The Classical Plot and the Invention of Western Narrative
1st Edition
Published on 28. January 2005
978-0-511-03437-4 (ISBN)
Description
From Homer to Hollywood, the western storytelling tradition has canonised a distinctive set of narrative values characterised by tight economy and closure. This book traces the formation of that classical paradigm in the development of ancient storytelling from Homer to Heliodorus. To tell this story, the book sets out to rehabilitate the idea of 'plot', notoriously disconnected from any recognised system of terminology in literary theory. The first part of the book draws on developments in narratology and cognitive science to propose a way of formally describing the way stories are structured and understood. This model is then used to write a history of the emergence of the classical plot type in the four ancient genres that shaped it - Homeric epic, fifth-century tragedy, New Comedy, and the Greek novel - with insights into the fundamental narrative poetics of each.
Reviews / Votes
'This brilliant book ... is immensely rewarding ... it is stimulating stuff and certain to cause major reconsiderations in the way we think about plots ancient and modern.' Literary ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Cambridge University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 9 Tables, unspecified; 9 Plates, unspecified
File size
2,13 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-511-03437-4 (9780511034374)
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
05/2004
Cambridge University Press
€57.80
Shipment within 15-20 days
Book
06/2000
Cambridge University Press
€123.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Content
Part I. The Classical Plot: 1. Approaches; 2. A cognitive model; 3. The narrative universe; 4. The classical plot; 5. Unclassical plots; Part II. The Classical Plots: 6. Epic myth I: Iliad; 7. Epic myth II: Odyssey; 8. Dramatic myth: tragedy and satyr-play; 9. Dramatic fiction: New Comedy; 10. Epic fiction: the Greek novel; Conclusion; Glossary.
