Openings

Narrative Beginnings from the Epic to the Novel

By: A. D. Nuttall

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Hardcover | 2 April 1992

At a Glance

Hardcover
268 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 13.97 x 1.91

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What is the difference between a natural beginning and the beginning of a story? Some deny that there are any beginnings in nature, except perhaps for the origin of the universe itself, suggesting that elsewhere we have only a continuum of events, into which beginnings are variously `read' by different societies. This book argues that history is full of real beginnings but that poets and novelists are indeed free to begin their stories wherever they like. The ancient poet Homer laid down a rule for his successors when he began his epic by plunging in medias res, `into the midst of things'. Later writers, however, persistently play off the `interventionist', in medias res opening against some sense of a `deep', natural beginning: Genesis or the birth of a child. The author also outlines how the inspiring Muse of epic gives way to the poet's ego, dies, revives and dies again. Ranging from Greek and Roman epic to the modern novel via Dante, Milton, Wordsworth, Sterne and Dickens, A. D. Nuttall has written an ambitious and original book which will be of interest to a wide variety of readers.

Industry Reviews

`This is a subtle account of the relationship between art and ontology. Its gusto, if not always free from self-indulgence, exerts a continuous grip on the reader's attention.' A Journal of English Language and Literature, Vol 74, No 6 (Dec 1993) `A. D. Nuttall is among the most erudite of contemporary academic literary critics, at ease with the Classics, much given to philosophy. This, then, is a brilliant book ... there is a dazzling digressiveness and expansiveness, lucubrations of a find critical mind on a subject only apparently rather minute. ... he has developed formidable machinery and uses it with gusto and learning.' Frank Kermode, London Review of Books 'While it delights in its display of academic erudition, Nuttall's book advances an essentially simple idea, still stimulating after being explored by cultural historians of the calibre of E. H. Gombrich. Nuttall's discourse will not end the debate on the nature of narrative but is certain to open spirited arguments.' Times Higher Education Supplement 'brilliant book' London Review of Books `Nuttall makes useful incidental points about each text he discusses.' Modern Language Review

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Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism, Volume 258

Criticism of the Works of World Authors from Classical Antiquity Through the Fourteenth Century, from the First Published Appraisals to Current Evalua

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The Beginning of the Aeneid	p. 1
The Commedia	p. 33
Paradise Lost	p. 74
The Prelude	p. 114
Tristram Shandy	p. 151
David and Pip	p. 171
The Sense of a Beginning	p. 201
Epilogue	p. 233
Index	p. 251
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

Openings

Narrative Beginnings from the Epic to the Novel

At a Glance

Hardcover

Industry Reviews

Shipping

How to return your order

Defective items

You Can Find This Book In

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