Book contents
- Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
- Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 Narratology and Classics
- Chapter 2 Word and World: Fiction(ality)
- Chapter 3 Voice(s): Author/Narrator/Character
- Chapter 4 Minds
- Chapter 5 Motivation
- Chapter 6 Ancient Texts and Postmodern Challenges
- References
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Chapter 6 - Ancient Texts and Postmodern Challenges
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2023
- Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
- Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative Theory
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 Narratology and Classics
- Chapter 2 Word and World: Fiction(ality)
- Chapter 3 Voice(s): Author/Narrator/Character
- Chapter 4 Minds
- Chapter 5 Motivation
- Chapter 6 Ancient Texts and Postmodern Challenges
- References
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Summary
To round up and sharpen the critical dialogue of ancient Greek texts with modern narrative theory, the final chapter compares the ancient sense of narrative as explored in the course of this study with what we find in postmodern literature. At first sight, the similarities are striking: postmodern narratives challenge the distinction between fact and fiction, ignore the boundaries between narrative levels, play with character presentation and forgo motivation in psychological terms. However, whereas postmodern authors consciously undercut the conventions of modern realist novels, ancient authors follow their own, independent logic. The parallels between pre- and postmodern narratives belong to utterly different frameworks, which endow them with different significances. Cast as a challenge, postmodern texts remain fixated on modernism. Ancient texts, on the other hand, while having influenced the rise of the modern novel, are premised on their own distinct view of narrative.
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- Ancient Greek Texts and Modern Narrative TheoryTowards a Critical Dialogue, pp. 148 - 168Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023