Myths of the Golden Age in European Culture (Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory)

Synopsis

Hesiod’s concept of a Golden Age, together with analogous myths – Babylonian, Egyptian, Hebrew, etc. – speak to the psychic appeal, perhaps even deep-rooted need, for humans to conceive alternate worlds free from the anguish, toil, and dangers of the one they inhabit. Classical poets and philosophers explored the myth; the Middle Ages imagined it as the land of Cockaigne; Early Modern dramatists incorporated it; Romantic poets and nineteenth-century writers imagined it in various guises. This volume explores the configuration presented by Hesiod and the history of its reception and transformation in European literature and culture. The chapters study how texts written in specific historical moments of European history reshape elements of the myth to explore contemporary issues of concern. The book addresses these issues of cultural hybridization, and, from a transhistorical perspective, provides new insights into the dynamics of epochal shifts. It also looks at similar configurations in non-Western civilizations (China), which complements the spectrum of contributions that covers periods from classical antiquity to the Age of Goethe.

Copyright:

2025

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

ISBN-13:

9781040275900

Related ISBNs:

9781040275894, 9781003499909, 9781032814469

Publisher:

Taylor & Francis

Date of Addition:

12/27/24

Copyrighted By:

selection and editorial matter, Stephen G. Nichols and Claudia Olk

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Literature and Fiction, Language Arts, Philosophy

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.

Edited by:

Stephen G. Nichols

Edited by:

Claudia Olk