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The Resource A thick and darksome veil : the rhetoric of Hawthorne's sketches, prefaces, and essays, Thomas R. Moore

A thick and darksome veil : the rhetoric of Hawthorne's sketches, prefaces, and essays, Thomas R. Moore

Creator
Summary
Much has been written on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novels and tales, but his sketches, prefaces, and essays have been generally overlooked. Thomas R. Moore considers these lesser-known works to be the central battleground for Hawthorne's struggle to balance "the demands of his readership for a sentimental and nostalgic style and his own demands for a more truthful discourse and subject matter." This tension is a major concern of any publishing writer, but it was particularly relevant for the writers of the American Renaissance: Emerson eloquently distinguished between the "partial and noisy readers of the hour" and "an eternal public." As they sought to forge a literary tradition, American writers met with the artistic obstacle of the public preference for sentimental novels and stories of the past. Moore argues that Hawthorne overcame this obstacle by employing a subversive rhetoric. He explores the narrative voices in several of Hawthorne's sketches and demonstrates that there is often a distinction between the narrative persona of the text and the writer himself. Hawthorne's contemporaries - Herman Melville, for example - were aware of the duplicitous nature of this rhetoric. Moore goes on to argue that "it is the polarities in Hawthorne's tales that account for nearly one hundred and fifty years of continuous popularity." Moore expands his focus on Hawthorne's narrative strategies to a more general consideration of his style and rhetoric, pointing out that the same subversions manifested through multivocality are evident also in more subtle stylistic maneuvers. He shows how the authors outward adherence to standard and accepted rhetoric masks a socially and culturally variant subtext, and concludes that "discourse as a veil is a recurrent strategy in Hawthorne." A Thick and Darksome Veil makes a significant contribution to Hawthorne scholarship and to studies of the American Renaissance and rhetoric
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Extent
xvi, 158 pages
Isbn
9781555531843
Instance
Label
A thick and darksome veil : the rhetoric of Hawthorne's sketches, prefaces, and essays
Title
A thick and darksome veil
Title remainder
the rhetoric of Hawthorne's sketches, prefaces, and essays
Statement of responsibility
Thomas R. Moore
Creator
Subject
Language
eng
Summary
Much has been written on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novels and tales, but his sketches, prefaces, and essays have been generally overlooked. Thomas R. Moore considers these lesser-known works to be the central battleground for Hawthorne's struggle to balance "the demands of his readership for a sentimental and nostalgic style and his own demands for a more truthful discourse and subject matter." This tension is a major concern of any publishing writer, but it was particularly relevant for the writers of the American Renaissance: Emerson eloquently distinguished between the "partial and noisy readers of the hour" and "an eternal public." As they sought to forge a literary tradition, American writers met with the artistic obstacle of the public preference for sentimental novels and stories of the past. Moore argues that Hawthorne overcame this obstacle by employing a subversive rhetoric. He explores the narrative voices in several of Hawthorne's sketches and demonstrates that there is often a distinction between the narrative persona of the text and the writer himself. Hawthorne's contemporaries - Herman Melville, for example - were aware of the duplicitous nature of this rhetoric. Moore goes on to argue that "it is the polarities in Hawthorne's tales that account for nearly one hundred and fifty years of continuous popularity." Moore expands his focus on Hawthorne's narrative strategies to a more general consideration of his style and rhetoric, pointing out that the same subversions manifested through multivocality are evident also in more subtle stylistic maneuvers. He shows how the authors outward adherence to standard and accepted rhetoric masks a socially and culturally variant subtext, and concludes that "discourse as a veil is a recurrent strategy in Hawthorne." A Thick and Darksome Veil makes a significant contribution to Hawthorne scholarship and to studies of the American Renaissance and rhetoric
Cataloging source
DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1941-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Moore, Thomas R.
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
PS1891
LC item number
.M66 1994
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Hawthorne, Nathaniel
  • Hawthorne, Nathaniel
  • Hawthorne, Nathaniel
  • English language
  • English language
  • English language
  • Technique
  • Literarische Technik
  • Rhetorik
  • United States
Label
A thick and darksome veil : the rhetoric of Hawthorne's sketches, prefaces, and essays, Thomas R. Moore
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-151) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
22 cm
Extent
xvi, 158 pages
Isbn
9781555531843
Lccn
94004527
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (OCoLC)29877818
  • (OCoLC)ocm29877818
Label
A thick and darksome veil : the rhetoric of Hawthorne's sketches, prefaces, and essays, Thomas R. Moore
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-151) and index
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Dimensions
22 cm
Extent
xvi, 158 pages
Isbn
9781555531843
Lccn
94004527
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
  • (OCoLC)29877818
  • (OCoLC)ocm29877818

Subject

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