Stephen Shankman argues that "classicalism" should not be confused with a particular historical era of Western antiquity, although it may owe the original expression of the literary and philosophical explorations of ancient Greek authors. Shankman's book examines the form of continuous existence and tries to formulate it - as embodied in literary works of particular Western antiquity and classic and modern periods - to what the author calls a "classical" understanding of literature.

For Shankman, literature, defined from a classical perspective, is a coherent, persuasive, and rational representation that can resist either a mere recording of material reality or the abstract representation of a purely philosophical principle. He derives his definition largely from his reading of Greek literature from Homer during Plato, from the history of literary criticism, and from the Greco-Roman tradition in English, American and French literature.

Shankman reveals unexpected and convincing connections between authors of such times and places. His idea of ​​the "classic" authorizing these connections is presented as a criterion, which makes it possible to evaluate literary works and thus to openly discuss what constitutes "literary" as distinct from other types of discourse.

Shankman's study contrasts with a strong propensity for contemporary criticism, which argues precisely against any distinct category of "literary". It offers a series of interpretations that advance theoretically by challenging scientists to rethink critical models of postmodernism.

In the heart of the book, there is a discussion about the classic Val ry poem Le Cimeti re marin and the classical qualities it shares with Pindar III Pythian ode, from which Val ry derives a poem for his poem.

I want that book.