The Slaying of Meghanada: A Ramayana from Colonial Bengal - Hardcover

9780195167993: The Slaying of Meghanada: A Ramayana from Colonial Bengal
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
"The poem is rising into splendid popularity. Some say it is better than Milton-but that is all bosh-nothing can be better than Milton; many say it licks Kalidasa; I have no objection to that. I don't think it impossible to equal Virgil, Kalidasa, and Tasso." Michael Madhusudan Datta wrote this in a letter to a friend about his verse narrative, The Slaying of Meghanada (1861). The epic, a Bengali version of the Ramayana story in which Ravana, not Rama, is the hero, has become a classic of Indian literature. Datta lived in Bengal at the height of what is frequently called the Bengal Renaissance, a time so labeled for its reinvigoration and reconfiguration of the Hindu past and for the florescence of the literary arts. It was also a period when the Bengali city of Kolkata was a center of world trade-the second city of the British empire-and thus a site of cultural exchange between India and the West. Datta was the perfect embodiment of this time and place. The Slaying of Meghanada is deeply influenced by western epic tradition, and is sprinkled with nods to Homer, Milton, and Dante. Datta's deft intermingling of western and eastern literary traditions brought about a sea change in South Asian literature, and is generally considered to mark the dividing line between pre-modern and modern Bengali literature. Datta's masterpiece is now accessible to readers of English in Clinton Seely's elegant translation, which captures both the sense and the spirit of the original. The poem is supplemented by an extensive introduction, notes, and a glossary.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Clinton B. Seely is Professor in the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago. He is the author of A Poet Apart: A Literary Biography of the Bengali Poet Jibanananda Das, 1899-1954 (1990) and several other books.
Review:

"Clinton Seely's volume is a gift to all who teach in English about any aspect of South Asian culture." --Journal of Religion


"Clinton B. Seely's elegant, masterful translation of Meghanadavadha Kavya into English will enable the poem's dissemination to a wider audience and will be particularly useful as a teaching resource in course on South Asian literature, culture, and history. The exquisiteness of Seely's prose in this translation of Datta's extremely, compelling poem is reason enough to peruse this volume. Will be highly welcomed by students and scholars of South Asia." --Journal of Asian History


"[A] seemless translation. Datta's tale ingeniously mingles South Asian literary aesthetics with Miltonic-style poetics and whiffs of Dante, Byron, and wily Homer. The unexpected result is a new interculturally resonant version, tangled by themes of filial love, obligation, and ultimately, self-sacrifice that echo with a moral grandeur worthy of a Greek tragedy. Why Datta, a devout Anglophile and a formative Indian nationalist, attempted the Parnassian challenge is masterfully explained in Seely's deep biographical introduction to the poet's life and times, which readers will find especially illuminating."--CHOICE


"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherOxford University Press
  • Publication date2004
  • ISBN 10 0195167996
  • ISBN 13 9780195167993
  • BindingHardcover
  • Number of pages288
  • Rating

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

DATTA
Published by Narcissus.me (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: > 20
Print on Demand
Seller:
Brook Bookstore On Demand
(Napoli, NA, Italy)

Book Description Condition: new. Questo è un articolo print on demand. Seller Inventory # 93a6a02bdc73231d225c5d14487487a2

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 63.05
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 12.01
From Italy to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Datta, Michael Madhusudan; Seely, Clinton B.
Published by Oxford University Press (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Lucky's Textbooks
(Dallas, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2215580034798

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 76.65
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Datta, Michael Madhusudan; Seely, Clinton B.
Published by Oxford University Press (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Books Unplugged
(Amherst, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. Buy with confidence! Book is in new, never-used condition. Seller Inventory # bk0195167996xvz189zvxnew

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 86.93
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Datta, Michael Madhusudan; Seely, Clinton B.
Published by Oxford University Press (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Book Deals
(Tucson, AZ, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New! This book is in the same immaculate condition as when it was published. Seller Inventory # 353-0195167996-new

