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Mimesis: the representation of reality in western literature (1942)

by Erich Auerbach

Other authors: See the other authors section.

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2,315146,619 (4.14)1 / 24
More than half a century after its translation into English, Erich Auerbach's Mimesis remains a masterpiece of literary criticism. A brilliant display of erudition, wit, and wisdom, his exploration of how great European writers from Homer to Virginia Woolf depicted reality has taught generations how to read Western literature. This new expanded edition includes a substantial essay in introduction by Edward Said as well as an essay, never before translated into English, in which Auerbach responds to his critics. A German Jew, Auerbach was forced out of his professorship at the University of Marburg in 1935. He left for Turkey, where he taught at the state university in Istanbul. There he wrote Mimesis, publishing it in German after the end of the war. Displaced as he was, Auerbach produced a work of great erudition that contains no footnotes, basing his arguments instead on searching, illuminating readings of key passages from his primary texts. His aim was to show how from antiquity to the twentieth century literature progressed toward ever more naturalistic and democratic forms of representation. This essentially optimistic view of European history now appears as a defensive--and impassioned--response to the inhumanity he saw in the Third Reich. Ranging over works in Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English, Auerbach used his remarkable skills in philology and comparative literature to refute any narrow form of nationalism or chauvinism, in his own day and ours. For many readers, both inside and outside the academy, Mimesis is among the finest works of literary criticism ever written. This Princeton Classics edition includes a substantial introduction by Edward Said as well as an essay in which Auerbach responds to his critics.… (more)
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 Philosophy and Theory: Erich Auerbach5 unread / 5jensenmk82, May 2009

» See also 24 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
This is a book that I return to again and again for it is relevant to much of my continuing literary explorations. Erudite and well-reasoned criticism that has become a classic, this is one of the central books in my library. ( )
  jwhenderson | Dec 25, 2022 |
Not my usual practice to review a book seven years after I have read it, but have just looked in some disbelief at the mostly negative reviews here, including one that sees this book, written in 1942, as an example of unfortunate trends in contemporary criticism. I consider this one of the most brilliant and interesting books I have ever read, both in concept and in detail. Writing in scholarly exile in Istanbul with no access to secondary sources Auerbach explores the subject of “reality” by a close reading of a selected passage in a chronological series of works from the Odyssey to To the Lighthouse and Proust. The scope is breathtaking, the insights always engaging even when one is unfamiliar with the work in question, or unable to read the passage in the original. Not to be missed.
2 vote booksaplenty1949 | Feb 26, 2022 |
Not for the layman. ( )
  KENNERLYDAN | Jul 11, 2021 |
"Odysseus' Scar" : external vs internal reality, physical vs psychological space, legend vs truth in Homeric poetry and the Bible, and what this means for us now. ( )
1 vote melanierisch | Oct 25, 2020 |
Showing 1-5 of 9 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (57 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Auerbach, ErichAuthorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Roncaglia, AurelioIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Said, EdwardIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Trask, Willard R.Translatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Had we but world enough and time...

-Andrew Marvell
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Readers of the Odyssey will remember the well-prepared and touching scene in book 19, when Odysseus has at last come home, the scene in which the old housekeeper Euryclea, who had been his nurse, recognizes him by a scar on his thigh.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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More than half a century after its translation into English, Erich Auerbach's Mimesis remains a masterpiece of literary criticism. A brilliant display of erudition, wit, and wisdom, his exploration of how great European writers from Homer to Virginia Woolf depicted reality has taught generations how to read Western literature. This new expanded edition includes a substantial essay in introduction by Edward Said as well as an essay, never before translated into English, in which Auerbach responds to his critics. A German Jew, Auerbach was forced out of his professorship at the University of Marburg in 1935. He left for Turkey, where he taught at the state university in Istanbul. There he wrote Mimesis, publishing it in German after the end of the war. Displaced as he was, Auerbach produced a work of great erudition that contains no footnotes, basing his arguments instead on searching, illuminating readings of key passages from his primary texts. His aim was to show how from antiquity to the twentieth century literature progressed toward ever more naturalistic and democratic forms of representation. This essentially optimistic view of European history now appears as a defensive--and impassioned--response to the inhumanity he saw in the Third Reich. Ranging over works in Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and English, Auerbach used his remarkable skills in philology and comparative literature to refute any narrow form of nationalism or chauvinism, in his own day and ours. For many readers, both inside and outside the academy, Mimesis is among the finest works of literary criticism ever written. This Princeton Classics edition includes a substantial introduction by Edward Said as well as an essay in which Auerbach responds to his critics.

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