Spectres of antiquity : classical literature and the Gothic, 1740-1830 / James Uden.

9780190910303 (electronic book)

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020.

English

1 online resource : illustrations.

PR408.G68 U34 2020

823.08729

Gothic literature imagines the return of ghosts from the past. What about the classical past? 'Spectres of Antiquity' is full-length study describing the relationship between Greek & Roman culture & the Gothic novels, poetry, & drama of the 18th & early-19th century. Rather than simply representing the opposite of classical aesthetics & ideas, the Gothic emerged from an awareness of the lingering power of antiquity, & it irreverently fractures & deconstructs classical images & ideas. The Gothic also reflects a new vision of the ancient world: no longer inspiring modernity through its examples, antiquity has become a ghost, haunting & oppressing contemporary minds rather than guiding them. Through readings of canonical works by authors including Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, & Mary Shelley, the text argues that these authors' ghostly plots & ideas preserve the remembered traces of Greece & Rome.

Gothic literature imagines the return of ghosts from the past. What about the classical past? 'Spectres of Antiquity' is full-length study describing the relationship between Greek & Roman culture & the Gothic novels, poetry, & drama of the 18th & early-19th century. Rather than simply representing the opposite of classical aesthetics & ideas, the Gothic emerged from an awareness of the lingering power of antiquity, & it irreverently fractures & deconstructs classical images & ideas. The Gothic also reflects a new vision of the ancient world: no longer inspiring modernity through its examples, antiquity has become a ghost, haunting & oppressing contemporary minds rather than guiding them. Through readings of canonical works by authors including Horace Walpole, Ann Radcliffe, Matthew Lewis, & Mary Shelley, the text argues that these authors' ghostly plots & ideas preserve the remembered traces of Greece & Rome.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on September 9, 2020).

Oxford scholarship online.

Print version: 9780190910273

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