1218774
9780226134918
The Mirror in the Textis concerned with the literary and artistic device ofmise en abyme, the use of an element within a work which mirrors the work a a whole--like the 'play within a play' inHamlet. In this classic study, Lucien Dallenbach provides the first systematic analysis of this device and its literary and artistic applications from Van Eyck and Velasquez to Gide, Beckett and the Frenchnouveau roman. Alongside this wealth of examples, Dallenbach constructs his theoretical argument with elegance and clarity, assuming no previous knowledge of arcane and specialized theory, but guiding the reader helpfully through the maze of literary criticism. The result is a new conceptual field, a new grammar of themise en abyme, and an examination of its function within the work of art and literature. The highly original study has been acclaimed as one of the most important works of contemporary literary theory. It will be of interest to all students of English and European literature, as well as to students of the visual arts.Dallenbach, Lucien is the author of 'Mirror in the Text' with ISBN 9780226134918 and ISBN 0226134911.
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