Scotland in Europe by Tom Hubbard, R. D. S. Jack
2008; Modern Humanities Research Association; Volume: 103; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/mlr.2008.0116
ISSN2222-4319
Autores Tópico(s)Scottish History and National Identity
Resumo496 Reviews The book, moreover, is at pains to be accessible, and contains ample background material on each of the texts considered. It iswritten in a clear and engaging style. The (perhaps inevitable) price tobe paid forthisbreadth and accessibility, however, is that there is littlehere thatwill be new to anyone familiarwith theworks discussed, orwith the scholarship on them. For instance, in thechapter on Tasso Gregory offers a very reasonable and admirably clear reading ofGerusalemme liberata, showing how divine action is 'best understood [. . .] as an integral part of the narrative' (p. I42). However, the discussion of Tasso is too brief tomake a substantial contribution to our understanding of the relationship between Tasso's religiosity and his literaryen deavours. For instance, sinceGregory touches on thequestion ofTasso's revisions of the text, it might have been worth exploring theways inwhich Gerusalemme liberata's representation ofGod was both challenged by Tasso's early readers and radically al tered inTasso's laterwork, inwhich he frequently experiments with amore apophatic mode of discourse. The rich conceptual difficulties raised by the book's subject-matter could also be takenmuch further. Take thenotion ofdivine action, rightlyidentifiedas key.How can aChristian God, eternal innature, act in time? It goes without saying that this is a dif ficultproblem in theology; but toaddress itin literatureadds stillmore complexity. Af terall, theknot of tempsand recit isa big enough problem innarrative theoryat thebest of times. In examining narrativewhich in turnattempts to represent thateternal God, theproblems multiply. Given the scope of thisbook, ranging fromHomer to Milton, and given itsoften introductory tone, such questions are not addressed in any depth. None the less,Gregory's approach has merits. For one thing, it is a pleasure to read a book written with such clarity; and-given that a survey of this breadth will inevitablymeet readers who are not familiarwith every single text-Gregory isnot wrong tomake his discussions accessible. If, inbringing these texts together,Gregory limitshis ability to elucidate each of them, he also leaves his reader in no doubt as to the importance of theproblem he has raised. UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS MATTHEW TREHERNE Scotland inEurope. Ed. by TOM HUBBARD and R. D. S. JACK.Amsterdam and New York: Rodopi. 2oo6. 304 pp. E6o; $8i. ISBN 978-90-420-2ioo-6. This is a collection ofperceptive and stimulating essays about various aspects of Scot tish literature and itsconnections with Europe-a massively under-researched area. Tom Hubbard's valuably provocative introduction sets the scene, recognizing the invigorating examples set by Scottish translators of European literature-most bril liantly, Gavin Douglas's Virgil (which Ezra Pound famously thought better than the original because Douglas had heard the sound of the sea) and Thomas Urqhuart's Rabelais, but also, in the twentieth century,Hugh MacDiarmid's versions of Leon hardt, Blok, Rilke, and Harry Martinson, and Edwin and Willa Muir's versions of Kafka and Broch. Edwin Morgan's Collected Translations isalmost as great a plenum as his Collected Poems and his versions ofMayakovsky are stunning. And yet it re mains a grim fact that the literaryhistory of Scotland is littleknown inEurope. Burns and Scott okay, but between Barrie, Conan Doyle, and Stevenson and contemporary best-selling fictionby Ian Rankin and IrvineWelsh, most of the greatwriters of the twentiethcentury are rarelyheard of.English and Irish literatures have been exported well, but not Scottish literature. Why? Principally because no state agency has worked to promote it.There has been no national programme for the translation and dissemination of Scottish literature in all itscomplex variety.Translations have been arbitrary, successful or not depending on MLR, 103.2, 2oo8 497 somany market and fashion variables that you begin to long for state action. The British Council notwithstanding, Scottish literature's distinctive traditions and bril liances are unplundered treasures tomost people, at home aswell as abroad. So thisbook is tobe welcomed, as itdraws togethermany fruitfuland challenging lines of enquiry. It is volume 7 in the SCROLL (Scottish Cultural Review of Lan guage and Literature) series,which iswell worth checking on theRodopi website: a courageous investment in the attempt tomake up the distance. The cover indicates one aspect ofwhat the book foregrounds: J.D. Fergusson's painting Christmas Time in theSouth of France (I922...
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