Common and Uncommon Quotes : A Theory and History of Epigraphs

This history and rhetorical study of epigraphs builds on the initial theoretical work on paratextuality by Gérard Genette by exploring how the rhetoric of epigraphs functions in English literature. The author brings the readers a comprehensive understanding of epigraphs in their literary contexts, building on an understanding of epigraphs that has been largely simplistic, relegated primarily to literary dictionary definitions. Thus, this book explores the social and rhetorical functions of epigraphs, arguing that they are employed by epigraphers not only to articulate a thematic connection between texts, but also-more importantly-to build a community of readers, authority, and meaning.Common and Uncommon Quotes: A History of Epigraphs in English Literature contextualizes epigraphy in literary history, tracing the various trends, interpretations, and roles of epigraphy from the seventeenth century to the early twentieth century. This study will demonstrate how epigraphs were used in the reinvigoration of Greek and Roman culture in 17th-century epigraphy, helped to create the modern English canon in the 18th and 19th centuries, signified the secular-literary shift of scriptural references in the 19th, contributed to the 20th-century age of irony, and emphasized the modernist/post-modernist unreliability of authority. To accomplish this, the author examines thousands of epigraphs in English literature from the 16th to the 21st century to build a history and rhetoric of influence, of reading, of community, and to show how epigraphs are an author's attempt to establish a particular ethos, thereby inferring and exerting control of how their works are read and interpreted.This book will appeal to independent scholars, researchers, and students at all levels working on English literature, literary studies, and paratext studies

Author: Jared A. Griffin

Publisher: Series in Literary Studies

Publication Date: Feb 09, 2024

Number of Pages: NA pages

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 1648898661

ISBN-13: 9781648898662