''Six Walks in the Fictional Woods'' is a non-fiction book by

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

. Originally delivered at Harvard for the

Charles Eliot Norton Lectures The Charles Eliot Norton Professorship of Poetry at Harvard University was established in 1925 as an annual lectureship in "poetry in the broadest sense" and named for the university's former professor of fine arts. Distinguished creative figure ...

in 1992 and 1993, the six lectures were published in the fall of 1994.

Overview

The book derives its title from

Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...

's '' Six Memos for the Next Millennium'' but Eco also cites Calvino's ''

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler ''If on a winter's night a traveler'' ( it, Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore) is a 1979 novel by the Italian writer Italo Calvino. The postmodernist narrative, in the form of a frame story, is about the reader trying to read a book called ...

'' as inspiration because the novel "is concerned with the presence of the reader in the story", which was also the subject of the lectures and book. Furthermore, it is based on

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...

' metaphorical representation of a text as a forest where his readers wander, however, without Descartes' . In six chapters titled "Entering the Woods", "The Woods of Loisy", "Lingering in the Woods", "Possible Woods", "The Strange Case of Rue Servandon", and "Fictional Protocols", Eco contemplates on storytelling, process of creation of a literary text, and how readers understand them. Eco introduces two types of readers and authors —

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

and empirical ones. Empirica writers and readers are of no interest to Eco as not being part of the text itself. On the contrary, model author and reader are integral parts of the text. The model author, by Eco, is a nexus of discursive strategies that builds the essence of the text. Meanwhile, the model reader is a set of textual instructions, integrated into the narrative. Eco mentioned that his view of a model reader resembled the of

Wolfgang Iser Wolfgang Iser (22 July 1926 – 24 January 2007) was a German literary scholar. Biography Wolfgang Iser was born in Marienberg, Germany. His parents were Paul and Else (Steinbach) Iser. He studied literature in the universities of Leipzig and T� ...

. Echo suggests two ways through the 'forest' for the 'model' reader: choose a broad path that will help one reach one's destination as quickly as possible, or walk by exploring side paths and figuring out the workings of the 'forest'. The second way, according to Eco, is harder and longer, but provides an incomparably deeper understanding and appreciation of the work. In the second chapter of the book, Eco explains that the 'second level model reader' seeks to understand the narrative strategy realized by the model author, such a reader analyzes the text and extracts from it the structures that affect the recipient, which allow him to 'complete' the text through interpretation. In addition, Eco encourages re-reading books, because each time the text will unfold differently and give room for new interpretations. The author also discusses the three dimensions of time in a text, ways to send the reader on an imaginary walk through it. He explains the high value of fiction, how it is able to comfort and reconcile people with the real world through made-up stories, and that fiction helps to overcome our metaphysical limitations. In Six Walks, Eco demonstrates an encyclopedic knowledge of literature and a remarkable mental acuity. He skilfully draws parallels and examples from a wide range of cultural fields, from modern to classical works of various forms, not shying away from peering into the lowest genres. In this book, Eco browses through the works of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known b ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...

, Marcel Proust. He analyses

Gérard de Nerval Gérard de Nerval (; 22 May 1808 – 26 January 1855) was the pen name of the French writer, poet, and translator Gérard Labrunie, a major figure of French romanticism, best known for his novellas and poems, especially the collection '' Les ...

's Sylvie,

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Iliad'', th ...

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

Divine comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature ...

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...

, and some own works, such as

The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( it, Il nome della rosa ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in ficti ...

, and

Foucault's Pendulum ''Foucault's Pendulum'' (original title: ''Il pendolo di Foucault'' ) is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988, and an English translation by William Weaver appeared a year later. ''Foucault's P ...

. A book for the sophisticated reader, it was nevertheless extremely popular and topped European bestseller lists for a long time. According to literary scholars, Eco's work as a promoter of humanities knowledge and fiction changed the face of popular culture for decades and generated numerous followers.

# "Entering the Woods" # "The Woods of Loisy" # "Lingering in the Woods" # "Possible Woods" # "The Strange Case of Rue Servandon" # "Fictional Protocols"

External links

''Six Walks in the Fictional Woods''

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

References

Literature

* * * * * * * 1994 essays Books by Umberto Eco Books of lectures Books of literary criticism Harvard University Press books Italian essays {{lit-criticism-book-stub

Overview

Table of contents

External links

See also

References

Literature