Eros the Bittersweet [Paperback]

Anne Carson (Author)

Book Description

Series: American Literature (Dalkey Archive) | Publication Date: March 1, 1998

Epigrammatic, witty, ironic, and endlessly interesting, Eros is an utterly original book by an author whose acclaim has been steadily growing since the book was first published in 1986 by Johns Hopkins.

A book about love as seen by the ancients, Eros is Anne Carson's exploration of the concept of "eros" in both classical philosophy and literature. Beginning with: "It was Sappho who first called eros 'bittersweet.' No one who has been in love disputes her. What does the word mean?", Carson examines her subject from numerous points of view and styles, transcending the constraints of the scholarly exercise for an evocative and lyrical meditation in the tradition of William Carlos William's Spring and All and William H. Gass's On Being Blue.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This slim volume consists of numerous brief chapters on various aspects of the Greek concept of Eros, particularly as propounded in lyric poetry (especially that of Sappho) and in Plato's Phaedrus. If the essay has a theme, it is that many Greeks saw Eros as a sense of lack that fruitfully combined both pain and pleasure. This thesis is not new, but the author's style is, combining subtle interpretation with a sometimes startling poetic sensitivity. The result leaves one wondering about the intended audience. The general public may find its textual emphasis and frequently elusive tone an obstacle, while specialists may question the validity of various exegesesor of this theory of Eros, which is only one of many. But overall there is a fine beauty to the work, and it deserves a reading. Thomas M. Robinson, Classics Dept., Univ. of Toronto
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“There is a fine beauty to the work, and it deserves reading.
” (Library Journal )

“Highly recommended.
” (Choice )

“Anne Carson is a rare talent, brilliant and full of wit, passionate and also deeply moving.” (Michael Ondaatje )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 189 pages
• Publisher: Dalkey Archive; 1st Dalkey Archive ed edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564781887
• ISBN-13: 978-1564781888
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Canadian

More About the Author

Anne Carson was born in Canada and teaches ancient Greek for a living. Her awards and honors include the Lannan Award, the Pushcart Prize, the Griffin Trust Award for Excellence in Poetry, a Guggenheim fellowship, and the MacArthur "Genius" Award.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating, exciting exploration of the nature of desire, March 12, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Eros the Bittersweet (Paperback)

Eros contains a series of short essays on the ancient Greek notion of desire. Using Sappho's poetry as a touchstone, Carson explores Sappho's term "glukupikron"(literally, "sweetbitter"). She touches upon a myriad of ancient texts; the second half of the book draws largely from Plato's Phaedrus. Most exciting for me was her explanation of the similarities between the edges of erotic desire and the edges of the alphabet. This culminates in a wonderful series of chapters in which she relates erotic desire with the desire for knowledge. It was exhilarating!! What's more, I found the book extremely accessible. A must read!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Carson is an inspired guide, September 5, 2005

By 

jconnor (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eros the Bittersweet (Paperback)

Carson is an inspired guide through the tangled and fragmentary corpus of Greek lyric love poetry. She has a whirlwind mind and a gift for pithy expression, though once in a while she slips into a kind of gauzy equivocating that weakens her arguments. Still, this idiosyncratic take on ancient eros has moments of great insight and deserves the attention of classical scholars and non-specialists who are interested in the topic.

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Classics, February 7, 2002

By 

"lowerdeep" (London, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Eros the Bittersweet (Paperback)

The Greeks did not cover everything but they made a pretty good start. Anne Carson has always been the queen of fitting classical allusions to the evident. The book could be described as an extended exploration of `Odi et amo: quare id faciam, fortase requiris/ nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.'- Catullus. (I hate and I love/ Why do I, you ask ?/ I don't know, but it's happening/ and it hurts.)A splendid place to mine for obscure quotes: `We aren't shutting you out of the revel, but we aren't inviting you either/ For you're a pain when you're present, and beloved when you are away'- Theognis