Epic grandeur : toward a comparative poetics of the epic

Author(s)

• Mori, Masaki

Bibliographic Information

Epic grandeur : toward a comparative poetics of the epic

Masaki Mori

（SUNY series, the margins of literature）

State University of New York Press, c1997

• : alk. paper
• pbk. : alk. paper

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [229]-239) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Epic Grandeur: Toward a Comparative Poetics of the Epic proposes a new concept of the epic. The book is based on the belief that the genre has been transforming itself throughout its history from conventional, war-oriented types to a new kind that promotes peace without having recourse to violent motifs. To prove this point, the book takes a new thematic approach which centers on the three elements of epic grandeur: the hero's attitude toward his mortality, his commitment to the community, and the dual dimension of time and space. The book also examines two relatively recent works: John Keats's The Fall of Hyperion and Miyazawa Kenji's Gingatetsudo no Yoru (A Night on the Galaxy Railroad). These works are used as examples of the "transitional epic" that departs from the conventional norms of the epic, and give the reader insight into underlying cultural differences and similarities between the East and West.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgments Notes on the Text I. Toward a Comparative Poetics of the Epic 1. Theories of the Epic: A Brief Historical Overview 2. Epic Grandeur: A Thematic Approach to the Epic 3. The Transformation of Traditional Epic II. The Fall of Hyperion and A Night on the Galaxy Railroad: Two Cases of Transitional Epics 4. The Cultural and Historical Background of The Fall of Hyperion and A Night on the Galaxy Railroad 5. The Epic Nature of The Fall of Hyperion and A Night on the Galaxy Railroad 6. The Self-Consciousness of Transitional Epic Notes Japanese Words in the Text Select Bibliography Index

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA32449566
• ISBN:
  • 0791432017
  • 0791432025
• LCCN: 96003486
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Albany
• Pages/Volumes: xiii, 261 p.
• Size: 24 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : PN56.E65
  • DC20 : 809.1/32
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : Epic literature -- History and criticism
  • LCSH : Literature, Comparative -- Japanese and European
  • LCSH : Literature, Comparative -- European and Japanese
  • LCSH : Keats, John, 1795-1821. Fall of Hyperion
  • LCSH : Miyazawa, Kenji, 1896-1933. Ginga tetsudō no yoru
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA13105479