Shakespearean tragedy and
Dracula, Sherlock Holmes and
Ulysses,
Frankenstei and
The Waste Land-all are celebrated "wonders" of modern literature, whether in its mandarin or popular form. However, it is the fact that these texts are so central to our contemporary notion of literature that sometimes hinders our ability to understand them. Franco Moretti applies himself to this problem by
drawing skillfully on structuralist, sociological and psycho-analytic modes of enquity in order to read these texts as literary systems which are tokens of wider cultural and political realities. In the process, Moretti offers us compelling accounts of various literary genres, explores the relationships between high and mass culture in this century, and considers the relevance of tragic, Romantic and Darwinian views of the world.
About the AuthorFranco Moretti is the author of many books, including
Graphs, Maps, Trees;
The Bourgeois; and
Distant Reading, winner of the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. His work has been translated into more than twenty languages. He is Professor Emeritus at Stanford, where he founded the Center for the Study of the Novel and the Literary Lab.
Reviews"A sheer intelligence animates the pages of Mr Moretti's work."-Edward Said
"Breathtaking ... Moretti's radiant intelligence can catch you off guard."-
San Francisco Review of BooksBook InformationISBN 9780860919063
Author Franco MorettiFormat Paperback
Page Count 324
Imprint Verso BooksPublisher Verso Books
Weight(grams) 455g
Dimensions(mm) 203mm * 127mm * 25mm