European literary epic is often thought of as poetry on stilts, and equally often those stilts are thought to have been fashioned in classical antiquity. In this wide-ranging work, John Kevin Newman argues that the classical epic tradition has been distorted by critical theory before, during, and since the Renaissance, and that this distortion has led in the modern world to serious misunderstandings of major poets. Newman's work will challenge all scholars, students, and general readers of the classics, comparative literature, and western literary traditions. Newman's fresh perspective is based on a view of the classical epic as a genre defined by Greek Alexandria and the circle of Callimachus, the crucial transmitters of major epic poetry to future generations. Pursuing the forms that the Callimachean tradition has taken, from Apollonius Rhodius to Thomas Mann, the author offers a new critical understanding of epic literature. Basic to Newman's overview is the sense that the classical epic tradition was formulated at a time when the unity of the Greek world was collapsing, and that it was the work of two figures. If Aristotle's contribution to that tradition has been acknowledged, the poet Callimachus' role has long been underrated. Yet it was Callimachus, Newman stresses, who developed the model of the new epic demanded by a new age. Sanctioning the admixture of dramatic, lyrical, and comic elements, his innovative works would influence coming generations of writers. Newman traces the impact of the Callimachean epic on such Latin poets as Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, and Statius; on Dante and his Renaissance successors; on Milton and such Russian pioneers of film as Pudovkin and Eisenstein; and on the great epic novelists. Preface ix I. A Map of the Terrain 3 II. Aristotle, Callimachus and the Ancient Critical Tradition 37 III. Apollonius Rhodius 73 IV. Virgil 104 V. The Latin Epic after Virgil: Ovid to Statius 188 VI. The Critical Failure: Dante and Petrarch 244 VII. The Italian Tradition 293 VIII. The English Tradition: Chaucer and Milton 339 IX. The Modern Epic — I: Eisenstein and Pudovkin 399 X. The Modern Epic — II: Tolstoy and Thomas Mann 448 Glossary of Critical Terms 515 Select Bibliography 535 Index 553 A Map Of The Terrain -- Aristotle, Callimachus And The Ancient Critical Tradition -- Apollonius Rhodius -- Virgil -- The Latin Epic After Virgil: Ovid To Statius -- The Critical Failure: Dante And Petrarch -- The Italian Tradition -- The English Tradition: Chaucer And Milton -- The Modern Epic -- I: Eisenstein And Pudovkin -- The Modern Epic -- Ii: Tolstoy And Thomas Mann. John Kevin Newman. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 535-551. The literary epic and critical theories about the epic tradition are traced from Aristotle and Callimachus through Apollonius, Virgil, and their successors such as Chaucer and Milton to Eisenstein, Tolstoy, and Thomas Mann. Newman's revisionist critique will challenge all scholars, students, and general readers of the classics, comparative literature, and western literary traditions.
