Sounding the classics
Subtitle: from Sophocles to Thomas Mann
By: Rudolph Binion.
Series: Contributions to the study of world literature,; no. 83
Publisher: Greenwood Press; ABC-CLIO, LLC
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Westport, Conn
Language: eng
Number of pages: 160
Subjects: Fiction -- History and criticism
Description: This book is a comparative study of twelve works of fiction broadly representative of the Western canon. Its aim is to discover what gives these twelve works their lasting appeal and vitality over and beyond their formal qualities. It focuses on the interplay of "text" and "subtext" within each work after defining these terms at the outset. It then compares its twelve sample classics systematically in a conclusion that argues from the works themselves to classics in general.

Binion's key finding is that for a piece of fiction to feel deep, whole, and great, as classics do, its text must be underpinned from start to finish by a subtext, or alternative reading, which calls that text itself into question. This is a book for scholar, student, and educated public alike; no serious reader will be able to consider what makes a classic without reference to this work.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.