The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of African-American Literary Criticism
by Henry Louis Jr Gates
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Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s original, groundbreaking study explores the relationship between the African and African-American vernacular traditions and black literature, elaborating a new critical approach located within this tradition that allows the black voice to speak for itself. Examining the ancient poetry and myths found in African, Latin American, and Caribbean culture, and particularly the Yoruba trickster figure of Esu-Elegbara and the Signifying Monkey whose myths help articulate the show more black tradition's theory of its literature, Gates uncovers a unique system for interpretation and a pow show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I guess in retrospect this was a really silly thing to do since I haven't read *any* of the literature he's criticizing in it but whatevs, it's done now. After reading it I think I am slotting two of the novels covered (Mumbo Jumbo and Their Eyes Were Watching God) into my queue somewhere because they sound pretty cool so I guess it did well by me in that respect.
Overall, I'd say it's a good survey of some very interesting literature, interspersed with some fascinatingly incisive insights here and there but which taken all in all isn't cohering for me as a whole the way the author intended. As a piece of literary criticism, great, but as the foundation of an entirely new theory/framework of criticism... enh, I'm not sold.
It's possible show more that I'm not fully appreciating the import of the book because I'm reading it in 2012 without any real knowledge of what Black Studies looked like in the late 1980s. Maybe the idea of taking black vernacular oral tradition seriously enough to apply it to lit criticism was just so absolutely revolutionary at the time that thinking to do it at all constituted a landmark achievement? show less
Overall, I'd say it's a good survey of some very interesting literature, interspersed with some fascinatingly incisive insights here and there but which taken all in all isn't cohering for me as a whole the way the author intended. As a piece of literary criticism, great, but as the foundation of an entirely new theory/framework of criticism... enh, I'm not sold.
It's possible show more that I'm not fully appreciating the import of the book because I'm reading it in 2012 without any real knowledge of what Black Studies looked like in the late 1980s. Maybe the idea of taking black vernacular oral tradition seriously enough to apply it to lit criticism was just so absolutely revolutionary at the time that thinking to do it at all constituted a landmark achievement? show less
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Author Information
121+ Works 10,743 Members
Henry Louis Gates, Jr. was born on September 16, 1950, in Keyser, West Virginia. He received a degree in history from Yale University in 1973 and a Ph.D. from Clare College, which is part of the University of Cambridge in 1979. He is a leading scholar of African-American literature, history, and culture. He began working on the Black Periodical show more Literature Project, which uncovered lost literary works published in 1800s. He rediscovered what is believed to be the first novel published by an African-American in the United States. He republished the 1859 work by Harriet E. Wilson, entitled Our Nig, in 1983. He has written numerous books including Colored People: A Memoir, A Chronology of African-American History, The Future of the Race, Black Literature and Literary Theory, and The Signifying Monkey: Towards a Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism. In 1991, he became the head of the African-American studies department at Harvard University. He is now the director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research at the university. He wrote and produced several documentaries including Wonders of the African World, America Beyond the Color Line, and African American Lives. He has also hosted PBS programs such as Wonders of the African World, Black in Latin America, and Finding Your Roots. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Awards and Honors
Awards
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, Literature Studies and Criticism, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 810.9 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American literature in English History and criticism of American literature
- LCC
- PS153 .N5 .G28 — Language and Literature American literature American literature
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 320
- Popularity
- 99,333
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.03)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 3
