Narrative in the Icelandic Family Saga: Meanings of Time in Old Norse Literature

The Icelandic Family Sagas, written in the 13th and 14th centuries, are a unique literary genre that reflect a real-world society in transition. Heather ODonoghue's book Narrative in the Icelandic Family Saga explores the notions of time and the singular textual voice of the Sagas, offering a fresh perspective on the foundational texts of Old Norse and medieval Icelandic heritage. The narrator's stance and the role of time are crucial to these stories, and ODonoghue draws on modern narratological theory to explore how saga authors maintain the urgency and complexity of their material, handle the narrative and chronological line, and offer perceptive insights into saga society.

Format: Hardback
Length: 232 pages
Publication date: 25 February 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Representing a distinct literary genre, the Icelandic Family Sagas emerged during the 13th and 14th centuries, and they hold a revered position among the world's greatest literary works. In her insightful examination, Heather ODonoghue delves into the concepts of time and the singular textual voice of these sagas, providing a fresh perspective on the foundational texts of Old Norse and medieval Icelandic heritage. Notably, these sagas stand apart from traditional narratives featuring giants, dragons, and fairy tale magic, instead reflecting a real-world society in transition, grappling with significant new challenges related to identity and development. As this book reveals, the stance of the narrator and the role of time, from the representation of external time passing to the audience's experience of navigating through a narrative, hold paramount importance in these stories. Narrative in the Icelandic Family Saga thus draws upon modern narratological theory to explore the strategies employed by saga authors to maintain the urgency and complexity of their material, handle the narrative and chronological line, and offer insightful insights into the society of the sagas. By doing so, ODonoghue presents a novel poetics of family sagas and reimagines the literary rhetoric of saga narratives.

Weight: 514g
Dimension: 163 x 242 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781788312875