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Literature

Similes in the Iliad: The Horrors of War

September 12, 2022

Today’s post – “Similes in the Iliad: The Horrors of War” – is authored by Igor da Silva Livramento. He’s a fellow academic from UFSC, fellow author, fellow creative-writing advisor, and overall a great fellow. He’s also a composer, music theorist, and producer. Check out his papers on Academia.edu, his music on Bandcamp, and his personal musings on his blog – in Portuguese, Spanish/Castilian, and English. You can also find him on LinkedIn.

I know this must be one of the most common themes of all time. Any individual who is minimally literate and in possession of some literary culture knows that the Iliad is full of great similes.

Contrary to what it may seem at first glance, these artful chunks of language exhibit more than the eye can see: They establish Homer’s views on war in a manner that is surreptitiously under our noses. Through a game of hiding what is in plain sight, Homer criticizes the war at the same time that he seems only to report what is happening on the battlefield.

Similes in the Iliad
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What Is Metatextuality: Examples and Purpose

August 29, 2022

“What is metatextuality?” There’s a question many students of literature ask. “How about intertextuality vs metatextuality?” is another valid question. Though some definitions can be offered, they are unnecessarily complicated, as we’ll see. Inevitably, the hapless student then comes back with a timid suggestion: “Can you just give me some metatextuality examples?”

This is precisely what I’ll be doing in this post. Funnily enough, I recently realized with some trepidation that metatextuality is a topic I haven’t properly examined in all these years Home for Fiction has been online. Except for one post on metatextuality in Dracula, there hasn’t been a proper analysis of this fascinating topic.

So let’s see what metatextuality is – with examples – what literary purpose it serves, and overall why we need to care, as readers and writers. Here’s a warning, however: As I often do, I will mention “official definitions” only to disregard them; I will present the established way of doing things, only to place it on the sacrificial pyre. After all, it’s about understanding metatextuality in practical terms, rather than repeating vague academic words.

metatextuality examples
Each novel exists not in a vacuum but as part of a larger ecosystem of words, ideas, and culture. Metatextuality is the way all these connect to one another.
(Image made with Mandelbulber; based on the Krzysztof Marczak collection – CC BY 4.0)
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Authors Talk: Mikhaeyla Kopievsky

August 1, 2022

Another “Authors Talk” post. You can think of it as an author interview and, indeed, that is the name of the blog category. However, I prefer to see it as a friendly chat between fellow authors. Today I’m having this virtual discussion with Mikhaeyla Kopievsky, author of Tasmanian Gothic. A list of useful links to Mikhaeyla’s work can be found at the end of this post.

Tasmanian Gothic, Mikhaeyla Kopievsky
Tasmanian Gothic, by Mikhaeyla Kopievsky
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