Prometheus in the nineteenth century : from myth to symbol / Caroline Corbeau-Parsons.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Corbeau-Parsons, Caroline, author.

Series:

Studies in comparative literature (Oxford, England) ; 25.

Studies in comparative literature ; 25

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Prometheus (Greek deity).

Prometheus.

Prometheus (Greek deity)--In literature.

Symbolism (Literary movement).

Gods in art.

Mythology, Greek, in art.

Mythology, Classical, in art.

Art and mythology.

Physical Description:

196 pages : illustrations ; 26 cm.

Place of Publication:

London, United Kingdom : l - Legenda, 2013.

Summary:

"This cross-disciplinary study, encompassing literature, the history of art, and music, examines the constitution of the Prometheus myth and the revolution it underwent in 19th-century Europe. It leads to the Symbolist period -- which witnessed the coronation of the Titan as a prism for the total work of art -- and aims to re-establish the importance of Prometheus amongst other major Symbolist figures such as Orpheus."--P. [4] of cover.

Contents:

Part I From the Beginnings to the Nineteenth Century

1 'Archaic' and 'Intermediate' Myths, or the Primitive Constitution of the Prometheus Myth 8

2 From Antiquity to Christianity 19

3 Prometheus during the Renaissance and Beyond 24

Part II The Nineteenth-Century Turning Point: From Myth to Symbol

1 Genius and Creation: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 38

2 The Romantic Revolution: Byron and Shelley 57

3 The Mask of the Artist: Victor Hugo, Franz Liszt and Honoré de Balzac 70

Part III Prometheus and the Crisis of Faith

1 Symbolism and Myth 86

2 'The Twilight of the Gods' 102

3 Prometheus at the Heart of Symbolist Syncretism 112

Part IV The Many Faces of Prometheus

1 Gustave Moreau, Prometheus and Jesus Christ 132

2 The Vitalist Prometheus 141

3 The Cross-Fertilization of the Prometheus Myth by the Pygmalion Myth 157

4 Prometheus and the Total Work of Art 168.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [185]-192) and index.

ISBN:

9781907975523

1907975527

OCLC:

855730459