Coover's Encyclopedi Satire: The Public Burning Revisited

Author

John Mauldin

Date of Award

2009

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

English

First Advisor

Douglas Robinson

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

This thesis seeks to explore Robert Coover’s The Public Burning, provide a brief exploration of the encyclopedic form, and subsequently establish The Public Burning as an encyclopedic narrative. It seeks to reanalyze the work through the lens of the encyclopedic narrative, primarily utilizing the critiques of Edward Mendelson. In addition, Northrop Frye and Richard Hardack are also cited extensively for their works the encyclopedic fonn. While the form has been recognized for the better part of a decade now, there is still a relatively small amount of criticism available on the form and on Coover’s work has gone relatively unnoticed within the form. I will argue that The Public Burning not only fits within the parameters of the form, but also serves an exemplar of the encyclopedic narrative.

Recommended Citation

Mauldin, John, "Coover's Encyclopedi Satire: The Public Burning Revisited" (2009). Honors Theses. 2374.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2374

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