Babylon Under Western Eyes: A Study of Allusion and Myth - Hardcover

Andrew Scheil

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1442637331 ISBN 13: 9781442637337

Publisher: Toronto University Press, 2016

Synopsis

Babylon under Western Eyes examines the mythic legacy of ancient Babylon, the Near Eastern city which has served western culture as a metaphor for power, luxury, and exotic magnificence for more than two thousand years. Sifting through the many references to Babylon in biblical, classical, medieval, and modern texts, Andrew Scheil uses Babylon's remarkable literary ubiquity as the foundation for a thorough analysis of the dynamics of adaptation and allusion in western literature. Touching on everything from Old English poetry to the contemporary apocalyptic fiction of the "Left Behind" series, Scheil outlines how medieval Christian society and its cultural successors have adopted Babylon as a political metaphor, a degenerate archetype, and a place associated with the sublime. Combining remarkable erudition with a clear and accessible style, Babylon under Western Eyes is the first comprehensive examination of Babylon's significance within the pantheon of western literature and a testimonial to the continuing influence of biblical, classical, and medieval paradigms in modern culture.

About this title

Review:

'Scheil has done a tremendous job of winnowing a near-endless supply of material down to essential cultural grains... An ambitious, often challenging, and almost always entertaining and engaging monograph.'

- Jay Rubenstein - The Medieval Review, December 2016

'A superb work of multidisciplinary scholarship, Scheil's study will be of interest in a variety of academic disciplines, as it masterfully weaves together textual and historical analysis... Highly recommended.'

- M.Roberts - Choice, vol 54:03:2016

'Babylon under Western Eyes is a fascinating study of an important word that has shaped western culture in powerful ways.'

- Alice Ogden Bellis - Modern Philology vol 115:01:2017

"This book is a major achievement and will contribute a great deal to critical conversations in the areas of medievalism and race studies as well as to growing scholarship on genre fiction."

- Carl Kears. King's College London - University of Toronto Quarterly, vol 87 3, Summer 2018

About the Author:

Andrew Scheil is the Donald V. Hawkins Associate Professor of English at the University of Minnesota.

About this edition

• Publisher: Toronto University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1442637331
• ISBN 13: 9781442637337
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 360