Adventure, Mystery, and Romance: Formula Stories as Art and Popular Culture (Phoenix Series)

In this first general theory for the analysis of popular literary formulas, John G. Cawelti reveals the artistry that underlies the best in formulaic literature. Cawelti discusses such seemingly diverse works as Mario Puzo's The Godfather , Dorothy Sayers's The Nine Tailors , and Owen Wister's The Virginian in the light of his hypotheses about the cultural function of formula literature. He describes the most important artistic characteristics of popular formula stories and the differences between this literature and that commonly labeled "high" or "serious" literature. He also defines the archetypal patterns of adventure, mystery, romance, melodrama, and fantasy, and offers a tentative account of their basis in human psychology. Introduction: The Design Of This Book -- 1. The Study Of Literary Formulas -- 2. Notes Toward A Typology Of Literary Formulas -- 3. The Mythology Of Crime And Its Formulaic Embodiments -- 4. The Formula Of The Classical Detective Story -- 5. The Art Of The Classical Detective Story -- 6. The Hard-boiled Detective Story -- 7. Hammett, Chandler, And Spillane -- 8. The Western: A Look At The Evolution Of A Formula -- 9. The Best-selling Social Melodrama. John G. Cawelti. Includes Index. Bibliography: P. 319-329. Introduction: ǂt The design of this book -- ǂg 1. ǂt The study of literary formulas -- ǂg 2. ǂt Notes toward a typology of literary formulas -- ǂg 3. ǂt The mythology of crime and its formulaic embodiments -- ǂg 4. ǂt The formula of the classical detective story -- ǂg 5. ǂt The art of the classical detective story -- ǂg 6. ǂt The hard-boiled detective story -- ǂg 7. ǂt Hammett, Chandler, and Spillane -- ǂg 8. ǂt The Western: a look at the evolution of a formula -- ǂg 9. ǂt The best-selling social melodrama Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: The Design of This Book 1 The Study of Literary Formulas 2 Notes toward a Typology of Literary Formulas 3 The Mythology of Crime and Its Formulaic Embodiments 4 The Formula of the Classical Detective Story 5 The Art of the Classical Detective Story 6 The Hard-Boiled Detective Story 7 Hammett, Chandler, and Spillane 8 The Western: A Look at the Evolution of a Formula 9 The Best-Selling Social Melodrama Conclusion Notes Bibliographical Notes Index In general, a literary formula is a structure of narrative or dramatic conventions employed in a great number of individual works.