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Literary History and the Challenge of Philology: The Legacy of Erich Auerbach (Figurae: Reading Medieval Culture)

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The academic fashions in literary history often contribute to the fall of many great authors into oblivion. This might be the case of Auerbach. The anthology of articles edited by Lerer is one reminder of the importance of his work. Establishing Auerbach's contributions may be hard due to the little availability of his work in English. Nonetheless, the many articles included explore the basic notions of "figura" and literary history, direct precursors of critics like Harold Bloom. Even though the book is sometimes too especialized, the chapters on the question of literary history (particularly the one referring to periodization) are necessary guides to an in-depth reading of Auerbach. If combined with the reading of Auerbach's masterpiece "Mimesis", the intellectual possibilities are very wide.