| Sensational Designs: The Cultural Work of American Fiction, 1790-1860 Contributor(s): Tompkins, Jane (Author) |
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ISBN: 0195041194 ISBN-13: 9780195041194 Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA OUR PRICE: $74.25 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: May 1986 Annotation: What makes a literary classic? In "Sensational Designs" Jane Tompkins argues that it is not the intrinsic merit of a text, but rather the circumstances of its writing. Against the modernist belief that art, in order to be art, must be free from propaganda, Tompkins contends that writers like Brockden Brown, Cooper, Stowe, and Warner wrote in order to alter the face of the social world, not to elicit aesthetic appreciation.Thus, the value and significance of the novels, for readers of their time, depended on precisely those characteristics that formalist criticism has taught us to deplore: stereotyped characters, sensational plots, and cliched language. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Literary Criticism | American - General |
| Dewey: 813.209 |
| LCCN: 86002492 |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 5.56" W x 8.58" (0.74 lbs) 256 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 18th Century - Chronological Period - 19th Century |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This challenging book works towards a redefinition of literature and literary study. The texts the author examines are viewed not as works of art embodying enduring themes, but as attempts to redefine the social order. |