Ebook: Scenes from the Drama of European Literature (Theory and History of Literature)

Auerbach, who has remained in print via his magisterial work Mimesis, also wrote this collection of essays. In Scenes from the Drama of European Literature he manages to approach the scope of the denser Mimesis by addressing, not individual works, but great themes. He addresses some of the key artistic issues of Western literature. This book is literally worth hundreds of other books which attempt to deal with the same issues, but without the profundity, insight, and expository brilliance of Auerbach. Auerbach was one of the great literary scholars of a generation ago, surviving exemplars of which today include a short list such as Theodore Ziolkowski and Harold Bloom. This book should be required reading for anyone embarking on the systematic study of Western literature