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The Wound and the Bow: Seven Studies in Literature
Paperback
ISBN13: 9781026096239
Publisher: Tradd Street Press
Published: Feb 14 2026
Pages: 252
Weight: 0.79
Height: 0.53 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
The Wound and the Bow: Seven Studies in Literature is a landmark collection of critical essays by the esteemed writer Edmund Wilson. Centered on the provocative thesis that artistic genius is often inextricably linked to psychological trauma, Wilson draws inspiration from the Greek myth of Philoctetes, whose magical bow was paired with a festering, incurable wound. This metaphor serves as the foundation for a series of profound investigations into the lives and works of several major literary figures.
The volume features deep psychological portraits and critical analyses of authors such as Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Casanova, Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, and James Joyce. Wilson masterfully demonstrates how personal suffering and social alienation can provide the creative impetus for literary excellence. By examining the relationship between an author's internal struggles and their external output, Wilson offers a unique perspective on the nature of creativity itself. This work is considered a classic of modern literary theory, providing essential insights for scholars and readers of twentieth-century literature and psychology alike.
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you may see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
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