Very Short Introduction, Anthony Welch places the Western epic canon alongside traditional heroic poetry from Asia, Africa, and the Near East. Tracing shared themes and practices that unite the world's epic literature, the author asks what roles epic poets serve in society and how do they differ from other narrative forms. Welch argues that the epic confronts key aspects of the human condition - heroism, community, sacrifice, death - with special force and urgency. Ranging widely from Gilgamesh to Derek Walcott's Omeros, this book acquaints readers with some of the world's greatest literary works and asks why the epic holds such power over our imaginations.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring
The epic is an ancient and universal form of artistic expression. Storytellers around the globe have long told of heroes who are touched by greatness and win lasting fame. These sprawling heroic tales convey the grandeur and pain of human life. They have been preserved for millennia in Sumerian clay tablets, Egyptian papyrus rolls, fragmentary manuscripts salvaged from European monasteries, oral traditions in Africa and Central Asia, and contemporary poetry and film.
In this Very Short Introduction, Anthony Welch places the Western epic canon alongside traditional heroic poetry from Asia, Africa, and the Near East. Tracing shared themes and practices that unite the world's epic literature, the author asks what roles epic poets serve in society and how do they differ from other narrative forms. Welch argues that the epic confronts key aspects of the human condition - heroism, community, sacrifice, death - with special force and urgency. Ranging widely from Gilgamesh to Derek Walcott's Omeros, this book acquaints readers with some of the world's greatest literary works and asks why the epic holds such power over our imaginations.
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
Anthony Welch is Associate Professor of English at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His publications include The Renaissance Epic and the Oral Past (2012) as well as essays on Milton, Spenser, Dryden, and the European epic tradition in English Literary Renaissance, Milton Studies, MLN: Modern Language Notes, Modern Philology, Spenser Studies, and several edited collections.
Introduction
1: A Story of All Things
2: The Singer and the Song
3: The Epic Hero
4: War
5: Family Ties
6: Civilization and the Wilderness
7: Epic and Modernity
References and Further Reading
| Erscheinungsdatum | 20.11.2024 |
|---|---|
| Reihe/Serie | Very Short Introductions |
| Zusatzinfo | 8 black and white images |
| Verlagsort | Oxford |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 110 x 174 mm |
| Gewicht | 142 g |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Anglistik / Amerikanistik |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Literaturwissenschaft | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-19-879512-2 / 0198795122 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-19-879512-4 / 9780198795124 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
| Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt? |
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