Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy

by Brett M. Rogers (Editor), Benjamin Eldon Stevens (Editor)

Overview

Classical Traditions in Modern Fantasy is the first collection of essays in English focusing on how fantasy draws deeply on ancient Greek and Roman mythology, philosophy, literature, history, art, and cult practice. Presenting fifteen all-new essays intended for both scholars and other readers of fantasy, this volume explores many of the most significant examples of the modern genre-including the works of H. P. Lovecraft, J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, and more-in relation to important ancient texts such as Aeschylus' Oresteia, Aristotle's Poetics, Virgil's Aeneid, and Apuleius' The Golden Ass. These varied studies raise fascinating questions about genre, literary and artistic histories, and the suspension of disbelief required not only of readers of fantasy but also of students of antiquity. Ranging from harpies to hobbits, from Cyclopes to Cthulhu, and all manner of monster and myth in-between, this comparative study of Classics and fantasy reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world. Although antiquity and the present day differ in many ways, at its base, ancient literature resonates deeply with modern fantasy's image of worlds in flux and bodies in motion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190610067
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/23/2017
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Brett M. Rogers is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Puget Sound. He is the author of several essays on Greek epic and drama, as well as classical receptions in contemporary media (including film, television, and comics). He was also co-editor of Classical Traditions in Science Fiction (OUP 2015).

Benjamin Eldon Stevens is the author of Silence in Catullus (Wisconsin UP 2013) and numerous articles on classical receptions, Latin poetry, and linguistics and its history. With Brett M. Rogers, he co-edited Classical Traditions in Science Fiction (OUP 2015). Currently at Trinity University, he has also taught at Bryn Mawr College and Hollins University, and Bard College, including for the Bard Prison Initiative.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Fantasies of Antiquity
Brett M. Rogers, University of Puget Sound
Benjamin Eldon Stevens, Trinity University


PART I: Classical Apparitions in (Pre-)Modern Fantasy

1. Classical Epic and the Poetics of Modern Fantasy
Jesse Weiner, Hamilton College

2. Theorizing Fantasy: Enchantment, Parody, and the Classical Tradition...58
Cecilie Flugt, Danish Academy in Rome

3. The Mirror Crack'd: Fractured Classicisms in the Pre-Raphaelites and Victorian Illustration....77
Genevieve S. Gessert, American Academy in Rome

4. Classical Antiquity and the Timeless Horrors of H. P. Lovecraft...... 109
Robinson Peter Krämer, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn


PART II: False Medievalism & Other Ancient Fantasies

5. Ancient Underworlds in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit...138
Benjamin Eldon Stevens, Trinity University

6. C. S. Lewis's The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader" and Apuleius' Metamorphoses...171
Jeff Winkle, Calvin College

7. A Time for Fantasy: Retelling Apuleius in in C. S. Lewis's Till We Have Faces......190
Marcus Folch, Columbia University


PART III: Children and (Other) Ancient Monsters

8. The Classical Pantheon in Children's Fantasy Literature ...224
Sarah Annes Brown, Anglia Ruskin University

9. Orestes & the Half-Blood Prince: Ghosts of Aeschylus in the Harry Potter SeriesL....249
Brett M. Rogers, University of Puget Sound

10. Filthy Harpies and Fictive Knowledge in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy....281
Antonia Syson, Purdue University

11. Girls in Bears' Clothing in Greek Mythology and Disney/Pixar's Brave...303
Elizabeth Manwell, Kalamazoo College


PART IV: (Post)Modern Fantasies of Antiquity

12. Fantasies of Mimnermos in Anne Carson's "The Brainsex Paintings" (Plainwater)....329
Sasha-Mae Eccleston, Pomona College

13. Aeneas' American New World in Jo Graham's Black Ships.....354
Jennifer A. Rea, University of Florida

14. Genre, Mimesis, and Virgilian Intertext in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire..........378
Ayelet Haimson Lushkov, University of Texas-Austin


Works Cited.... 403

Editorial Reviews

"Following closely upon their influential collection Classical Traditions in Science Fiction (OUP 2015), Brett M. Rogers and Benjamin Eldon Stevens have compiled another excellent volume that again demonstrates the importance of classical authors to later literature-in this case, to fantasy." —Debbie Felton, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Among the book's virtues are detailed notes (at page bottom), illustrations (including Edmund Dulac's Jason Appointed Tiphys the Stargazer, 1919, on the front cover), and full bibliography. The critical theory employed makes the book appropriate for experienced readers. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." —M. J. Emery, CHOICE

"Rogers and Steven's book, with its diverse content, ambitious scope and accessible format, will be of interest to both scholars and fans of modern fantasy and classical antiquity, who seek to discover more about modern fantasy's literary heritage." — Jade Hinchcliffe, AC Review of Books

From the Publisher