The Comedy of Survival: Literary Ecology and a Play EthicSince publication of the first edition more than twenty years ago, The Comedy of Survival has been credited as the founding work in the field of literary ecology, the study of relationships between the literary arts and scientific ecology. Here, Joseph Meeker expands upon his consideration of comedy and tragedy, not as dramatic motifs for humor and sadness but rather as forms of adaptive behavior in the natural world that either promote our survival (comedy) or estrange us from other life forms (tragedy). In this third major edition of his classic work, Meeker examines the role of literature in shaping such behavior. Drawing upon centuries of western writing from Dante to Shakespeare to E. O. Wilson, he demonstrates the universality of comedy in both human and animal behavior and shows how the comic mode helps us to live in harmony with nature. Meeker then defines the tragic view of life, interweaving that behavior with exploitation of the environment. With imagination and flair, the author also introduces the idea of a play ethic, as opposed to a work ethic, and demonstrates the importance of play as a necessary and desirable component of the comic spirit. Within a growing body of environmental literature dealing with spirituality, ethics, ecofeminism, nature writing, and alternative lifestyles, Meeker's is a one-of-a-kind book, combining elements of literary criticism, ethology, New Age thinking, and personal narrative. Full of provocative twists and turns, The Comedy of Survival is a book for literary critics, environmentalists, human ecologists, philosophers, and anthropologists. Many will find much to ponder in this clear explication of how we might become better stewards of the Earth. |
From inside the book
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Page 19
... things to stay put and be obedient . They are not the kinds of activities that fit into neat categories , and they are both full of surprises . Comic Evolution Humans did not invent comedy or play . We are , rather , the comic and play ...
... things to stay put and be obedient . They are not the kinds of activities that fit into neat categories , and they are both full of surprises . Comic Evolution Humans did not invent comedy or play . We are , rather , the comic and play ...
Page 98
... things , among them- selves , / possess an order ? " 35 Her concept of order , however , is a rich synthe- sis of material and spiritual reality that has nothing mechanistic about it . Beatrice is a vitalist who believes that there is ...
... things , among them- selves , / possess an order ? " 35 Her concept of order , however , is a rich synthe- sis of material and spiritual reality that has nothing mechanistic about it . Beatrice is a vitalist who believes that there is ...
Page 102
... things they most desire are really the things that they ought to have . * Their best fantasies agree with their best judgment . All of us know that experiences like these are possible , because we have felt them for ourselves during our ...
... things they most desire are really the things that they ought to have . * Their best fantasies agree with their best judgment . All of us know that experiences like these are possible , because we have felt them for ourselves during our ...
Contents
The Comic Way | 12 |
Tragedy and Related Disasters | 22 |
Hamlet and the Animals | 37 |
Copyright | |
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The Comedy of Survival: Literary Ecology and a Play Ethic Joseph W. Meeker No preview available - 1997 |
Common terms and phrases
Achilles action aggression basic Beatrice beautiful become belief biological birds caribou caribou mother century character comedy and play Comedy of Survival comic complex consciousness context conversation create creatures cultural dangerous Dante Dante's death E. O. Wilson Earth ecosystems environmental ethic ethology evil evolution evolutionary history evolutionary psychology experience feel Frank Fraser Darling garden Greek Guildenstern Hamlet Hell human behavior imagination Inferno infinite game instinct intellectual intelligence Karl von Frisch killing Konrad Lorenz Krull Laertes Literary Ecology literature live Lorenz means Meeker mental merely mind models modern moral order murder natural environments pain Paradise pattern picaresque picaresque novels picaro Pinker polarized Polonius Purgatory relationships response Richard Dawkins role scene Sinus Block social society souls species spiders Steven Pinker story storytelling strategy suffering symbolic things tion tradition tragic hero tragic view trans transcend unique University Press Virgil vision York Yossarian