On Lightness in World Literature

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Theory, Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book On Lightness in World Literature by B. Scott, Palgrave Macmillan US
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Author: B. Scott ISBN: 9781137346841
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US Publication: November 7, 2013
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan Language: English
Author: B. Scott
ISBN: 9781137346841
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication: November 7, 2013
Imprint: Palgrave Macmillan
Language: English

Despite the apparent ubiquity of light literature, and despite the greater cultural prestige it has been afforded in recent decades, very little has been written on the adjective that actually defines this category. What, precisely, does it signify, and what are some of the key strategies by which the effect of lightness is achieved within literary discourse? In this original and engaging study, Bede Scott explores the aesthetic quality of lightness as demonstrated by a diverse range of narratives - spanning four different centuries and five different countries. In each case he focuses on a specific 'type' of lightness, whether it be the refined triviality of Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book, the ludic tendencies of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis' Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, or the 'exhilarating and primitive vitality' of Voltaire's Candide. By bringing together such disparate sources, Scott makes a strong case for the universality of this particular aesthetic value, while also subjecting to close critical scrutiny its underlying structural features.

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Despite the apparent ubiquity of light literature, and despite the greater cultural prestige it has been afforded in recent decades, very little has been written on the adjective that actually defines this category. What, precisely, does it signify, and what are some of the key strategies by which the effect of lightness is achieved within literary discourse? In this original and engaging study, Bede Scott explores the aesthetic quality of lightness as demonstrated by a diverse range of narratives - spanning four different centuries and five different countries. In each case he focuses on a specific 'type' of lightness, whether it be the refined triviality of Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book, the ludic tendencies of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis' Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, or the 'exhilarating and primitive vitality' of Voltaire's Candide. By bringing together such disparate sources, Scott makes a strong case for the universality of this particular aesthetic value, while also subjecting to close critical scrutiny its underlying structural features.

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