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 86.93
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Datta, Michael Madhusudan
Published by Oxford University Press (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: > 20
Seller:
Russell Books
(Victoria, BC, Canada)

Book Description Condition: New. Special order direct from the distributor. Seller Inventory # ING9780195167993

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 76.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 9.99
From Canada to U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Michael Madhusudan Datta Clinton B. Seely Michael Madhusudan Dutt
Published by Oxford University Press OUP (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: 2
Seller:
Books Puddle
(New York, NY, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. pp. 284. Seller Inventory # 262270821

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 86.11
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.99
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Datta, Michael Madhusudan
Published by Oxford University Press (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_0195167996

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 89.23
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Datta, Michael Madhusudan
Published by Oxford University Press (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover0195167996

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 88.95
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Datta, Michael Madhusudan
Published by Oxford University Press (2004)
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard0195167996

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 89.81
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Seller Image

Michael Madhusudan Datta
ISBN 10: 0195167996 ISBN 13: 9780195167993
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Print on Demand
Seller:
Grand Eagle Retail
(Wilmington, DE, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. Hardcover. "The poem is rising into splendid popularity. Some say it is better than Milton-but that is all bosh-nothing can be better than Milton; many say it licks Kalidasa; I have no objection to that. I don't think it impossible to equal Virgil, Kalidasa, and Tasso." Michael Madhusudan Datta wrote this in a letter to a friend about his verse narrative, The Slaying of Meghanada (1861). The epic, a Bengali version of the Ramayana story in which Ravana, notRama, is the hero, has become a classic of Indian literature. Datta lived in Bengal at the height of what is frequently called the Bengal Renaissance, a time so labeled for its reinvigoration and reconfiguration of theHindu past and for the florescence of the literary arts. It was also a period when the Bengali city of Kolkata was a center of world trade-the second city of the British empire-and thus a site of cultural exchange between India and the West. Datta was the perfect embodiment of this time and place. The Slaying of Meghanada is deeply influenced by western epic tradition, and is sprinkled with nods to Homer, Milton, and Dante. Datta's deft intermingling of western and eastern literarytraditions brought about a sea change in South Asian literature, and is generally considered to mark the dividing line between pre-modern and modern Bengali literature. Datta's masterpiece is now accessible toreaders of English in Clinton Seely's elegant translation, which captures both the sense and the spirit of the original. The poem is supplemented by an extensive introduction, notes, and a glossary. "The poem is rising into splendid popularity. Some say it is better than Milton-but that is all bosh-nothing can be better than Milton; many say it licks Kalidasa; I have no objection to that. I don't think it impossible to equal Virgil, Kalidasa, and Tasso." Michael Madhusudan Datta wrote this in a letter to a friend about his verse narrative, The Slaying of Meghanada (1861). The epic, a Bengali version of the Ramayana story in which Ravana, not Rama, is the hero, has become a classic of Indian literature. Datta lived in Bengal at the height of what is frequently called the Bengal Renaissance, a time so labeled for its reinvigoration and reconfiguration of the Hindu past and for the florescence of the literary arts. It was also a period when the Bengali city of Kolkata was a center of world trade-the second city of the British empire-and thus a site of cultural exchange between India and the West. Datta was the perfect embodiment of this time and place. The Slaying of Meghanada is deeply influenced by western epic tradition, and is sprinkled with nods to Homer, Milton, and Dante. Datta's deft intermingling of western and eastern literary traditions brought about a sea change in South Asian literature, and is generally considered to mark the dividing line between pre-modern and modern Bengali literature. Datta's masterpiece is now accessible to readers of English in Clinton Seely's elegant translation, which captures both the sense and the spirit of the original. The poem is supplemented by an extensive introduction, notes, and a glossary. This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9780195167993

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 93.60
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds

There are more copies of this book

View all search results for this book