Beyond Decadence: Exposing the Narrative Irony in Jan Opolský's Prose

By Peter Butler

Jan Opolsk has primarily been viewed as an undistinguished hanger-on in the era of Czech literary decadence. Through close reading and detailed analysis of Opolsk 's prose, however, Peter Butler argues that, far from his reputation as a literary lackey, Opolsk is a master of sustained narrative irony and an accomplished writer in his own right. Beyond Decadence evaluates archival sources and private correspondence between Opolsk and other literary figures, and includes a classified bibliography of Opolsk 's work. Butler's introduction, meanwhile, offers an overview of the Czech decadent/symbolist literary and artistic movements, placing them within a larger European perspective. Redeeming a literary artist who has been nearly forgotten in the English-speaking world, Beyond Decadence will be of particular interest to students of Slavic and European literary history.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 8024625717
• ISBN13: 9788024625713
• Release Date: January 2016
• Publisher: Karolinum Press, Charles University
• Length: 300 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.5" x 9.2"