Bringing allegory into the light from the neglect into which it fell
means focusing on the wondrous heights of the human spirit in its
significance for culture.
Contemporary philosophies and literary theories, which give pre-eminence
to primary linguistics forms (symbol and metaphor), seem to favor just
that which makes intelligible communication possible. But they fall
short in accounting for the deepest subliminal founts that prompt the
mind to exalt in beauty, virtue, transcending aspiration.
The present, rich collection shows how allegory, incorporating the
soaring of the spirit, offers highlights for culture, with its
fluctuations and transformation. This collective effort, rich in ideas
and intuitions and covering a vast range of cultural manifestations, is
a pioneering work, retrieving the vision of the exalted human spirit,
bringing together literature, theatre, music and painting in a variety
of revealing perspectives.
The authors include: M. Kronegger, Ch. Raffini, J. Smith, J.B.
Williamson, H. Ross, M.F. Wagner, F. Divorne, L. Oppenheim, D.K.
Heckerl, N. Campi de Castro, P. Saurez Pascual, M. Alfaro Amieiro, H.
Fletcher Thompson, R.J. Wilson III, and A. Stensaas.
For specialists, students and workers in philosophy, comparative
literature, aesthetic phenomenologists and historians of art.