Genius and Monologue - Hardcover

Frieden draws heavily on works of in tellectual history to survey the con cepts of daimon and genius in ancient religious and mythological thought. He then outlines the complex transforma tion in the 18th century that leaves ge nius midway between a transcendental and a psychological agency. This line age serves to orient four analyses of lit erary monologue (in Shakespeare, Coleridge, Poe, and Joyce). The issue highlighted by Frieden has come to the forefront through certain writings of Husserl, Heidegger, and Derrida: namely, the determination of the indi vidual subject in terms of the expres sive spontaneity of an inner voice. This book has the merit of combining a philosophical and a formalist approach in exploring a topic of high priority in current theoretical discussions. Alex ander Gelley, English & Comparative Literature Dept., Univ. of California, Irvine
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