
Untying the Knot
On Riddles and Other Enigmatic Modes
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 23. January 1997
Book
Paperback/Softback
344 pages
978-0-19-510856-9 (ISBN)
Description
Untying the Knot collects eighteen previously unpublished essays on the riddle--a genre of discourse found in virtually every human culture. Hasan-Rokem and Shulman have drawn these essays from a variety of cultural perspectives and disciplines; linguists, anthropologists, folklorists, and religion and literature scholars consider riddling practices in Hebrew, Finnish, Indian languages, Chinese, and classical Greek. The authors seek to understand the peculiar expressive power of the riddle, and the cultural logic of its particular uses; they scrutinize the riddle's logical structure and linguistic strategies, as well as its affinity to neighboring genres such as enigmas, puzzles, oracular prophecy, proverbs, and dreams. In this way, they begin to answer how riddles relate to the conceptual structures of a particular culture, and how they come to represent a culture's cosmology or cognitive map of the world. More importantly, these essays reveal the human need for symbolic ordering--riddles being one such form of cultural ritual.
Reviews / Votes
A big plus is that these well-written essays are generally accessible to upper-level college students, as well as to graduate students and researchers. * Choice *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
553 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-510856-9 (9780195108569)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
01/1997
Oxford University Press Inc
€246.40
Shipment within 15-20 days

E-Book
11/1996
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€39.49
Available for download
Persons
Poet and Essayist, Galit Hasan-Rokem is Professor of Folklore at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. David Shulman is Professor of Indian Studies and Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Editor
Professor of FolkloreProfessor of Folklore
Professor of Indian Studies and Comparative ReligionProfessor of Indian Studies and Comparative Religion, both of Hebrew University of Jerusalem