Abstract

In the twelve essays in Music, Archetype, and the Writer: A Jungian View, Bettina Knapp sets herself the difficult task of showing that "the musical archetype governs the attitude and approach of each author of his literary work and is the prime mover of its syntax, speech, pace, pitch, and diapasons" . She is most successful in those instances in which the author or protagonist of the work studied acknowledges the influence of a piece or pieces of music. She is less successful in those instances for which there is less clear evidence for the influence of music. Knapp's book is important, for, among the first extensive studies onto the relationship between archetypal music and literature, it makes perceptive contributions to our understanding of how music may affect an author and encourages us to become better readers of literature and better listeners to music