Thomas Mann's Death in Venice: A Reference Guide (Greenwood Guides to Literature)

Death in Venice , by Nobel Prize-winning author Thomas Mann, is one of the most popular and widely taught works of German literature. It is also a complex work of art that challenges its readers. This reference is a convenient guide to the novella. In addition to providing a plot summary, the volume helps students and general readers discover the literary and intellectual qualities of Mann's famous story. The guide alsos surveys Mann's life and works, compares Death in Venice to Mann's other fiction, as well as to works by other writers, summarizes the events Mann relates, and discusses the genesis, editions, and English translations of his novella. Mann's literary and non-literary influences are considered, along with his narrative style, and the historical, cultural, and sociological factors surrounding Death in Venice . The guide also explains how the issues Mann treated remain current today, and reviews the critical and scholarly reception of his text. "Death in Venice, by Thomas Mann, is one of the most popular and widely taught works of German literature. It is also a complex work of art that challenges its readers. This reference is a convenient guide to the novella. In addition to providing a plot summary, the volume helps students and general readers discover the literary and intellectual qualities of Mann's famous story."--Jacket Thomas Mann's Death in Venice is one of the most widely taught works of German literature. This guide presents an introduction to the novella for students and general readers. It aims to help the reader to go beyond the superficial level of Mann's plot to discover the story's stylistic, cultural, historical, philosophical, and psychological qualiti Title 3 Contents 5 Preface 7 Acknowledgments 11 Introduction 13 Content 29 Texts 53 Contexts 77 Ideas 99 Narrative Art 117 Reception 143 Bibliographical Essay 153 Index 163