The Sense of an Ending

Studies in the Theory of Fiction with a New Epilogue

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism
Cover of the book The Sense of an Ending by Frank Kermode, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Frank Kermode ISBN: 9780199839537
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: April 6, 2000
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Frank Kermode
ISBN: 9780199839537
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: April 6, 2000
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Frank Kermode is one of our most distinguished critics of English literature. Here, he contributes a new epilogue to his collection of classic lectures on the relationship of fiction to age-old concepts of apocalyptic chaos and crisis. Prompted by the approach of the millennium, he revisits the book which brings his highly concentrated insights to bear on some of the most unyielding philosophical and aesthetic enigmas. Examining the works of writers from Plato to William Burrows, Kermode shows how they have persistently imposed their "fictions" upon the face of eternity and how these have reflected the apocalyptic spirit. Kermode then discusses literature at a time when new fictive explanations, as used by Spenser and Shakespeare, were being devised to fit a world of uncertain beginning and end. He goes on to deal perceptively with modern literature with "traditionalists" such as Yeats, Eliot, and Joyce, as well as contemporary "schismatics," the French "new novelists," and such seminal figures as Jean-Paul Sartre and Samuel Beckett. Whether weighing the difference between modern and earlier modes of apocalyptic thought, considering the degeneration of fiction into myth, or commenting on the vogue of the Absurd, Kermode is distinctly lucid, persuasive, witty, and prodigal of ideas.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Frank Kermode is one of our most distinguished critics of English literature. Here, he contributes a new epilogue to his collection of classic lectures on the relationship of fiction to age-old concepts of apocalyptic chaos and crisis. Prompted by the approach of the millennium, he revisits the book which brings his highly concentrated insights to bear on some of the most unyielding philosophical and aesthetic enigmas. Examining the works of writers from Plato to William Burrows, Kermode shows how they have persistently imposed their "fictions" upon the face of eternity and how these have reflected the apocalyptic spirit. Kermode then discusses literature at a time when new fictive explanations, as used by Spenser and Shakespeare, were being devised to fit a world of uncertain beginning and end. He goes on to deal perceptively with modern literature with "traditionalists" such as Yeats, Eliot, and Joyce, as well as contemporary "schismatics," the French "new novelists," and such seminal figures as Jean-Paul Sartre and Samuel Beckett. Whether weighing the difference between modern and earlier modes of apocalyptic thought, considering the degeneration of fiction into myth, or commenting on the vogue of the Absurd, Kermode is distinctly lucid, persuasive, witty, and prodigal of ideas.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Choosing Not to Choose by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Neurobiology of Disease by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Parish and Place by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book The Fight For Time by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Speaking American by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Charity and Sylvia by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Lived Theology by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Spirits of Place in American Literary Culture by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Three Faces of Desire by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Discovering Eve by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Faith in Shakespeare by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Demystifying the Caliphate by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Greek History: Archaic to Classical Age: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Frank Kermode
Cover of the book Without Benefit of Clergy by Frank Kermode
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy