Frankenstein and Its Classics: The Modern Prometheus from Antiquity to Science Fiction

ISBN-13: 9781350054875 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 288 str.

USA) Jesse Weiner (Hamilton College; USA) Benjamin Eldon Stevens (Trinity University; USA) Brett M. Rogers (University of Puget Sound

Opis

Frankenstein and Its Classics is the first collection of scholarship dedicated to how Frankenstein and works inspired by it draw on ancient Greek and Roman literature, history, philosophy, and myth. Presenting twelve new essays intended for students, scholars, and other readers of Mary Shelley’s novel, the volume explores classical receptions in some of Frankenstein’s most important scenes, sources, and adaptations. Not limited to literature, the chapters discuss a wide range of modern materials—including recent films like Alex Garland’s Ex Machina and comics like Matt Fraction’s and Christian Ward’s Ody-C—in relation to ancient works including Hesiod’s Theogony, Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, and Apuleius’s The Golden Ass. All together, these studies show how Frankenstein, a foundational work of science fiction, brings ancient thought to bear on some of today’s most pressing issues, from bioengineering and the creation of artificial intelligence to the struggles of marginalized communities and political revolution. This addition to the comparative study of classics and science fiction reveals deep similarities between ancient and modern ways of imagining the world—and emphasizes the prescience and ongoing importance of Mary Shelley’s immortal novel. As Frankenstein turns 200, its complex engagement with classical traditions is more significant than ever.

Recenzje

All together, these wide-ranging yet often impressively nuanced essays expand our knowledge of the ways in which the Frankenstein story brings ancient thought to bear on modern concerns in literary, philosophical and cultural terms, and much else besides. Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Spis treści

Introduction: The Modern Prometheus Turns 200Jesse Weiner, Hamilton College, USA; Benjamin Eldon Stevens, Trinity University, USA;Brett M. Rogers, University of Puget Sound, USASection 1: Promethean Heat1. Patchwork Paratexts and Monstrous Metapoetics: "After tea M reads Ovid"Genevieve Liveley, University of Bristol, UK2. Prometheus and Dr. Darwin's Vermicelli: Another Stir to the Frankenstein BrothMartin Priestman, University of Roehampton, UK3. The Politics of Revivification in Lucan's Bellum Civile and Mary Shelley's FrankensteinAndrew McClellan, University of Delaware, USA4. Romantic Prometheis and the Molding of FrankensteinSuzanne L. Barnett, Francis Marion University5. Why "The Year without a Summer"?David A. Gapp, Hamilton College, USA6. The Sublime Monster: Frankenstein, or The Modern PandoraMatthew Gumpert, Bogaziçi University, TurkeySection 2: Hideous Progeny7. Cupid and Psyche in Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Apuleian Science Fiction?Benjamin Eldon Stevens, Trinity University, USA8. "The Pale Student of Unhallowed Arts": Frankenstein, Aristotle, and the Wisdom of LucretiusCarl A. Rubino, Hamilton College, USA9. Timothy Leary and the Psychodynamics of Stealing FireNese Devenot, University of Puget Sound, USA10. Frankenfilm: Classical Monstrosity in Bill Morrison's Spark of BeingJesse Weiner, Hamilton College, USA11. Alex Garland's Ex Machina or The Modern Epimetheus: Science Fiction after Mary ShelleyEmma Hammond, University of Bristol, UK12. The Postmodern Prometheus and Posthuman Reproductions in Science FictionBrett M. Rogers, University of Puget Sound, USASuggestions for Further Reading: Other Modern PrometheisSam Cooper, Bard High School Early Colleges Queens, USAWorks citedIndex

O autorze

Jesse Weiner is Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at Hamilton College, USA. Benjamin Eldon Stevens is Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics at Trinity University, USA. Brett M. Rogers is Associate Professor of Classics at the University of Puget Sound, USA.