Madness in Literature

by Feder, Lillian

• ISBN13: 9780691064277
• ISBN10: 069106427X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1980-07-01
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

To probe the literary representation of the alienated mind, Lillian Feder examines mad protagonists of literature and the work of writers for whom madness is a vehicle of self-revelation. Ranging from ancient Greek myth and tragedy to contemporary poetry, fiction, and drama, Professor Feder shows how literary interpretations of madness, as well as madness itself, reflect the very cultural assumptions, values, and prohibitions they challenge.

Author Biography

Lillian Feder is Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Queens College and the Graduate School of The City University of New York

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Preface	p. xi
Varieties of Madness: Approach and Method	p. 3
Dionysiac Frenzy and Other Ancient Prototypes of Madness	p. 35
Reason in Madness	p. 98
The Spleen, the Vapors, and the God Within	p. 147
Madness as a Goal	p. 203
Conclusion	p. 279
Notes	p. 287
Index	p. 317
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