because you were all wondering what I'm writing my dissertation on, here's a brief synopsis of my 'research context': When James Macpherson published his Fragments of Ancient Poetry in 1760, he went to great lengths to make the Fragments appear to be authentic remains of an ancient, heroic oral tradition. His reasons for this were largely political, and as such, influenced the content of the epics themselves. As an attempt to establish a particularly Scottish identity, the poems were quite effective. However, to do so required both a simplification and a manipulation of traditional mythology. Stripped of anagogical significance, the Ossian epics more or less represented an Enlightenment version of history, tradition, and mythic heritage. The stories themselves were changed by their very purpose and in turn changed the manner of representing myth in future narratives. Moreover, the emphasis on the Ossian epics as authentic tales from the past, as ‘fragments,’ served...
OH. Sweet. This brings you one step closer to your northern California version of the Bookworm, only better! And I thought it would be the gossip on Kristen Stewart getting married to Robert Pattinson...
ReplyDeletegenius. i'm ready to move there and work for them, riding my bike around delivering books made on the spot.
ReplyDeleteand i'm stealing this to link on my own blog.
they're getting married??? i give it ten months.
ReplyDelete