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Hidden Paradigms : Comparing Epic Themes, Characters, and Plot Structures by Brenda E. F. Beck (2023, Trade Paperback)

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InHidden Paradigms, anthropologist Brenda. Beck describesThe Legend of Ponnivala, an oral epic from rural South India. Recorded in 1965, this story was sung to a group of village enthusiasts by a respected pair of local bards.

About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherUniversity of Toronto Press

ISBN-101487529341

ISBN-139781487529345

eBay Product ID (ePID)9067504954

Product Key Features

Number of Pages476 Pages

Publication NameHidden Paradigms : Comparing Epic Themes, Characters, and Plot Structures

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2023

SubjectAsian / General, General, Anthropology / General, Linguistics / General

TypeTextbook

AuthorBrenda E. F. Beck

Subject AreaLiterary Criticism, Social Science, Language Arts & Disciplines

FormatTrade Paperback

Dimensions

Item Height1.1 in

Item Weight0 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN2021-303628

Reviews"Everyone with an interest in epic or, indeed, in narrative or mythology generally should read this book by an internationally respected authority. Taking an innovative comparative approach likely to deeply affect this field of scholarship, it is full of mind-opening insights that will delight the expert and the general reader alike." --Ruth Finnegan, Emeritus Professor of Social Sciences, The Open University "Brenda Beck shows in this book that the oral folk epic Annanmar katai 'the story of twin brothers' is not local or vernacular in its reach. It is in essence a story of the emergence of a farming culture superseding a hunting culture. This sets the ground for the comparative study of five other legends from around the world. Relating the local to the global is new in anthropology. The book ends up showing that all humans journeyed through comparable paths and that they have similar ways of telling that story." --E. Annamalai, formerly of the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago "By setting the Land of the Golden River in conversation with the Mahabharata , the epic of Gilgamesh, the Bible, Icelandic saga, and North American Indigenous legends, Brenda Beck explores how epic narratives address perennial questions at the core of our humanity. In the process, she reveals to the English-speaking world the anthropological, psychological, and symbolic complexity of a hitherto little-known masterpiece of world literature." --Jo Ann Cavallo, Professor of Italian, Columbia University

Dewey Edition23

Grade FromCollege Graduate Student

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal809.132

Table Of ContentIntroduction 1. Summarizing an Epic Legend, The Legend of Ponnivala Nadu 2. Character and Plot Structures, The Mahabharata 3. Human Life as a Balancing Act, The Epic of Gilgamesh 4. Seven Great Phases of History, The Bible's Old and New Testament Stories 5. Landscapes and Identity Formation, The Vatsendaela Saga 6. Human versus Extra-Human Powers, The Nanabush Legend Cycle 7. Hidden Paradigms, Additional Themes and Some Overview Theories 8. The Story Told by the Stars, Babylonian Star-lore and the Hindu Nakshatras 9. An Epic Story Visualized as a Lotus Plant, The Lotus Plant in Barabudur, Central Java Conclusion Annotated Bibliography Listing Sources for Specific Epics Discussed General Bibliography

SynopsisBuilding on a South Asian oral folk legend, Hidden Paradigms identifies the important symbolic patterns that well-known epic stories while also suggesting fresh strategies for further discovery. Understanding an epic story's key belief patterns can reveal community-level values, the nature of familial bonds, and how divine and human concerns jockey for power and influence. These foundational motifs remain understudied as they relate to South Asian folk legends, but are nonetheless crucial in shaping the values exemplified by such stories' central heroes and heroines. In Hidden Paradigms , anthropologist Brenda E.F. Beck describes The Legend of Ponnivala , an oral epic from rural South India. Recorded in 1965, this story was sung to a group of village enthusiasts by a respected pair of local bards. This grand legend took more than 38 hours to complete over 18 nights. Bringing this unique example of Tamil culture to the attention of an international audience, Beck compares this virtually unknown South Indian epic to five other culturally significant works - the Ojibwa Nanabush cycle, the Mahabharata, an Icelandic Saga, the Bible, and the Epic of Gilgamesh - establishing this foundational Tamil story as one that engages with the same universal human struggles and themes present throughout the world. Copiously illustrated, Hidden Paradigms provides a fresh example of the power of comparative thinking, offering a humanistic complement to scientific reasoning., Understanding an epic story's key belief patterns can reveal community-level values, the nature of familial bonds, and how divine and human concerns jockey for power and influence. These foundational motifs remain understudied as they relate to South Asian folk legends, but are nonetheless crucial in shaping the values exemplified by such stories' central heroes and heroines. In Hidden Paradigms , anthropologist Brenda E.F. Beck describes The Legend of Ponnivala , an oral epic from rural South India. Recorded in 1965, this story was sung to a group of village enthusiasts by a respected pair of local bards. This grand legend took more than thirty-eight hours to complete over eighteen nights. Bringing this unique example of Tamil culture to the attention of an international audience, Beck compares this virtually unknown South Indian epic to five other culturally significant works - the Ojibwa Nanabush cycle, the Mahabharata, an Icelandic Saga, the Bible, and the Epic of Gilgamesh - establishing this foundational Tamil story as one that engages with the same universal human struggles and themes present throughout the world. Copiously illustrated, Hidden Paradigms provides a fresh example of the power of comparative thinking, offering a humanistic complement to scientific reasoning., Building on a South Asian oral folk legend, Hidden Paradigms identifies the important symbolic patterns that well-known epic stories while also suggesting fresh strategies for further discovery.

LC Classification NumberPK2917