The sense of a beginning
Subtitle: theory of the literary opening
By: Niels Buch Leander
Publisher: Museum Tusculanum Press
Published: 2018
Place of publication: Copenhagen
Language: eng
Number of pages: 195
ISBN-13: 9788763543866
Subjects: Literature; Philosophy; Narration (Rhetoric)
Description: The Sense of a Beginning is the first comprehensive exploration of the literary opening. With a title that deliberately echoes Frank Kermode's famous book on endings, the book addresses the formal challenge of opening lines, especially in modernism, and illustrates their significance to both literary creation and literary criticism. Niels Buch Leander's approach is wide-ranging, examining how beginnings in fiction relate to beginnings in nature, how they work from a formal and narrative point of view, how modernist self-awareness plays out in openings, and how openings have altered criticism itself through intertextuality. Drawing on examples from D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann, Paul Valery, and more, as well as appraisals by critics like Roland Barthes and Edward Said, Leander fills a truly surprising gap in literary scholarship.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.