Sounding the Classics : From Sophocles to Thomas Mann

Rudolf Binion

ISBN 10: 0275959651 / ISBN 13: 9780275959654

Published by Praeger, 1997

About this Item

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - 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.

Seller Inventory # 9780275959654

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Sounding the Classics : From Sophocles to Thomas Mann
• Publisher: Praeger
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0275959651
• ISBN 13: 9780275959654
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 234W x 156H x 10D millimeters 234 millimeters width by 156 millimeters height by 10 millimeters depth
• Weight: 272 grams

About this title

Synopsis

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.

About the Author

RUDOLPH BINION is Leff Professor of History at Brandeis University. He is the author of numerous works including Hitler Among the Germans (1979) and Love Beyond Death (1993).