Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Princeton University Press

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Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Princeton University Press Truth is in the Whole
Written in non-self-imposed exile in Istanbul, Mimesis is not only a fantastically influential piece of literary scholarship, but also an interesting response to the political calamities of the 20th century. Erich Auerbach, a student of Romance literatures, covers the entire history of Western literature from Homer to Proust: his goal is uncovering the literary devices that made the achievement of literary realism possible. His analytic techniques are manifold and his technical mastery of philological detail is breathtaking, but the book requires no specialist knowledge to appreciate -- this is a truly worthwhile contribution to the discourse of the educated public, not a larder of academic in-references. Auerbach's signature move, undoubtedly influenced by his Jewish faith but also a wise assessment of the material realities of the history of literature, is to reverse the traditional critical valuations of "Hebraism" and "Hellenism" -- for him, the realistic spirit in literature begins with the Bible and not with the ancient "novels". He analyzes the progress in realism along two axes: a rhetorical one concerning the end of the "separation of styles", found in medieval realists like Dante who began to depict "low" occurrences with the same seriousness and dignity aristocratic tragic heroes had traditionally merited, and a syntactic one in which the revival of connective precision in language overcomes the poverty and ambiguity of the literary Dark and Middle Ages. Auerbach is almost as famous for what he neglects as for what he favors: he thinks poorly of French classicism and German literature in general, and knows hardly anything at all about historical English literature beyond Shakespeare. But the scope of the book is nevertheless so encylopedic that it could not but help the reader to achieve a clearer view of European literature in its entirety; and the political asides from a serious scholar with decidedly socialist sympathies, looking on at genocidal execution he narrowly escaped, are of great documentary value. Any educated person will want to read this book.
Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Princeton University Press defining work of western literary criticism
this book is excellent and one of its kind, erich auerbach commanded a veritably deep understanding of philology and languages which he used to cunning effect in analysing various works, e.g. gregory of tours' "history of the franks." there he informed us that bishop gregory's latin was something midway between roman latin and early vernacular french, somewhat crude and grammatically obfuscated. auerbach was a lot more alert to the dynamics of cultural and language change than was his contemporary ernst robert curtius, the latter was held back (i suspect by his aristocratic background) from appreciating the fact that many tectonic shifts of culture start from the bottom-up -- this auerbach took great pains to demonstrate, e.g. in the very first chapter when he compared the odyssey to the hebrew bible. curtius' view was a static, fossilized one, consisting of a select circle of literary greats convening together "in the mind" and influencing world-history. auerbach's view was more egalitarian and generous toward those works which might not be "rightfully" called literary (e.g. works that fail to satisfy the classical rules of rhetoric, as stipulated in curtius' ELLMA) -- to this category belong the nibelungenlied and other germanic epics. one walks away from "Mimesis" feeling considerably enriched by Auerbach's insights into languages and different Weltanschauungen and not least of all by his pervasive spirit of humanism.
Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Princeton University Press Starting point
When one starts to study western literature, and puts all of his effort to an neverending task of unravelling mysteries of European literature, one has sooner or later stumble upon this book. Sooner the better. Auerbachs work is on of the most influential works in comparative sciences of literature, it spans for Homer to Virginia Woolf, covering large variety of authors and styles. Main point in the books is recurrence of "realism" troughout the entire history of literature. "Realism" here stands for platonic and aristotelian term of "mimesis" which is, roughly said, (and as the title indicates) manner of representation of reality. This was one of the greatest, and on the other hand, most disputed theory. Question of style related to function and age where it emerged are unanswered up till these days and will remain so in quite a few years to come. But I am not here to debate about the contents of this book. I am here simply to note that, no matter if you agree or not with Auerbach, Mimesis is fundamental piece of work that has to be read if you are even thinking of spending your life buried inside books and start to think in a manner of literary criticism. Together with Ernest R. Curtiuses "European literature and middle ages" it stand highly above the average piece of work that you can stumble upon. You don't have to be particularly educated for this one. It can be read on many levels and with many kinds of understanding, considering of your education, but never diminishing its value, allways offering you some more to look upon, and some new perspective to think about. And if you are aware that this book was written in Istambul, almost without any secondary literature avaliable, admiration for this work may only go higher.
Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Princeton University Press Not for the timid
This is easily the most challenging work on comparative literature - or literary criticism - I have ever encountered. It is not so much the translation from German that makes for heavy going, the concepts are novel and the scope of the author's knowledge is intimidating . Having said that, you will never look at a novel quite in the same way having read Mimesis. Well worth you time and effort.
Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Princeton University Press The history of how Reality is presented in Western Literature
'Mimesis' is arguably the most important piece of Literary Criticism written in the twentieth century. Auerbach's opening chapter 'Odysseus Scar' in which he compares Chapter 19 of the 'Odyssey' with the Akeda , Chapter 22.1 of Genesis is the foundation from which he goes on to read the whole history of Representation in Western Literature. In that first chapter he contrasts the clearness and descriptive richness, the surface brilliance of the 'Odyssey' with the enigmatic, fragmented, deep- backgrounded mysterious narrative of 'Genesis'. These two basic 'Western' texts are used to provide a reading of the theory of representation in Western literature that spans its whole historical span. "Revealing the system of conventions that produce "a lifelike illusion of some 'real' world outside the text by processes of selection, exclusion, description, and manners of addressing the reader," Auerbach sets up conclusions about how literature, the world, and literature's place in the world were understood in each work and historical period." ( Wikipedia) Auerbach reads from the Bible and Odysseus through the great works of Western Literature down to the masterworks of his own day. He wrote this book in Istanbul when in exile from Nazi Germany. He lacked many of the sources he might have used, and thus concentrated more on providing a close reading of the great works he discusses.
Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature by Princeton University Press Product Description
A half-century after its translation into English, Erich Auerbach's Mimesis still stands as a monumental achievement in literary criticism. A brilliant display of erudition, wit, and wisdom, his exploration of how great European writers from Homer to Virginia Woolf depicted reality has taught generations how to read Western literature. This new expanded edition includes a substantial essay in introduction by Edward Said as well as an essay, never before translated into English, in which Auerbach responds to his critics. A German Jew, Auerbach was forced out of his professorship at the University of Marburg in 1935. He left for Turkey, where he taught at the state university in Istanbul. There he wrote Mimesis, publishing it in German after the end of the war. Displaced as he was, Auerbach produced a work of great erudition that contains no footnotes, basing his arguments instead on searching, illuminating readings of key passages from his primary texts. His aim was to show how from antiquity to the twentieth century literature progressed toward ever more naturalistic and democratic forms of representation. This essentially optimistic view of European history now appears as a defensive--and impassioned--response to the inhumanity he saw in the Third Reich. Ranging over works in Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English, Auerbach used his remarkable skills in philology and comparative literature to refute any narrow form of nationalism or chauvinism, in his own day and ours. For many readers, both inside and outside the academy, Mimesis is among the finest works of literary criticism ever written.