Re: Sequels (was Re: Universitatlity)

Thanks much for the good reply, Robbie. I appreciate the distinction
between the Odyssey and the Aeneid -- perhaps the Aeneid would be a spin
off by a rival network? :).

I define a novel as, "a long work of prose fiction that has something
wrong with it." I don't recall whom I'm stealing that definition from
off hand. And I was defining "recent" as "the last 400 years or so." I
suspect Cervantes would have been reading Arthurian/romantic tales in
poetic form. However, the Arthurian tales, if anything, are good
examples of "further adventures of," or the formulaic recopying of plot
and characters to follow a successful pattern. They probably fit
closest to "sequels" prior to the 19th century. Not sure if the gothic
romances of the 18th century didn't fit this category too -- such as The
Mystery of Udolpho, etc.

Just to add a distinction, I don't consider the Matrix Reloaded and
Matrix Revolutions films as "spin offs" from the original Matrix movie
-- I see the three as telling a complete story, so would call them a
"trilogy" rather than "spin offs." I'm not sure how this would bear
upon the applicability of the word "sequel" to the specific Greek plays
you mentioned. I did a rereading of Oedipus Rex within the last two
years, with some study of textual origins (in relationship to Shelley's
_Promethus Unbound), but it's been far too long since I've read any
other Greek drama.

If you'd really like to start a discussion, you may want to take this up
-- I disagree that works from antiquity are necessarily "better." The
Odyssey reads like an episodic adventure story to me, with some subtext
about the fulfillment of desire. Delillo or Pynchon or Gabriel Garcia
Marquez seem like much more sophisticated storytellers, so far as the
sheer storytelling goes. There is the added literary dimension of
Homer's works being poems. The preservation of ancient texts may not
necessarily have to do with their quality, at any rate, but simply with
luck, their value as an ancient artifact, and their archival cultural
value.

Jim

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Received on Tue Dec 9 15:57:33 2003