Echoes and Reflections by Sunhee Kim Gertz

Echoes and Reflections by Sunhee Kim Gertz

This study examines tales from The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC-18 AD) and from The Lais by the French poet Marie de France (fl. mid-to late twelfth century) to explore a paradox: how can a vibrant, complex, and timeless vision be conveyed in convention-informed and time-bound language? Marie plays against Ovid’s tales to probe the dilemma, thereby echoing Ovid who does the same to the canonical literary monuments of his day. Both poets suggest that poetry can avoid the flattening effect of monumental canonizing not only by the creative use of literary echoes, but also by shifting perspectives on the conventional, which in turn, can encourage readers to see reflections of many stories in any given tale. Ovid and Marie suggest and encourage in this manner by presenting literary love’s topoi and traditional lovers from a variety of metaliterary perspectives, thereby eliciting active readerly memory as well as providing the opportunity to see the conventional afresh, activity that allows even canonical texts to become living memorials.

SunHee Kim Gertz is Professor Emerita of English and Senior Research Scholar at Clark University, USA.
Betsy Huang is Associate Professor of English and former (inaugural) Chief Officer of Diversity and Inclusion, Clark University, USA.
Lauren Cyr is a PhD student at Clark University, USA.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9789042010635
ISBN 10	9042010630
Title	Echoes and Reflections
Author	Sunhee Kim Gertz
Series	Faux Titre
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Brill
Year published	2003-01-01
Number of pages	186
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.