Heroism and the Supernatural in the African Epic
Department
Gender and Women's Studies
Document Type
Book
Files
Description
There exists a strong tendency within Western literary criticism to either deny the existence of epics in Africa or to see African literatures as exotic copies of European originals. In both cases, Western criticism has largely failed to acknowledge the distinctiveness of African literary aesthetics. This book revises traditional literary canons in examining the social, cultural and emotional specificity of African epics. Mariam Konate Deme highlights the distinguishing features that characterize the African epic, emphasizing the significance of the fantastic and its use as an essential element in the dramatic structure of African epics. As Deme notes, the fantastic can be fully appreciated only against the cosmological background of the societies that produce those heroic tales. This book not only contributes to the scholarship on African oral literature, but also adds reshapes our understanding of heroic literature in general.
Call number in WMU's library
PL8010.4 .D46 2010 (Waldo Library, WMU Authors Collection, First Floor)
ISBN
978-0415874922
Publication Date
2010
Publisher
Routledge
City
New York
Keywords
epic poetry, oral tradition, Africa, heroes in literature, supernatural in literature
Disciplines
African Languages and Societies
Recommended Citation
Deme, Mariam Konate, "Heroism and the Supernatural in the African Epic" (2010). All Books and Monographs by WMU Authors. 102.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/books/102