Ulysses in Black
Subtitle: Ralph Ellison, Classicism, and African American Literature (Wisconsin Studies in Classics)
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Published: September 27, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 268
ISBN-13: 9780299220006
Subjects: Literary studies: general; Literary Criticism; Literature - Classics / Criticism; Hellenic languages; USA; American - African American; American - African American & Black; Ancient and Classical; Literary Criticism & Collections / Ancient & Classical; African American authors; American literature; Classical influences; Greek influences; History and criticism
Description: "In this work, Patrice D. Rankine asserts that the classics need not be a mark of Eurocentrism, as they have long been considered. Instead, the classical tradition can be part of a self-conscious, prideful approach to African American culture, esthetics, and identity. Ulysses in Black demonstrates that, similar to their white counterparts, African American authors have been students of classical languages, literature, and mythologies by such writers as Homer, Euripides, and Seneca." "Ulysses in Black closely analyzes classical themes (the nature of love and its relationship to the social, Dionysus in myth as a parallel to the black protagonist in the American scene, misplaced Ulyssean manhood) as seen in the works of such African American writers as Ralph Ellison, Toni Morrison, and Countee Cullen. Rankine finds that the merging of a black esthetic with the classics - contrary to expectations throughout American culture - has often been a radical addressing of concerns including violence against blacks, racism, and oppression. Ultimately, this unique study of black classicism becomes an exploration of America's broader cultural integrity, one that is inclusive and historic."--Jacket.