Daredevils of Sasun
Subtitle: poetics of an epic
By: by Azat Yeghiazaryan ; translated and edited by S. Peter Cowe.
Contributors: Cowe, S. Peter.
Series: Armenian studies series -- no. 12
Publisher: Mazda Publishers
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Costa Mesa, Calif
Language: eng
Number of pages: 254
ISBN-13: 9781568591674
Subjects: Sasuntsʻi Dawitʻ; Epic poetry, Armenian -- History and criticism
Work titles: "Sasna tsṛer" ēposi poetikan.
Description: "Passed down by word of mouth through the magic of live performance art for a millennium and a half till its scholarly transcription in the late 19th century, the Armenian epic Daredevils of Sasun presents a rich legacy of accumulated folk wisdom. This monograph is an introduction to the epic, maintaining a balance between the needs of a scholarly and more popular readership. Contextualizing his subject within the epic production of Western Europe, the Slavic lands, Anatolia and the Caucasus, and Central Asia, the author not only provides a summation of research on the epic, but is cogent in defining his own positions, probing new areas, and approaching some old from a new perspective."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
Table of contents: title: The epic and Armenian history; title: The epic and mythology; title: Daredevils of Sasun and earlier Armenian folkloric traditions; title: The epic's impact on modern Armenian literate culture; title: Man and community; title: The "external" man; title: Epic harmony; title: The nature and significance of epic action; title: The hero's spiritual world; title: Evolution of the epic hero; title: The epic adversary and negative hero; title: Humor in the epic; title: The history of the House of Sasun; title: The Christian perspective on history and Daredevils of Sasun; title: The heroes' childhood; title: The characterization of Little Mher; title: The epic world in time and space; title: The countryside and state of Sasun; title: Walnut rye and eglantine wheat; title: Traces of world unity; title: God, saints, and idols in the epic world; title: The narrator and the audience; title: Narrative clarity and dynamism; title: Epic repetitions and recurring epithets; title: The hero's speech.