Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences by Mark Twain

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Author Twain, Mark, 1835-1910
Title Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences
Credits Produced by David Widger
Summary "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences" by Mark Twain is a critical essay that targets the works of James Fenimore Cooper, particularly his novels. Written in the late 19th century, the book serves as a humorous and scathing critique of Cooper's literary style and shortcomings. Twain elaborates on the numerous "offences" against literary art that he attributes to Cooper's writing, making it clear that he finds the author's work lacking in many fundamental aspects of narrative structure and character development. In this text, Twain systematically lists and explains what he perceives as the violations of literary rules within Cooper's novels, particularly focusing on "The Deerslayer." He argues that Cooper's stories fail to engage readers due to unrealistic dialogue, poorly defined characters, and implausible situations. Twain uses an array of examples to illustrate his points, highlighting specific scenes where Cooper's narrative choices lead to absurdity rather than tension or excitement. Ultimately, Twain's critique showcases his satirical wit and assertion that Cooper's literary efforts fall far short of true artistic merit, declaring the work as lacking essential qualities of good storytelling. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Language English
LoC Class PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
Subject American literature -- History and criticism -- Theory, etc.
Subject National characteristics, American, in literature
Subject Literature and society -- United States
Subject United States -- Civilization
Subject Criticism -- United States
Category Text
EBook-No. 3172
Release Date
Most Recently Updated Jan 27, 2021
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
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