Book Cover

Read PDF
JSTOR

Epic and the Russian Novel from Gogol to Pasternak

Author

Griffiths, Frederick T. ; Rabinowitz, Stanley J.

Year

2011

Publisher

Academic Studies Press

Type

BOOK

Category

Electronic books

Language

English

Pages

240

ISBN

978-1-61811-682-6

Link

Last Update

09-Sep-2024

Keywords

LITERARY CRITICISM / Russian & Former Soviet Union;LITERARY CRITICISM / European / Eastern (see also Russian & Former Soviet Union);LITERARY CRITICISM / Semiotics & Theory

Description

Epic and the Russian Novel from Gogol to Pasternak examines the origin of the nineteen- century Russian novel and challenges the Lukács-Bakhtin theory of epic. By removing the Russian novel from its European context, the authors reveal that it developed as a means of reconnecting the narrative form with its origins in classical and Christian epic in a way that expressed the Russian desire to renew and restore ancient spirituality. Through this methodology, Griffiths and Rabinowitz dispute Bakhtin's classification of epic as a monophonic and dead genre whose time has passed. Due to its grand themes and cultural centrality, the epic is the form most suited to newcomers or cultural outsiders seeking legitimacy through appropriation of the past. Through readings of Gogol's Dead Souls-a uniquely problematic work, and one which Bakhtin argued was novelistic rather than epic-Dostoevsky's Brothers Karamazov, Pasternak's Dr. Zhivago, and Tolstoy's War and Peace, this book redefines "epic" and how we understand the sweep of Russian literature as a whole.

Related

See More
Image Description

The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center Care Coordination Program

The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center Care Coordination Program
Image Description

Europa vor dem Eintritt in die Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion.

Europa vor dem Eintritt in die Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion.
Image Description

Context and Catholicity in the Science and Religion Debate

Context and Catholicity in the Science and Religion Debate
Image Description

Charter School Operations and Performance

Charter School Operations and Performance
Image Description

Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa

Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa
Image Description

A Delicate Balance

A Delicate Balance