Simple Forms: Legend, Saga, Myth, Riddle, Saying, Case, Memorabile, Fairytale, Joke

Resumen del libro

A seminal text in literary theory available in English for the first time

Legend, saga, myth, riddle, proverb, case, memoir (or memorabile), folk tale and joke: these are the nine simple forms which, according to Jolles, structure language before a word is uttered, reflecting fundamental ways in which humans engage with their environment and one another.

Long considered a masterpiece in its own right, Simple Forms is often cited as a precursor to structuralist and narratological literary theory. Translated and introduced by Peter Schwartz, Associate Professor of German and Comparative Literature at Boston University, this is a classic and controversial text.